The customer likes the planting, but one damaged edging unit is still on the deficiency list. Without a landscaper customer referral program, the crew may ask for an introduction before the yard is finished.
A landscaper customer referral program fixes the order. Complete the work. Clear billing questions. Ask permission. Record the introduction. Then qualify the referred property as a new job.
Set the landscaper customer referral program before closeout
Write the process before the next crew reaches the gate. Do not leave the decision to whoever happens to hear a compliment.
Set these rules:
- What makes a completed job eligible.
- Which services you want referred.
- Who asks the customer.
- Where the crew sends the details.
- Who owns the next action.
Your landscaper customer referral program also needs a stop rule. An open deficiency, complaint, change order or invoice question stops the request. Fix the issue first.
Confirm the yard is accepted, then ask
Start with the accepted scope. Walk the property with the quote or work order open. Point to the planting bed, grading area, edging, cleanup zone or maintenance task that was sold.
Ask whether the agreed work is complete and whether the customer is satisfied. Record the answer against the job. Silence is not acceptance.
Do not ask for landscaping referrals when:
- A deficiency remains open.
- Debris has not been removed as agreed.
- The customer disputes the finished work.
- A change order still needs approval or explanation.
- The invoice does not match the job record.
- The customer has an unanswered billing question.
The customer may praise the new planting while still expecting an edging repair. Finish the repair. Return to the referral request after the customer accepts it.
Changed site conditions need a separate record. Describe the extra work, price it, get approval and connect it to the final invoice. Do not explain an unexpected total and ask for a referral in the same conversation.
When the customer accepts the yard and no issue remains open, give the crew one short prompt:
> Thanks for confirming you’re happy with the yard. We’re looking for more work like this. If you know someone who needs similar work, would you ask whether they want an introduction?
Replace “similar work” with the job you want. Say planting, seasonal cleanup, lawn repair or recurring maintenance. A narrow request gives the office a clearer inquiry.
Do not improvise discounts or promise a reward at the gate. If your business has an approved thank-you, the office can explain it from the written terms.
Separate a referral from a public review
A private introduction and a public review are different requests. Record them separately.
Do not give the customer a list of favours while the crew loads the trailer. Pick the request that fits the moment. Make it once, then leave the customer to decide.
If the handover is rushed, assign garden client follow-up to the office. Add a person and date. “Call later” is not an action owner.
Choose the work you want repeated
Ask for the jobs your crew can deliver well. Name the service instead of asking for any landscaping work.
A planting customer may know someone who needs planting. A seasonal cleanup may lead to recurring garden maintenance. A full-yard installation may lead to another installation, but only if the service area, equipment, crew and season fit.
Do not invite work that sits outside your controlled scope. Drainage, retaining structures, irrigation connections and outdoor electrical work can raise licensing, safety and permit questions. The office must check those boundaries before making a promise.
When cleanup work could lead to scheduled visits, use a separate process for turning seasonal cleanups into ongoing landscaping work. Build the maintenance scope around the referred property rather than copying the first yard.
Give the crew one handoff route
Choose one place for the referral record. Crew notebooks and private text messages are not a process.
The handoff should identify the source job, the customer’s permission, the details supplied and the next action. Assign the record to one office person before the crew leaves.
Do not fill gaps with guesses. If the customer says a neighbour might need yard work, record those words. Do not turn that comment into a booked installation.
Use a real satisfaction point for recurring garden maintenance
Recurring garden maintenance has no single final completion date. Use a completed visit where the customer gives direct positive feedback and no service issue is open.
Record the visit. Write down the customer’s words. Then make the referral request.
Do not ask after every visit. That turns routine service into a repeated sales pitch. Ask after a clear win, such as customer acceptance of seasonal work or direct praise for a completed maintenance visit.
Attach the completed visit record and the customer’s positive comment to the referral request. The office can then see what work earned the introduction.
Get permission before taking contact details
Ask the customer to contact the other person first. The referred person should know who wants to contact them and why.
Give the customer copy-ready wording:
> A landscaping contractor completed [type of work] at my property. Would you like me to introduce you so you can discuss [requested work]?
After the person agrees, the customer can send a shared message:
> I’m introducing [referred person] to [business contact]. The contractor completed [type of work] for me. [Referred person] wants to discuss [requested work]. I’ll leave you both to arrange the next step.
Record the call, email or other contact the referred person requested. Use the supplied details only to make that response.
Before sending an electronic message, check the CRTC guidance on Canada’s anti-spam requirements (opens in a new tab). For privacy questions, start with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (opens in a new tab) and follow its route to the provincial or territorial privacy regulator when that regulator covers your business.
Treat a neighbour’s approach as a direct inquiry
A neighbour may approach while the crew is loading debris. They started the conversation. Record that as a direct inquiry, not a customer-supplied introduction.
Ask for the person’s name, supplied contact details, property location and a short description of the work. Tell them the office will review the inquiry and confirm the next step.
Do not quote across the fence. The property next door can have different grades, access, utilities, soil, disposal needs and material quantities.
Record the introduction for garden client follow-up
A landscaper customer referral program needs one record that moves from the crew to the office. Keep the source job attached so you know where the introduction came from, but do not copy its scope or price.
