How to price up

[James102]

Hi what's the best way to price up

 

[Bart90]

Hi what's the best way to price up

You won't go wrong at £1.50 per standard sized window. If you're just starting out, you might want to adjust to get more quotes accepted.

 

[James102]

You won't go wrong at £1.50 per standard sized window. If you're just starting out, you might want to adjust to get mo

You won't go wrong at £1.50 per standard sized window. If you're just starting out, you might want to adjust to get more quotes accepted.

I did do that but I feel I manage to sometimes underprice properties and then overprice quotes, I know window cleaners charge more for a first time clean I've tried adding it on but it puts them off so I was thinking of using the standard price to make up for it

 

[Bart90]

I will sometimes charge a first clean price if they're particularly bad but if I've priced the maintenance clean really well, i don't mind taking a small hit on the first clean to secure the job. Are you newish to window cleaning? If so, do't worry too much about charging a first clean price, just build up some customers with reasonable standard pricing would be my advice. Once you've got some customers behind you then you're in a stronger position to experiment more with pricing/first clean charges etc. Best of luck.

 

[James102]

I will sometimes charge a first clean price if they're particularly bad but if I've priced the maintenance clean really well, i don't mind taking a small hit on the first clean to secure the job. Are you newish to window cleaning? If so, do't worry too much about charging a first clean price, just build up some customers with reasonable standard pricing would be my advice. Once you've got some customers behind you then you're in a stronger position to experiment more with pricing/first clean charges etc. Best of luck.

Ye I'm new I've worked for window cleaning companies before ect this is the first time going in alone so I'm trying to find that sweet spot of not under pricing but not over pricing where the customer gets put off

 

[THL4KEL]

Find out what your competitors in your area charge and base your prices on that.

 

[WombatPool]

I totally went against the grain with what most would do and recommend, as I still have no idea what others in my area charge.. I know how much I wanted to earn, and charged accordingly.
Just following my own plan.
Seems to be working out alright so far

So far anyway ?

I’m new to the game and I’m definitely no pro I’ve under priced a few jobs along the way especially in the very beginning, but after a while you get an idea how long a job will take so pricing becomes easier.

And definitely charge more on first cleans, I always do and have done from the start and it’s never been a problem for the customer, crazy if you don’t IMO, because they WILL pay extra, ok maybe not if they are already very very clean, but most won’t be, so definitely charge more. (Explain first cleans take longer to get windows up to a decent standard, they will understand)

This is based on my experience of being a window cleaner which I haven’t been doing for very long but its what I’ve worked out so far.
Good luck mate..

 

[James102]

I totally went against the grain with what most would do and recommend, as I still have no idea what others in my area charge.. I know how much I wanted to earn, and charged accordingly.
Just following my own plan.
Seems to be working out alright so far

So far anyway ?

I’m new to the game and I’m definitely no pro I’ve under priced a few jobs along the way especially in the very beginning, but after a while you get an idea how long a job will take so pricing becomes easier.

And definitely charge more on first cleans, I always do and have done from the start and it’s never been a problem for the customer, crazy if you don’t IMO, because they WILL pay extra, ok maybe not if they are already very very clean, but most won’t be, so definitely charge more. (Explain first cleans take longer to get windows up to a decent standard, they will understand)

This is based on my experience of being a window cleaner which I haven’t been doing for very long but its what I’ve worked out so far.
Good luck mate..

What do you charge and for first cleans how much more do you charge?

 

[WombatPool]

Depends how dirty the windows are but often Ill charge double the price of what I charge for a monthly clean, sometimes more, sometimes a little less.
I think personal experience is very valuable once you get out there and make things happen even making the odd mistake but make sure you are learning from it as you go then it becomes easier. That’s what I’ve found so far. I’m learning new things every day and I love it.

 

[Chris34]

I walk around the house and look at each window and work out how many seconds / minutes it will take for each set of windows and write it down on a notepad, then add them all up and it gives you the total time, then work out the price based off your hourly rate. It's always worked well for me.

If the windows have spiders nests in the corners and ingrained dirt on the sills then I charge double. If the windows are newly installed or they've very recently had a window cleaner and they still look relatively clean then I charge the regular price. The majority are double price on first clean though as it's not that common that they've only just had new windows or have recently cleaned windows.

 

[Iron Giant]

I am based in the North East of England I charge £1 a window whether it's a standard sized living room or bedroom window or a small en-suite window and doors then £2 for patio doors or larger windows sometimes I consider my pricing to be a tad high on some jobs, I quoted a job the other day at £25 when it could have been £2-3 less but thought sod it round it up.

