Question
I am starting my own landscape design business and need help setting up a fee schedule.  Is it better to charge by the hour or by the job? Since I am new, should my fees be lower for the first few months?  I live in Birmingham, so maybe it would be similar to Atlanta.

Answer
I suggest you "shop your competition". To see how they charge. Most Landscapers charge by the job in my experience. You may want to purchase a "means guide to construction costs". I would also advise before you jump into this that you need to have a full understanding of the time it takes to do certain tasks. If you haven't worked for several years for some one else to have a full understanding of time and labor involved you probably should re-think your strategy. If you are able to charge by the hour it is generally a safe practice but you'll never make the big bucks that way. Most big landscape jobs have 30% profits on lump sum jobs. Your fees should never be low as long as you can perform the work in fair and reasonable time.
You may want to research some of my previous answers to similar questions as many people have asked me for this kind of advice.

best of Luck,

Sean J Murphy, LA,ISA, LEED AP
Please check out my blogs and articles on landscape topics like this on my websites.
http://www.seanjmurphy.com
http://amenityarchitects.com