If you’re in the early stages of setting up your cleaning business, you might be unsure about how to set up the costs. Unfortunately, price estimation is not as simple as it appears. You can’t just charge whatever you like or as much as your cleaning business competitors.
Each company has its own requirements, and the rates are adjusted accordingly. The price can also vary depending on the type of cleaning services you offer.
Additionally, you must also preserve a sense of equilibrium: A price too high can cause you to lose clients, while a low price will negatively impact your business.
Nevertheless, we’ve compiled several factors that you need to consider while setting up your rates. It will help you earn a healthy profit without turning away good clients.
Average Cost of House Cleaning Services in America
The average cost to hire a cleaner in America is $25-$50 per hour. As this is the average rate, some cleaning companies may charge more depending on their experience.
The hourly rate also fluctuates based on other factors like the size of the house, the number of bedrooms/bathrooms, location, type of cleaning, or demand in the area.
House cleaning prices also depend on the number of cleaners hired. For instance, if you have a three-person cleaning crew, you’ll need to pay each house cleaner an hourly rate for their services.
Furthermore, how much time it takes to clean a house also counts. Of course, a client cannot determine the overall costs before hiring the cleaners. Typically, professional house cleaners tend to give an estimate beforehand based on a few aspects.
Below we’ll discuss the house cleaning pricing guide and what factors are considered while charging for house cleaning services.
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How Much to Charge for House Cleaning Services
The house cleaning price isn’t a “one size fits all”; you need to consider various factors while setting the price for your services. Also, try not to set an estimate over a phone call; make sure you visit the house and negotiate the rate face-to-face.
The purpose of visiting a house is not simply to discuss the rate but to determine the exact size and cleaning requirements of a particular house. Read on to know what factors you need to consider.
Home Size
You can determine the house cleaning rates depending on the size of the house. For instance, a four-bedroom house will require more work than a 2-bedroom house. So, you’ll set the price accordingly.
You may also calculate the cost per square foot. So, the bigger the house, the more the rate.
Note that every house with additional rooms isn’t always large. A huge house may have fewer rooms but cover a larger area. Therefore, it’s preferable to think about the prices per square foot.
Type of House Cleaning
What type of cleaning service does your customer need? Deep cleaning, for instance, takes more time and work than regular cleaning. You may also require more cleaning supplies for a particular type of cleaning.
Deep House Cleaning
Deep cleaning requires intensive work. The kitchen and bathroom areas are prone to mold and mildew. Also, some parts of the bedroom have a deeper level of grime. There may also be stubborn stains on the bathroom floor or kitchen sink that require more work.
So, you may need additional cleaning supplies to eliminate tough stains and dirt from the hard-to-reach areas. So, the cleaning cost is proportional to the amount of cleaning needed.
Standard Cleaning
Standard cleaning includes the typical day-to-day cleaning required to keep the home in good shape. It can include mopping, sweeping, dusting, vacuuming, and decluttering.
Vacant House Cleaning
An empty house cleaning takes more time than one that’s occupied. In addition to tidying up, you may need to eliminate any spider webs and bugs. You may get a call for this type of service when your customers plan to move to a new home.
Move-Out Cleaning
Move-out cleaning is yet another daunting house cleaning service. When your customer is moving out of the house, they may leave old and discarded items behind. So, it’s just not about cleaning the house; you also need to get rid of the trash before you begin the cleaning process.
So, make sure you’re not compromising on the rates, as it will require strenuous work to get the job done.
After-Event Cleaning
You may know well what a house looks like after an event. It can be a Christmas party, new year’s night, thanksgiving dinner, or a birthday party. So, you may be required to wash the dishes, clean up the mess and take out the trash. Nevertheless, the services may vary from customer to customer.
Carpet Cleaning
Carpet cleaning necessitates the use of specialized equipment and solutions. Hence, you’ll have to raise your prices. However, if you’re not a pro in carpet cleaning, be careful not to overcharge.
Keep in mind, why would a customer choose you over a professional carpet cleaner? Make sure you maintain a balance while setting the rate to have higher chances of getting the job.
Condition of the House
Hypothetically speaking, your customer may call your cleaning company without specifying the exact state of the residence. For instance, you may know that they had a Christmas party, but you may be unsure of the mess that was left behind.
So, you cannot determine the condition of the house over a phone call. Furthermore, a consumer may be hiding the facts to get a lower price and not deliver information accurately. So, it’s important to visit the house to learn more about its current state.
Experience
If your company has been in the business for a few years now, you may charge more. Any company running for a long time has the expertise and reputation in the field. So they can, and they do charge higher.
Nevertheless, make sure that you do not overcharge and drive away any long-term customers.
Location
The farther you travel to clean a house, the more you can charge. For instance, if your office is based in Albany, New York, you won’t keep your charges consistent for cleaning services in Amsterdam, NY. To work smart, you can schedule clients who live near each other on the same day.
