Q&A with LandOne takeoff and design software creator, Joshua Martin

Joshua Martin wanted landscaping software that could help him estimate and design faster. When he couldn’t find a good solution, he created his own.

Now, his web-based program, LandOne, is the latest member of the Aspire Software family, after announcing its intent to be acquired in October 2021. (You can read the full news release here.)

We sat down with Joshua to learn more about the story of LandOne, the benefits it offers landscape contractors, and what users can expect to see post-acquisition.

Q: What is LandOne?

LandOne is web-based takeoff and enhancement design software for landscape contractors. It helps increase speed to proposals by simplifying the estimating process.

With minimal effort and investment of time, estimators and account managers can create accurate bids for landscape and irrigation installations using aerial imagery or uploaded PDFs. Simple design features help you get estimates out the door faster and make communicating with clients a breeze.

Q: Where did the idea for this platform come from?

I’ve been in the green industry ever since I started mowing turf at a local golf course during high school.

I got a degree in agronomy from Auburn University, then ended up working for a landscape company in Alabama for almost 10 years. I wore a lot of hats during that time—estimating, project management, and sales, to name a few.

After working in the industry for years, I was ready to move away from manual methods of measuring, doing takeoffs, and creating designs, but I couldn’t find a tool that did what I wanted. The few things available either had way more features than we were looking for (and were far more expensive) or weren’t built specifically for landscapers.

I figured, why not just make a platform that can do exactly what we need? That’s when the idea for LandOne was born back in 2017.

Q: What does LandOne do?

We currently have three main features:

2. Digital plan takeoff

4. Enhancement design

6. Photos, notes, and markup

Our digital plan takeoffs allow you to use a high-resolution aerial image or PDF and create measurements to scale. You can use it for landscape, irrigation, or site plans.

This was the primary reason I created LandOne—no other software program was doing this specifically for landscapers.

Enhancement designs let you lay out small- to medium-sized landscape and irrigation projects, and the photo storage and notes function allow you to manage a project all the way through to completion—without leaving the program.

You can mark up photos, create and edit designs, and do some basic photo rendering of what completed projects will look like. A popular use case for this with our users has been incorporating drone imagery in the design process.

Q: Who did you create the software for?

I always say that if you ask 10 landscape estimators how they estimate, you’ll get 10 different answers. While everyone’s process is a little different, there are common denominators: We all have to measure, and we all have to design.  

In that respect, LandOne really is for any landscape contractor out there. It’s used by small and large businesses alike to make processes more efficient and scalable.

When I created the program, my main goal was to give landscapers some of their time back. They can invest the hours they save using LandOne into their business or go home and spend more time with their families—either way, the time is theirs.

Q: What do existing customers say about the product?

I think 90% of our customers would say the best thing about LandOne is how easy it is to use. This is a great industry to be in, but it keeps us pretty busy.

Who has the time to spend learning a complicated new system? It’s hard to make the shift to technology when you’re dreading the amount of time and mental energy it’ll take.

Thankfully, since I come from this world (and have experienced the same frustrations myself), I was able to prioritize simplicity and usability in the design of LandOne.

You can jump in and get to work right away. It’s very intuitive for anyone who’s been doing this work in a different way—which is all of us—and that’s something our clients have really appreciated.

Q: What can users expect to see from LandOne now that it’s been acquired by Aspire Software?

LandOne is still relatively young. We’ve only been around for a few years, and we’ve already been able to make some big improvements. The partnership with Aspire is going to help us improve even faster and open more doors for us.

One of our top priorities is getting a tight integration set up between the core Aspire platform and LandOne. That way, people who already use both—or want to start using both—can do so seamlessly.

Q: If someone is interested in trying LandOne, what should they do?

They can sign up for our 14-day free trial! There’s no credit card requirement, so you don’t have to worry about being charged at the end. We also provide free training and onboarding support during the trial period, if you want it, so you’re not stuck figuring things out on your own. If you’re curious about what the program does, just give it a try!

To learn more about the partnership between Aspire Software and LandOne, read the October 27 release here. To sign up for a free trial, click the link below.