Initial Cleanings

[Pages Personal Cleaning]

Do you charge extra for initial home cleanings?
I always charge between 125.00 and 150.00 for the first cleaning even if the client tells me the home was just cleaned last week because most times the cleaning service they had before was a wipe and go service.
Patti

[maybaby]

i generally have been charging about 10 -20 dollars more. I am going to start charging at least 30 dollars more now, because ive spent more time than I thought on peoples first time cleanings.

Candi

[Pages Personal Cleaning]

Yes Candi, when I first started out I only charged 20.00 more for initial cleanings. Most of these homes have not been professionally cleaned for quite some time. It takes hours sometimes to clean these homes the first time.
Patti

[Crowz]

Yes, on some jobs (both residential and commercial), we charge an initial cleaning fee. It depends on the condition of home to be cleaned.... that is why we feel it is worth the $$ and time to do an on-site visual estimate. We have charged as much as double for really bad places. Patti, I chuckled at this... "the home was just cleaned last week because most times the cleaning service they had before was a wipe and go service." Never heard it said quite that way before. Love the expression, and can't wait to use it! ;D ;D ;D

Natalie

[Pages Personal Cleaning]

Initial cleanings can be really bad. I sent a lady to do an initial last week including windows and it took her 7 hours to clean.
Patti

[kisha]

i normally charge 150 & up
Hello Page

[tcmb04]

What sizes are you all talking for those prices? What prices do you charge for once a month cleans, and bi-weekly?

[gailm]

The charge is based on square footage and contents.

If you're new at estimating the ongoing service, you can add another 1/2 hour for a monthly.

I recommend charging the initial clean at your hourly rate for an estimated number of hours to clean. If it appears to be really clean, still estimate and charge for an initial cleaning and tell the customer you'll bill them for the actual hours or your regular service quote; whichever turns out to be higher. Always have a minimum.

Gail

[Crowz]

I agree with Gail. We estimate by time/hours plus if there are children, pets, the condition of the house/office, even distance to the account. The only time we use square feet is when it is a very large commercial account, say over 10,000 sq.ft.. We use a specification/task sheet for each job so we know exactly what the customer wants done and when. Our initial cleaning is 25 to 50% more of what we would charge for maintenance cleaning. We also charge a one time $10 account set-up fee. Say you estimate an office at $90.00 for weekly, add up to $45 for initial. If the same office is to be cleaned 2x weekly, drop down to $70 per visit, 3x @ $50 per. Bi-monthly/monthly go up $20 or more per visit. That's how we do it anyway.

Natalie

[Pages Personal Cleaning]

I have to disagree with charging by the hour and billing a new customer. You never want to bill a new residential customer for the first cleaning. Always request payment the day of service. There are people who will get a thorough cleaning for free if you tell them they will be billed.
Patti

[Crowz]

Well, we haven't had that problem yet. It is a very smart suggestion though. We always demand payment at time of service for residential carpet cleaning though. We depend on having the Service Agreement and Spec./Task sheets for continuing service. Will definitely consider asking for payment of initial and acct. set-up fee in advance on new residential accounts now! Thanx for the advice! ;D

Natalie

[Pages Personal Cleaning]

Hi Natalie
Yes its different when you bill for ongoing commercial accounts. I use to do commercial and residential and switched to sticktly residential. When I did commercial accounts I billed monthly. With residential its different. Especially when they are a new client.
Patti

[tcmb04]

I have started charging a intial amount for the first clean. Just wanted to know what the prices were based on. Does anyone else have the same problem i have with the intial cleans with customers?
When I tell them there first clean will be slightly higher? I feel i have been losing because of it.
Tina

[Pages Personal Cleaning]

Most people know they will have to pay more for the initial cleaning because so much more time and cleaning is involved and they don't mind paying the extra. If someone can't pay the extra for the initial cleaning they probably can't afford a cleaning service to start with, so you really don't need these kind of clients.
Think of it this way, would they spend 3 to 4 hours extra on their job and not get paid for it. No way!
Stick to your prices. The good clients will come your way.
Patti

[Crowz]

We base our initials on the condition of the residence to be cleaned and how much time it will take to clean. Maintenance cleaning takes about half the time, thus half the $$$. I was looking into estimates the other day and found that the word it's self means "best guess" or "educated guess". I have read that estimates can be binding, or non-binding.... in other words, if non-binding you can raise or lower your estimate after getting the job. I think I will state that on our written estimates "THIS ESTIMATE IS NON-BINDING", or visa-versa, from now on!

Does that help at all? Also, use Specification (task) Sheet and Service Agreement located under Useful Documents in this residential section of the Forum. That will keep customers from adding on services.

Natalie