Charge for House Cleaning

You can start your own cleaning company anywhere in the world. You may need to pay bills. You may be unemployed, have no money, and have no experience, but don't let that deter you. Take action now by following these steps.

Steps

1. Start reading about it online, and make a go for it.
2. Be aware that you will make your share of mistakes, but take care to correct them. You cannot afford to be the WalMart of cleaning companies, i.e. the cheapest in the state. You may have to increase contract amounts for existing clients and even drop some.
3. Call the companies and know what they are charging and why. #Get your script together and get started.
4. Call all the companies in your area, and get prices and cleaning package quotes.
5. Create a spreadsheet with all their information and pricing and average out the price (it is a good idea to charge the average). Charge lower if you are at a disadvantage in attracting customers, or higher if you are at an advantage.
6. Get your business license (in New Mexico it is $35.00 for each city).
7. Contact an Insurance Broker and have him/her shop insurance quotes for coverage (a typical price quote is $130.00 per month on a 2 million dollar policy).
8. Form a corporation (LLC, or Inc. - To protect yourself from lawsuits, in New Mexico it cost $50.00-$100.00).
9. Set your prices as follows (this is an example; feel free to modify to suit your needs):
   • One time/First cleaning is by the hour; this is always the "Spring Cleaning Pkg)" $30.00 Per labor hour and send 2-3 people, so $60-$90 an hour - Including Tax.
   • Decide what your "Show up Charge" is: you can set it at $90.00, ie. you will NOT clean a house for less than $90.00 - remember, you have to buy supplies, insurance, pay taxes, pay gas, and 941s. Usually the price is right around $110.00 to $120.00 a cleaning.
   • Have all of your residential clients COD ONLY. If you arrive and there is not a check waiting when you get there, leave and charge the $45.00.
   • If a client would like an invoice mailed to him on a billing cycle, charge $19.00 (Per Invoice) - Remember, you are "fronting" a service and this costs you too.
   • MAKE SURE YOU GET A SIGNED CONTRACT BEFORE YOU START. If you don't have one, you can have a huge mess! Verbal agreements are hard to enforce.
10. Floor Care Pricing: (as an example)
    • For Residential carpet cleaning, charge between $19.00-$30.00 per room with a three room minimum. Charge them $5.00 to pre-treat any stains and traffic areas, and let them know that you do not guarantee that they will come out but you will try your best.
    • For Residential Tile Cleaning, charge $0.50 a square foot, with a MINIMUM of $100.00 per visit.
    • For Hard Surface floor rehab - like vinyl composition tile flooring, charge about $250.00 MINIMUM; do not care about the size of the space, because it is an 8 hour job all night long. You need to move furniture, sweep, supply floor stripper, buy black stripping pads for your buffer, use the buffer to remove stains and old wax, and get on your hands and knees, and scrub the dirt out of the corners. After this, you do two rinses, let it dry, and apply about 3-5 layers of wax. Then once it dries, you have to wax it with a soft pad to make the surface hard and durable.

Video

Template:Video:Charge for House Cleaning

Things You'll Need

• 2 Welcome Packages (One for you and one for the client) to contain the following:
  • Contract
  • W-9
  • Emergency Contact Information
  • Certificate of Insurance
  • Business License
  • MSDS Sheets
  • Techline Sheets

See also

• Boost Sales Performance
• Negotiate an Offer
• Have Multiple Businesses Under One LLC
• Avoid Unionization of a Company
• Deal With Union Problems
• Find Information on a Business That No Longer Exists
• Start an Accounting Business
• Invent a Product
• Calculate FTE
• Write a Business Profile

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