Deciding on your cleaning services price is lot more then picking a number out of thin air. If you price too high, you lose your customers and if you don’t charge enough then it will be difficult to sustain your business.
There are few things to keep in mind when you decide on your price and we can help you get started.
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Pricing model - House cleaning rates can be determined by 3 different models:
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Hourly - This is a great way to get started when you are new in the business and not sure how much time it is going to take you to clean the house. You can get started by tracking your time taken to clean each room. Example – bedroom (25 mins), bathroom (35 mins), kitchen (30 mins), family room (20 mins), stairs (10 mins) and foyer (10 mins). You will have to clean a few houses before you can decide on your average cleaning time per room. Keep in mind client satisfaction is the most important thing for your business and you need to ensure great service.
As you gain experience you may want to move away from this model as you will be efficient and will take less time to clean and that doesn’t mean you should be getting paid less. Also, your clients may question the hours you are taking and complain that you are purposely taking longer.
The average hourly rates for professional house cleaning services in the U.S. is anywhere between $25-$50 an hour. One way to learn about your competition in the area is by giving few businesses call to find out their pricing and also asking how long they will take to clean and calculate the hourly pricing. For example, if they say $120 for 3 hours. Just do 120/3 to get $40 per hour rate.
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Per square footage - This works great if you clean similar size houses. You know exactly how much time it takes to clean. You can decide on the average sized house you clean and then add or subtract based on the square footage. For example, 1000 sq feet– $80, 2000 sq feet– $100 and 3000 sq feet be $150.
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Flat rate/per room - Some professional cleaners set cleaning rates based on the average per room rate. Here you calculate the price to clean each room individually and then average it out. For example, a kitchen may take longer to clean than a bathroom, with you charging $150 for the kitchen and $100 for the bathroom. The average per room rate would be $125 ($150 + $100/2).
Flat Rates can be much easier to sell to your customers as they know upfront how much they will be paying. But if it is a house that you have never cleaned before, then you need to make sure you have asked all the right questions to provide a good estimate. This is the most common method of pricing for professional cleaners.
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Type of cleaning - The pricing also depends on the type of cleaning your customer wants. Basic cleaning, Deep cleaning, Move-out cleaning or After event cleaning. You have to keep in mind some of these cleaning will require more time and material to be used. Like deep cleaning may cost $25 to $50 more than basic cleaning.
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Frequency of cleaning - If the house is not regularly cleaned it will require more time. So one-time or first-time cleaning will charge more than weekly or bi-weekly cleaning.
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Demand and competition in your area - These factors will be important to consider when you price your services.
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Experience - Established Companies have the knowledge and reputation to charge a premium while a new company can’t.
Now you know how much time it takes for your cleaning and how much to charge your client. But wait, did you consider your other business overheads?
If you have employees then you are paying them for the job and the mileage. You are also spending money on cleaning supplies. You need to factor in this business cost to make profit.
Keep in mind what value you are providing your customers and how much will they be willing to pay you to solve their problem? Another great aspect of the cleaning business is you don’t have to charge the same price to all your customers and you can experiment with your pricing structure.
Now check your numbers and see if you are set to make your business a profitable one.