Use this blank template:
Landscaping referral or direct-inquiry record Intake route: [customer introduction / direct inquiry] Source customer: [name, if introduced] Source job reference: [job number, if introduced] Contact initiated by: [referred person / shared introduction / direct inquiry] Permission status: [shared introduction received / direct inquiry received / permission pending] Pending permission step: [source customer to make the introduction / none] Date received: [date] Referred person: [name, after a shared introduction or direct inquiry] Contact details: [details supplied by the referred person in the shared introduction or direct inquiry] Requested contact: [phone call / email / other] Requested work: [customer’s words] Property address: [address] Municipality: [municipality] Province or territory: [province or territory] Postal code: [postal code] Follow-up owner: [name] Next action and date: [action and date] Current status: [received / contacted / qualified / site visit / quoted / accepted / declined / closed] Closure reason: [reason] Thank-you approval: [owner and approval status] Thank-you entry: [trigger, amount or credit, issue date and cost account]
When permission is missing, record only the source customer and the pending introduction step. Do not enter the referred person’s contact details until that person joins a shared introduction or makes a direct inquiry.
Give every open record an owner and a dated action. Close unanswered, unsuitable or out-of-area inquiries with a reason. A stale name in an open list is not a lead being managed.
Qualify the referred property as a new job
Start the customer referral process again at intake. Confirm what the person wants before booking travel or promising a start date.
Use a plain opening:
> [Source customer] introduced us about landscaping work at your property. Before we arrange a visit, can I check the work, location, access and timing with you?
Ask:
- What work do you want completed?
- Is it a one-off project or recurring maintenance?
- Where is the property?
- Who owns or manages it and can approve the work?
- Can the truck, trailer, crew and equipment reach the work area?
- Does the request include removal or disposal?
- Are there gates, slopes, utilities, irrigation lines or restricted areas?
- Can the person supply useful photos?
- Is there a timing issue the office needs to assess?
Close the inquiry when the property, work, authority or access does not fit. Record the reason. A trusted source customer does not make the new property suitable.
Inspect before building the new scope
Book a site visit when grade, drainage, access, measurements, soil, existing services or removal quantities affect the work. Inspect before quoting.
Build a new scope from that property. If the inquiry is for a yard build, use the landscaping installation quote process to price labour, materials, equipment, removal and exclusions.
Do not give the referred person the source customer’s price. The completed quote proves what was sold at the first property. It says nothing about the cost of the next one.
Route the referred scope through the right Canadian desk
Write down the actual work before making a promise. “Landscaping” is too broad. State whether the request includes planting, excavation, drainage, a retaining structure, irrigation, lighting or another trade.
Use a separate route for each question:
- Trade licensing: open the official website for the province or territory where the property sits. Search the named task plus “trade licence” or “trade certification.” Follow the result to that jurisdiction’s statutory trade authority. Ask whether that named task requires a licence, which licence covers it and who may perform it. Write down the body, contact, answer and date.
- Municipal permits and business licences: open the referred property’s municipal website. Search the named task plus “building permit,” then search “business licence.” Ask the municipality whether the work needs a permit and whether your business needs a local licence. Keep the two answers with the inquiry.
- Occupational safety: open the official province or territory website and search “occupational health and safety” with the named task. Follow the result to that jurisdiction’s safety authority. Ask which safety rules cover the task and crew. Record the answer in the job plan.
- Workers’ compensation: open the official province or territory website and search “workers’ compensation board.” Use the named statutory board for that jurisdiction. Ask whether the workers on this job need coverage and what business account applies. Keep the response with the worker-coverage record.
- Business registration: use the federal government’s province and territory business-registration routes (opens in a new tab) to reach the correct registry. Ask that registry about the business name and registration used for the contract.
- GST/HST: check the current CRA GST/HST guidance for businesses (opens in a new tab) or contact the CRA about the tax treatment of a referral thank-you. Keep the answer with the accounting instruction.
Do not ask the municipality about worker coverage. Do not ask the CRA which trade licence covers a retaining structure. One question. One responsible body.
Make these checks for the referred property’s municipality, province or territory. The source job may sit under different local approvals. Do not quote the regulated part or promise a date until the check is complete.
The crew’s job is to name the task that needs checking. The office finds the responsible body, records the answer and holds that part of the quote until it has the answer.
Approve the referral thank-you before issuing it
If you offer a thank-you, write the terms before mentioning it. State which introductions qualify, who approves the thank-you, what triggers it and what form it takes.
Do not let a crew member promise cash, free work or an invoice credit on site. That creates a customer expectation without approval or a cost record.
Choose one written accounting rule for every referral thank-you. Record the approver, trigger, amount or credit, issue date, cost account, source job reference and referred job reference. Do not put the cost into source-job profitability unless that written rule requires it.
Check current CRA guidance or contact the CRA for the GST/HST treatment. Ask your accountant how to post the entry under your written rule. The CRA answer controls the tax treatment; your accounting rule controls the internal cost account.
A landscaper customer referral program works only when the thank-you can be traced from approval to the ledger without hiding the cost in either job. Write the rule now, add it to the referral form and assign the next closeout to one owner.