How it works

From the customer call to the last invoice. Six steps.

MulchDeck replaces the legal pads, spreadsheets, and guesswork that most forestry mulching contractors use to run jobs. You draw the property on a satellite map, price it from your rate card, track your costs on the job, invoice when you finish, and know whether you made money. Everything stays in one place and works offline.

1

Estimating

Type the address, draw the polygon

A customer calls about clearing 12 acres off a county road. You open MulchDeck, type the address, and the satellite view loads. If US parcel data is available for that county, the property boundary draws itself on the map automatically.

Trace the clearing boundary with your finger or mouse. The polygon can follow the parcel line on one side and cut across at the tree line on the other. MulchDeck calculates the acreage from the polygon in real time as you draw. No more pacing off the property with a wheel or eyeballing acreage from a plat book.

  • Google satellite imagery at every zoom level
  • Parcel boundaries load automatically where county data exists
  • Polygon acreage updates in real time as you edit points
  • Works on phone, tablet, or desktop
2

Pricing

Tag the conditions, let the rate card price it

Every clearing job has two variables that drive the price: vegetation density and terrain. MulchDeck gives you four levels of each. Density: light brush, moderate, heavy hardwood, very heavy. Terrain: flat, rolling, steep, very steep. That makes 16 possible combinations.

Your rate card stores a per-acre price for each of those 16 combos. Set it once when you first sign up, adjust it when your costs change. When you tag a polygon as “heavy hardwood on rolling terrain,” the rate card fills in your price per acre automatically. Multiply by acreage. Done.

Need to add mobilization, stump treatment, or hauling? Add them as separate line items. The land clearing cost calculator can help you estimate those numbers if you're still dialing in your pricing.

  • 16-price rate card: every density and terrain combination
  • Custom line items for mobilization, hauling, stump treatment
  • Prices stay consistent across your whole team
3

Quoting

Send a branded quote

One tap generates a PDF with your business name, the satellite map, the polygon overlay, acreage, every line item, and the total. It looks like you hired a designer. Email it directly from the app or share the link so the customer can view it in their browser.

The customer sees a professional quote with an aerial photo of their property and a clearly marked clearing area, not a napkin sketch or a paragraph in a text message. That matters when you're competing against another outfit for a $30,000 job.

  • Branded PDF with satellite map and polygon
  • Email from the app or share a link
  • Line-item detail so the customer sees exactly what they pay for
“I used to spend an hour on every quote: driving out, pacing the property, going home, plugging numbers into a spreadsheet. Now I do it from the truck in five minutes and email it before I leave the driveway.”

- Forestry mulching contractor, North Carolina

4

Tracking

Track the job day by day

When the mulcher shows up, start logging. Each job has a daily log where your crew records hours worked, fuel gallons burned, and teeth replaced. Snap before-and-after photos right from the app. They attach to the job with GPS coordinates and timestamps so you know exactly where and when they were taken.

Everything syncs even when you're on rural acreage with no cell signal. MulchDeck saves locally and pushes data when you get back in range. No more losing a day of logs because the signal dropped.

As the job runs, you can see how actual costs compare to the estimate in real time. If you're three days into a five-day job and already over on fuel, you know early enough to adjust.

  • Daily logs: hours, fuel gallons, teeth replaced
  • GPS-tagged before/after photos
  • Full offline support: syncs when signal returns
  • Running cost vs. estimate comparison
5

Invoicing

Invoice from what you already captured

When the job wraps, line items pull straight from the estimate. Scope changed? It always does. Add the extra day, the stump grinding you threw in, the hauling run that wasn't in the original quote. Remove what you didn't end up doing.

Generate a branded PDF invoice and email it to the customer. When the check clears, mark the job as paid. No separate invoicing app. No retyping line items into QuickBooks just to create a document. The data is already there because you captured it during the estimate and the job.

  • Line items pull from the estimate automatically
  • Edit, add, or remove lines before sending
  • Branded PDF emailed directly from the app
  • Mark paid when the check clears
6

Profitability

See whether you made money

Estimated revenue on the left. Actual costs on the right. Green or red. Per job, per acre. No more guessing whether that 40-acre clear was profitable after you burned through extra teeth and an extra day of fuel.

MulchDeck takes the hours, fuel, and teeth you logged during the job and compares them to the estimate you priced before the job started. You see your real margin, not what you assumed it would be when you sent the quote. Over time, that data helps you adjust your rate card so future quotes are more accurate.

Use the profit margin calculator to model scenarios before you commit to a price, then let the real job data tell you how close you were.

  • Estimated vs. actual cost comparison
  • Profit margin per job and per acre
  • Historical data to improve future rate card pricing

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to create an estimate in MulchDeck?

Most contractors create a full estimate in under five minutes. Enter the address, draw the polygon, pick density and terrain, and the rate card prices it. No spreadsheet, no math.

Does MulchDeck work offline in the field?

Yes. Estimates, daily logs, photos, and invoices all save locally and sync when you get signal. Built for rural acreage where cell coverage is unreliable.

What is a rate card?

A grid of 16 per-acre prices: 4 vegetation densities (light, moderate, heavy, very heavy) times 4 terrain types (flat, rolling, steep, very steep). Set it once and every estimate uses your numbers.

Can I customize the line items on a quote?

Yes. Beyond the rate-card acreage line, you can add custom line items for mobilization, stump treatment, hauling, debris removal, or anything else your job requires.

Ready to start

Replace the spreadsheets. Know your numbers.

$149/month. Unlimited users. 14-day free trial. No credit card required. Works on web, iPhone, and Android.