[Pdh]

i could do with a little help pricing a  cleaning job i may get,i currently have a window cleaning business but im trying to break into the office cleaning{dusting,toilt cleaning etc}get the wife back into work.its a new bulid of a decent size im guessing around 2 hrs evey evening,i have to supply all the cleaning materials including toilet rolls,paper hand towels etc anyone give me an idea on pricing and invoicing and any other matters i need to take into account?thanks pdh

[Fox]

Hi

1st peice of advice is don't price the disposables (bags, loo rolls etc) in the cleaning always give a separate quote for that.  Your price for the cleaning should include labour, chemicals, machinery (find out if you need more than a vac) supervision, p&el ins and administation costs.  For a contract of 2hrs per evening, 1 person on £6 per hour with one vacuum I would go in between 112.00 and 135.00 (people may say this is too cheap but believe me it's not) depending on how much you want it (eg: location, will it lead to other works etc etc)

When you quote do it for 52 weeks of the year then invoice to the last friday in every month (some months will have 4 wks some 5).  Invoice on 1st of every month for that months cleaning and use 30 day terms.

Hope this has helped.
Fox

[Pdh]

thankyou ,in your reply ,supervision,p&el not sure what you mean ,also the office is 2 floors occupied by all men around 20 to 30 at a guess {building company}how would i price up for the t/roll/hand towels etc, would that be added on each month, once again thanks  each visit.Ii think the job only needs a hoover for carpets and a mop for the tiled areas.thanks  

[Pdh]

insurances pl&el got it not thinking straight the prices you have given are these are weekly  prices?also just figured out the supervision  bit?

[Fox]

Yep P&EL is insurance - supervision is someone experienced checking the work and carrying out quality control.  Get your cost price for hand towels etc then add your charge on top for the price - tell the client you charge for usage so for instance 1500 hand towels will cost x amount and you will supply on demand.

Fox

[Robert Parry]

When quoting for this type of work, remember to include holiday pay and sick pay if applicable.

Regarding invoicing, divide your price by 12, thus ensuring the same charge each month, this will cut your admin time on all your contracts, no need to change the invoice depending on how many full weeks are in a particular month etc. The idea is to work smarter not harder.

Regarding materials, your supplier should have two price lists available, one trade, the other retail, you should charge your clients the retail price, and take the difference that you actually pay as your profit from these items, this will allow your clients to see that you are not doing them, if they should start shopping around for consumable items. You should invoice these items seperately, at month end, so they are only paying for what they actually use.

You should also ensure that your T & C state that no credit is given for bank holidays etc, this will allow you to use these days as part of your staffs holiday allowance.

Hope this helps, regards,

Rob

[Pdh]

all helping thanks

[Pdh]

its looking like i have got the job ,i have gone in with a price of £20 per visit and all toilet rolls etc to be added on each month. can anyone recomend any cleaning suppliers and any cleaning  products  ?. i just hope it all works out.
 

[compuclean]

Where abouts is the job?  Do the computers need cleaning? 

[Pdh]

yorkshire.

[Fox]

Good luck with it!  I'm sure all will be fine. 

We use Dysys products http://www.dysys.co.uk/ not sure if they have anyone in your area but they are worth a call, if you find a supplier they will most likely do all the paper products you need aswell.

[Pdh]

thanks .

[Robert Parry]

Pdh, have you priced this contract by visit?
If so can I ask why?

Regards,

Rob

[Pdh]

£20 is how much the quote works out per visit?is this the wrong way to go about it?  the office requires our services 5 evenings a week.

[Robert Parry]

I, and I think most in the commercial sector quote weekly or monthly prices, one of the reasons for this is clarity, charging by the visit opens all sorts of possible problems, such as "oh, we only need you to clean 3 times this week as we are not very busy", perhaps not so bad, if its only the wife working, but what would you say to a member of staff if this situation did arise?

Customers, do not always play fair, take nothing for granted, put everything in writing.

Regards,

Rob

[Fox]

Yep Rob has hit the spot.  We quote weekly 52 weeks of the year so even if they have a shut down they get charged.

[pdl]

Yep, we quote for 52 weeks per year ie:
£100 per week = £5200 divided by 12 months = invoice £433.33 per month.

[Pdh]

i am meeting the guy in charge of maintanence tomorrow, also i am quoting for the window cleaning/grounds maintanence which is my field of business so the the cleaning charge will be included in the monthly invoice.I have also got a domestic 1 off {christmas clean} internal cleaning job to view tomorrow what are your views on one offs{if it were window cleaning}the charge would be double.With the cleaning side of the business just starting out do i go in at the normal rate?What would be the hourly rate on domestic clean be

[Robert Parry]

Unless you are going to do the actual clean on one of the holidays, I dont understand why you would consider charging this prospective customer double.

Yes one off's are charged at a premium, due to the fact that they are a one time event, harder work etc, decide on how long the job will take and add 50% to your normal charge, also charge milage if you wish, regards,

Rob