Yardbook

Overview

Yardbook is a landscaping business platform for coordinating customers, jobs, estimates, and billing. It is best suited to landscapers who want office and field workflows together, with room to start free and add paid tools as operations grow. Its broad toolkit is appealing, but online-payment fees and beta integrations are important trade-offs.

Key features

Jobs and field operations

Scheduling, routing, recurring jobs, and route optimization support the recurring work common to landscaping businesses. Timesheets, GPS tracking, and equipment maintenance extend the operational scope beyond a calendar and job list. GPS tracking is a Business-tier feature, so Starter may be enough for smaller crews that can coordinate without it.

Estimates, billing, and records

Yardbook combines estimates and proposals with invoices and payments, while expenses, credit cards, chemical tracking, and a pricing catalog support business records and service costing. This breadth can reduce the need to split routine administration across separate tools. Customer online payments are processed through Stripe, and non-premium accounts pay a 1% Yardbook processing fee on each payment; that includes free-trial accounts.

Profiles and customer communication

Yardbook Profiles let landscapers present their work and services, set service areas, attract homeowners, and manage incoming leads. Business adds bulk email and bulk text messaging through Twilio, plus customized lead capture. Those additions suit operators who want outreach and lead intake alongside job administration, rather than only a back-office system.

Integrations

CONNECT syncs Yardbook invoices and payments to QuickBooks Online, but the integration is in beta. It is reserved for Enterprise, so businesses that depend on a mature accounting sync should weigh that status before choosing the top tier.

Pricing

Yardbook uses a freemium model and offers a free trial. The plan prices and terms are:

• Starter: free. Includes customer management, jobs and scheduling, estimates, invoices, routing, expenses, reports, lot measurement, employee access, credit card payments, snow removal, and a product catalog. It is a substantial starting point for businesses that need core workflows, but it lacks paid features such as GPS tracking and bulk messaging and carries the 1% online-payment fee.
• Business: $34.99 a month (billed $34.99/month). Adds bulk emails, bulk text messages with Twilio, GPS tracking, automatic backup, automatic invoice reminders, a multi-step chemical program, customized lead capture, and waives the Yardbook processing fee. This is the more practical fit for active crews and businesses taking online payments regularly.
• Enterprise: $49.99 a month (billed $49.99/month). Includes Business features, QuickBooks sync, and a branded company portal. It is aimed at businesses that need the portal or want the accounting connection, with the caveat that the sync is beta.

The stated plan details do not set user or customer quotas. Starter and trial users should factor the per-payment fee into the cost of accepting online payments.

Platforms

Yardbook is available on the web and lists support for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows. Its responsive mobile web app provides access to the full feature set through a mobile browser, which is useful when native app availability is a concern. The Android app is offered, while the iOS app is in beta and requires contacting support by email for an install link.

Yardbook says personal information is stored on controlled, secure servers and sensitive information sent between the service and browser is protected with SSL encryption. Uploaded photos and files are stored on Amazon AWS servers, accessed using HTTPS, and can be deleted from user accounts.

Who it's for

Yardbook is a strong fit for landscapers who want customer management, job coordination, estimates, and billing in a single vertical tool, especially those who can begin with Starter and pay for field tracking or communications as needed. Businesses that rely on iOS native access or a dependable QuickBooks sync should be cautious about the beta status. Smaller operators processing few online payments may find Starter attractive; those collecting payments frequently should compare the 1% fee with the cost of Business.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Starter covers a wide set of landscaping workflows, including routing, lot measurement, snow removal, expenses, and invoices.
• Pros: Business bundles GPS tracking, automatic invoice reminders, bulk messaging, and waived Yardbook payment fees.
• Pros: Profiles combine service presentation and service-area definition with homeowner leads.
• Cons: Free and trial accounts incur a 1% Yardbook fee on each customer online payment.
• Cons: The iOS app and QuickBooks sync are both beta, limiting confidence for businesses that depend on either.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, browse Landscaping Software.

Plannit is worth comparing if a free plan centered on up to two users, customer and job requests, scheduling, job tracking, work orders, quotes, and invoicing matches your needs. MowProHQ offers a free plan for up to two team members with CRM, scheduling, quotes, agreements, invoicing, a customer portal, and website editor; its stated NMI standard rate is 4% + $0.30. Lawn Buddy may suit a single-user operation looking for a free plan, but its Lite plan applies a 4.8% plus $.30 charge on all credit-card payments, which can be passed to the purchaser.

LawnPro is another freemium option: its Solo plan is limited to one user and up to 25 customers, while Startup lists three employees and unlimited customers. TurfHop is an alternative for teams comparing its Truck plan at $49 a month, with two users and unlimited employees, against Yardbook’s paid tiers. Arborgold is a paid alternative with a Starter plan at $129 a month and an annual contract requirement. Service Autopilot and Aspire are paid alternatives for readers considering other landscaping software options.

Verdict

Choose Yardbook if your landscaping business needs customer, job, estimate, and billing workflows in one system and you value a capable free starting tier with a clear upgrade path. Business is the sensible step up for crews needing GPS tracking or frequent online payments, since it waives Yardbook’s 1% fee. Look elsewhere if native iOS access or a non-beta QuickBooks integration is essential.