[Perfect Windows]

If I remember correctly Vin, it was your suggestion that influenced me to do it.

Cool.  Scares me when people follow my advice...  Ian101's still cleaning partly because of me.  I hate to think of people taking me seriously.

The only reason I don't give a number is that if I give you my number it'll be barmy because I'm spending some money on franchise stuff for all of our franchisees.  And I can't give you their number because it's not my information to share.

If you have round planner software you should be able to get your number of cleans to work out your own cost to turn up.

Vin

[NWH]

More than people think especially doing wfp work.
That is why some happy to earn a low hourly rate could end up actually losing money if not careful.

Silly comment there smurf. It would take a very low hourly rate to actually'lose' money.
£30 an hour is a very reasonable rate to be aiming for. Even if you minus £10 an hour of that, which realistically you shouldn't have that much expenditure, then £20 an hour is still a good wage.
7 hours a day =£140 × 5 = £700 a week, obviously less after tax/insurance but that's still comparable to a £33-34000 salary a year for a 48 week year.
If you speak to the average Joe they would be shocked window cleaners are earning £30,000+ a year after expenses.

Then your TAX accountants bill out of that 30k coz the van and other bits should amount to the 4K,I can't see the point TBH you may as well earn £100 a day working for another window cleaner,just my opinion.

[Spruce]

If I remember correctly Vin, it was your suggestion that influenced me to do it.

Cool.  Scares me when people follow my advice...  Ian101's still cleaning partly because of me.  I hate to think of people taking me seriously.

The only reason I don't give a number is that if I give you my number it'll be barmy because I'm spending some money on franchise stuff for all of our franchisees.  And I can't give you their number because it's not my information to share.

If you have round planner software you should be able to get your number of cleans to work out your own cost to turn up.

Vin

Hi Vin.

TBH I have the greatest respect for you and the way you have driven your business forward.

It doesn't make sense someone not taking your advice seriously. I had wondered how much each job was actually costing me earlier but was trying to find a formula that would 'weigh' the figures into something more accurate. I felt that time taken also needed to be part of the job. But that was just too complicated.

Following that simple formula, although not 100% accurate, gives me a good sense of direction when quoting small residential jobs.

[dazmond]

Weekly running costs 290/wk

my weekly running costs (based on a 44 week working year)last year was around £90 a week.(£18 a day over the course of a 5 day week).my diesel bill is around £30-£40 a month though and i didnt buy a van last year.realistically if i add  2k to my expenses a year to include buying a new second hand van/system/poles after 4 or 5 years itll be more like £130 a week(£26 a day).this includes ALL expenses in relation to my business(commercial van insurance,vehicle tax,MOT,repairs,workwear,water bill,resin,internet,phone,cleaner planner,gas,new equipment etc,etc).

ive based it on a 44 week year as 2 weeks is 2 holidays abroad for a week at a time,2 weeks for xmas break and 4 weeks for sickness/bad weather/DIY jobs around the house or just taking a week off cos i feel like it.

[dazmond]

so even my more realistic expenses over 5 years including the purchase of a new(second hand) van and  DIY system(£5,500-£6,000 a year all in)your paying over £7,000 more a year in expenses?is this mainly due to the purchase of a brand new van,professional installed system and much larger fuel bills matt?

[dazmond]

so it costs me around £4.30 an hour in expenses based on a 6 hour day working 5 days a week 44 weeks of the year with annual expenses of £5,500-£6,000 a year.i know this is a rough estimate but i bet im not too far off.

[SeanK]

so it costs me around £4.30 an hour in expenses based on a 6 hour day working 5 days a week 44 weeks of the year with annual expenses of £5,500-£6,000 a year.i know this is a rough estimate but i bet im not too far off.

Dazmond you have barely spent £6000 on vans since you first started and everything you have bought other than poles has
been cheap DIY equipment.
Nothing wrong with that, but to say your spending £5 to £6k a year on expenses is nothing more than nonsense.
Like I have already stated there will be exceptions but for the majority of self employed wfp window cleaners it will cost
very little to run their business and as Spruce stated this doesn't really rise by much the busier you get infect it can get cheaper.

[SeanK]

£27500 to £30000 over five years for one man to clean windows, at worst that's 600 £10 semis a year to clean before you break even or for somebody on £30k a year that's one in every five years worked for nothing, any wonder you need to work in hurricanes.

[dazmond]

seanK my expenses for last year were just under 4k.ive already spent nearly 2k this year.its not nonsense.its realistic for me and thats without high fuel bills.maybe your not claiming for everything you buy in relation to your business?

[Dave Willis]

seanK my expenses for last year were just under 4k.ive already spent nearly 2k this year.its not nonsense.its realistic for me and thats without high fuel bills.maybe your not claiming for everything you buy in relation to your business?

Then there's all those bottles of Vision.

Dazmond throws more money away in a year than SeanK spends.

[dazmond]

this year already( jan -march)

cleaning supplies 665.51
cleaner planner 45.00
bad debt    13.00
ink    26.00
gas  127.50
motor expenses 460.00
phone/internet 30.00
stamps  54.00
van insurance  373.56
water bill 30.00
workwear 162.00

total:£1,986.57

[sunshine windows]

It's not a silly comment at all if you're just starting out and don't have a compact round. How many have you seen that just do one or two in a street then have to drive a way to the next job?

I've been going over 10 years and most of my round is still like this 

[dazmond]

cleaning supplies include new pumpbox,leisure battery,clx4,resin,vision,univalves,connectors etc.motor expenses include diesel,MOT,repairs and new starter motor.workwear i bought a new goretex jacket.

[Dave Willis]

£30 water bill a year? I pay that every week!

[dazmond]

£30 water bill a year? I pay that every week!

water bill is £10 a month so £30 for 3 months and im on a water meter too.i dont think its working properly but who am i to argue with the bills they send me?they must be right!

[Shane sharples]

It's not a silly comment at all if you're just starting out and don't have a compact round. How many have you seen that just do one or two in a street then have to drive a way to the next job?

I've been going over 10 years and most of my round is still like this 

Me too , these days you don't have to clean a whole street to earn good money , work can be dotted around , you've just got to be good at logistics to join the dots together and move jobs around

[Smurf]

It's not a silly comment at all if you're just starting out and don't have a compact round. How many have you seen that just do one or two in a street then have to drive a way to the next job?

I've been going over 10 years and most of my round is still like this 

Well the prices you charge no wonder you make a good living at it...That's the difference 

[dazmond]

£27500 to £30000 over five years for one man to clean windows, at worst that's 600 £10 semis a year to clean before you break even or for somebody on £30k a year that's one in every five years worked for nothing, any wonder you need to work in hurricanes.

I earn a lot more than 30k a year sean working as a sole trader.

[dazmond]

it was costing me around 3k a year when i was 100% trad!(15k over 5 years)so double that to 6k over 5 years (WFP) is 30k but im now earning 20k MORE  a year than when i was 100% trad which is 100k over 5 years costing me an extra 15k in expenses.

go figure!