For landscape managers, job bidding is tough. Bids have to be low
enough to get jobs and high enough to turn a profit after
covering costs. That makes cost estimating even more critical,
especially for beginners who have no benchmark data to base their
estimates on.
A University of Georgia workshop, offered in Savannah Oct. 18-19
and Athens Oct. 25-26, will make it much easier. The workshop
will introduce managers to “Hort Management,” a computerized
cost-estimating and job-bidding module developed by UGA
faculty.
Participants don’t have to know anything about computers. With
hands-on instruction, they will learn:
- Bidding strategies.
- How to estimate both fixed and variable costs, including
overhead and labor. - How to structure bids in the form of a contract for
presenting to clients. - How computers make the bidding and estimating process more
efficient and accurate. - How to tailor “Hort Management” for their own business.
Even people who don’t bid directly on jobs will find the program
useful in estimating labor costs, time and task data and cost
comparisons.
The workshop is limited to the first 28 people who register. The
$60 fee includes a copy of the $50 “Hort Management” program,
lunch the first day, refreshment breaks, handouts and
personalized instruction.
The deadline to sign up is Friday, Oct. 12. To learn more, call
the UGA Extension Service horticulture department at
(706) 542-2861.
Where to Go
The Savannah workshop is at the Bamboo Farm and Coastal
Gardens (912-921-5460). The BFCG Web site has directions and a map.
The Athens site is the bottom-floor computer lab, Room 1203, in
the Miller Plant Science Building on the corner of Carlton Street
and D.W. Brooks Drive. The UGA Web
site has a campus
map.
