Compare arborist quotes against the full construction scope

Send every bidder the same scope

Use the latest report, drawings, specifications and addenda. State the project address, construction sequence and the quote deadline. If you need a new report, say so. If the report already exists and the contractor needs to carry out its requirements, ask for those site services explicitly.

The Arborist Group offers arborist tender submissions and completed pricing schedules for Ontario project teams. We can quote the full arborist service path, from assessment and report preparation through tree protection, agreed root work, supervision and closeout records. Each part has a defined scope and price.

Compare these items before the total

An hourly rate needs an attendance allowance

Ask how many site attendances the price assumes, which activities they cover and how the minimum charge works. A short inspection and a day of continuous excavation supervision are different services. Travel, standby and rescheduled work also need explicit terms.

ARG's construction supervision starts at $145 per hour with a three-hour minimum. The quote confirms the work and attendance allowance. Do not use the hourly rate alone as the total arborist budget for a project.

Ask the site team for its sequence before estimating attendance. Work around separate retained trees may happen on different days. If the sequence is unknown at tender, compare a stated allowance and the rates for additional attendance.

A worked scope comparison exposes omissions

This is an illustrative example, not a customer project or a price offer. Assume the tender documents require protection fencing, arborist attendance during excavation and a final inspection record.

• Quote A includes fence installation and one inspection. It gives an hourly rate for further work.
• Quote B includes the same fence installation, an excavation attendance allowance and the final inspection record.

The totals are not yet comparable. Ask Quote A's supplier to price the excavation attendance and final record on the same assumptions as Quote B. Then compare the allowance, minimum charges and additional-work terms in both quotes. If the tender requires continuous attendance, confirm that both allowances cover that requirement.

Use the scope and takeoff checklist to record each difference. Leave an unpriced requirement visible until it is resolved.

The report and site services can stay with one firm

A combined arborist quote can reduce handoffs between the report author, fence installer and site arborist. It still needs to show each service separately. The report defines the assessed trees and protection measures. Installation establishes the barrier. Supervision documents specified work as it occurs.

If another arborist wrote the report, ask whether the proposed site arborist can work from it and whether the permit names a particular professional. ARG reviews the existing report and conditions before accepting the site scope. A new appointment does not erase earlier conditions or replace an observation that should have happened during excavation.

For the documents themselves, compare the construction report scope with the difference between a report and an inspection.

Qualify the supplier against the actual tender

Check the named professional's credentials and the qualifications specified in the package. Ask for relevant project experience, available staff, insurance or other supplier documents where the tender requests them. A broad statement that a company provides arborist services does not establish every mandatory qualification.

For example, Burlington's professional consulting arborist procurement specified both ISA certification and Tree Risk Assessment Qualification, with work on an as-needed hourly basis. That is a requirement of that procurement, not a rule for every arborist quote. Read the Burlington notice.

Also confirm who supplies any specialist assessment, equipment or subcontracted work. ARG does not sell tree removal. A removal report supports the permit application; it is not a quote to cut down the tree.

A complete arborist response includes the requested attachments

The quote and the submission package serve different needs. A price letter can cover the work but still leave a bid form, qualification response or required attachment unfinished. ARG completes the arborist portions of the client's templates and returns the agreed supporting documents with the quote.

• A completed pricing schedule with the same item numbers, quantities and units as the bid package.
• A scope response that addresses the specified reports, protection measures, site attendance and final records.
• The proposed arborist work method, deliverable dates and site coordination requirements.
• ARG supplier or subcontractor information, named personnel and relevant experience requested by the buyer.
• Confirmation of the required supporting credentials, insurance and workplace coverage evidence before relying on the offer.
• Document revisions and supplied addenda covered by the price, plus any outstanding information or signatures.

As an example of submission structure, Ramara's arborist and tree removal RFQ requested separate price, subcontractor, experience, accessibility and addenda forms. That procurement includes removal work outside ARG's service scope. Its forms illustrate why the arborist contribution must fit the actual bid package. Read the Ramara RFQ.

For permit work, Toronto's tree application separately lists forms, arborist reports, plans and photos, and provides for owner authorization when an agent applies. ARG prepares the tree-related information and agreed submission documents. The owner supplies the required authorization and the design team supplies its drawings. See Toronto's application and document checklist.

Closeout records and municipal acceptance are separate

Agree on the final visit and the record the arborist will provide. The record should describe observed conditions and the relevant scope. It cannot guarantee that the authority will accept all project work or release a deposit.

Toronto's guidance describes City review of photos or an inspection before authorization to remove protection measures and initiation of a refund. Other municipalities and individual permits can have different requirements. Check the project's conditions and Toronto's published process where applicable.

Resolve the gaps before award

Keep the accepted quote, document list and clarifications together. Confirm included quantities, attendance, records and the work assigned to others. When a later drawing or site condition changes the scope, agree on the change before the additional work proceeds.

Send us your project package and the forms your team needs returned. We identify the arborist requirements, complete the relevant schedules and response sections, and quote the work through the agreed final deliverables.