Short answer
Write your garden maintenance agreement or lawn care contract in Word or as a PDF, upload it to Sign PDF, and send it to the client to sign on their phone or computer. The signed copy comes back sealed, with a certificate showing who signed and when, which settles arguments about visit frequency, price rises and cancellation later in the season.
Updated 25 October 2026
What goes in a garden maintenance contract
Most gardening disputes are about one of four things: how often you come, what each visit includes, what happens when it rains, and how much notice either side gives to stop. A short agreement that answers those four questions saves more trouble than a long one full of legal wording.
Write the visit list in the language you use on site. "Mow front and back, strim edges, blow paths, take clippings" is clearer to a homeowner than "general lawn maintenance", and it gives you something to point to when a client asks why the borders were not weeded.
- Visit frequency and the months it runs (for example, fortnightly from March to October)
- What a standard visit covers, and what is extra (hedges, weeding, feeding, leaf clearance)
- Price per visit or per month, and when it can go up
- Rain and frost rules: skipped, moved, or still charged
- Green waste: taken away, composted on site, or left bagged
- Access: side gate code, key held, dogs kept in
- Notice to end the agreement, from either side
Getting the season signed before the first cut
The best time to get a lawn mowing contract signed is February, when clients are booking their spring rounds and you are planning the calendar. Send the same agreement to each regular client with their address and price filled in, and you go into March knowing exactly which slots are taken.
With Sign PDF, the client gets an email, confirms a six-digit code, and signs with a finger on their phone. They do not need an account or an app. You see when each one has opened and signed, and on the Full plan the reminders go out for you, which beats chasing people by text in the first week of the season.
Quotes for one-off clearances
A big overgrown garden is where a signed quote matters most. Clearing brambles and taking six bags of waste to the tip is the kind of job where the client is surprised by the bill if nothing was agreed in writing. Photograph the garden, write the quote with the price and what is included, and send it for signature before you book the skip or the trailer.
If you still write quotes on a carbon pad, you can photograph the page and upload the photo. Sign PDF turns it into a PDF and places the signature and date boxes. If your phone saves photos as HEIC, switch the camera to the most compatible format or export the picture as a JPEG first.
Which plan suits a gardener
A sole trader who signs up most regulars once a year and does a few clearances a month will usually be fine on Light, at $5 a month for 2 documents. Drafts are free, and a document only counts once it is sent, however many people sign it.
If you send a quote most days in spring, or want to save your agreement as a template and reuse it for every client, Full is $10 a month for unlimited documents. Either plan can be cancelled at any time and runs to the end of the month you paid for.
What Sign PDF does not do
We get documents signed and keep the evidence. We do not plan your rounds, send invoices, take card payments or set up direct debits. If you use a job-management or invoicing app, keep it, and use Sign PDF for the agreement that sits behind the work.
Questions people ask
Do I need a contract for regular garden maintenance?
You do not legally need a written one, but without it you have no record of the agreed price, frequency or notice period. A one-page agreement signed at the start of the season is enough for most domestic clients.
Can an elderly client sign without an account?
Yes. They open the email, type the six-digit code we send, and sign by drawing, typing their name or uploading a picture of their signature. If they find the phone fiddly, they can open the same link on a computer.
Can both homeowners sign the same agreement?
Yes. Add both names and emails as signers and Sign PDF gives each their own signature box. You can send to both at once or have one sign after the other.
Can I put up my prices mid-season?
Only if the agreement says you can and how much notice you give. Put a line in, such as 30 days' written notice of any price change, and have the client sign it at the start.
Is an e-signed gardening contract legally binding?
For ordinary service contracts, electronic signatures are recognised under the US ESIGN Act and UETA and the UK Electronic Communications Act 2000. This is not legal advice; ask a solicitor or lawyer if a contract is unusually large.
Send your next garden maintenance agreement for signature
Upload it from your phone or laptop. The boxes go in the right places, your client signs on their phone, and you get a sealed copy back.
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