I don't lose mapping jobs because the number is high. I lose them when the quote is a rate and a smile. The superintendent walks that page to a surveyor, a PM, or a lender. If those people can't tell what they're buying, they stall.
I've been flying commercially for eight years out of Springdale, Arkansas, for Drones Inbound. Most of the paid work is per-acre mapping: construction progress, stockpiles, ag, and survey support. The quote that gets a yes already answers the next three emails.
A per-acre number without a spec is a guess. Put the decisions on the page. That's what drone quoting software is for. A Word doc can't keep GSD, acres, and the deposit on one branded page.
Write the scope like a job, not a category
"Aerial mapping" is not a scope. A scope is the tract, the acres, and what you will and will not fly.
I put the project name, the site, and the acreage on the quote. If there are two tracts, I say so. If the client sent a KMZ, I say I'm quoting that boundary, not the whole section. A 200-foot buffer past the fence is extra acres. It belongs on the line.
I write what is out. No rooftop inspection. No cinematic video. No night flight. No canopy class unless they paid for it. One weather reflight on the same trip is common. A second drive, or a locked gate I wasn't told about, is a new line.
Put a GSD or a point density on the paper
This is the line that separates a map from a pretty picture. Ground sample distance (GSD) is the ground size of one pixel. For LiDAR, it's point density.
If you don't write it, the client compares your $18/acre to someone else's $11/acre and thinks you're expensive. You might be quoting 2 cm GSD with 80/70 overlap. They might be quoting 5 cm and a single pass. Same acreage. Different job.
I pick the spec from the use, not from what the aircraft can do on a calm day. Construction progress on a phone: 3 to 5 cm. Earthwork they will measure: 2 to 3 cm. Survey support a PE or PLS will touch: 1.5 to 2.5 cm, with control, not just a tight GSD. Ag or land-cover: 5 to 10 cm. LiDAR: a target density, not "high resolution." Fifty to 100 pts/m² for general terrain. More if they need breaklines.
Those are my ranges, not a national standard. Write your number. If they later ask why a wheelbarrow is fuzzy, you have a spec to point at. On a Pilot Ledger quote, the GSD sits with the service, on the branded page, not in a follow-up text.
Name the GCP or RTK method, and who owns it
Accuracy is a method, not a slogan. "Survey grade" on a quote is how you get a fight in month two.
I write four things. Whether the aircraft is flying RTK or PPK, or neither. Who sets the ground control points: my crew, their surveyor, a third party, or nobody because it's RTK/PPK only. How many GCPs and how many independent checkpoints. The coordinate system and the vertical datum.
If a surveyor is already on the job, I want their control. I'll fly to it. If I'm setting AeroPoints or running a base and rover, I say that. If there is no control and they still want a surface they can pay dirt from, I write "relative only," or I add control. I don't take a pay-quantity job on hope.
Datum mistakes are expensive. I confirm State Plane versus UTM versus WGS84 before I fly, and I put the zone and the vertical datum on the quote. Around here that's usually NAVD 88. The wrong projection is a free redo.
Ground control belongs on the quote. RTK required. Who sets the points. The method. The counts. The system. It shows on the branded page and on the PDF.
List the deliverables by file, not by vibe
"You'll get the map" is not a deliverable list. Name the files.
A typical mapping job from me:
- Orthomosaic, GeoTIFF, in the project CRS
- Digital surface model or DEM, GeoTIFF
- Point cloud, LAS or LAZ
- A simple PDF overview they can print
- A short accuracy report if we had checkpoints
If they need contours, I say the interval. A cut/fill against last month is a second product. Raw images are a line, not a courtesy. Each deliverable gets a name and a one-line description. That's what they e-sign. If it isn't on the list, it isn't in the job.
Say who owns the data after they pay
This is the clause people skip until a developer wants to resell the ortho to the next GC.
The client owns the named deliverables after final payment. I keep the raw imagery and the project files unless they buy them. They can use the deliverables on this project. They don't get to drop my map into a product they sell without a license. On a plant, a quarry, or an unannounced site, I add that I won't post a public preview. Write it once in your terms. Reuse it.
Give the quote a clock
An open-ended per-acre quote is a trap. Fuel moves. The site grows a new spoil pile. A number you wrote in March is wrong in June.
I set a validity window. Thirty days is my default. Fourteen if the site is active dirt or the client is shopping five pilots. After that, I re-measure acres and I re-price. Pilot Ledger quoting software lets me set that clock. When it expires, it expires. I'm not chasing a PDF from last quarter.
Put a deposit on it, and say when the rest is due
A signed quote with no money is a maybe with better stationery.
I require a deposit on mapping work. Fifty percent is normal on a first-time client. A flat amount works better on a large acreage job, so they aren't sending half of a five-figure total before they've seen a sample. Repeat clients can be Net 15 on the balance after delivery. I still want something booked before I drive.
Write the deposit as a percent or a flat dollar. Write the balance trigger. Write the cancel rule after mobilization. They can pay the deposit from the same branded link they e-sign. Accounting gets a PDF if they want one.
Price the acreage in public, not in your head
Per-acre quoting only works if the math is visible. If you want the mechanics, see our guide to acreage pricing.
I enter the project acres once. Each area-based service multiplies its rate by those acres. If one line is a different tract, I override that line. A small site gets a minimum charge. A site walk, a report, or a second mobilization is a flat rate. The client should see a per-acre rollup and a total. If they can't check the math, they assume you're padding it.
I keep saved services for the work I sell: construction ortho, stockpile, survey support. I duplicate last month's quote for the same GC and change the acres and the dates.
What a yes looks like
The client opens a branded page with my logo, the scope, the GSD or density, the control method, the file list, the ownership line, the clock, and the deposit. They type their name. That's the e-sign. They get the same document as a PDF if accounting wants a file. Start from the quoting tools on Pilot Ledger or the acreage pricing how-to.
If they have to call me to learn the GSD, who is setting the points, or whether the GeoTIFF is included, I wrote a weak quote. Put those answers on the page. Then the yes is just a signature.