How to price up

[Chris34]

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

Charge a price per panel on the roof. When I first started (nearly 4 years ago) it was suggested £10 per panel and that served me well. I now charge £12 per panel. If there is a difficult side I'll add an extra £30 or so to the total, if they're very long panels then I'll charge double per panel. The per panel includes the small triangle panels at the corners, not just the rectangular ones.

Conservatory sides, depending on the shape of the conservatory I reduce the estimated time to clean per window, the reason being is that conservatory sides you can clean more glass faster than the house windows because they're all in a row and you're not adjusting your pole height or moving about much. It does depend on what's in the way though, if there are are plant pots dotted all around the conservatory then add more to the price because spring to autumn you will find snail trails all over the glass and it will slow you down drastically.

 

[James102]

Charge a price per panel on the roof. When I first started (nearly 4 years ago) it was suggested £10 per panel and that served me well. I now charge £12 per panel. If there is a difficult side I'll add an extra £30 or so to the total, if they're very long panels then I'll charge double per panel. The per panel includes the small triangle panels at the corners, not just the rectangular ones.

Conservatory sides, depending on the shape of the conservatory I reduce the estimated time to clean per window, the reason being is that conservatory sides you can clean more glass faster than the house windows because they're all in a row and you're not adjusting your pole height or moving about much. It does depend on what's in the way though, if there are are plant pots dotted all around the conservatory then add more to the price because spring to autumn you will find snail trails all over the glass and it will slow you down drastically.

So roof panels around £10 is that also with the sides of a Connie?

 

[Chris34]

So roof panels around £10 is that also with the sides of a Connie?

No for the sides you would price them up like you do with house windows, experience will enable you to adapt your pricing, but as a rough guide just price them up like you would with house windows. Also don't quote the conservatory sides separate, just tell them it's 'x' amount for the whole lot and if you want the conservatory roof doing it's an additional 'x' amount. Also point out that the conservatory roof is done on an as and when requested basis but usually people have them done once or twice per year.

 

[Part Timer]

So roof panels around £10 is that also with the sides of a Connie?

I know as a newbie it is daunting but you have been going for around a year so you should really be working out a price yourself. If the, well meant, advice you are receiving isn't applicable in your area and you don't get the work you aren't learning how to run your business.
If you quote and don't get the business regularly then you might need to lower your price, also if you're getting everything then you are probably to cheap and need to up your prices.
The best way to learn is by making mistakes and learning from them yourself not by being told what to quote and learning nothing

 

[Conservatory Valet]

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

We would price on time rather than panel, we charge a fixed start fee so if it would take half a day or a full day what would you want to earn in that time, if its via verbal quoting we then charge an additional £15 per unit above what they told you but best to get photos or see for your self if its close by. Then add for any difficulties and if its bigger than what you can get done in a day keep rolling on with the half or full day rate. Or get another guy with you of course.

 

[dazmond]

Hi what's the best way to price up

50p a window....can't go wrong!

 

[Conservatory Valet]

ha ha You would defiantly get the work at that price !!

 

[JohnDoeWindows]

Simple answer... charge what you want to earn.

I try to earn £60 an hour on the glass where I can, though I probably hit more like £40 on average throughout the day. If a jobs going to take you half an hour and you want to earn £60 an hour, charge accordingly.

 

[Clean zero]

Cleaned a roof today 1and a half hours till I was back in the van £90 for once the price worked well usually does but you will get occasions it doesn’t .

 

[James102]

I know as a newbie it is daunting but you have been going for around a year so you should really be working out a price yourself. If the, well meant, advice you are receiving isn't applicable in your area and you don't get the work you aren't learning how to run your business.
If you quote and don't get the business regularly then you might need to lower your price, also if you're getting everything then you are probably to cheap and need to up your prices.
The best way to learn is by making mistakes and learning from them yourself not by being told what to quote and learning nothing

A year?

 

[Part Timer]

A year?

Relative newbie then, if you're asking for price advice then, in my eyes, you lack confidence to quote so are still a newbie.
Once established, confident, you shouldn't be asking this type of question. Good luck with your endeavours.

 

[Jay the window man]

I could do with a hand on some pricing if anyone could be kind enough to help.

So im pricing per window using £1,£1.50 and £2 window pricing which is getting me pretty spot on.. I’m getting the customers and we both seem happy.

However, conservatorys are the ones that I’m finding tough.

How much more are you guys charging just to clean the windows and pvc with wfp?

However this is the tricky part.. do you not do the roof when it is clear glass? Or so this automatically a given with the quote or is this extra.

For example 3 bed detached near me say £20 then there’s the conservatory. I say charge £5 for the windows.

However the last few I’ve looked at have awkward windows that lean towards the house and require a ladder to get the pole over the top to brush at a down angle. Pain in the arse.

Do you just quote say £25 and say that’s the quote.. by the way it doesn’t include the roof glass windows..

Or do I make a larger price and include the roof.
It seems abit crazy not to do the roof when it’s glass. See this picture for an example of what I mean.

I mean £20 for the house is great.. il do the side windows for say an extra £5.. but to get the ladders off the van climb up and mess about with the conny roof just seems rather time consuming.

Examples attached below. Any help appreciated.

Jay

 

[Chris34]

It seems abit crazy not to do the roof when it’s glass. See this picture for an example of what I mean.

