Calculate mulch yardage from satellite: Save hours of measuring

Mulch installation is a massive revenue driver for landscapers in the spring, but the profit is easily destroyed by material miscalculation. If you eyeball a property and order 20 yards of mulch, but only need 12, you just threw away hundreds of dollars in raw material.

To protect your margins, you must learn how to calculate mulch yardage from satellite imagery.

Tracing the Garden Beds

Using RemoteQuoter, you zoom in on the high-resolution satellite feed of the customer's property. You use the polygon tool to carefully outline every single flower bed, tree ring, and foundation planting area.

Let's assume the total combined square footage of the beds is 1,200 square feet.

The Depth Formula

The amount of mulch you need depends entirely on how deep you are laying it. A standard refresh is 2 inches. One cubic yard of mulch covers roughly 162 square feet at a 2-inch depth.

• 1,200 sq ft ÷ 162 = 7.4 cubic yards.

You round up to 8 yards. You now know exactly how much material to order from the supplier, exactly what your hard costs are, and exactly what to charge the customer for installation labor—all without ever leaving your office.