Before you book your first client, you need a clear pricing structure that positions your business correctly in the market. Your pricing strategy affects everything from the clients you attract to your daily workload and long-term profitability. This chapter covers how to structure your fees, why premium pricing works in your favor, and how to define your ideal client before you start marketing.
What You Will Learn
- The three main pricing structures used in the cleaning industry and their advantages
- Why charging by square footage or number of rooms protects your business better than hourly rates
- How pricing psychology affects client perception and why premium pricing attracts better clients
- The first few cleans approach that replaces traditional expensive deep clean charges
- How to define your ideal client and why this matters for your pricing strategy
- What to assess during a walkaround and when to decline a potential client
Understanding Common Pricing Methods
When you research local cleaning companies, you will notice three main pricing methods. Each has distinct advantages and disadvantages that affect how you run your business.
Pricing by the Hour
Some cleaners charge an hourly rate and calculate the total cost based on how long they estimate a job will take. While this seems straightforward, it creates several problems. You cannot provide a quick quote over the phone without seeing the property first. Clients can easily negotiate your rate or ask you to skip certain areas to reduce time. Most problematically, as you become more efficient at cleaning a particular home, clients may notice you finish earlier and attempt to renegotiate your fee downward.
Pricing by Square Footage
This method bases your quote on the total square footage of the home. You can provide estimates over the phone and confirm them during your walkaround. The main advantage is that your fee remains fixed regardless of how efficiently you work. The disadvantage is that square footage alone does not account for layout complexity, clutter levels, or special features that affect cleaning time.
Pricing by Number of Rooms
Many successful cleaning businesses charge based on the number of bedrooms in a home. This method works well because bedroom count typically correlates with overall home size. A one-bedroom apartment requires less time than a five-bedroom house, even when you factor in living areas, kitchens, and bathrooms. This structure makes quoting simple and protects you from negotiation attempts.
When a client asks you to exclude a bedroom to reduce the price, you can explain that bedroom count helps you gauge the entire property size. You are not actually spending equal time in each bedroom—you are using this metric to estimate the total scope of work across the whole house.
Recommended Approach
Pricing by number of rooms offers the best balance of simplicity and protection for your business. It allows you to quote quickly, resists negotiation, and does not penalize you for becoming more efficient over time. Most importantly, it keeps the focus on the value you provide rather than the time you spend on site.
Setting Your Rates at Premium Level
Your pricing strategy determines which clients contact you and how they perceive your service quality. This section explains why you should position yourself at the higher end of your local market.
Pricing Psychology and Perceived Quality
Consumers automatically associate higher prices with better quality, even when the actual service delivery is identical. If you price yourself as the cheapest option in your area, potential clients assume your work quality matches your low rates. They expect corners to be cut and may treat you as a discount service provider rather than a professional.
When you price at the top of your local range, clients expect professional results and treat you accordingly. They are more likely to prepare their homes properly before you arrive, respect your time, and maintain a professional relationship. Higher-paying clients also tend to have better-maintained homes that are easier to clean.
Research Your Local Market
Before setting your rates, research what established cleaning companies charge in your area. Look at their websites, call for quotes, and note how they structure their pricing. Pay attention to companies that emphasize quality and professional service rather than those competing on price alone.
In most markets, you will find a range where budget services charge significantly less and premium services charge significantly more. Position yourself in the premium range. You can always offer a discount to win a particularly desirable client, but raising your prices after you have established them creates conflict and resistance.
Regional Pricing Examples
Cleaning rates vary significantly by region and local cost of living. As a general guide, research should show you ranges similar to these for regular maintenance cleaning of a three-bedroom home:
- Canada: CAD $120-180 for a three-bedroom home in urban markets
- United Kingdom: £70-110 for a three-bedroom home in most cities
- Australia: AUD $150-220 for a three-bedroom home in major metro areas
- United States: USD $120-180 for a three-bedroom home in mid-sized cities
These figures serve only as broad examples. Your actual rates depend on your specific location, local competition, and the neighborhoods you target. Suburban areas near major cities often command rates similar to urban centers, while rural areas typically see lower rates across the board.
The First Few Cleans Approach
This business model uses a different approach than the traditional deep clean that most cleaning companies charge extra for. Understanding this approach helps you attract better clients and build sustainable recurring revenue.
How Traditional Deep Cleans Work
Most cleaning companies charge a significantly higher rate for the first clean, often calling it a Deep Clean. They justify this by saying the home needs extra attention to bring it up to their standards. This first clean might cost two or three times their regular rate. While this captures extra income upfront, it also creates sticker shock and filters out price-sensitive clients who might otherwise become long-term customers.
The Phased Approach
There’s a simpler business model takes a different approach that benefits both you and your clients. Instead of insisting on a Deep Clean when you take on a new client, you explain that the first few visits will take longer as you bring the home up to your maintenance standard. You can call this Staged Cleaning. And you charge the same rate throughout this process.
