How Much Should You Charge To Clean A 3,000 Square Foot House?

Cleaning services or something that is always needed, and your business can be there to meet the cleaning needs of homeowners in your area. One of the questions that come up frequently is, “How much should I charge to clean this house?” Well, that depends on the size and the condition of the house. Smaller homes are fairly easy to assess and have an accurate quote for cleaning services. However, larger houses maybe a little more difficult to determine how much you should charge to clean them. So, how do you determine how much you should charge to clean houses that are 3, 000 square feet or more questions

Depending on the services that your cleaning business provides, the going rate to clean a house that is 3, 000 square feet is around $250. Of course, the condition in which the house is kept, and the amount of work that you will have to do will factor into this price.

In this article, I am going to break down the different components of the cleaning process, as well as offer a few tips that you can do to educate yourself if you happened to land a cleaning contract with a large home. I will also explain all of the different things that factor into an estimate. This should be an especially big help the next time you find yourself in the position of having to give an accurate estimate to a client.

What Goes Into Cleaning a Large House?  

There is a difference between doing a thorough professional cleaning, and doing routine touch-up cleaning. When you are deep cleaning a large home oh, some of the duties that you or your staff will be doing include vacuuming, cleaning hardwood floors, dusting and mopping, cleaning windows, cleaning baseboards and molding, cleaning all glass surfaces in the home, getting the kitchen and the bathrooms a thorough cleaning, dusting all furniture, cleaning bacteria and germs from all surfaces, ensuring that everything is put back in its place, and possibly shampooing carpets.

The labor that you will have to put into the cleaning job will be determined by the condition in which the home has been kept. It goes without saying that if the homeowners keep the home in a less than desirable state, you will have to work much harder to get it clean than if the homeowners do routine touch-up cleanings throughout the week. The condition of the home can make a significant difference in the number of hours that it will take you to get the home clean, which will be factored into the total cost of the job.

When you are trying to determine a total price for a cleaning job, you must also factor in if there are any materials in the home which may require special cleaners that you will have to purchase. The layout of the home must also be considered when you are trying to give your client an estimate of how much it will cost between their home. A 3,000 square foot home with a basic, open layout will be much easier to clean than a home of the same size with a complicated layout. This is one of the reasons why you must take a tour of the home before giving an estimate.

Check out this article to get ideas on charging your cleaning service.

What Are the Factors That Go Into a Cleaning Estimate?

An estimate is a price that you give to a customer which will let them know how much it is going to cost to clean their home. I cannot stress enough how important it is that you give timely and accurate estimates to your customers. If your estimate is too low, your client will be quite upset when you have to charge them more than you previously estimated to clean their home. On the other hand, if you give a customer an estimate that is too high, you run the risk of losing that cleaning job. There is quite a bit that goes into giving an accurate estimate, and I’m here to walk you through it step by step.

Pay a Visit To the Location

The first thing that you are going to have to do to give a customer an accurate estimate is to visit the location that you are going to clean. After all, if you don’t see the house, you will have no idea of what it takes to ensure that it is clean. Doing a walk-through with the owners of the house will give you a chance to see if any areas need special attention, as well as having the opportunity to explain to the owners what goes into a professional cleaning job. This will help them to understand your estimate a little better once you give it to them.

Calculate Your Time Accurately

Once you have paid a visit to the house, you will need to estimate how much time it is going to take you to clean the home. As a general rule, it should take you approximately 1.5 hours to clean a house that is 1000 square feet. A house that is 3,000 square feet will take you around three hours to clean. However, this is where visiting the house pays off. It gives you the chance to see if any areas are in special need of attention and if extra time is required to clean the home. If you are questioning how much time it will take you to clean the home, it is always better to round up when you are calculating your hours.

Calculate the Cost of Your Labor

After you have determined how long it will take you to clean the home, you will be able to factor this time into accurately calculating your labor costs. One important thing to consider when calculating your labor cost is that you include yourself. This ensures that you will also get paid. If you are wondering how much you should pay your cleaners, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics says that cleaners make $11.24 per hour on the low end and $18.41 per hour on the high end. To accurately calculate labor costs, multiply the hourly rate by the number of people that are cleaning. Take that number and multiply it by the number of hours it takes to clean the home.

