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Jacko

New member
Messages
11
Location
Oxfordshire
Hi all

feel free to tell me to bugger off but I was hoping for some advice on pricing. Now I know this depends massively on where abouts in the country you are operating and size of your business/team, overheads etc but as a general pricing guide am I right in thinking £1 per window plus doors and extra for conservatories etc. I’ve been told go for general rule of £1 per window and a £1 for yourself but this was a few years ago. So how much has the pricing changed since? Any input would be greatly appreciated 

thanks

 
It would depend on what you class as a ‘window’ as in is it £1 per single pane or a £1 per full window (so like two pains with a frame is £1, if that makes sense). 
 

The problem with this is a two bed semi might only have 5 windows, french doors & a front door. £8. But most on here would probably be a minimum of £10 now for that. 

Your better to work out what you want to make per hour. Most lads start by aiming for £30 an hour. Then as time goes on they realise they’re doing £35-£45 an hour. The trick is to make sure your prices don’t go down as you start quoting lower as your quicker! ?

Then, figure out how long a job will take you, including travel, and go from there. So if it’s a 15 minute job, and your aiming for £40, thats £10. ?

I hope this helps. After a while you can quote a job just by looking at it (most of the time). 

 
It would depend on what you class as a ‘window’ as in is it £1 per single pane or a £1 per full window (so like two pains with a frame is £1, if that makes sense). 
 

The problem with this is a two bed semi might only have 5 windows, french doors & a front door. £8. But most on here would probably be a minimum of £10 now for that. 

Your better to work out what you want to make per hour. Most lads start by aiming for £30 an hour. Then as time goes on they realise they’re doing £35-£45 an hour. The trick is to make sure your prices don’t go down as you start quoting lower as your quicker! ?

Then, figure out how long a job will take you, including travel, and go from there. So if it’s a 15 minute job, and your aiming for £40, thats £10. ?

I hope this helps. After a while you can quote a job just by looking at it (most of the time). 
I price mine like the council tax, if its worth half a mill then I would be around £25 to £30 I guess. I do £350k to £375k homes for £16 and someone new moved in and asked me to clean it. It was a nightmare with Juliet balcony and backdoor on a hill. Put card through for £16 and waited a week so text and got my money. Turned up the next month and they seen me and texted not to bother. They buy big house and have lease car and can't afford to live in it. I was over the moon because it was a very difficult clean. I like the customers who are retired with public pension and no mortgage and paid for car then they tell you I'm getting my state pension soon and I can't get abroad for a holiday. ?

 
It would depend on what you class as a ‘window’ as in is it £1 per single pane or a £1 per full window (so like two pains with a frame is £1, if that makes sense). 
 

The problem with this is a two bed semi might only have 5 windows, french doors & a front door. £8. But most on here would probably be a minimum of £10 now for that. 

Your better to work out what you want to make per hour. Most lads start by aiming for £30 an hour. Then as time goes on they realise they’re doing £35-£45 an hour. The trick is to make sure your prices don’t go down as you start quoting lower as your quicker! ?

Then, figure out how long a job will take you, including travel, and go from there. So if it’s a 15 minute job, and your aiming for £40, thats £10. ?

I hope this helps. After a while you can quote a job just by looking at it (most of the time). 
Thanks for getting back to me! Yeah that makes sense, I see what you mean. I could end up short changing myself, I think the game has changed a lot since I knew it when it was £5 for a 3 bed semi front and back ? I think your right £30 an hour to aim for would be a good place to start and get the experience in and go from there. Thankyou 

 
I price mine like the council tax, if its worth half a mill then I would be around £25 to £30 I guess. I do £350k to £375k homes for £16 and someone new moved in and asked me to clean it. It was a nightmare with Juliet balcony and backdoor on a hill. Put card through for £16 and waited a week so text and got my money. Turned up the next month and they seen me and texted not to bother. They buy big house and have lease car and can't afford to live in it. I was over the moon because it was a very difficult clean. I like the customers who are retired with public pension and no mortgage and paid for car then they tell you I'm getting my state pension soon and I can't get abroad for a holiday. ?
Thankyou for getting back to me! Yeah that does make sense, I guess it will all come with experience. Yeah sometimes some customers just aren’t worth the trouble ? 

