Landscaping in the Rain: How to Write a Rainy Day Policy

Originally published in May 2022. Last updated on March 31, 2025.

You’ve probably heard the old saying: “save it for a rainy day.” But what about working on one when you own a lawn care business?

The good news? Landscaping and maintenance don’t have to grind to a halt when the rain starts. With the right approach, you can stay safe, adjust your schedule, and make the most of your time.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to work safely in wet weather, how to craft communication for your clients, and when to use scheduling tools to keep your landscaping business thriving—rain or shine.

Avoid these services during heavy rain

There are a few lawn care services that are dangerous to perform in bad weather. Plus, they might ruin the condition of your client’s lawn. Here are a few examples:

• Mowing. Workers could slip and fall on wet ground while operating lawn mowers, which prevents a safety hazard around sharp blades. It can also be inconvenient and messy, as mowers get clogged with wet clippings and spit out clumps of wet grass.
• Dethatching and aeration. In soggy conditions, you can accidentally tear grass at the roots instead of pulling out just the thatch. Too much water creates muddy and soggy soil, which can undo your dethatching and aerating work.
• Lawn tasks that require electrical equipment. If you choose to do lawn maintenance in the rain, only use gas-powered mowers and machines. Getting electrical equipment wet presents a safety hazard to both you and the homeowner.

READ MORE: 13 Fall & Winter Landscaping Services to Keep a Steady Income All Year

Alternatively, you can also email a more complete policy to all of your clients right before the rainy season starts.

A more detailed day policy email could look like this:

Both of these options showcase a commitment to your clients and to the high-quality lawn care work you’ll be performing.

1. Build flexibility into your scheduling

To avoid scheduling headaches and reduce overtime work, create room in your schedule so you can easily reschedule rainy day work if you have to cancel. Here are a few scheduling methods you can use for your team:

Leave one day of the week for make-up work

Many landscaping businesses work four days per week and leave a fifth day for extra work or rescheduled jobs. 

For example, you might schedule all your jobs for Monday to Thursday, and none on Friday. This gives you Fridays to do any work that is rescheduled because of rain.

Offer your clients a multiple-day service window

Instead of booking a landscaping visit for a specific day, book a service window of two to three days. If it rains on one of those days, you can complete the work another day if it’s within that service window.

If it rains on all those service days, you’ll still need to share your rainy day policy with your clients.

READ MORE: How to build a profitable lawn mowing schedule [free template]

2. Alternate landscaping and lawn care jobs

If you provide both landscaping and lawn care services, an alternating schedule can make it easier to rearrange visits due to the weather.

Schedule landscaping visits first since they’re safer and easier to handle in the rain than lawn maintenance. That way, only your lawn care appointments need to be rescheduled if it rains.

Here’s a scenario using the alternating scheduling system:

• On Monday and Wednesday, you scheduled a landscaping project for Amy.
• On Tuesday, you’re mowing for Bob.
• It’s going to rain on Monday and Tuesday.

If you push back your Monday and Tuesday visits, you’ll have to push back all of your jobs for the week, too—and that affects all your future work days. Here’s what you can do instead:

• Move Amy’s second landscaping appointment from Wednesday to Tuesday.
• Reschedule your Tuesday mowing job to Wednesday (when it’s sunny).
• Now, you only have to landscape in the rain.

Clients will be happier to get their projects done sooner instead of having them delayed. Plus, this schedule helps you avoid overtime and weekend work.

If you leave one day of the week for make-up work (in this example, Friday), you’ll have an extra day for delayed appointments if it continues to rain.

READ MORE: The 8 best scheduling apps for small business owners

Use an easily customizable scheduling tool

Instead of updating spreadsheets and paper to reschedule multiple visits at once, you can use bulk scheduling with a tool like Jobber to do it in minutes.

When you reschedule a visit using Jobber’s scheduling software, the employee assigned to that job will get a notification on their phone with all the details.

3. Add seasonal services to compensate

Lawn care seasons vary depending on where you live and what the climate is like. For some areas, adding new services can compensate for lost profits in cold or rainy months.

For example, one business owner on the Reddit thread r/landscaping shares how their landscape company makes up lost income in the winter: “I work for one of the biggest companies in New England located in Southern Maine. Snow removal is our biggest moneymaker.” 

Other seasonal ideas include:

• Gutter cleaning (clear out lawn debris from gutters and spouts)
• Firewood services for winter (cutting, clearing, or stacking)
• Hardscape maintenance (sealing existing patios or retaining walls)
• Erosion control (responding to soil and landscape needs after rainy seasons)

4. Send schedule updates to your clients

As soon as you know it’s too rainy to work, send an email or text message to tell your clients you need to reschedule. If bad weather is expected to last for the whole week or longer, call your customers to reschedule for a later date.

• Email all your clients at once. When you need to cancel all your jobs on a rainy day, you can send a single email to all the clients you had booked for that day. Let them know that you’ll text them individually with their new appointment date and time—or that they’ll get an automated email notification.
• Call each client. Talking on the phone with clients individually can soften the blow of having to reschedule an appointment. Gently let them know that it’s safest to wait until the rain stops, and try to work out a new visit date over the phone.
• Announce schedule changes on social media. Encourage your clients to follow you on social media for service updates. There, you can post a single rainy day message that your clients can all see at once. Tell upcoming clients that their scheduled work might be affected, too—even if they aren’t booked for the rainy day.

Pro Tip: Use Jobber to send automated notifications to your clients when you update their appointment details.

Quotes, invoicing, and other paperwork

Complete paperwork that brings in business—sending out quotes, bidding on new jobs, and following up on invoices. Use the time you’re not “in the field” to close loose ends and finalize important details on upcoming work.

Cleaning up and organizing

Tidy the shop or run any leftover job debris over to the dump. This is a good way to keep your crews busy and paid—and still help your business.

Inventory

Take stock of what you have in the shop, and then what needs replenishing. Use the rainy days to pick up more soil, fertilizer, gloves, spare parts, and any other tools or supplies you need for landscaping and lawn care jobs.

Equipment maintenance

Create an equipment maintenance checklist to help you and your team inspect your mowers, tractors, core aerators, and power tools. Be sure to check oil levels, air filters, and tire pressure on all your machines.

Employee training and development

Train your team on work safety, new landscaping techniques, or other skills you wouldn’t normally have time to teach. You can also use this time to brainstorm ways to solve common obstacles you face in the field.

Dave Moerman, a guest on the Masters of Home Service Podcast, recommends that owners use downtime wisely to strengthen their businesses.

One way to improve systems and training is to involve key employees in the process, whether by creating checklists, refining procedures, or developing training resources.

Marketing

Update your landscaping website and social media profiles with new project photos, testimonials, and promotions. You can also explore new marketing ideas for your business, such as email campaigns, landscaping flyers, and door-hanger advertising.

Client check-ins

When you can’t work on a client’s property, you can still strengthen your relationship with them. Send thank-you notes to your clients and ask for their honest feedback. You can also use this time to ask for online reviews so you can look better to potential clients.

LISTEN: How to Navigate the Off-Season with Confidence, on the Masters of Home Service Podcast

Plan ahead for rainy days

Rainy days are inevitable in the landscaping business, but they don’t have to slow down your growth goals.  With a solid plan in place, you can keep things running smoothly no matter the weather. A little preparation goes a long way in making sure that your team stays safe and that your business keeps growing.