One is
complete with the equipment and has hired the staff
to clean up for the business. One has already
provided flyers and met with clients for potential
business. Bidding for services would be the best
step for one to undertake, and the main issue would
then be how much would one charge the client for the
services?
The first area of concern is that the business is
for profit. With the very stiff competition in the
market, one would tend to take a dive in pricing in
order to get contracts. When one prices too low,
then the margin for the business would be too low
and thus earning would be nearly nil. Without this
revenue, there would be not much earnings that can
be used to reinvest because one would be operating
at a loss. This means that the revenue earned would
be too low and one would actually earn less than
what can be realized. Always remember that there are
companies willing to pay for the services offered at
a higher rate. Finding these clients may take a bit
of more work but one should not work for a loss
because one needs to earn for the business.
Commercial cleaning rates differ according to one’s
geography. Rates can vary from $15 up to $40
depending upon the service offered, either being
done by one’s self including all the company’s
expenses. Rates can also be based on the square feet
of cleaning space, which can run from $.05 to $.20
per square foot, and this increases depending upon
the frequency of cleaning and the type of cleaning.
Medical facilities are priced higher than office
buildings due to its higher cleaning requirement.
For building space, one would price lower for volume
as compared to smaller building areas. An example
would be a large disparity between pricing for a
10,000 square foot office space as compared to a 500
square foot space to clean. In this aspect, the
larger the area, the lower the price would be. If
one is retained as an office cleaner, billing would
be done monthly. This price can be reached by
estimating the length and duration of the services
to be rendered. The more work that can be done, then
the higher the rate of production can be done and
with that the greater earnings realized.
It would also be prudent to find out the market
prices for the services being offered in the area.
A bit of research by phone calls would be enough to
get the going rate for the services rendered. Making
a few phone calls would be good so that one can
actually get a listing of the costing for the
services similarly offered. With this information
and comparing the same to the cost of overheads, one
can make a rough estimate of what can be charged per
month. Though some would insist on a site visit,
with a few inquiries one can have an idea of the
market prices prevalent in the area.
