How to price cleaning jobs: domestic, commercial and one-off cleans

"What should I charge?" is the first question every new cleaning business asks, and the usual answer, "a bit less than everyone else", is how cleaning companies end up busy and broke. Local prices tell you what customers expect to pay. Your costs tell you whether you can afford to do it. You need both.

Start with your real cost per hour

A cleaner's hourly pay is only part of what an hour of cleaning costs you. Add up, for a typical month:

• Pay for every hour worked, including travel between jobs during the day, holiday pay and employer's National Insurance and pension contributions where they apply.
• Travel: fuel, parking and wear on the car.
• Products, cloths, mop heads and replacing equipment.
• Insurance, phone, software, accountant and advertising.
• Your own time on quotes, scheduling, invoicing and chasing payments.

Divide the total by the hours you actually bill in the month, not the hours worked. The gap between the two (travel, gaps between jobs, cancellations) is where most of the cost hides.

Hourly, fixed price or contract

Pricing regular domestic cleans

1. 1Visit or video-call before you quote. Count bedrooms and bathrooms, and ask about pets, the state of the kitchen and what they want done each time.
2. 2Estimate the time for a standard clean, and price the first clean separately: it always takes longer.
3. 3Set a minimum visit length so short jobs cover your travel.
4. 4Charge more for fortnightly than weekly cleans of the same home: there is more to do each time.
5. 5Agree a cancellation policy in writing, such as full charge for less than 48 hours' notice.

Pricing commercial and office cleaning

Commercial cleaning is priced from a specification: what is cleaned, how often and to what standard. Walk the site, measure or estimate the areas, and work out the hours per visit from the tasks, not the floor area alone. Then:

• Multiply the hours per visit by visits per week, and by 52 weeks divided by 12 for a monthly figure.
• Add consumables if you supply them (toilet roll, hand towels, soap, bin liners), at cost plus a handling margin, or quote them separately.
• Add any periodic work, like window cleaning or carpet cleaning, as separate lines.
• Allow for holiday cover and supervision. Someone has to cover when your cleaner is off, and check the work.
• Agree an annual price review in the contract, linked to wage rises.

More on contracts in commercial cleaning contracts: what to include.

One-off and deep cleans

End of tenancy, after-builders and spring cleans take longer and vary more than anyone expects. Price them from photos or a visit, quote a fixed price with clear exclusions (inside the oven, inside the fridge, carpets, walls), and charge for the extras separately. Ask for a deposit to secure the date. Our end of tenancy cleaning checklist sets out what's usually included, and how to write a cleaning quote covers how to put it in writing.

Holiday lets and Airbnb

Turnover cleaning has its own costs: linen, restocking, weekend work and tight deadlines. We have a separate guide on how to price Airbnb and short-let cleaning.

Putting your prices up

• Review prices every year. April, when the National Minimum Wage changes, is a natural time.
• Give at least a month's notice in writing, with the new price and the date.
• Explain it in one line: wages and costs have gone up. You don't need to apologise.
• Put new customers on the new price straight away.
• Expect to lose the odd customer who was only with you for the price. They were usually your least profitable.

Know which jobs make money

Once you have a few dozen customers, some will be far more profitable than others: the ones on your route, the ones who are never cancelled, the ones whose cleans take the time you quoted. Compare what each customer pays with the time their cleans actually take, and you will know where to raise prices first.

How RoomZoom helps

In RoomZoom every clean has its price and its clock in and out times, so you can see each client's total for the month and how long their cleans really take. Invoices are made from the cleans you have done, so nothing is missed. See invoicing in RoomZoom or sign up free.