online business

House Cleaning Business

New Construction Cleaning:If you decide to do this type of work you will need more equipment. You will need ladders, window cleaning kits with long extensions, a shop vac, etc. These types of jobs are usually 2 to 3 person jobs. New construction cleaning requires a lot more cleaning. You may have to remove stickers and labels from windows and bathroom showers, sinks and toilets. Some require that you clean the vents to remove dust from construction work. There will be ceiling fans to clean, scrubbing floors, and cleaning woodwork to remove dust. New construction cleaning rates depend on the area you live in. Normally they run from .12 cents per sq.ft. to .23 cents per sq.ft.

Insurance and Bonding:You need to be an honest person and somewhat personable. People will need to trust you to be in their homes. Most clients are concerned about having someone new in their house, with good reason. You should be bonded and fully insured. Liability insurance runs between 350.00 to 700.00 per year. For cleaning residential homes you should have a minimum of 300,000 in liability insurance. Bonding runs around 100.00 per year. Note that this price is for one employee only. Each person you hire will increase your liability insurance. It’s well worth the cost. You can pay quarterly or yearly. You can purchase your bond through your local insurance company. You will need to renew the bond every year. *Note: if you hire employees and cover them under your insurance, they must be an employee on payroll and not a sub-contractor. If you employ them as a sub-contractor your insurance will not cover them. If they are a sub-contractor they are required to carry their own insurance.

What to Charge:This all depends on the area you live in. Always charge by the job, not by the hour. If a client knows they have to pay 85.00, they don’t care if you take 2 hours or 5 hours. Also your clients will know what they are paying upfront and won’t have to worry about added expenses. Normally, for a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath you can expect to make 80.00 to 90.00 for each maintenance cleaning. You should charge between $150 and $200.00 for the initial cleaning since the initial cleaning should be a thorough cleaning to get the home cleaned well the first visit. For the larger houses you can add 10.00 to 20.00 for maintenance cleanings if they have 4 bedrooms and 4 baths. For spring/fall cleanings the starting rate is 200.00 to 300.00. For move-in/move-out cleanings the starting rate is 200.00 and up depending on if the client wants windows, refrigerator and oven cleaned. You can add 20.00 to 25.00 each for refrigerators and ovens. Window cleaning depends on the amount of windows in a house. Some people make the mistake of under charging when they start out just to get customers and then later on when they grow and need to hire help they find they are not making enough money on their houses to pay help. Also if you are too cheap, customers will think you are not experienced. Don’t under price your work. Cleaning homes is very hard physical work.

Supplies:You can purchase all the cleaning supplies you need to start your cleaning business for about $100.00. Home Depot or Sam's Club is a great place to buy cleaning supplies . Remember most customers prefer that you bring your own cleaning supplies. That way they don’t have to worry about going to the store for cleaning supplies before you clean. Some customers have special cleaners for certain appliances or floors in their houses. These customers usually will have these cleaners on hand for you to use. I almost always use the customers vacuum cleaner.