Cost-based pricing guide
How to price cleaning jobs without guessing.
Start with loaded labor, add the costs that keep the business running, then calculate the price required to protect your target margin.
- 01Estimate labor hoursDuration × team size
- 02Load the hourly wageWage + employer burden
- 03Add direct costsSupplies + travel
- 04Allocate overheadBusiness costs the job helps cover
- 05Set target marginProfit as a share of selling price
- 06Check the final scopeAssumptions, risk and local factors
THE SHORT ANSWER
Price from true job cost—not from instinct.
Your minimum sustainable price needs to cover the labor used on the job, direct job expenses, a reasonable share of business overhead and the profit margin you intend to earn.
Price floor does not mean final market price. It is the number produced by the costs and margin entered. Review the property, scope, risk, local rules and positioning before presenting the final quote.
THE METHOD
Six steps to a defensible cleaning price.
Estimate total labor hours
Estimate how long the job will take and multiply by the number of people working. A three-hour job with two cleaners uses six labor hours—not three.
Calculate loaded labor cost
Base wage is not always the full employer cost. Add the payroll taxes, insurance, paid time, benefits or other labor burden that genuinely applies to your business.
Add direct job costs
Include costs caused by this job: consumable supplies, parking, tolls, mileage or other travel expenses. Use realistic averages when the exact amount is unknown.
Allocate business overhead
Software, administration, insurance, marketing, equipment and non-billable time still need funding. Choose a consistent allocation method and avoid counting the same cost twice.
Apply a target profit margin
Margin is profit divided by selling price. If you want a 35% margin, divide total cost by 0.65. Adding 35% to cost is a markup and produces a lower margin.
Review scope, risk and presentation
Check condition, access, pets, special materials, add-ons and uncertainty. Then document what is included, how long the quote remains valid and what happens if the scope changes.
WORKED EXAMPLE
Pricing a recurring residential clean.
Assume a three-hour job completed by two cleaners. The business pays $18 per hour and estimates employer burden at 18%.
The rounded quote is not a universal market rate. It is the price produced by these sample costs and margin goal. Change any input and the result changes.
THE EXPENSIVE CONFUSION
Markup and margin are not interchangeable.
If a job costs $200 and you add a 35% markup, the price becomes $270. Profit is $70, which is only 25.9% of the $270 selling price.
Neither percentage is automatically right for every business. The important point is to choose intentionally and calculate it correctly.
CHECK BEFORE SENDING
Five pricing mistakes that hide in busy schedules.
Counting job time, not labor time
Two cleaners working three hours create six paid labor hours.
Using wage as total labor cost
Employer costs above wage can quietly consume the expected profit.
Ignoring non-billable overhead
Admin, software, insurance and equipment still need to be funded.
Discounting the price, not the scope
A discount lowers margin immediately unless cost or scope changes too.
Never reviewing completed work
Compare estimated hours with actual results and improve the next quote.
MAKE IT REPEATABLE
Do not rebuild the system for every lead.
Set the recurring assumptions once, price each job with the same structure, and review completed work against the quote. The cleaning quote template workflow explains what to carry from the calculation into the client-facing quote.
QUESTIONS
Cleaning job pricing FAQ.
What formula should I use to price a cleaning job?
Calculate loaded labor, add supplies, travel and overhead allocation, then divide the total by one minus the target margin. Treat the result as a cost-based floor to review against scope and business context.
What is loaded labor cost?
Loaded labor combines base wages with the employer costs that genuinely apply, such as payroll taxes, insurance, paid time and benefits. The correct components depend on location and employment structure.
How should I allocate overhead?
Choose a consistent method that fits the business, such as an amount per labor hour, per job or a percentage derived from realistic capacity. Avoid both ignoring overhead and counting the same expense twice.
Should I copy competitors' cleaning prices?
Competitor research can help you understand positioning, but their wage structure, speed, scope and overhead are unknown. Use your own cost floor before deciding how to position the final price.
Your numbers, not averages
Price the next cleaning job from the bottom up.
Three guided steps. Instant price, profit and margin. No account required.