The EquiScape Library · Free course
Your Financial Roadmap
A free, self-paced course for landscape company owners and managers. Twenty-two short guides, in the order to learn them, take you from reading a P&L to knowing what your business is worth.
Before you start
How this course works
Think of it as a finance class built for the green industry: short lessons, real landscape numbers and tools you can use on your own books.
- Follow the path in orderEach guide builds on the ones before it. Stage 1 teaches the language of the numbers, Stage 2 puts it to work on every job, and Stage 3 plans ahead.
- Go at your own paceEach guide is a few minutes of reading. Work through the whole course in one sitting, or a few guides at a time. Your place is saved either way.
- Use your own numbersCalculators, checklists and scorecards in the guides let you swap in your company's figures as you go.
- You check off your progressWhen you've finished a guide, select "Mark complete" on the guide or the check button next to it on the roadmap. You can undo it any time, and we'll remember your progress next time you visit on this computer or phone.
One company, start to finish
Meet the example company
Every guide follows the same landscape company, so the lessons connect. The P&L in Guide 1 becomes the break-even in Guide 6, the budget in Guide 13 and the valuation in Guide 21.
When a later guide feels hard, the answer is usually back in the foundations. Come back to Stage 1 any time.
The roadmap · 22 guides
Read the numbers, control them, then build value
Start at Guide 1 and work down each stage, or open any guide to review it. Check off each guide when you've finished it with the button beside it; your next unchecked guide is highlighted.
Stage 1 · Read the numbers
Foundations
“What do my numbers say?”
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- 1Profit & Loss At a GlanceThe scorecard every other guide uses.
- 2Balance Sheet At a GlanceWhat you own, what you owe, what's yours.
- 3Profit Isn't CashWhy a profitable month can drain the bank.
- 4Markup vs. MarginThe pricing mix-up that quietly costs thousands.
- 5True Cost of LaborA $25 wage really costs $30 an hour.
- 6The Break-Even PointThe one monthly sales number you must hit.
You're ready whenyou can read your own P&L and Balance Sheet and know your break-even.
Stage 2 · Price, track & collect
Control
“How do I make every job pay?”
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- 7Equipment Cost per HourPrice every machine hour, and buy or rent smart.
- 8Building a Billing RateLabor + equipment + overhead + profit.
- 9Job Estimator At a GlanceCheck margin and realized rate before the bid goes out.
- 10Job Costing At a GlanceEstimate vs. actual, one job at a time.
- 11Receivables & CollectionsA sale isn't done until the money is in the bank.
- 12Cash Flow & Weekly Cash MeetingPay in priority order, every week.
- 13Budgeting 101Set the plan, then compare every month.
- 14Monthly KPI ScorecardTen numbers, once a month.
You're ready whenyour bids hit your margin goal and you run a monthly scorecard.
Stage 3 · Grow & build value
Strategy
“Where is this business going?”
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- 15Surviving the Off-SeasonEarn it in eight months, spend it in twelve.
- 16Division ProfitabilitySales mix isn't profit mix.
- 17Landscape Revenue RankingsSee where you stand in the industry.
- 18Who Owns WhatGive every number one owner: sales or production.
- 19Building Your TeamWho to hire, and when. Includes 8 role sheets.
- 20Finance Team At a GlanceWho reports the score, and who helps change it.
- 21What's My Business Worth?Adjusted EBITDA × a multiple.
- 22Getting Buyer-Ready24 checks a buyer will look for.
You're ready whenyou plan a year ahead, have the right team in place and know what your business is worth.
Keep handy
The reference shelf
Use these alongside the guides, or on their own.
Reference guide
Finance Terms At a Glance
95 terms and 41 acronyms in plain words, each linked to the guide that teaches it. Tap any underlined term in a guide for a quick definition.
Open the glossaryInside Guide 19
When to hire: 8 role sheets
Office administrator to CFO: the signs it's time, what each role owns and whether the math works, by company size.
Building Your TeamFree tool · Guide 9
Price a job with the Job Estimator
Put Guides 4 to 9 to work: cost × markup on every line, labor burden counted as cost, and a margin check before the bid goes out.
Free job estimatorFree tool · Guide 21
What's your business worth?
Put Guide 21 to work: upload your QuickBooks reports or type in your numbers and see a value range in about five minutes.
Free business valuationLeadership
A year of reading for stronger leadership
18 books in four phases, one phase per quarter, with a printable checklist. David's list for owners and the managers they are training.
See the reading listFree download
Take the whole library with you
The full course as one printable PDF: for the truck, the office binder or your next management meeting.
- All 22 guides in roadmap order, with the roadmap as your table of contents
- The 8 “when to hire” role sheets
- Finance Terms At a Glance: 95 terms and 41 acronyms
Free. We just ask for your name and email.
Leadership reading list
A year of reading for stronger leadership
18 books in four phases. Read one phase each quarter. Part of David's one-on-one coaching.
Phase 1 · Quarter 1
Mindset
5 books
- The Energy BusJon Gordon
- The No Complaining RuleJon Gordon
- The Shark and the GoldfishJon Gordon
- The Positive DogJon Gordon
- Who Moved My Cheese?Spencer Johnson
Phase 2 · Quarter 2
Purpose & Character
5 books
- The SeedJon Gordon
- Inside Out CoachingJoe Ehrmann
- Season of LifeJeffrey Marx
- Courage RequiredJohn Richie
- Living in the Daze of DeceptionJosh Hibbs
Phase 3 · Quarter 3
Relationships
4 books
- SoupJon Gordon
- The CarpenterJon Gordon
- How to Win Friends & Influence PeopleDale Carnegie
- Love WorksJoel Manby
Phase 4 · Quarter 4
Team & Organizational Leadership
4 books
- Training CampJon Gordon
- The Five Dysfunctions of a TeamPatrick Lencioni
- TractionGino Wickman
- Extreme OwnershipJocko Willink & Leif Babin