 
I agree with master Jedi but as you're based in Oxfordshire, which is quite affluent, I would consider aiming for £40-50 per hour. Obviously there are other considerations you need to take account of. 

I'm charging on average of £40 per hour but I operate a bit slower than the experienced guys. The gist is, the quicker we work, the more we earn. 

 
I agree with master Jedi but as you're based in Oxfordshire, which is quite affluent, I would consider aiming for £40-50 per hour. Obviously there are other considerations you need to take account of. 

I'm charging on average of £40 per hour but I operate a bit slower than the experienced guys. The gist is, the quicker we work, the more we earn. 
Hi new guy

ok wow that’s more than I expected, yes I totally agree I think I will take my time and learn the techniques to start with and hopefully get better and quicker as I go. I’m practicing my technique religiously trying to do the best and quickest I can on my own house and I’m going to do my mums tomorrow (bigger house, bigger windows) just for a bit of variation. Thanks ??

 
While I’ve got you guys here would you mind answering a few other questions for me?

should I bet aiming to do cleans monthly or 6 weekly? Or would you leave it down to the customer as some may prefer maybe monthly in the summer months? 
Also on the subject of money would could I expect to pay roughly for my insurances? As a sole trader? 
thanks guys

 
While I’ve got you guys here would you mind answering a few other questions for me?

should I bet aiming to do cleans monthly or 6 weekly? Or would you leave it down to the customer as some may prefer maybe monthly in the summer months? 
Also on the subject of money would could I expect to pay roughly for my insurances? As a sole trader? 
thanks guys
Everyone is different & will depend a bit on earlier. When I started I offered monthly & bi-monthly (with £5 extra on top). Now I heavily push bi-monthly, but I am happy to pick up customers slower but with a better return. 
 

£100ish for Public Liability insurance that will cover you if you damage the glass (most won’t).
https://www.gleaminginsurance.co.uk are a good shout. They’re a sponsor here, they always reply to questions sent in by email, and they let you pay by monthly DD but don’t charger interest for it, so it’s the same price as if you were to pay yearly. 

 
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Hi new guy

ok wow that’s more than I expected, yes I totally agree I think I will take my time and learn the techniques to start with and hopefully get better and quicker as I go. I’m practicing my technique religiously trying to do the best and quickest I can on my own house and I’m going to do my mums tomorrow (bigger house, bigger windows) just for a bit of variation. Thanks ??
Just take your time and focus on quality speed will come with time , take as long as it needs on the first clean this will pay dividends on all subsequent cleans , a lot charge more for the initial clean , we charge double , obviously if it’s a £100 house it’s not practical to charge double for that but still charge a bit more 

While I’ve got you guys here would you mind answering a few other questions for me?

should I bet aiming to do cleans monthly or 6 weekly? Or would you leave it down to the customer as some may prefer maybe monthly in the summer months? 
Also on the subject of money would could I expect to pay roughly for my insurances? As a sole trader? 
thanks guys
We only offer 4 or 8/weekly on domestic the vast majority ware I am want 4 weekly 

 
Hi all

feel free to tell me to bugger off but I was hoping for some advice on pricing. Now I know this depends massively on where abouts in the country you are operating and size of your business/team, overheads etc but as a general pricing guide am I right in thinking £1 per window plus doors and extra for conservatories etc. I’ve been told go for general rule of £1 per window and a £1 for yourself but this was a few years ago. So how much has the pricing changed since? Any input would be greatly appreciated 

thanks
There are plenty of threads on here to read through if you use the search facility 

Many videos on YouTube and many other window cleaners and exterior cleaning contractors who have online price lists 

It's not a back room secret it's our experience skill and time in the trade.