This will not only save you time, but it will also increase your work efficiency and help you save costs.
Demand in the Area
Cleaning services are in higher demand in some parts of the country than in others. So, house cleaning rates will fluctuate. While your cleaning company’s pricing is unique, you might wish to take advantage of the cost based on location.
For instance, the demand for house cleaning services in New York may be higher than in Philadelphia. As such, the price drives up. But how can you determine the price per location?
Well, you can simply consider the average hourly rate of the particular region and adjust your price accordingly.
Cleaning Sessions
Not every cleaning job is a one-day process. Tougher stains, more mess, and client expectations may necessitate multiple cleaning sessions before you can finish a single job.
So, the more the sessions, the higher the rate.
Number of Cleaners Needed
Cleaning isn’t always a one-person or two-person chore. For deep or instant cleaning, you may require a team. So, you’re paying multiple people, and you need to negotiate for the rates per person.
Make sure you act smart while setting the prices. Of course, you do not want to pay any employee from your pocket later on.
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Methods to Price Your Cleaning Services
Besides the above factors, you may need to consider a few other methods to price your cleaning services. You can stick to one or more ways depending on the nature of your cleaning job.
Nevertheless, a few typical methods used by most house cleaning businesses are discussed below.
Rate Per Square Foot
The square foot is a unit of measurement used to describe the size of a building or a dwelling. This method requires you to fix your rate per square foot.
Typically, commercial cleaning rates range from $0.5 to $0.7, whereas house cleaning rates are between $0.2-$0.6 per square foot, respectively.
So, consider you charge $0.6 per square foot, and you are to clean a 2000 square foot home. You’ll multiply 0.6 with 2000. Here’s a quick calculation:
0.6x 2000 = $1200
Per Room Rate
This method requires you to configure your cost according to the rooms. You can set varying prices for different rooms. For instance, a kitchen or bathroom requires more intensive work than a bedroom. So, you can charge $150 for the kitchen, $100 for the bathroom, and $70 for the bedroom, respectively.
Rate Per Hour
As mentioned earlier, the average per hour cleaning services rate in America is around $25-$50. Nevertheless, the rate can vary depending on the size of the house, the mess, and the number of bedrooms/bathrooms.
Flat Fee
A flat fee means a fixed rate that you charge for cleaning the house. For instance, you may charge $200 for weekly cleaning. So you make the same amount of money no matter what the size of the house is or how many hours you invest.
This method also eliminates the hassle of hourly rates or disagreements on prices.
How to Price for Profit?
Many cleaning business owners set their charges on averages found on the internet or in their region. However, this is a wrong approach.
While you should consider average rates as a house cleaning pricing guide, it’s not right to think that you should charge the same.
You have to ensure that you are not underselling yourself. It’s not only about paying your employees and bills, but rather making a profit and expanding your business.
The following example shows how you can price your cleaning services to make a good profit.
Consider you want to clean a 2000 square feet house, and it takes 2 hours to remove dust and debris and make it squeaky clean. If you plan to charge, say $35 per hour, you’ll multiply the time it takes to clean the house with the hourly rate.
$35 x 2 = $70.00
Next, you need to consider the taxes. Suppose it’s 10% of your earned amount.
$70 x .10 = $7
$35 + 7 = $42
Your hourly rate is now $42. Now, you need to add up the cost of supplies. Let’s say supplies account for 50% of your total business costs.
$42 x 50% = $21
$42 + $21 = $63
Finally, you need to include the markup. It’s the amount of profit you’re willing to make. You can, however, alter the amount of profit depending on the job requirements or the customer. If you make a 20% profit, it’ll turn out something like this.
$63 x .20 = $12.6
$63 + $12.6 = 75.6
You can round up the final number to $76. To conclude, if you charge $76 for your house cleaning services, you’ll earn a profit of $12.6 per hour.
Closing Notes
Want to boost the revenue of your cleaning business? Make sure you’re smart with adjusting the house cleaning rates.
A good rate will bring in more clients and earn you a handsome profit. Nevertheless, a rate “too high” or “too low” would negatively impact your business.
Frequently asked questions
Have some questions about your cleaning business, see below for some commonly ask questions
Everything is becoming more expensive by the day, and so the business costs are rising. House cleaning services are no exception. The majority of cleaning companies have hired expert cleaners to satisfy the needs of their clients.
Also, the demand for cleaning services has increased since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic. So, professional cleaners, quality cleaning equipment, and growing demand lead to a spike in the price.
The price of window cleaning will vary depending on the factors like:
- Number of floors
- Required Equipment
- Number of windows
After considering these factors, you can check the average window cleaning rates and set your prices accordingly. On average, window cleaning may cost $200 to $250.
Basic house cleaning includes the following services:
- Trash removal
- Mopping
- Cleaning and disinfecting bathrooms
- Surface cleaning
- Replacing bed linens
These services, however, can vary depending on the client and their requirements.
