A house is a fortress for the residents that can save them from calamities and offer a shelter to cherish the moments of a lifetime. To share the time with your loved ones, you need to keep the house in its prime condition. The first step that comes in this regard is cleaning the house.
It looks great and you can keep your family and yourself healthy by setting aside some time a few times a week. If you are not up for it, you can have the professionals do the job for you. But, in order to get the most from those visits, you need to know one important thing – PRICING.
In this post, we will go through the pricing details that house cleaning companies charge.
According to Home Advisor, the average cleaning cost for a single-family house should be around $120 to $150. The breakdown of this figure is as follows:
- The average cost of house cleaning - $90 to $150
- Average national hourly rate per cleaner - $25 to $90
When it comes to the business side, you need to keep in mind that every company has its own unique costs that they need to keep in mind while pricing their services. It is not that simple as to charge in the ballpark of what the competitors are asking for.
As a homeowner, you need to see things with a clear head. A cleaning company is a business that needs to make a profit in order to keep on operating. Also, the figure and stats in this post should be taken with a pinch of salt because rates for services can change with circumstances, such as holidays, after-hours services, etc.
Factors To Consider
Estimates and costs are not straightforward but varied depending on the nature of the work. So, here are some of the factors and figures that you need to punch yourself before agreeing with a house cleaning company on their rates.
House Visit
It is not much of a headache for you to do extensive research on this part if you are doing it for one time. But, if you are planning on keeping the company on retainer, it is best to invite them to the house. This will help in;
- Getting as realistic a cost estimate as possible.
- Determining how much time professional cleaning will take by the company.
Now, experienced contractors will let you know about the particulars of the above-mentioned things which will help you in making the right decision.
Labor Costs
Even if there is a one-man company, they have labor costs that they need to count in the total to reward themselves. Stats show that cleaners that service and clean buildings and places make around $12 per hour. The number goes up for rich states where it is around $18 to $20.
If the prospective company is not giving you the details, here is how you can find the labor cost.
For instance, they are going to take three hours to clean your house, you multiple the average labor wage per hour with the total number of hours which is three.
Taking things at a mean value: $14.16 x 3 = $42.48
Count In Taxes
When you have a big house, it will not suffice to have a one-man show. This is where big guns come in, along with other financial considerations.
For the employers, they need to pay payroll taxes that come at 18% of the labor cost. It is called FICA tax and you can calculate it by finding the 18% of your labor cost and then adding it with the original number.
From the previous example;
- $42.48 x 0.18 = $7.65 payroll cost
- $42.48 + $7.65 = $50.13
Cost Of Supplies
Professional cleaning guys are not like your average janitorial staff. They rely heavily on supplies that can help them do their work quickly. So, it is only natural that these supplies come at a cost.
In any cleaning job that does not require special cleaning agents, it is safe to say that it takes around 3% of the total hourly cost to fill up the supplies on paper.
Moving on with the previous numbers;
- $50.13 x 0.06 = $3
- $50.13 + $3 = $53.13
Overhead Charges
Companies charge for things that are not directly related to the work at hand. In the case of a cleaning company, they need to pay for a number of things to keep their business running, such as office rent, advertising expenses, etc.
As a general practice, they add around 50% to the hourly cost to cover the overhead charges.
- $53.13 x 0.50 = $26.57
- $53.13 + $26.57 = $79.70
Don’t Forget The Markup
With the previous numbers, we know that companies are only stringing bills to cover their costs. So, how do they make a profit? By adding a markup to the current hourly rate.
The standard markup for a cleaning company is around 33%, but it is not a rigid practice. Often, companies undersell them if they are;
- Struggling with the money
- Wanting to be competitive
- Desperately Needing to get the client on board
So, the math will look like this;
- $79.70 x 0.33 = $26.30
- $79.70 + $26.30 = $103 final hourly rate
So, if you have a quote from a company that says $103 for an hour for cleaning work, now you know where this number has come from.
In addition to that, there are some states that require cleaning companies to charge sales tax from their clients. When this is the case, the sales tax will be added to this number and it will grow a little bit more. In general, not many states put sales taxes on service-based businesses.
House cleaning is a herculean task for you if you are juggling between commutes and multiple jobs. Hiring a professional cleaning company is the best way to go. After reading this post, hopefully, you will be in a position to break down any cost estimate from a cleaning company so that you can find out whether you are getting the best bang for your buck.
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