You bought all your cleaning products and equipment, told everyone you know that you started cleaning, and now you are ready to start bidding at workplaces and get to work. So, your next step is to meet potential customers and collect an application for their cleaning services. But how do you know what to charge for cleaning your potential customer?
Start by remembering that you are in business to make a profit and make a living. Sometimes the tendency is to rate our services low to get in the door. The low price of your services may mean that you will end up working very little per hour. And more importantly, there is little left to reinvest in the growth of your company. There are cleaning companies that charge more than others and have all the work they can handle, and there are companies that have lower rates but struggle to find a job! Do not sell yourself short, or you will not be able to make a living from your cleaning business.
Rates for commercial cleaning vary widely depending on the area in which you live. Hourly rates range from $ 15 to $ 40 per hour, depending on the type of services you provide, regardless of whether you are doing it yourself or the overhead and expenses of your company. Monthly rates per square meter can run from $ 0.05 to $ 0.20 per square foot, depending on the type of building you are cleaning and the frequency of cleaning. You will be able to offer a higher square price for medical facilities and office buildings due to more specialized cleaning needs. You will probably offer a lower price for larger buildings versus smaller buildings. For example, you can offer $ 0.8 per square foot for a 50,000 square foot building versus $ 12 per square foot for a 8,000 square foot building.
Most likely, you will pay your customers a monthly price, and you will need to evaluate this price, estimating how long it will take to complete the services your customer has requested. The more productive you or your employees, the higher the hourly productivity. If you can clean 3,500 square feet per hour, your profits will be higher than if you could clear 2,500 square feet per hour, so adjust your price accordingly.
It is also a good idea to find out what “current rates” mean in your area. A few phone calls to competitors may be required to get an idea of the main expenses in your area. Use the script when you call to compare apples with apples. So what do you say when you call? Try something like: “Hi, I have a small business office that I would like to clean once a week. A person may or may not give you an estimate. Most contractors will insist on a walk through the building, but it costs a few phone calls, so you have an approximate figure that the cleaning company charges.
To assess what you should charge for cleaning the building, start with a walk with the building owner or manager. Watch out for the following:
* Frequency of cleaning (once a week, three times a week, five times a week). If the frequency is once or twice a week, it's best to estimate your time and multiply by your hourly rate. If you clean 3 or more times a week, you can estimate your time on a square foot.
* Common square feet
* Types of flooring and square feet each (carpet, vinyl flooring, ceramic tile)
* Types of rooms - general office, rest room, toilets. Also pay attention to the number of toilets / stops and lights in each toilet, as well as the types of consumables used.
* Any special considerations - large areas of movement, elevators, unusual requests, etc.
* Pay attention to specific services that the customer is looking for, such as emptying the garbage, dusting, cleaning, wiping and vacuuming.
The following services are specialized services, and you must offer them separately, and also transfer payment for the service in your application:
* Removing and waxing (0.25 ¢ - .50 ¢ per square foot)
* Buffing / Burnishing (.03 ¢ - .07 ¢ per square foot)
* Automatic cleaning of ceramic tile floors (12 ¢ - .21 ¢ per square foot)
* Carpet cleaning (0.12 ¢ - .25 ¢ per square foot)
* Carpet spot ($ 20 - $ 40 per hour)
* Cleaning products (microwave, refrigerator) - from $ 10 to $ 35 per appliance
* Wash windows ($ 1.00 - $ 5.00 per glass)
Make sure that you take a sufficient number of notes so that you can make a realistic price, fair for the client, and the one in which you will receive a profit. After the first meeting with a client, return to your office, review your notes and decide what will cost you to clean the building. You may need to consult a tariff chart for capacity cleaning to determine how much time you and your staff will need to clean the building. As soon as you have an idea of how long it will take to clean a building, you can reduce the cost:
* Estimate the time it takes to do this, using the production schedule or calculator.
* Determine your labor costs for cleaning the building once.
* Determine the monthly labor cost for cleaning the building.
* Estimate the monthly cost of deliveries. This will be a fairly low figure, sometimes 1 or 2% of monthly sales.
* Be sure to add profits!
Add figures and you will receive your monthly cost. If you have access to the bid calculator, you can enter a number of numbers and come up with a price. The rate calculator will also show how much profit you can expect. It is also recommended to add the first cleaning fee. This is usually an hourly rate of probability from 20 to 25 dollars per hour. The first time you walk through a building, it will take longer and you may find that the previous cleaning may have left dirt in the cracks and crevices that you will have to clean the first time.
Once you have a price set, put a package of bids together. Your package of rates should indicate what you are responsible for and what the client is responsible for (buying your own liners for garbage containers, supplies for toilets, etc.). It should also include a monthly fee for cleaning services, the term of the agreement and the procedure for canceling the contract if any party is dissatisfied.
It is important to learn how to evaluate your cleaning services so that your customers know that you are providing professional services at a fair price and make a profit. In the end, if you do not make a profit, you will not stay in business for a very long time!
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