I've got one job where I do a short glass roof every 4 weeks but it's nothing like the size of the one you have photo'd. I think I charged an initial £50 to clean it and then it's £10 each 4 weeks, it's like doing 5 velux windows. Usually the customer doesn't want to pay for them to be cleaned monthly so you have to do them yearly / when requested and this means it takes a lot longer so you have to price accordingly.

Generally you want to be earning more doing roofs as for one it's harder work and for two they're harder to estimate the time taken compared to windows, last thing you want is to be charging less per hour than you would get for cleaning windows, although there is one cleaner on here who does a discount on them for his customers, I think he's bonkers but it's everyone's choice how they run their businesses.

I find that counting the panels and then working out how long I expect to clean each panel helps get the quote correct. Some panels can be very long, some are wider than others, some are very hard to get to... just work it out and then decide how much per hour you want.

The ones with self cleaning glass can be really hard to clean, so just be aware of that, it's certain types of self cleaning glass that holds the bits and can be a nightmare, most are fine but the ones with a blue reflective tint are ones to be wary of.

 

[Iron Giant]

I'd charge £8 just for the windows on that conservatory providing there is access down the side next to the fence, so already you're losing out by underpricing the windows, so my price would be £8 for the windows not including the roof.

A conservatory roof such as in the photo might take 20-30 minutes on a regular 4 weekly clean so charge what you're happy with for that time it's very rare I get asked to clean a roof regularly because not many people are going to want to pay an extra £30 or so every 4-8 weeks for their roof

 

[Jay the window man]

Cheers chaps. Basically they have someone at the moment doing the lot for £25. 4 bed semi with massive conservatory. Now.. of course they all say or will say the roof is included in that price but lookin at it (gable style slopin one way towards house) there is no chance. So I was just checking I want bein greedy or naive.

So basically il do all windows for £25 including conny ones.. but the roof il say not included. Like I said by the time I got the ladders off etc and put them back there’s 15 mins

 

[ched999uk]

When I quote I always say the quote includes the conservatory sides not the roof. If they would like a quote for the roof I would be happy to provide one. I also write all windows, doors and conservatory sides on the quote - so if there is any confusion I could ask them to view the quote!

As for the conny roof, pricing depends on lots like access, glass, polycarb, how green it is, etc. It could be from £3 a panel to £10 a panel. One thing I would say is have a minimum fee as getting ladders, backpack out, setup and packed away takes the same amount of time no matter if it's a small conny or a large one.

 

[Crystalalan]

Cheers chaps. Basically they have someone at the moment doing the lot for £25. 4 bed semi with massive conservatory. Now.. of course they all say or will say the roof is included in that price but lookin at it (gable style slopin one way towards house) there is no chance. So I was just checking I want bein greedy or naive.

So basically il do all windows for £25 including conny ones.. but the roof il say not included. Like I said by the time I got the ladders off etc and put them back there’s 15 mins

That seems like a realistic price to me

 

[Yogi1872]

I don't charge double for first cleans, it's not really something I've heard people do up here. When I get a new one it's usually in the street I already am so they get priced what the rest are paying. I don't price per window. Don't worry if your dearer than someone else. I know a few folk who still only take cash as payment. Until they switch over to bank payments they will always be able to do it cheaper as there not paying tax. Everyone moans about the self employed not paying what they should be. Yet they will happily go with someone who's cheaper who avoids it and don't mind people avoiding it when it means there getting a cheaper price.

 

[Iron Giant]

Cheers chaps. Basically they have someone at the moment doing the lot for £25. 4 bed semi with massive conservatory. Now.. of course they all say or will say the roof is included in that price but lookin at it (gable style slopin one way towards house) there is no chance. So I was just checking I want bein greedy or naive.

So basically il do all windows for £25 including conny ones.. but the roof il say not included. Like I said by the time I got the ladders off etc and put them back there’s 15 mins

I have an old couple who had previous cleaner who's disappeared who was charging £10 for a job and just did the roof as and when.

My price was £15.00 and he thought that included the roof as well he was shocked when I told him it wasn't and how much I'd want because it required a ladder on one side he offered me an extra £2 ? needles to say I turned down the £2 every 4 weeks for the roof,

He was a bit miffed and I told him I'd happily walk away from the job as I was busy enough, moving forward we get on quite well and will always have a chin wag and a bit of laugh.

 

[Yogi1872]

Cheers chaps. Basically they have someone at the moment doing the lot for £25. 4 bed semi with massive conservatory. Now.. of course they all say or will say the roof is included in that price but lookin at it (gable style slopin one way towards house) there is no chance. So I was just checking I want bein greedy or naive.

So basically il do all windows for £25 including conny ones.. but the roof il say not included. Like I said by the time I got the ladders off etc and put them back there’s 15 mins

If you haven't enough work and your already in the street then I wouldn't pass work up. When you have enough you can always put them up to what you think it should be. When you first start the customer has the upper hand when it comes to pricing.

 

[Dave B]

I don't charge double for first cleans, it's not really something I've heard people do up here. When I get a new one it's usually in the street I already am so they get priced what the rest are paying. I don't price per window. Don't worry if your dearer than someone else. I know a few folk who still only take cash as payment. Until they switch over to bank payments they will always be able to do it cheaper as there not paying tax. Everyone moans about the self employed not paying what they should be. Yet they will happily go with someone who's cheaper who avoids it and don't mind people avoiding it when it means there getting a cheaper price.

If you did the job properly you could charge double but as you only do the glass how can you charge extra to do the frames etc properly