How to price window cleaning: a worked example

What you're pricing in window cleaning

Window cleaning is the round trade most people picture: a van, a pole or a ladder, and a list of houses you visit every few weeks. One job means cleaning every window on a house, usually from the ground with a water-fed pole or by ladder and squeegee. How often a customer comes back: every 4 weeks for many customers and every 8 weeks for others. That pattern decides how you should think about price.

The method is the same as for any round (see how to price a round): work out what your time has to earn, find out how long a job takes, and add what it costs you. This page shows it with numbers for window cleaning.

What moves the price

• How many windows, and whether there are bay, French or patio doors
• Whether the frames, sills and doors are included
• Access: gates, side passages, a conservatory roof, a long drive
• Height: two storeys and a dormer take longer than a bungalow
• How dirty it is on the first clean (the first visit is often priced higher)

Example: pricing one house

Set a minimum

Set a minimum per house, so a tiny flat in a far-flung street still earns its place on the round. If a customer won't pay it, they're costing you more in time than they pay you, and the round is better without them.

How many jobs that means

With that example price, here is what earning £2,000 a month looks like once you've covered the costs of running the business.

Customers come back often, so a regular book of a few hundred houses can fill a working week. A tight, well-priced round matters more than any single job.

Raising your prices

Review your prices at least once a year. Tell customers in writing, give them a few weeks' notice and name the new price and the date it starts. The message to copy is in how to price a round.