[goodhand]

hi guys
i have just been asked by my accountant if i could clean her house as a one off, because she is moving. i only clean swimming pools so i thought i should decline. now i'm not sure. do i clean at a normall rate, clean as a favour, clean at a reduced rate or not clean at all. plus how much is normall rate for a two bed flat? like i say i only clean swimming pools? appreciate any opinions.
thanks.

[Les]

I'd ask your accountant !
If you charge too much I can see something horrible happening to your year end accounts  

[goodhand]

thats along the line of what i was thinking- big tax bill- lol
u think i should ask her to give me a price, the only problem is a) she may not have a clue
and b) she may think i am being unprfessional

[Les]

I agree that you should be the one pricing the job.
On one offs I've started charging by the hour and it seems to work out ok. Emphasise that your price includes Chemicals Labour Consumables Equipment and Hopefully Insurance, otherwise they think you are earning a fortune.
Also make certain you note down exactly what the client requires, otherwise it leaves room for dissatifaction which you don't need.
Hope it helps for what it's worth.
P.S. Pricing per hr is a bit subject to your location, however you could call a couple of people from the local yellow pages before quoting.

[petra]

Ok she does your accounts, but does she give you discounts......as you still have to pay her bill no matter how great the tax return is.
Unless she want's some back scratching
Petra

[The Great One]

Hi

I agree with petra on this one, does she give you a discount?

You are a professional and have to be seen as one at all times, if your accountant is professional also she will accept.

I specialise in one offs to letting agents and a 2 bed flat would normally come in at about £75, but this depends on the condition of it. If it is absolutley minging then the price goes up.

this would include
inside windows
kitchen (sanitised)
bathroom (sanitised, de-limescaled)
carpets hoovered (freshened)
Dusted and polished

I would never do hourly on one off, you are cutting your own throat, unless you are charging £30 p/h

a 2 bed flat takes me about 2 hours, obviously longer if it is honking!

Go for it and as well as getting paid you are getting more experience and that is worth more than the job itself.

Regards

Martin

[goodhand]

thanks for your help, im  taking in to consideration what you said.  i think the advantages outway the  disadvantages; so i might offer a quote and see what she says.
thanks again!

[The Great One]

Always a pleasure to help if I can,

good luck,

go for it!

let us all know how it went.

Regards

Martin

[DP]

Not sure if your not gonna pay for it anyway. I dropped off documents at mine about a month ago, and got a parking ticket right outside thier office.

The accountant came out and said, that he was realy sorry about the parking situation and then took the ticket off me and said he would deal with it.

2 weeks later I got my bill with a £80 increase on his previous forcast. It would have been cheaper for me to pay it.

I think you should just say that you dont do that work, or just do it for free, at least that way you have some hope  of a discount !

Just another opinion.  

[wreelyclean_servic]

...If you only do swimming pools you wouldn`t necessarily have the correct cleaning materials to clean the inside of the property....you will have to purchase them and that will eat into your profit

Why don`t you subby it out to someone who does clean inside and add your bit on top for doing sweet F.A?

If you do this, both sides will be happy and you might be able to do more in future with the subby.

[Derek]

Hi

I have carried out work for my accountant many times and I always charge the going rate. He knows what my rates are (or should do).

This keeps it purely on a business footing... I do not get discounted accounts from him (I dont expect to) plus the fact his hourly rates are far in access of mine... in a nutshell he can afford it!

Regards
Derek

[The Great One]

Hi

I agree that you may have to get the materials and yes this will eat into your profit.

But...

Those materials are now yours, the job would of paid for it so theorectically they cost you nothing and you have those materials for other jobs of this nature and as I stated

The job is worth more in experience than actual cash amount and that is irreplaceable. Go for it and get paid to learn something new that in the future you can earn thosands from.

Regards

Martin

[Fox]

Why not use this as an opportunity to branch out?  

Tell your accountant you will clean the house as a freebie if you get the chance to quote for the regular cleaning of their business premises.

You never know could open up something very successful.

[goodhand]

Some interesting opinions, i like the last one Fox; imight bring that one up in conversation.
it's funny because before i became self-employed i worked in a large accountants office as a cleaner so maybe i can offer them a quote as well. oppertunaties are endless. what sort of contract would your offer, currently i work of yearly contracts and prepare new tendors yearly for approval. would the same system apply to offices once they are satisfyed.

[Fox]

Hi goodhand

In the commercial cleaning business it is standard to work a yearly contract, however my contracts have a clause that states that the contract shall continue for the agreed period and where no period is stated it will continue for one year and thereafter will continue until determined by no less than three months notice by either party.

This means I do not have to requote on a yearly basis unless the client requests it.  

Regards
Fox

[petra]

Must agree with Fox here, these type of contracts do keep your work with you and saves on alot of paper work.
Petra