Factor In Taxes

If you have cleaning staff on your payroll, you are going to have to pay FICA taxes. Those taxes need to be factored into the estimate that you give your clients. A good estimate to go by is that your payroll taxes are going to cost approximately 18% of your total labor costs. To factor in how much it is going to cost the customer after taxes, the total labor cost for the job and multiply it by 18%. After you have done this add the cost of the FICA taxes to the total labor cost for the job. This will enable you to give your client an accurate estimate no surprises attached.

Add the Cost of Your Supplies

While calculating your labor cost is an important part of the estimating process, you must be sure that you are also adding in the cost of your supplies. Your cleaning supplies are an expected expense when you are running a cleaning business, and your need to be sure that you are charging an appropriate amount for your supplies. The website Fresh Links suggest that you add 6% to the total cost of your cleaning estimate. That should easily cover the cost of the supplies you used to clean the home.

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Factor In the Overhead Costs

There are expenses that you will incur that are not directly associated with the cleaning job you are currently doing. These expenses are known as overhead and include expenses such as rent, marketing, insurance, and other expenses that your cleaning business has to play regularly. Unfortunately, you have to add these overhead costs to any estimate that you are giving to your clients. A general rule you should go by when you are trying to figure out how much overhead to add to your estimates is to multiply the total cost of the job by 50%, and this will give you your overhead costs. Add the overhead costs to the total cost of the job.

Don’t Forget To Add Your Markup

Adding a markup to the total cost of the job will ensure that you are making a profit on the job. Nobody is in business to lose money, and your mark-up will help to make the cleaning jobs your business goes on profitable. Most cleaning businesses charge a 33% markup on their services. However, this number can be negotiated if it will make the difference between landing the cleaning contract and not getting it. Just remember that the mark-up is what will help you to make your money at the end of the day. Try not to undersell yourself, but be sure that you are being fair to your customers.

Summary

As you can see, there is a lot that goes into determining the price of cleaning a home. A 3,000 square foot home should cost around $300 to clean once you factor in the time it is going to take you to clean the home; the total cost of your labor; the cost of your supplies; your payroll taxes; your overhead cost, and your markup. Always pay a visit to the home before giving the owner an estimate. This will give you a chance to explain the cleaning process to the owner, as well as survey the layout of the home to determine how long it will take you to clean it.

When you are performing a deep cleaning of a home, there is much more that is involved than when you are doing a touch-up cleaning. The owner is going to expect all of their flooring to be vacuumed or swept and mopped, and they are going to expect their kitchen and bathrooms to be disinfected and sparkling clean. All of the glass surfaces in the home should be so clean that they shine. The condition of the home will determine if you need to charge more or less than the initial $300 fee. However, if you are one of the one million people in the United States that own a cleaning business, you now know how much do you charge for a large home. It’s time to get cleaning!

Frequently Asked Questions

How many cleaning services are there in the United States?

As of the Year 2021, there are currently 1,063,988 cleaning and janitorial services in the United States. The cleaning industry has experienced a growth rate of 5.7% in the next year, and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The average age of a professional cleaner is 48 years old, and 47.3% of all employed cleaners are women, while 44.3% are men.

What type of equipment should you purchase to start a cleaning business?

To start a basic residential cleaning business, all you will need will be a few microfiber cleaning cloths, some cleaning supplies, and a mop and broom. However, if you want to start a commercial cleaning business, you are going to need an industrial-grade vacuum cleaner, a commercial grade carpet cleaner, and Industrial mop and broom, and specialized cleaning products. You should also own at least one company vehicle and a laptop if you are serious about starting a cleaning business.

To learn more on how to start your own cleaning business, check out my startup documents here.

Please note that the contents of this blog are for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Any action taken based on the information provided in this blog is solely at your own risk. Additionally, all images used in this blog are generated under the CC0 license of Creative Commons, which means they are free to use for any purpose without attribution.