Pricing is one of the few levers that affects everything else in a cleaning business — what you can pay your crew, how fast you can grow, and eventually what the business is worth. It deserves more than copying whatever the competitor down the street charges.
Start from your real costs, not a competitor's website
Work out your fully-loaded labor cost per hour — wages plus payroll taxes, insurance, and supplies, not just the wage itself. That's your floor. Everything you charge above it is what actually funds growth, equipment, and your own pay.
Flat rate vs. hourly
Flat-rate pricing is more predictable for the customer and easier for you to forecast against as you grow — you know what a standard job brings in before you've scheduled it. Hourly can still make sense for unpredictable jobs (a first-time deep clean of an unknown space), but most businesses that scale past a handful of crews move toward flat rate for their standard offerings.
Build in your margin on purpose
Decide your target margin before you quote a job, not after you see what's left over. A price that only covers costs with nothing built in isn't a growth strategy — it's a plan to stay exactly the size you are now.
Price recurring service to reward commitment
A modest discount for recurring customers over one-time visits is standard, and it's a fair trade: recurring revenue is what actually lets you schedule a stable crew and forecast cash flow, which is worth something to the business beyond the invoice total.
Revisit pricing on a schedule, not out of guilt
Set a regular review — once or twice a year — rather than only raising prices when costs force your hand. Existing customers handle a modest, expected adjustment far better than a large reactive one, and it keeps your margins from quietly eroding as your own costs rise.