For domestics I have a pricing policy. One year I'll put carpets up, the next year I'll put upholstery up. On 01/01/09 it'll be upholstery by 6.5%.
Commercial is slightly different.Most of my commercial work is Dry Fusion. Chemical costs are a larger part of the overhead with DF than with some other systems so I need to watch this carefully. By changing from Activator to the new Fusion Pure I have effectively halved my product costs so there is no plan to increase my charges in the forseable future.
As a small service business, it is difficult to increase volume to compensate for lower charges, so your pricing and costs need to be watched carefully. As was once quoted,
Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity It is sometimes more cost effective to stay at home rather than work for next to nothing.
Safe, happy and profitable cleaning
Ken