How to price up

[dazmond]

A conservatory normally does not include the roof on regular window cleans.i will usually book these in as a once or twice a year job if they want....

Price what you want for the job...there are no rules!??

 

[dazmond]

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.

Self cleaning glass that's tinted I find the easiest to clean...just don't use chemicals or a scraper.in fact I cleaned one today for £30...it took 20 mins to clean

 

[Yogi1872]

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

My run takes a full month to do and when broken down it equates into £50 an hour. That's including stopping for something to eat etc. With cleaning all the frames I'd be there twice as long and I wouldn't get away with doubling the price. How much work did you do when you were trad per hour when averaged over the month .?

 

[Yogi1872]

Bearing in mind I already charge more than thr others that's near me. When you don't look like uncle fester you get to do what you want.

 

[Part Timer]

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

As I've said before your original quote would be to clean all windows, frames, sills and doors. A conny roof is a roof not a window, frame, sill or door.

 

[Jay the window man]

Brilliant. Thanks a lot for you help. I’m new to this game as you may be able to tell. I’m still employed but I’m starting on my days off and after work If I can. It’s going pretty well but obviously every house is different and people want different things. Obviously I didn’t want someone saying the other guy did everything for this price and I’m going ? wtf. But now I know that what ever they tell me I can either say.. well he’s nuts or you are not telling the truth there are you. So take my quote or best of luck.

As part timer said.. it is a roof .. so that’s what il be saying. I can do it.. but it’s going cost you a lot more than £25. Great help as alway people.

Confession: I just ****** up today and didn’t charge a first clean price.. massive bungalow.. huge conservatory.. didn’t look like it has been done since the 90s ( as I found out on closer inspection) we agreed £30 on a 4weekly prior to this. Took me two hours to get it to a state I was happy with. Ffs. However in 4 weeks time.. 25/30’mins not bad for a noob I think. Every cloud.

 

[ched999uk]

Confession: I just ****** up today and didn’t charge a first clean price.. massive bungalow.. huge conservatory.. didn’t look like it has been done since the 90s ( as I found out on closer inspection) we agreed £30 on a 4weekly prior to this. Took me two hours to get it to a state I was happy with. Ffs. However in 4 weeks time.. 25/30’mins not bad for a noob I think. Every cloud.

Don't worry, just treat it as a learning experience. I am still looking for customers so I don't charge any extra for first clean unless they are very bad!
Everyone works different so don't worry about it. Every day is a school day

 

[Chris34]

Brilliant. Thanks a lot for you help. I’m new to this game as you may be able to tell. I’m still employed but I’m starting on my days off and after work If I can. It’s going pretty well but obviously every house is different and people want different things. Obviously I didn’t want someone saying the other guy did everything for this price and I’m going ? wtf. But now I know that what ever they tell me I can either say.. well he’s nuts or you are not telling the truth there are you. So take my quote or best of luck.

As part timer said.. it is a roof .. so that’s what il be saying. I can do it.. but it’s going cost you a lot more than £25. Great help as alway people.

Confession: I just ****** up today and didn’t charge a first clean price.. massive bungalow.. huge conservatory.. didn’t look like it has been done since the 90s ( as I found out on closer inspection) we agreed £30 on a 4weekly prior to this. Took me two hours to get it to a state I was happy with. Ffs. However in 4 weeks time.. 25/30’mins not bad for a noob I think. Every cloud.

Like Ched says, everyone has their own way of working and it's your business so you will have your own ideas. However I would strongly advise charging a first clean price. The reason being is that I did that from day one and I've never found the first clean price to be a barrier to getting the job. Usually if they don't agree to the price it's not the first clean price, it's the ongoing price. I charge double on the first clean but I think I'm going to offer a triple or even quadruple 'delux' standard, I think people will pay it. So if it's a £25 job the option will be £50 first clean or £100 delux first clean.

That's the thing with this business, there isn't really a one set rule, it's whatever you're happy with. It's good to bounce ideas, methods and prices off each other though in order to come up with a solution that works best for you.

 

[Iron Giant]

well he’s nuts or you are not telling the truth there are you. So take my quote or best of luck.

I wouldn't call someone a liar if I was you, it's better just to explain why you are charging what you charge that's it the other guy is irrelevant.

 

[Part Timer]

Brilliant. Thanks a lot for you help. I’m new to this game as you may be able to tell. I’m still employed but I’m starting on my days off and after work If I can. It’s going pretty well but obviously every house is different and people want different things. Obviously I didn’t want someone saying the other guy did everything for this price and I’m going ? wtf. But now I know that what ever they tell me I can either say.. well he’s nuts or you are not telling the truth there are you. So take my quote or best of luck.

As part timer said.. it is a roof .. so that’s what il be saying. I can do it.. but it’s going cost you a lot more than £25. Great help as alway people.

