Pricing please help

[Cleanco]

Last statement makes you think! Pretty sure 30-40% of mine are now underpriced. When you’ve had a round for 25 years, same customers, you tend to justify not hiking the costs every year just to make sure they stay loyal. That’s probably not a good business model though, I admit.

Ye deffo although your tredding on thin ice on desolating a good compact round and Ive found that a good paying round although maybe slightly underpriced always beats a spread out good priced round. I had an argument on here years ago with someone and he said hike your prices cos even if lose 50% you’ll still be in profit. I decided to go against his advice and make strategic prices rises whist keeping the integrity of my round. Stack em high and sell em cheap??
Who’s the winner now mr green?

 

[Dazzling]

Round here I wouldn’t do this front and back for any less than £15 minimum
South is higher prices definitely

I'm in the essex area and I charge £20/25 Depending on access

 

[Dave B]

Ye deffo although your tredding on thin ice on desolating a good compact round and Ive found that a good paying round although maybe slightly underpriced always beats a spread out good priced round. I had an argument on here years ago with someone and he said hike your prices cos even if lose 50% you’ll still be in profit. I decided to go against his advice and make strategic prices rises whist keeping the integrity of my round. Stack em high and sell em cheap??
Who’s the winner now mr green?

Mr Green lol

 

[Iron Giant]

Ye deffo although your tredding on thin ice on desolating a good compact round and Ive found that a good paying round although maybe slightly underpriced always beats a spread out good priced round. I had an argument on here years ago with someone and he said hike your prices cos even if lose 50% you’ll still be in profit. I decided to go against his advice and make strategic prices rises whist keeping the integrity of my round. Stack em high and sell em cheap??
Who’s the winner now mr green?

@Cleanco aka Dave Shaw ? if so I wouldn't have bothered with the kissing emoji

 

[Cleanco]

@Cleanco aka Dave Shaw ? if so I wouldn't have bothered with the kissing emoji

Never heard of him??

 

[Windowman72]

P

Unfortunately there is a lot involved with pricing.
There was a formula put in up on the forums recently pricing per window, french door, bathroom window and front door for a 3 bed semi.
For houses on our estate, the price per clean would work out to £17 using that formula.

There is no way i would get £17 for a clean. Currently I'm between £10 and £11 which is a similar price other cleaners are charging.

One of the cleaners working the estate raised his price from £12 to £15 and his customer cancelled. His customer told me he felt £12 was the very limit of what he would pay for his windows to be cleaned.

Now £17 would probably not be enough for a clean in the South. So pricing is very much dictated by area and region. There still areas not far from where we live where cleaners are charging £5 for a 3 bed semi.

We also haven't taken into consideration that obstacles like locked gates add the cleaning times. No 2 houses on the same estate are the same even although they are identi

I'd price one of those at £12 and be lucky to get it, but that style of house up here ex council lads are doing them for £8 so I won't even entertain quoting a job like that I avoid those estates like the plague

pricing is all dependent on area,customers and frequency also a house is only worth what it’s worth and you’ll reach that max amount at some point

 

[smearclear]

Unfortunately there is a lot involved with pricing.
There was a formula put in up on the forums recently pricing per window, french door, bathroom window and front door for a 3 bed semi.
For houses on our estate, the price per clean would work out to £17 using that formula.

There is no way i would get £17 for a clean. Currently I'm between £10 and £11 which is a similar price other cleaners are charging.

One of the cleaners working the estate raised his price from £12 to £15 and his customer cancelled. His customer told me he felt £12 was the very limit of what he would pay for his windows to be cleaned.

Now £17 would probably not be enough for a clean in the South. So pricing is very much dictated by area and region. There still areas not far from where we live where cleaners are charging £5 for a 3 bed semi.

We also haven't taken into consideration that obstacles like locked gates add the cleaning times. No 2 houses on the same estate are the same even although they are identical.

These prices are very low London and the south of England Farnham to Southhampton. Lowest price for a house is £20 then three-bedroom houses £23 to £25 in they have a conservatory extra £5 to £7 depending size of extension or conservatory. Four-bedroom semi or detached £25 to £30 these are the prices if you want to run a window cleaning company with out slugging your guts out. What do my fellow window cleaners think.

 

[Part Timer]

These prices are very low London and the south of England Farnham to Southhampton. Lowest price for a house is £20 then three-bedroom houses £23 to £25 in they have a conservatory extra £5 to £7 depending size of extension or conservatory. Four-bedroom semi or detached £25 to £30 these are the prices if you want to run a window cleaning company with out slugging your guts out. What do my fellow window cleaners think.

We're very similar to @spruce, pricewise, unfortunately the reality up here is you can only charge what your customers are willing to pay.
Invariably we pick up work from other windies that have packed in because they weren't earning enough. These people would be charging £5-£6 so the customer might pay £10-£12 but wouldn't pay £20

 

[Iron Giant]

We're very similar to @spruce, pricewise, unfortunately the reality up here is you can only charge what your customers are willing to pay.
Invariably we pick up work from other windies that have packed in because they weren't earning enough. These people would be charging £5-£6 so the customer might pay £10-£12 but wouldn't pay £20

I'm also aware of the fact that down the country quite a number are a 6 weekly frequency so factor this in plus higher rents and mortgage costs to cover outside of business costing then without doing the maths £20 compared to our £10-12 pricing on a 4-week frequency then the pricing I'd guess is almost comparable.

