A practical method for residential and commercial cleaning businesses to set prices: time estimates, true labor cost, supplies, travel, overhead and profit, with worked examples.
| Model | Best for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Per hour | Unclear scope, first visits, small jobs | Customers may worry about slow work |
| Flat rate per visit | Recurring residential and small offices | Needs accurate time estimates |
| Per square foot | Commercial contracts and move-out cleans | Condition and fixtures vary widely |
| Per room | Residential | Room sizes and condition differ |
| Monthly contract | Recurring commercial cleaning | Scope creep; review annually |
Whatever model you show the customer, calculate it underneath from hours and costs. That way your flat rates and square-foot prices stay profitable.
Time is the biggest driver of cost. Estimate it from the size of the space, the tasks, the condition and the frequency: a first deep clean takes much longer than a weekly maintenance clean. Time your crews on typical jobs for a few weeks and build a table of standard times. Our cleaning time estimator gives a starting point, and our house cleaning and office cleaning checklists help define scope.
A cleaner paid $18.00 an hour costs more than $18.00. Add employer payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, any benefits and paid time off. Then account for unbillable time: travel between jobs, waiting for access, supply runs and training. If cleaners are paid for 40 hours a week but only 32 hours are spent cleaning, every billable hour must carry the cost of 1.25 paid hours.
| Item | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Base wage | $18.00 | |
| Payroll taxes, workers’ comp and benefits (example 20%) | $18.00 × 1.20 | $21.60 |
| Paid hours per cleaning hour | 40 ÷ 32 | 1.25 |
| True labor cost per cleaning hour | $21.60 × 1.25 | $27.00 |
Our labor burden calculator helps with the burden rate. Remember that travel between jobs during the workday is generally paid time for non-exempt employees; see travel time pay.
See our overhead rate calculator.
Decide on a target margin, then divide total cost by (1 − margin). A job that costs $100 to deliver, priced at a 25% margin, is $100 ÷ 0.75 = $133.33. Margin and markup are different: a 25% margin equals a 33.3% markup. Check with our profit margin calculator.
| Item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Labor | 2 cleaners × 1.5 hours × $27.00 | $81.00 |
| Supplies | 3 cleaning hours × $1.50 | $4.50 |
| Travel | Fixed per visit | $6.00 |
| Overhead | 3 cleaning hours × $5.00 | $15.00 |
| Total cost | $106.50 | |
| Price at 25% margin | $106.50 ÷ 0.75 | $142.00 |
You might round to a clean price per visit and charge more for the first deep clean, which takes longer. Our house cleaning price calculator runs similar math.
A 6,000-square-foot office is cleaned five evenings a week. Timing shows 2.5 hours per visit for one cleaner. Monthly hours are about 2.5 × 5 × 4.33 = 54 hours. At a true labor cost of $27.00, labor is about $1,458; supplies at $1.50 per hour add $81, overhead at $5.00 per hour adds $270, for a total cost of about $1,809 a month. At a 25% margin, the monthly price is about $2,412, or roughly $0.40 per square foot per month. Our janitorial bid calculator helps with commercial bids.
Customers compare cleaning quotes quickly, so make yours easy to understand. State what is included, room by room or area by area, how often, how long the price is valid and what costs extra. For recurring residential work, a simple price per visit is easiest. For commercial clients, a monthly price with a clear scope of work and a schedule of periodic tasks, such as carpet cleaning or window washing, prevents arguments later. If you walk through the space before quoting, take notes and photos so the scope is documented and both sides can refer back to it if questions come up.
Compare estimated and actual time for every job, at least monthly. Jobs that consistently run long are losing money; either the estimate was wrong or the scope has crept. Review prices annually and when wages, insurance or supply costs rise, and give recurring clients notice of price changes as your agreement requires. Accurate time records per site are what make this possible. See cleaning company time tracking and cleaning company payroll.
With EZTime, cleaners clock in and out at each site from the mobile app or an NFC tag, so you know exactly how long each job takes. Job and client tracking assigns time to clients for costing, task checklists confirm the work was done and approved hours are exported for payroll. See EZTime for cleaning services.
Our house cleaning price calculator and cleaning time estimator turn these details into a price.
Review prices at least once a year. Give recurring clients written notice, explain the reason briefly, such as higher wages or supply costs, and thank them for their business. Many cleaning companies raise prices for new clients first and phase increases in for existing ones. See how to market a cleaning business.
Watch for jobs that consistently run over the estimate. They usually point to a missing detail in your quote form, such as pets, clutter or a hard-to-reach area. Add the question to the form so the next quote is right from the start.
Tick each item that is true.
0 of 6. Your prices may not cover costs. Time your jobs first.
Calculate your true labor cost per cleaning hour, add supplies, travel, overhead and profit, then compare with your local market.
Flat rates suit recurring work once you know job times; hourly suits unclear scope. Calculate both from your costs.
Time the work, calculate monthly hours and costs, add overhead and profit, and express the result per visit, per month or per square foot.
Usually yes. First and deep cleans take longer than maintenance cleans.
Generally yes for non-exempt employees. Travel between job sites during the workday is usually hours worked.
Review at least once a year and when wages, insurance or supplies rise significantly, giving clients notice.
EZTime tags hours by job, client and role and shows real-time labor costing on the schedule, so estimates can be checked against actual hours. See current plans and what each one includes on the pricing page.