[emz_1988_8]

Hi everyone

What is the going rate for commerical cleaning? Im thinking of becoming self employed and starting domestic and commerical cleaning but dont know the going rate for commerical cleaning?

Many Thanks

[Adam P]

we try and price from £14 and upwards including products/equipment but it never usually ends up being that, more like 10/11 per hour which we make up for the fact we are quick so it ends up being 10/11 for 30 minutes etc, but this isn't good for when you start hiring people to replace you and you have to pay them and make money from it.

[PaulineH]

Hi there rates depend on what area your in really ,as for the response from Green clean Solution saying they try and price £14 and more,but it ends up being more like £10/£11,i took it they charge £10/£11 per hour but then only work 30 mins now do the clients know and accept this? I have a mixture of domestic and commercial clients and i wouldn't dream of charging for an hour then only doing 30 mins for me that would be un-professional. Maybe he has got clients who don't really care.
Anyway i charge £11.00 per hour for commercial and i provide cleaning products used, hope this helps..

[vacman]

***before reading my unmodified post below, please note it no longer reads completley in-context as the post before it has been modifed as opposed to the author coming back with a counter reply***


Pauline, no where in the post you speak of did the author say they were CHARGING £14 an hour and doing less, they said they were PRICING £14 per hour, which could very well be an 'internal' calcualtion that they work to when on a fixed-price job.

Like you, i too would be wary of CHARGING an hourly rate and CHARGING for a number of hours IF it was that we didnt work the hours stated. Most of my jobs are a fixed-price job and not charged at the hourly rate. I charge for what we do, not how long we take to do it.

[martin19842]

hi there

dont charge by the hour, quote per clean, or per week, per month etc.

calculate the number of hours to do the clean, hourly rate x time, add in holiday pay, emp NI, machinery costs, materials, and then add the contract management percentage you need based on your p and l, an finally your nett profit.

that gives you the cost per clean, the client is then charged that cost, and the work is done, dont stipulate the number of hours to client unless you really have to.

regards

martin

[vacman]

Hi there rates depend on what area your in really ,as for the response from Green clean Solution saying they try and price £14 and more,but it ends up being more like £10/£11,i took it they charge £10/£11 per hour but then only work 30 mins now do the clients know and accept this? I have a mixture of domestic and commercial clients and i wouldn't dream of charging for an hour then only doing 30 mins for me that would be un-professional.

It depends if you SAID you were charging for an hour of your time; in that instance then yes, it is -to quote- unprofessional (and in all likelyness in breach in contract) to do less, but the way around it is (as has been said) to set a price for the work. There is no way in this world i am prepared to let my experience and team of cleaning products stand in the way of me doing a fast clean, not when i am cleaning to the standard the client wants.

Anyone can be somewhere for an hour, as to what gets done very much depends on the person doing the work. My clients pay me and my sister for doing the work, for doing a task-list, not for the time i spend in their home and on their sites.

[PaulineH]

H, Maybe i did read the post wrong, but from my experience clients always ask for a breakdown in the charges and what it equates to per hour. I don't do any work that is charged by the job, so for me if i charge for 2 hours work thats what i do....

[vacman]

H, Maybe i did read the post wrong, but from my experience clients always ask for a breakdown in the charges and what it equates to per hour. I don't do any work that is charged by the job, so for me if i charge for 2 hours work thats what i do....

Pauline, i have been asked for a per-hour breakdown before now, but only in the stages BEFORE the client and i have mutally agreed that we will work for them, and when asked for such information i have told them quite clearly that i cannot provide it as its not how i work. They have to accept the way i do business or go elsewhere. Which is interesting, because most cleaning companies in the area i work are charging for the work and not the time. Add to this the fact i have plenty of regular work from people who 'accept' this style of charging.


If you are stating that you are charging for 2 hours work then yes, of course you are supposed to be there on-site for that time. You could argue that you should go after 2 hours, whether finished or not.

There is no right or wrong answer, but i do get the impression that you personally perceive the only 'value' in your work by the number of hours you are on a clients premises. Thats fine, but do you not also believe that your experience and knowledge of your job is also what you bring to the table? So to that end, we charge for the work as we don't see why our years of experience, our excellent stock of products and materials, and our passion for cleaning should then be to our detriment if it means we can clean quickly.

[Adam P]

we charge for the work as we don't see why our years of experience, our excellent stock of products and materials, and our passion for cleaning should then be to our detriment if it means we can clean quickly.

couldn't have said it better myself

[Gilbert Sprous]

For the most part I charge by the job.  I have taken over several contracts that were charged by the hour, and I really kind of like it because it gives me somewhere to start, but I alway ensure that the client knows that my bids are per month, 12 months per year.  If they close for 2 weeks during christmas, their December bill is no different.  I take into account that they close and their monthly invoice reflects that.  If you charge per hour and their are closures for any reason or if they feel that the place is clean enough then they could say, that is enough for today, and you have no recourse.  To keep a cleaner, if that is the plan now or in the future, you need to be able to offer a specific amount of hours.  You can get cleaners that will take the hours that you give them week on week but to get good, qualified, dedicated cleaners, you need to be able to offer them a specific amount of hours.  It also is a mess for accounting, and for growth planning if  your invoicing varies month by month for the same contract. 

Saying all that, I know there are folks out there that do fine charging by the hour, but for me and my plans the only way to go is to charge by the job.  Get stuck in after the bid and figure out how to increase your margins without losing quality.  Back to when I said I like having a starting point with previous cleaners charging by the hour.  If I bid a job at the same time as they are currently recieving and I am able to find efficiences then I can increase my margins.

Think about it and good luck.  If I was to be asked and be honest I believe my normal bids would be in the area of 10.50 per hour but again, saying that I have bid at that price and introduced efficiencies that have some of my contracts paying in the area of 20.00 per hour and all of my clients are very satisfied.  For the most part it is the end product that counts not the time spent.

Cheers Gilbert

[Colin Stokes]

It's really interesting seeing how different people approach things;

For me always charge by the hour although that is much easier because we only clean communal residential areas and they never close (although if it includes exterior upkeep there may be less in the winter but this is still published to a client and an average amount pcm is charged over whole year).

There are always unforeseen circumstances which can cause a job to require extra or even double time (thats when we charge extra) and also we attend each re-occurring site at pretty much the same time week in and week out so residents get to know and expect us and see us onsite (SO important in this type of cleaning) for me it also ensures the staff have time for the extras/bi annual task etc (high level washing down or whatever) and residents feel they are paying for a service they can rely and check on.


Martin - if you're reading this it may change your mind about the information I was going to put together for you!!!

[emz_1988_8]

Thanks for your help, Hows  the best way to get commerical clients?

[suffolkclean]

Colin - how do you find out which company deals with communal areas of flats?

[vacman]

Colin - how do you find out which company deals with communal areas of flats?

Sorry to butt in on this one; sometimes the management agents name is actually on the property road-signs. Youd could also do a lot worse than asking residents if you see any around, or indeed call a local estate agent posing as an 'interested' party in one on the properties for sale and as if they could tell you who manages the development as you have a dog and want to ask if they permit dogs to live there, before you buy the property  Believe me, that last one is  a common question asked about flats and i've succesfully used it myself several times over the years to find out who currently managed a building.