First cleans will always be charged double whether they are really dirty or just look like they haven't been done for a few months the only time I won't charge double is new windows etc sometimes I have lost out as a job has taken longer than expected on the first clean other times I have smashed out a job because they weren't that bad

 

[spruce]

It takes time to build a round @James102 especially now when people are more cost conscious due to inflation pressures.

If you get every quote you give then your prices could be too cheap, but that takes time to evaluate.
If you are getting most of your quotes rejected, then you are too expensive for that area.

If you find you have under priced a clean you can always go cap in hand and ask for a price increase at a later date.
But I believe that you must take advantage of each job you get to gain window cleaning experience.

There are areas we stay away from because their perception of what a window clean should cost is much lower than what we want to charge.

Many years ago a local window cleaner ditched all his work in one of the local villages we clean as he felt he couldn't achieve the prices he wanted in that area.

 

[Pjj]

Depends how dirty the windows are but often Ill charge double the price of what I charge for a monthly clean, sometimes more, sometimes a little less.
I think personal experience is very valuable once you get out there and make things happen even making the odd mistake but make sure you are learning from it as you go then it becomes easier. That’s what I’ve found so far. I’m learning new things every day and I love it.

Totally agree with this but when I posted the same was shot down in flames saying ones wouldn’t pay double. ????

 

[ched999uk]

I am based in the North East of England I charge £1 a window whether it's a standard sized living room or bedroom window or a small en-suite window and doors then £2 for patio doors or larger windows sometimes I consider my pricing to be a tad high on some jobs, I quoted a job the other day at £25 when it could have been £2-3 less but thought sod it round it up.

First cleans will always be charged double whether they are really dirty or just look like they haven't been done for a few months the only time I won't charge double is new windows etc sometimes I have lost out as a job has taken longer than expected on the first clean other times I have smashed out a job because they weren't that bad

North West here and I price very similarly but add a few £ for setup and packup, sometimes a little extra for difficult parking, access or tricky windows. Plus the internal debate of what is a larger window when walking round a property .

 

[WombatPool]

@Pjj Hahaha
You can’t the man that’s doing it it can’t be done ?

 

[WombatPool]

To be honest with you from research before I started window cleaning I thought charging double was the a standard thing, so that’s what I done from the beginning.

 

[Chris34]

To be honest with you from research before I started window cleaning I thought charging double was the a standard thing, so that’s what I done from the beginning.

That's actually helped you. When you first hear about double pricing, well if you haven't been doing that then you think it's not possible and when quoting you won't show the same level of confidence and more likely not to get the quote, which then leads you to believe that double is not possible.

 

[WombatPool]

Ah maybe mate that sounds good.
I’ve just found if you have customers that are serious about having their windows cleaned, they just accept what you tell them. If you say it’s double for a first clean and tell them why they are fine with this.
Trying to not sound like an instant expert here but it’s the same with any sales you need to talk smoothly no stuttering and connect with them and they become putty in your hands. In the nicest way. I’m out to deliver the highest quality service and clean to the highest standard possible cutting no corners, and after the first clean customers know that and are very happy to stay on board. I’ve had 1 or 2 cancel but I guess that’s just how it goes

 

[Chris34]

Ah maybe mate that sounds good.
I’ve just found if you have customers that are serious about having their windows cleaned, they just accept what you tell them. If you say it’s double for a first clean and tell them why they are fine with this.
Trying to not sound like an instant expert here but it’s the same with any sales you need to talk smoothly no stuttering and connect with them and they become putty in your hands. In the nicest way. I’m out to deliver the highest quality service and clean to the highest standard possible cutting no corners, and after the first clean customers know that and are very happy to stay on board. I’ve had 1 or 2 cancel but I guess that’s just how it goes

Yeah you sound like you've got the right approach. It takes time to build it up and you learn on your way but having the confidence early on to price like you would in the future will give you more confidence. Start as you mean to go on is the best method in my opinion.

 

[Iron Giant]

Yes,

North West here and I price very similarly but add a few £ for setup and packup, sometimes a little extra for difficult parking, access or tricky windows. Plus the internal debate of what is a larger window when walking round a property .

Yes, mate I also add extra on for access an extra leg work etc plus if I round it up it covers GoCardless fees as well.

I typically don't take on single isolated jobs so generally don't have an extra set up charge as I have blocks of jobs

 

[James102]

How do you price cleaning the whole conservatory plus the roof ?