[Richy L]

Hello eveyone.
Im from the window cleaning forum.
I am a window cleaner/ jet washer, but i have been getting lots and lots of phone calls about office/ house cleaning.
Anyway, i was thinking of branching out into this type of work. Something regular for when its raining. Also my wife would be working it too.
Just wondering how you would go about pricing jobs.
I have heard it is ually about £10 an hour for basic cleaning. Is this right? or do you price by the job?
If it helps i live in cardiff.

Thanks  guys

Any help would be great

Richy

[Richy L]

Can anyone give me a bit of advice please. It would really be helpful

[Prestige1]

Hi Richy
The main thing with cleaning is your pricing, if you and your wife are doing the cleaning you will put more effort into it then if you are hiring staff, I would charge yourself out at £13 per hour minimum, the problems start when you become vat registered then its hard to compete, I charge my staff out at £14 + vat per hour thats arround £16 per hour. to sustain this price you have to be good or the customer will just get rid. to charge the higher end your all round appearance needs to be very proffesional, from quality leaflets to the right approach on the phone. this is only my oppinion, if you use 1 colour leaflets call your self a silly name and answear the phone "hello" the you will only be able to command lower end cash no matter how good you clean. hope this helps good luck Phil

[*Chris Browne]

Hi Richy

I think the reason no one as replied is because its a bit of a minefield, everyone charges different rates and everyone prices up differently:

I tend to have a feel for the job in question, i just work out how many man/woman hours the job would take if (god forbid) i did it on my own and then multiply that by the going rate for you area(up here its around the 15-pound plus an hour for offices and a bit more for doms)

Hope this helps and that more people will throw there two peneth in now

Chris


www.scsf.co.uk

[Cleaning Resource]

Hi Richy
The main thing with cleaning is your pricing, if you and your wife are doing the cleaning you will put more effort into it then if you are hiring staff, I would charge yourself out at £13 per hour minimum, the problems start when you become vat registered then its hard to compete, I charge my staff out at £14 + vat per hour thats arround £16 per hour. to sustain this price you have to be good or the customer will just get rid. to charge the higher end your all round appearance needs to be very proffesional, from quality leaflets to the right approach on the phone. this is only my oppinion, if you use 1 colour leaflets call your self a silly name and answear the phone "hello" the you will only be able to command lower end cash no matter how good you clean. hope this helps good luck Phil

 i`d agree with what the man says, I aim for £16ph inc vat settle usually at around £14.50- £15.00 I only do commercial, i spend a fortune on smart uniforms good paperwork and marketing material i go as far as ensuring I only use the gold coloured metal paper clips(as against the tacky coloured plastic coated ones) I use conquerer envolopes decent paper (don`t use the cheap 80gsm that every where wants to sell you)
Bet remember by doing this you will be building your clients expectations of your company and therefore the quality of your work will have to live up to it......
 

[Richy L]

cheers guys.
So we are talking about £15 per hour, per person.
Is this the same for office, houses, pubs, the lot?
Or do you change the hourly rate depending on the job?
...Another thing... What type of materials would you need to get before you start?
Any speciallized equitment?... and how much do you think start up costs would be.(not including a vehicle)

Loads of questions I know, im sorry, Any help would be great please guys

Richy

[D woods]

Hi Richy
Most window cleaning is charged at around £30 per hour, would it not
be more profitable to increase this side of the business.

Rather than looking for work that pays £15 per hour.

[Richy L]

hello D Woods,
yes it would be more profitable for me. But my wife doesnt really want to cleaning window when its cold and wet.
Its more for her really.
at the moment i have someone working with me, and thats really the most you can have working together before you start wasting time.
I would still clean windows, and my wife would clean insides.(except when it rains i would probably help her when i cant work)