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Published on 08/15/01

Workshops Set for Landscape Managers

For landscape managers, job bidding is tough. Bids have to be low enough to get jobs and high enough to turn a profit after covering costs. That makes cost estimating even more critical, especially for beginners who have no benchmark data to base their estimates on.

A University of Georgia workshop, offered in Savannah Oct. 18-19 and Athens Oct. 25-26, will make it much easier. The workshop will introduce managers to "Hort Management," a computerized cost-estimating and job-bidding module developed by UGA faculty.

Participants don't have to know anything about computers. With hands-on instruction, they will learn:

  • Bidding strategies.
  • How to estimate both fixed and variable costs, including overhead and labor.
  • How to structure bids in the form of a contract for presenting to clients.
  • How computers make the bidding and estimating process more efficient and accurate.
  • How to tailor "Hort Management" for their own business.
Even people who don't bid directly on jobs will find the program useful in estimating labor costs, time and task data and cost comparisons.

The workshop is limited to the first 28 people who register. The $60 fee includes a copy of the $50 "Hort Management" program, lunch the first day, refreshment breaks, handouts and personalized instruction.

The deadline to sign up is Friday, Oct. 12. To learn more, call the UGA Extension Service horticulture department at (706) 542-2861.

Where to Go

The Savannah workshop is at the Bamboo Farm and Coastal Gardens (912-921-5460). The BFCG Web site has directions and a map.

The Athens site is the bottom-floor computer lab, Room 1203, in the Miller Plant Science Building on the corner of Carlton Street and D.W. Brooks Drive. The UGA Web site has a campus map.

Dan Rahn is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.