Owning and running a cleaning company is getting tough by the day. All thanks to the rising competition in the cleaning industry! With so many companies starting their residential and commercial cleaning services, it is hard to stand out. But it is not impossible to do so!

With adequate planning and management, your cleaning company can stand the test of time and beat your competitors with finesse. A step-by-step plan will get you through these stormy waters. And here, we will discuss the first step of your management plan - Pricing!

How to Price a Cleaning Job?

Well, there are three aspects of pricing the cleaning jobs delivered by your company - the cost, the competition, and the profit. While you have to cover the cost and earn profits, you cannot overlook the competition. If your competitors offer lower prices than you, it will eventually be your loss!

So, how to price cleaning jobs keeping all these factors in mind? We are here to help you with that. To start the pricing process, you need to make some decisions explained below:

1) How will the prices be calculated?

For cleaning companies, there can be different types of projects out there. While some are one-time or short-term projects (like the ones they get in Holiday Seasons), others are long-term commitments (like cleaning commercial buildings daily). Based on the type of project, cleaning companies usually set a system. For example, for long-term projects, you can accept monthly payments. However, for the short term, hourly payments are a better option.

However, a more standard method of pricing is hourly prices. It is fair to the cleaners and helps you pay them according to the time spent. Additionally, hourly payments are a good idea for companies that hire freelancers or part-time cleaners.

So, decide on the method of calculating the price. Hourly pricing is a winning solution here.

2) Decide on the types of cleaning services you will offer

Once you have decided you will pay your cleaners hourly, the next major decision is what kind of services you will offer. It is a crucial decision! The cleaners engaged in different cleaning tasks will have different hourly rates. So, you will have to work on their remuneration differently.

The pricing for industrial cleaning tasks is different from house cleaning tasks. So, your pricing will rely on the types of cleaning you offer to your clients. Once you decide on the services you will offer, you can price them accordingly.

Therefore, if you are wondering “how to price cleaning jobs,” differentiate between the services you offer.

3) Calculate the hourly rate for your cleaners

After our first two steps, it is time to do some mathematics and calculate an hourly rate for your cleaners. As we mentioned above, you need to price different cleaning tasks differently. The same goes for cleaners.

A housemaid or housekeeper should have a different hourly rate than an industrial cleaner or janitor. So, differentiate your employees based on the type of cleaning services they provide and accordingly assign them an hourly rate.

The hourly rate of cleaners will be the ballpark for your company’s hourly rate.

4) Calculate the additional costs

When we talk about pricing as a cleaning company, we do not just calculate the cleaners’ rate or tasks. Many other additional factors play a crucial role in your overall costing.

Yes, you guessed it right - the cleaning supplies and equipment!

A cleaning company needs stuff like cleaning liquids, microfiber cloths, scrub pads, cleaning buckets, mops, brooms, vacuum cleaners, soap, sanitizers, and whatnot! In addition, it also needs to invest in employee uniforms, shoes, and PPE kits (in the post-COVID world). While companies can buy all these supplies and equipment from wholesale marketplaces, they still cost a lot of money.

Also, if your company offers services like touch-free cleaning (post-COVID), or all-natural cleaning, the cost will increase. While these extra features may attract more and more clients, they need investment first.

Keeping all these factors in mind, you need to calculate a collective price for your company.

5) Calculate the hourly rate for your company

Now that you have calculated the hourly rate of your cleaners and the extra cost of supplies, it is easier to calculate an hourly rate for your company.

Along with these two factors, you need to consider factors like the prevailing rate and demand in your area and your competitors. Once you take everything in the note, you can establish an hourly rate for your cleaning company. You can then share this price in your quotes with the clients. However, before you share the final price, there are still some steps that you need to take. We have enlisted these steps below.

6) Calculate the time taken and price for individual gigs

Every cleaning task is different in terms of area covered, tasks assigned, and time taken. So, it is crucial to scrutinize every job before you share the final quote.

Calculate the hours dedicated to each project or gig, add extra expenses (if there are some special requirements), and finalize the price. You should do it for each project differently, and you will have the final quote ready! However, it is not as simple and easy, and you need to put in some effort to get the final quote. Here are some steps to follow here:

• Pay a visit to the property

Try not to give the estimates on the phone because you never know how big the property is and how much cleaning work it requires. So, to avoid giving a miscalculated estimate, plan a visit to the property. Whether you are working for a home or a commercial building, talk to the client and schedule a visit. Once you or your representative is there, you can inspect the property. Have a clear understanding of what tasks your cleaners will need to accomplish, the areas you will need to cover, etc. During the visit, you can ask questions from the clients and get a better picture of the cleaning task.

While it may look like an extra task, it will help you calculate the price. For accurate estimates, don’t be shy and ask as many questions as you have about the job.

• Calculate the time and cleaners’ cost

Your visit to the property will help you learn about the actual work required from your team of cleaners. This way, you can calculate the time they will spend on the job. Based on the estimated hours, you can calculate the cost of cleaners, which is the hourly payments you will make to them.

With this, you calculate the placeholder for your overall price.

• Add Taxes

While this one depends on the area that you operate, adding taxes to the final price is a wise move.

In many states, if businesses have a staff of employees, they are bound to pay the Payroll Tax, which is about 18% of the labor cost. So, while calculating the final price, don’t forget to factor in the taxes.

• Add other expenses

You have already calculated the supplies and equipment costs. Now, check out if there are other additional expenses too. For example, if the property is far from your workplace and the cleaners have to commute to the place, you can add these expenses.

While these are all additional expenses associated with the job, it is wise to factor them into the final cost to avoid incurring a loss.

Once you calculate everything, you can add your markup to the hourly rate of your company, and you have the final price!

With these steps, you can resolve your queries about - how to price a cleaning job. It might seem like a lot of work initially. However, once you decide the price, you are sorted for a long time. You can then figure out - how to bid on a house cleaning job and price commercial cleaning jobs.

How Novagems can Help Your Cleaning Company

Now that you have your answers to “how to price a cleaning job,” let us pitch in and give you tips on using your estimates well.

Novagems offers a janitorial management system for cleaning companies. Our task management system helps you calculate the pricing for every gig within minutes. We offer pre-loaded templates and estimates that you can customize and prepare a quote in no time. And that is not all! There is a lot more that you won’t even expect.

Our system will help you handle all your cleaning business management tasks comprehensively. So, whether it is the assignment of tasks, performing inspections, or communicating with the clients - you name it, and our system will do it! Both the managers and cleaners can use the system at their ends, making workflow smooth, fast, and easy!

Get in touch with Novagems and get your doubts cleared. We will help you understand and install the system closely. A quick consultation will help you understand our system better. So, let us get together and make management easy!