 

[RyeCleanLiam]

I'm amazed at how this thread quickly turned into a North South divide of Northerners saying "you can't charge that up here lad we have people cleaning houses for £6". The OP simply asked for pricing advice and if it was possible to price up by house size or number of windows. Simply put, yes it is possible. I have tried it both ways and I find for me personally it is more accurate to price by number of windows. I have a quote form on my website, it simply asks how many standard windows, how many bay windows, any patio or bi fold, Velux or conservatory. I price up all my customers this way and they sign up to GoCardless. This can be done wherever you live in the country and you can decide how much you feel you can charge per item, and if you'll have a minimum charge. After picking up 3 or 4 customers you'll quickly realise how accurate your prices are to what you want to achieve.
I am in the North, North Yorkshire. I have a minimum charge of £17.50 now, most new jobs are £20+. I do some houses with 5 windows for £20. My work isn't compact because I can't stand doing house after house and my pricing reflects this. I earn a very good wage and spend a lot of the day driving as well as cleaning. Means I get a little break in-between jobs, which is just how I like to work.
I don't worry about cleaners who are charging £10 for jobs I am charging £18-£20 because I'm not competing with them.
But to answer the OP question, as I said I find pricing per window is the most accurate. I started off at £1 let standard window, now I am double that at least.

 

[Windowman72]

I’m wanting everybody’s opinions on pricing or how too efficiently

Would you have a set price list with types of houses etc and let them sign up through my website

Or price on the job per window etc?


I have tried using the search boxes but it’s not bringing much up

It all depends on area,size of windows easiness,access,customer and what your happy earning for the clean

 

[Windowman72]

I'm amazed at how this thread quickly turned into a North South divide of Northerners saying "you can't charge that up here lad we have people cleaning houses for £6". The OP simply asked for pricing advice and if it was possible to price up by house size or number of windows. Simply put, yes it is possible. I have tried it both ways and I find for me personally it is more accurate to price by number of windows. I have a quote form on my website, it simply asks how many standard windows, how many bay windows, any patio or bi fold, Velux or conservatory. I price up all my customers this way and they sign up to GoCardless. This can be done wherever you live in the country and you can decide how much you feel you can charge per item, and if you'll have a minimum charge. After picking up 3 or 4 customers you'll quickly realise how accurate your prices are to what you want to achieve.
I am in the North, North Yorkshire. I have a minimum charge of £17.50 now, most new jobs are £20+. I do some houses with 5 windows for £20. My work isn't compact because I can't stand doing house after house and my pricing reflects this. I earn a very good wage and spend a lot of the day driving as well as cleaning. Means I get a little break in-between jobs, which is just how I like to work.
I don't worry about cleaners who are charging £10 for jobs I am charging £18-£20 because I'm not competing with them.
But to answer the OP question, as I said I find pricing per window is the most accurate. I started off at £1 let standard window, now I am double that at least.

Couldn’t have put it better myself

 

[Part Timer]

I'm amazed at how this thread quickly turned into a North South divide of Northerners saying "you can't charge that up here lad we have people cleaning houses for £6". The OP simply asked for pricing advice and if it was possible to price up by house size or number of windows. Simply put, yes it is possible. I have tried it both ways and I find for me personally it is more accurate to price by number of windows. I have a quote form on my website, it simply asks how many standard windows, how many bay windows, any patio or bi fold, Velux or conservatory. I price up all my customers this way and they sign up to GoCardless. This can be done wherever you live in the country and you can decide how much you feel you can charge per item, and if you'll have a minimum charge. After picking up 3 or 4 customers you'll quickly realise how accurate your prices are to what you want to achieve.
I am in the North, North Yorkshire. I have a minimum charge of £17.50 now, most new jobs are £20+. I do some houses with 5 windows for £20. My work isn't compact because I can't stand doing house after house and my pricing reflects this. I earn a very good wage and spend a lot of the day driving as well as cleaning. Means I get a little break in-between jobs, which is just how I like to work.
I don't worry about cleaners who are charging £10 for jobs I am charging £18-£20 because I'm not competing with them.
But to answer the OP question, as I said I find pricing per window is the most accurate. I started off at £1 let standard window, now I am double that at least.

I'm glad this method works for you, all @spruce and I are saying is in big Northern towns and cities it doesn't work like that, in well to do small towns and villages it might. There is still a lot of traditional cleaners doing jobs at 1980's pricing. We have a big new build estate within a mile of where I live that is mainly 4 and 5 bed detached houses, Someone is quoting £10 for the 4 bed and £11 for the 5 bed.
All we can do is advise newbies on our own personal experiences, doesn't make our advice right or wrong as no 2 areas are the same