Am I Charging Enough for a Cleaning Job?

I think your price is good, coz I have an experience with my cleaning service provider www.cleaninghouelondon.co.uk, they are charging me more then your price. Best of luck, Mike

Hi, you are definitely being underpaid,especially if they love your work. I also clean houses for a living and it has to be "Kathy" clean, before I leave. My clients appreciate me as much as I do them. I clean everything but dishes, clothes, windows, etc. I charge about $30 per hour, but when I leave, I leave a very satisfied customer. I would definitely raise your price at least $10 per hour. THEY WILL PAY! They know what you are really worth! If not,find a new clientele. People are begging for cleaners, not just dusters. Do not let them take advantage of you for even one more day. If they say no, walk out. I promise you that after their "new" cleaner comes to clean, they will be calling you back to work again, at your price. Take care, God Bless

I live in Alabama also. I never charge by the hour. I charge a flat rate depending on the size of the house and what my duties will include.

I like to say a BIG thank you to everyone who sent me feedback, i'm going to have to try and ask for more money, i need a rise and they know i do a bloody good job.
I will put a add in the Gadsden Times and try and get new people to clean for.
Once again THANK YOU very much for your feedback.
Nina xx

It is a good idea to check your area to see how much other cleaners charge. In our area, the price is about $10-12 an hour but where my sister lives, about 60 miles away, cleaners get twice that amount. Good luck to you.

I think day care workers/babysitters and house cleaners are taken for granted. Both of these jobs are hard work. And of course, caring for children is more important than anything. I am surprised how much people will pay to have their lawn maintained but usual hesitate to pay for the care of their child/children.

Hi, I have been cleaning houses for the past 14 years. I agree, you are not charging enough. I average 20 - 25 dollars an hour. No wonder other people want you so bad. They can get it done much cheaper. You need to ask for more money and what if you lose them. If you clean that well then you'll get more houses.

I paid $80 for 2 hrs. of housework here in Montana, and she didn't move things even when dusting.

My cleaning lady charges me $20/hour. I told her she needed to bump it up a little to pay for the extra cost of gas. I do not have everything done, but being handicapped she comes once a month for 2 hours and gives the bathrooms and floors and dusting a really good once over. I've upped her to $45 for the 2 hours. Definitely for what you are doing you need to charge more. We live near Atlanta.

Hello Nina~ Oh man, with the cost of gasoline you sure are undercutting yourself. I agree with everyone else. Pick a date and tell them as of, say the beginning of July, the 7th for example, you ARE and WILL be raising your fees.If you lose one job, you will still be ahead of the game.Make a flyer and leave it at each job and take no complaints. Do these people want quality or quantity? If you make yourself sick from doing so much, what good would you do for them then? Especially the family with so many kids...just wondering, do they live in a shoe ? ? ? Ha, that was a joke, a little humor here! Take care of Nina! Charge more, you're worth it, aren't you ? ? ??

Nina, I agree that for the thorough job you do, you're not charging enough. Why don't you make up a Memo saying that effective on such and such a date your prices are going up to the new price. When you finish cleaning each house, leave the Memo on the kitchen counter.

Yes, Nina, you need to ask for more money. That may not be easy, but just let them hire Merry Maids, Molly Maids or whomever and they'll realize just how much you're underpaid. My mother uses one of those I mentioned and I think she pays $86. for 2 ladies that work about 1-1/2 hours. Very few times is she really satisfied with their work. Nina, I don't care where you work, it's always hard asking for a raise.

Nina, you are working for less than half of what you should be making! We had a wonderful lady who came every other week and we paid her $80.00 for about 4 hours of hard work. Even then, I felt that we should pay her more, but she insisted that it was enough. We moved away, and I can't get anyone who does it like Pam did!
I think that you should charge at least $25.00 per hour for any new customers. Good help is hard to find! Don't cheat yourself! Ask your current client to write a letter of recomendation for you; your new price might be as high as $30-35 per hour, but for "friends and family" of your current client, you'll discount down to 25.00 or so per hour. Boost your wage to at least 20.00 per hour for your current folks..they won't turn you down! With the price of gas, etc. you need to make money, not sell yourself short!
Believe that you are worth it! You ARE worth it, and you are smart enough NOT to let people run all over you and take advantage of you! You GO, girl!

About 10 years ago I paid $100 for a cleaning crew of 2 to clean my 3 br 2bath. They worked approx 2-3 hrs once every other week.

So you see, you definitely need to raise your rates for this day and time. You're not being paid your worth! Your time is as valuable as your skills are.

You are absolutely NOT charging enough! I know that prices vary geographically, but I would not do that big of a house and spend that much time for only $40. If it takes 4 hours, you should get no less than $60. Personally, I don't charge by the hour. I charge by the job. My clients like it that way. They know how much it is going to cost every time, no matter how long it takes.

Nina, will you please come clean my house in Texas for $40 for 4 hours? I'm paying Merry Maids $130 for 2 people to spend about an hour doing a halfway job of it. Seriously, you have to charge more. You're a businesswoman, and you're barely paying yourself more than minimum wage! Rates might be slightly less if you're rural rather than in a city (like Birmingham), but either way, you need to at least double your fee.

For your existing customers, you can cite gas prices (and supply prices if you use your own) as an excuse and maybe phase in the new prices gradually to soften the blow. But any new customers should be charged double what you now get.

Let me know if you decide to move to Dallas! ;)

I would change the price gradually. Explain to them what the going rates are and also that gas prices have gone way up. Tell them that you need to start charging atleast 50 for a 4 hour visit. If they really like you the way they say, they can't expect for you to do it for nothing. I would run an add in the shopper's guide or want adds to advertise. When quoting the new houses, quote them the new price. If there house is same size as the house you're talking about, at 10 or 15 to the total price. THis way it won't sound too extreme to them and you still get the extra money. If the house is bigger, I would add the amount to accommodate. In this case, size does matter-especially if they have a lot of stuff to dust around.
If you get 1 or 2 jobs that referred by the customer you are doing, offer to keep their rate the same or not raising their price alot for bringing you the business. Or you can knock a certain percentage off each time they refer you and you clean a home..that's a good incentive for them.

That ticks me off that someone would do that to you; they're ripping you off. I would never do that house for under $75. If they refuse to pay no more than $40, let them get someone else. One person may be faster that another so setting a price by the hour I would not consider. Good luck and RAISE YOUR PRICE. No wonder her friends want you to clean for them.

Here in Missouri, I charge $20 an hour and it sounds like you do a better job! I think $20-30 is the norm here, depending on the work. I believe you should definitely ask for more and certainly ask for at least $20 when taking on new jobs.

I agree with Tammie.... Make a few phone calls to see what agencies charge and since you are the agency you will get all the money. I used to hem garments and sleeves for people. Since I didn't really didn't need the money charges ran from zero (for friends) to very little. My husband insisted that since there was a lot of time and excellent work involved I should make at least minimum wage. I called a couple of places and got their prices and when I told people the prices my hemming business was in the toilet. I went back to making barbie doll clothes.
You should raise your prices but be sure to run an ad in your local paper because you probably will loose some customers.

Call around to some of the professional cleaning companies lime Merry Maids, etc. and get a estimate and go from there. Hope this helps.