Build a Menu First
Most cleaning business owners price jobs individually, trying to figure out what to charge for each new account from scratch. Dominic's approach is different: build a pricing menu before you walk into any walkthrough.
Think of it like a restaurant. The chef doesn't invent new prices every time someone orders. They have a menu built on known costs, margins, and production rates. When a new order comes in, they work from the menu.
Your pricing menu has seven ingredients. Master these, and you can price any job confidently, often before you leave the building.
The 7 Ingredients of Your Pricing Menu
1. Production Rate
Your production rate is the number of square feet you can clean per hour. It's the most important variable in your pricing — and the one most new operators don't track carefully enough.
A typical office space runs 2,500–3,500 sqft/hr. But that number shifts based on: - Flooring type — carpet takes longer than LVT; tile adds time for grout lines - Number of restrooms — each restroom slows the overall rate significantly - Layout complexity — many small offices take longer than one open floor plan - Time of day — night crews often work faster with no people around; day porter work is slower
The only way to build accurate production rates is to document your time on real jobs. When you start a new account, track your hours. Build a record. Over time you'll develop ranges for different building types that you can price from confidently.
2. Style of Clean
Not all cleaning is the same, and your pricing should reflect that.
A standard office clean is one thing. A medical clean is another entirely — every surface sanitized, specific product protocols, slower pace, often higher certification requirements. Industrial facilities have their own standards. Post-construction cleaning is labor-intensive and time-variable.
As Dominic put it: start with your ideal client type and learn that style thoroughly before expanding. Know your production rates, your labor requirements, and your pricing for one style of clean before you add another to the menu.
3. Size of the Space
Smaller buildings are counterintuitively harder to price and harder to profit from. Production rates are slower in tight spaces, they're harder to staff (one person on a small account vs. a team), and the overhead per job is higher as a percentage of revenue.
Dominic's "same size rule" is worth taking seriously: small companies should stick to small accounts, and mid-size companies to mid-size accounts. Early in our business, we won a $17,000/month contract. It looked like a massive win. It nearly broke us. We didn't have the team, the reserves, or the systems to handle an account that size. We ended up doing a huge amount of the work ourselves just to keep the client.
Pick accounts you can confidently service with your current team. As you grow, move up.
4. Your Margin
Your margin is yours to set — but it needs to be a conscious decision, not whatever's left over after expenses.
Most commercial cleaning operations run 20–30% net margin. Where you fall in that range depends on: - Your overhead costs (insurance, vehicles, supplies, software) - Your labor costs (wages, taxes, benefits) - The type of work (specialty = higher margin, commodity = lower) - Your positioning (premium brand commands higher pricing)
If you claim to be a premium cleaning company, price like one. If you charge commodity rates, clients will treat you like a commodity.
5. Days and Hours
Nights and weekends cost more. Your labor costs are higher, supervision is harder, and production rates often slow when crews aren't as fresh.
When you're doing a walkthrough, confirm the cleaning window. A 7pm start after business hours costs more than a 9am daytime clean. Build that into your bid.
6. Minimum Clean Time
What's the minimum amount of time you want to spend in a building on a single visit? Early on you might take anything. As you grow, a 45-minute clean isn't worth the drive, the scheduling complexity, or the employee management overhead.
Set a minimum. It can change as your business changes. But having one prevents you from filling your schedule with small, inefficient accounts that eat margin.
7. Distance
Travel time is unpaid labor. Fuel costs money. If a client is 45 minutes away from your other accounts, that distance needs to be priced in — either through a distance surcharge or by building it into your per-visit rate.
Don't absorb the cost of a bad location. Either price it or pass on the account.
A Worked Example
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The building: 3,500 sqft office space. Mostly LVT flooring, several small private offices, more trash cans than average.
The request: cleaning twice per week — once weekday, once weekend. After-hours access. Ten minutes from your base of operations.
Step 1: Production rate. Standard office would be 2,500–3,500 sqft/hr, but the layout complexity (many small offices) and extra trash cans push us to the lower end. Use 2,500 sqft/hr.
Step 2: Time per visit. 3,500 ÷ 2,500 = 1.4 hours. Round up to 1.5 hours to be safe.
Step 3: Monthly hours. 1.5 hours × 2 visits per week × 4.33 weeks = 13 hours/month.
Step 4: Hourly rate. This account requires night and weekend labor, so labor costs are higher. Use $38/hour (your cost + margin).
Step 5: Monthly price. 13 × $38 = $494/month.
That's your number. It accounts for the style of clean, the size, your margin, and the timing. If the client pushes back on price, you have a clear basis for the number — not a guess.
Why You Can't Just Raise Prices Without the Right Framework
If you're currently underbidding and want to charge more, you can't just increase your rates without changing how you present your value. The price hike alone won't stick.
This is the insight that changed our business. We eventually won a contract where we submitted the highest bid by 40% above the next competitor. Not because the client wanted to pay more — because we made the clearest case for what they'd get: better communication, documented quality checks, consistent staffing, and proven results with other clients in their industry.
Price is a reflection of perceived value. Until the prospect believes you're different, they'll push for the lowest number.
For more on how to build and communicate that differentiation, read Bidding Commercial Cleaning Accounts and Marketing Your Cleaning Business.
And if you want a second set of eyes on your current pricing or how you're positioning your business, request a free consultation here.
Start with your production rate (square feet cleaned per hour), multiply by the frequency and hours per month, then apply your hourly rate with your target margin built in. The formula: (sqft ÷ production rate) × weekly frequency × 4.33 weeks × hourly rate = monthly price.
A standard office space runs 2,500–3,500 sqft per hour. Medical facilities clean slower — expect 1,500–2,000 sqft/hr due to sanitization requirements. Industrial and warehouse spaces can run faster. Your actual rate will vary based on flooring type, restroom count, layout, and building complexity.
Most commercial cleaning companies target 20–30% net margin, depending on the job size and service type. Larger accounts often run lower margins due to overhead complexity. Smaller accounts, nights/weekends work, and specialty cleans should be priced higher to account for staffing difficulty.
Square footage pricing is the industry standard for commercial work. Clients expect it, it's easier for them to budget, and it helps you present a comparable bid when you're competing against other companies. Hourly pricing can work for specialty or one-time jobs, but for recurring commercial contracts, sqft pricing is the right call.
Usually because they underbid to get the contract. Low bids attract the most demanding clients, leave no margin for labor instability, and become impossible to staff profitably. A 2026 industry analysis of operator forums found that the underbidding cycle — low price → staffing strain → quality drops → client churn — is the most common self-inflicted business failure in commercial cleaning.
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