What to Charge for Home Cleaning Services

Deciding what to charge for home cleaning services can be tricky.  If the price is too cheap, your services may not be taken serious.  But if you charge too much people will find someone cheaper to clean their home.  Several things can help you set your fee foundation and allow you to make profit.

Competition

Look up in the phone book or do an Internet search for home cleaning services in your area.  Call them and find out what they would charge to clean your home.  Ask them what services they offer and the price they charge.  Compare the costs of the companies you called and find what seems to be the best price.  Make note of how they charge, whether by hour, by room or however they charge.  It is wise to charge 10 to 15 percent less than your competition. 

Hourly?

Determine if you are going to charge hourly, by room, by square feet or a set price per home.  Charging by hour can cause several problems.  The customer may think that a job can be done quicker than you performed it.  There could be a disagreement of the amount of time you spent working.  These both can be problems that can lead to an upset customer.  You will lose that customer and she will tell her friends that you offer dishonest service.  Use the information you collected from your competition to help you decide.  If they are not charging by room, there maybe a reason for that.  List the possible problems and advantages of the different ways to charge and decide which would be best for you.

Expenses

When determining the price to set for cleaning homes you also need to account for your expenses.  Some of your expenses include taxes, supplies, equipment, maintenance of your equipment, insurance, advertising, gas, vehicle upkeep, and wages to employees.  If you are just starting out you may not have any employees yet, but charge as if you did have employees.  Once you decide to hire employees you don’t want to have to raise the prices on your customers to pay employees.  Be sure not to undercharge your services and then lose money because of the expenses.