I didn't ask anyone to price my service charges or setup my business over a forum. Apologies that's my tuppence worth of valued opinion 

 
I researched everything I needed to know, decided how I was going to run my business and how I operate without using the help of the forum. 

In fact, I think I didn't join until I was set up and operating. I made mistakes in my first year and have learnt from them. Have picked up useful tips from here since then and decided what will work for me. 

You won't get the answers you're seeking from here as we don't know what suits you best. Just relax a little, be prepared to make mistakes whilst you find your own path. 

There ARE no single right answers or viewpoints here. It's about us settling on what works for ourselves. 

But to answer your question, one of my mistakes last year was offering too many choices to my new customers with the result of a chaotic schedule. I now tell new customers it's 6 weekly only. I may allow some to go on 12 weekly but this is discretionary and I don't advertise it. 

 
I do really appreciate all of your input, Thankyou for taking the time to talk to me. 

There are plenty of threads on here to read through if you use the search facility 

Many videos on YouTube and many other window cleaners and exterior cleaning contractors who have online price lists 

It's not a back room secret it's our experience skill and time in the trade.

I didn't ask anyone to price my service charges or setup my business over a forum. Apologies that's my tuppence worth of valued opinion 
I appreciate you taking the time to reply. I’m doing all of the research I can, I’m checking out as many companies local to me and seeing what they are offering/charging and how they are operating because this is the area I will be operating in and it’s obviously it’s working for the other guys. I only asked on here to get a more broad range of input from different corners of the country, I’m not asking anyone to price my charges for me or setup my business just genuinely a newbie looking for advice from the guys that do it everyday.

 
Everyone is different & will depend a bit on earlier. When I started I offered monthly & bi-monthly (with £5 extra on top). Now I heavily push bi-monthly, but I am happy to pick up customers slower but with a better return. 
 

£100ish for Public Liability insurance that will cover you if you damage the glass (most won’t).
https://www.gleaminginsurance.co.uk are a good shout. They’re a sponsor here, they always reply to questions sent in by email, and they let you pay by monthly DD but don’t charger interest for it, so it’s the same price as if you were to pay yearly. 
Thankyou, I will check them out they sound good! 

 
I do really appreciate all of your input, Thankyou for taking the time to talk to me. 

I appreciate you taking the time to reply. I’m doing all of the research I can, I’m checking out as many companies local to me and seeing what they are offering/charging and how they are operating because this is the area I will be operating in and it’s obviously it’s working for the other guys. I only asked on here to get a more broad range of input from different corners of the country, I’m not asking anyone to price my charges for me or setup my business just genuinely a newbie looking for advice from the guys that do it everyday.
The best valid and constructive advice i can offer you in today's competitive society is "how much is your time worth" ??

You may or may not have come from a previous dead end job or highly paid position sat at a cosy desk somewhere... work on an hourly rate which signifies your fuel cost, material expenses expertise & service type.

Because £1 per window in some instances won't pay the bills 

Austin 

 
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The best valid and constructive advice i can offer you in today's competitive society is "how much is your time worth" ??

You may or may not have come from a previous dead end job or highly paid position sat at a cosy deck somewhere... work on an hourly rate which signifies your fuel cost, material expenses expertise & service type.

Because £1 per window in some instances won't pay the bills 

Austin 
I think that’s the best way to go, that’s what everyone on here has said, I was told the £1 per window thing years ago which may have worked back then but times have changed, the economy and living costs have changed. Thanks Austin ??

 
It very much depends on the size and accessibility of the windows. We do many jobs where we don't get anywhere near a £1 a window and on others over £2.

I would try an establish what you want, and the area you work in will stand, for a modern 3 bed semi, without extension or conservatory, and go from there.

Would think being Oxfordshire a £1 a window would be on the low side.

 
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