Business Management: Daily Checklist and Inventory

To know exactly where the money comes from, a business needs to have an in-depth understanding of every profitable aspect surrounding it.

In this section of the Business Management Resource Guide, Lawn & Landscape magazine compiled six charts for comprehending business costs, tracking equipment costs per hour and non-productive labor time costs, identifying the productivity of granular applications, keeping a daily checklist and inventory and estimating landscape construction. The information provided came from green industry organizations, contractors and consultants, including the Associated Landscape Contractors of America, Herndon, Va.; Smith Huston, Inc., Orange, Calif.; and Jon and Vicky Cundiff, Turf's Up Lawn Service, Lee's Summit, Mo. These forms can be copied and tailored to fit any green industry company.

DAILY CHECKLIST AND INVENTORY. At the end of every workday, Jon Cundiff’s workers fill out this daily production report. It helps the owner of Turf’s Up Lawn Service track inventory and profitability.

The chart also asks the worker to log weather conditions and any additional comments he or she has for the day.

“That way if production was down one day or one person’s specific production was down, I can go back to these reports and find out why,” Cundiff explained. “Maybe it rained half the day or a machine broke and two hours was spent on maintenance. At least with these reports I have something to refer to when I want answers for the slow down in production.”