A cleaning job cost checklist before you quote

Use this checklist before you turn a residential cleaning job into a price. It is a place to collect your assumptions, not a list of standard cleaning rates. Complete it from your own records and the expected work.

1. Define the work

• □ Record the service type and rooms or areas included.
• □ List the tasks and extras included in the estimate.
• □ Note exclusions, access arrangements and condition assumptions.
• □ Identify anything that still needs a walkthrough or clarification.
• □ State which changes would require reviewing the estimate.

2. Count all labor time

• □ Enter the number of crew members.
• □ Estimate cleaning hours per person, not just elapsed crew time.
• □ Include travel hours per person.
• □ Include the owner's time when the owner performs the work.
• □ Choose an hourly labor amount and any appropriate labor burden.
• □ Account for preparation or administration through a consistent allocation, without counting it twice.

CleanScope multiplies crew size by cleaning plus travel hours, then applies the hourly labor amount and labor burden. Its shared-rate model assumes the same hours and rate for each crew member. Review mixed-rate or uneven-hour jobs separately.

3. Add job expenses

• □ Allocate the supplies used on this job.
• □ Record vehicle and parking cost separately from paid travel time.
• □ Allocate a reasonable share of overhead.
• □ Check that vehicle, labor-related or overhead costs have not been entered twice.
• □ Record where each estimate came from and when it was last checked.

4. Review pricing settings

• □ Choose a contingency based on the uncertainty you are allowing for.
• □ Use your actual expected payment-fee assumptions, including any fixed fee.
• □ Check the target margin and distinguish it from markup.
• □ Review the minimum job price and rounding increment.
• □ Confirm that the scope and final price make sense together.

The homepage calculator uses fixed sample settings for contingency, fixed fee, minimum and rounding. The free quote workspace lets you adjust them. A result is a planning suggestion, not proof that a customer will accept the price.

5. After completion

• □ Record the actual revenue and costs on a consistent basis.
• □ Avoid including payment fees in both costs and the separate fee fields.
• □ Review actual hours against the estimate.
• □ Note scope changes, unexpected costs and lessons for the next quote.
• □ Export a backup if you save the job in the browser-based workspace.

Printable job worksheet

Job reference: ____________________ Prepared on: ____________________

Service type: ____________________ Estimate based on: ____________________

Included work: ________________________________________________________

Exclusions and condition assumptions: ___________________________________

Questions to resolve before quoting: ____________________________________

Crew members: ______

Cleaning hours per person: ______

Travel hours per person: ______

Total worker-hours = crew × (cleaning + travel hours): ______

Hourly labor amount: $______

Labor burden: ______%

Labor cost = worker-hours × hourly amount × (1 + burden ÷ 100): $______

Supplies: $______

Vehicle and parking cost: $______

Allocated overhead: $______

Subtotal = labor + supplies + vehicle/parking + overhead: $______

Contingency: ______% of subtotal = $______

Cost including contingency: $______

Printable job worksheet

Percentage payment fee: ______% Fixed payment fee: $______

Target margin: ______% Minimum price: $______

Round up to nearest: $______

Target price = (cost including contingency + fixed fee) ÷

[1 − (percentage fee + target margin) ÷ 100]: $______

Higher of target price and minimum: $______

Final price after rounding up: $______

Estimated fees = final price × fee percentage ÷ 100 + fixed fee: $______

Planned profit = final price − fees − cost including contingency: $______

Resulting margin = planned profit ÷ final price × 100: ______%

Actual review

Revenue: $______ Actual costs excluding payment fees: $______

Payment fee percentage: ______% Fixed payment fee: $______

Actual profit after those fees: $______ Actual margin: ______%

What changed or needs revising next time? ________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Keep calculations unrounded until the final price step where practical. The fee percentage plus target margin must be below 100%. A percentage margin cannot be calculated when revenue is zero. All quote amounts here are before sales tax.

For a worked example, read How to price a house cleaning job using your costs. When your inputs are ready, use the free job-cost calculator or quote workspace. Keep customer information out of publicly shared examples and back up records you need to retain.

This worksheet is a planning aid, not tax or legal advice or a guarantee of profit.