Confession: I just ****** up today and didn’t charge a first clean price.. massive bungalow.. huge conservatory.. didn’t look like it has been done since the 90s ( as I found out on closer inspection) we agreed £30 on a 4weekly prior to this. Took me two hours to get it to a state I was happy with. Ffs. However in 4 weeks time.. 25/30’mins not bad for a noob I think. Every cloud.

In your early days you are learning so you will under price work.
This is not a mistake it's a lesson, it becomes a mistake if you do it again.

 

[hillyer96]

Hello all, Im very fresh to window cleaning (I've done the last 8 weekends because i work away all week with other work)

I charge £1.00 per window at the moment which is plenty and keeps me and the customer fairly happy, I have been asked by 2 companies on a price up per window of there warehouses. They both look easy enough and can fly through them with the WFP, im wondering how much you guys would charge to clean commercially? would it be the same £1.00 per window or should i charge more?

Many thanks all and have a good new year!

 

[Bell Pallisey]

if you are Anywhere in the South you need £2 per window .Oh of course youll meet other windies who are doing houses for ten quid but more fool them. A good tip i can give is work out the price and then add a quid for luck -or 5 if you see plop Anywhere on the garden path

 

[David K]

Hi what's the best way to price up

The best way is to price up!

 

[hillyer96]

if you are Anywhere in the South you need £2 per window .Oh of course youll meet other windies who are doing houses for ten quid but more fool them. A good tip i can give is work out the price and then add a quid for luck -or 5 if you see plop Anywhere on the garden path

Is that commercial you charge £2 per window bell? or for peoples homes, thanks again

 

[Bell Pallisey]

peoples homes . Actually £2 per window is cheap when you think of price rises recently on van insurance and diesel still hasnt dropped in price much . I dont do any more commercial now id bet prices are as low as ever i mean shops are on the slide with online sales still rising. Apart from coffee shops theyre still booming,having said that few yrs back i got offered local greggs as a subby told its £6 i said id do it for 10 he said you must be joking,then rang me 2 days later but by then id changed my mind i wasnt intrested- at any price.... he loved that-not..

 

[Pjj]

Hello all, Im very fresh to window cleaning (I've done the last 8 weekends because i work away all week with other work)

I charge £1.00 per window at the moment which is plenty and keeps me and the customer fairly happy, I have been asked by 2 companies on a price up per window of there warehouses. They both look easy enough and can fly through them with the WFP, im wondering how much you guys would charge to clean commercially? would it be the same £1.00 per window or should i charge more?

Many thanks all and have a good new year!

Commercial should always be a lot higher in my books we certainly are and don’t have any issues getting it

 

[Part Timer]

Is that commercial you charge £2 per window bell? or for peoples homes, thanks again

I don't know what part of the country you're in but you have no chance of getting £2 a window on commercial work in the NE.
You might get it on residential but not on commercial

 

[Iron Giant]

Prices should be higher now more than ever, I have around 160 jobs to increase prices on next year as I did the majority this year, I used Inflation calculator last week and I entered the total value of the jobs and this calculator added 20% so in an ideal world I need to bump my prices up 20% although I reckon it would be a push on some jobs

Food is one thing that has shot up over the last year, I noticed prices of some stuff in the last 2 weeks have increased by 25% or more

 

[spruce]

I don't know what part of the country you're in but you have no chance of getting £2 a window on commercial work in the NE.
You might get it on residential but not on commercial

If only we could get £2 a window where we are on Teesside. We have a couple of big window cleaning business that have spread their low pricing tentacles through Teesside, which has influenced our pricing. There is a local lad who has been trying to push prices up, but has lost a lot of work in the process.

 

[Jaygti]

Is that commercial you charge £2 per window bell? or for peoples homes, thanks again

Yes. Medium sized modern 3 bed semi. 3 windows and a door at the front 1 down the side and 4 at the back. £16-£20. 10-15 mins work.
South only though??

Obviously there are other factors in play. Do you need the work, do you have work close by , is parking and access good or bad, all these things matter, not just the amount of windows.

Commercial work should be priced higher as there’s generally more paperwork, and often payment takes longer.
Both my 2 biggest contracts pay on 60 day terms-take it or leave it, but are Very Lucrative.
Also I needed to fork out for higher public liability £5million minimum,etc,etc

 

[K in Kent]

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 ****.

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

I don't do windows as a standalone service but do quite a few conservatory roof jobs, which includes the whole thing. And as far as I'm concerned a roof job is a job in its own right. I think sometimes I still underprice some work but I'd want at least £150 for that job and more if it was going green.
I haven't got a specific pricing plan and go by what I see and how long it will take.
I completely understand your point about whether or not to include the glass roof so just ask the customer what they want. If it's only going to be an easy maintenance clean go by the house price and double it - they're still getting a barhain at that price.
And don't be afraid to explain it to people and tell them that anyone else would treat the roof separately and charge considerably more for it. If they've had w/cleaners before or had the conservatory a long time they will already know this and expect it. If they don't, well, then it's up to you and how much you want the work.
Sticking to certain pricing principles are all well and good when you can afford to have them. But if you need the work price it accordingly and secure the job.