Here’s how it works – during the first visits, you will clean fewer rooms in the house. You focus on the highest-priority areas and clean them thoroughly. On the second visit, you add more areas while doing a maintenance clean on rooms you cleaned previously. By the third or fourth visit, you are cleaning the entire home at your regular maintenance standard, and every visit has taken the same time time.
The Big Advantage – No “Deep Clean” price bumps.
This strategy offers one big advantage over other cleaners in your area – you avoid charging the expensive upfront fee for “Deep Cleans” that makes clients hesitant to commit. This is a great for local marketing. If everyone in your area is pointing out that new clients must expect to pay a Deep Clean fee then you can advertise that you do not charge premium rates for first cleans. This then differentiates you from competitors and makes clients more likely to hire you.
Communicating This to Clients
You do have to make sure the whole concept of the Staged Cleaning approach is properly explained to your clients. During your walkaround, explain that you will need three to four visits to establish a full cleaning routine. Be clear that you charge the same rate throughout this period. Explain that on the first visit you will focus on priority areas, then gradually over the next few visits you can expand coverage as the home reaches maintenance standard.
Most clients will be happy with this and find it more reasonable than paying triple rate for a deep clean. Another advantage to this Staged Cleaning approach is if you have clients that do demand you clean the entire house to perfection on the first visit, at your regular rate, they are signaling they will be difficult clients. You are better off declining these jobs.
Introducing: The Walkaround
You never want to take on a client without seeing the property in person. You can tell them over the phone what your fee usually is, but you must do a walkaround to avoid any surprise. For example; Perhaps the client tells you its just a 3 bedroom house but when you get there you find 5 bedrooms. Then when you point this out, the client insists its a 3 bedroom home and those 2 rooms are just used for storage! Note: That’s a Red Flag for a difficult price-sensitive client for sure.
The walkaround allows you to assess the actual scope of work, avoid any surprises and determine whether this client fits your business model. In other words: do you want to work for them.
What to Assess
During the walkaround, you are evaluating several factors beyond just square footage or room count:
- Cleaning Frequency: Ask how often they want service. Weekly or bi-weekly cleaning allows you to maintain homes at a high standard with less effort per visit. Monthly cleaning requires more work each time as more dust and grime accumulate.
- Current Condition: Note whether the home is already well-maintained or needs significant work to reach your standards. This affects how you explain the first few cleans approach.
- Layout and Accessibility: Observe how the home is laid out. Open floor plans with hard flooring clean faster than homes with many small rooms and extensive carpeting.
- Pets and Occupants: Ask about pets and household members. Large dogs that shed or multiple cats affect cleaning time and difficulty. Households with young children typically generate more daily mess.
- Special Features: Note any features that require extra time, such as extensive windows, delicate surfaces, or areas requiring special care.
- Supplies: Confirm that you will bring all your own supplies and equipment. Explain that professional cleaning requires specific products and tools, and using your own ensures consistent results.
Providing Your Quote
After the walkaround, provide your final quote based on your established pricing structure. If you charge by number of bedrooms, state your rate clearly. Explain the Staged Cleaning approach for the first few visits and confirm they understand how this works.
If the client attempts to negotiate, stay firm. You can choose to offer a discount if you particularly want the job, but do not let clients talk you down as a routine practice. Clients who aggressively negotiate during the sales process often become problematic clients who question your value throughout the relationship.
Red Flags to Watch For
Some situations indicate you should decline the job regardless of the offered price:
- Clients who demand you clean the entire home to perfection on the first visit at your regular maintenance rate.
- Homes in such poor condition that bringing them to standard would require many hours beyond reasonable scope.
- Clients who seem hostile to your professional processes or question your expertise before you have begun.
- Locations far outside your target area that would require excessive drive time.
- Clients who ask you to “Only clean 3 bedrooms” so as to avoid paying the 5 Bedroom fee.
Trust your instincts during walkarounds. If something feels wrong or the client seems difficult, you can politely decline by saying your last slot just filled up that day. Protecting your business from difficult clients is more important than filling every available time slot.
Key Takeaways
- Research your local market thoroughly but price yourself at the higher end rather than competing on cost
- Price by number of rooms rather than hourly to protect your rates and allow efficiency gains as you master each property
- Position yourself at the premium end of your local market – higher prices signal quality and attract better clients who respect professional service
- Use the Staged Cleaning approach instead of charging expensive Deep Clean fees, gradually bringing homes to maintenance standard at your regular rate
- Define your ideal client profile before marketing, including specific neighborhoods, home types, and household characteristics
- Conduct thorough walkarounds before finalizing a quote and watch for red flags that indicate problematic clients
- Decline jobs that do not fit your ideal client profile – a few good clients create a better business than many difficult ones