Labor Pricing Method

Sq Footage & Hours Flat Rate Per Visit

Sq Footage: enter sq footage and the system calculates hours and labor cost automatically.

Facility Type

Appears on the proposal and sets the default production rate.

Production Rate

sq ft / hr

Auto-set by facility type — edit to match your actual speed for this account.

Cleanable Square Footage

sq ft

Cleanable area only — no locked rooms, exterior, or unserviced spaces.

Minimum Labor Charge / Visit (optional)

$ floor

If the sq footage calculation produces a visit cost below this number, this floor is used instead. Leave at 0 to skip.

When to use this: A 1,000 sq ft office cleans in ~20 min at office rates, costing ~$7 in burdened labor. No employee will make a dedicated trip for $7. Set $40–$50 as your floor — the system will bill $40 per visit even though the job only takes 20 minutes.

Production rates by facility type (hourly mode)

Facility	Rate (sq ft/hr)	Why it differs
Office	2,500–3,500	Open floor plans clean fast; many cubicles / private offices slow it down
Medical / Healthcare	1,500–2,500	Disinfection protocols, restricted areas, frequent touch-point wiping add time
School / Education	2,000–3,000	Classrooms are dense; gyms and cafeterias are fast; many restrooms slow it
Industrial / Warehouse	3,500–5,000	Large open concrete floors clean very quickly; limited restrooms and detail work
Retail	3,000–4,000	Display fixtures create obstacles; restrooms and fitting rooms add scope

When to use Per Visit mode instead

Very small accounts (under ~2,000 sq ft) — the hourly calc gives a visit cost so low no employee will make the trip
Fixed-scope accounts — "clean 3 offices, 1 restroom, vacuum lobby" where you've already estimated the time in your head
Minimum-trip situations — use the floor field in hourly mode if you just want a floor but still want to track sq footage

What reduces your effective rate (use a lower sq ft/hr)

High restroom count relative to sq footage
Many small private offices or cubicles vs. open plan
VCT / tile floors requiring spray buffing or burnishing
Large number of trash receptacles to empty and reline
Security-restricted areas, multi-floor buildings

Sanity check: walk-through time

If you've walked the space, multiply your estimated cleaning time by 1.15–1.20 to account for setup/breakdown, moving between areas, restocking supplies, and clocking in/out. The production rates above already include this buffer for a typical site.

Who's doing the cleaning?

W2 Employee 1099 Contractor

1099 contractors are paid their flat rate directly — none of the employer costs below apply.

Base Hourly Wage

$ /hr

What you pay the employee — before any employer taxes or benefits. Not what they take home.

FICA — Employer Share

%

7.65% is fixed by law — Social Security (6.2%) + Medicare (1.45%). Don't change this unless you have a specific reason.

FUTA + SUTA (Unemployment)

%

Federal FUTA = 0.6%. State SUTA varies: NY 2.1–9.9%, FL 0.1–5.4%, TX 0.3–6.3%. Use 3–4% combined if you don't know your state rate yet.

Workers' Compensation

%

Cleaning industry code (NCCI 9102) typically runs 5–15%. New companies without a history: budget 8–12%. After 3+ years with a clean record: 4–7%. High-cost states (CA, NY): can exceed 15%.

PTO Days / Year

0 days = most common for part-time hourly cleaning staff. 3–5 days if you offer PTO as a retention tool. 10+ days is above average for this industry. Each day costs roughly base_wage × 8 hrs.

Annual Turnover Rate

%

Commercial cleaning averages 72–100% annually (BSCAI industry data). 100% means you replace every employee once per year on average. If you don't track this, use 75% as your starting estimate. Well-run companies with retention programs can get to 30–50%.

Training & Recruiting Cost / Hire

$

Typical breakdown: background check $30–75 + onboarding time (4–8 hrs × your wage cost) + uniform/supplies $50–100. $150–$400 per hire is the industry norm. Use $200 if you're unsure.

Health Insurance (Employer Cost / Employee / Year)

$

Most small cleaning companies offer $0 (health is not legally required below 50 FT employees). If you do offer coverage, employer contribution is typically $200–$500/mo per employee, or $2,400–$6,000/yr. Enter annual amount here.

Typical total burden rate: 25–40% on top of base wage

Using the default values (7.65% FICA + 3.5% FUTA/SUTA + 5% WC + 5 PTO days + 75% turnover × $200 training), a $18/hr employee costs roughly $23–$24/hr all-in — a 28% burden rate. Most cleaning operators who price off base wage alone are underpricing by $5–6/hr per employee.

Base Wage	Typical Burden (28%)	True Hourly Cost
$15/hr	$4.20	$19.20
$17/hr	$4.76	$21.76
$19/hr	$5.32	$24.32
$22/hr	$6.16	$28.16

Experience modification factor (EMR) on workers' comp

New companies start at a 1.0 mod (average). Each year with no claims can bring this below 1.0, reducing your WC rate. One serious claim can push it to 1.3–1.5, significantly increasing your cost. This is why safety programs have real dollar value.

Cleaning chemicals & solutions

Rule of thumb: $0.50–$1.50 per 1,000 sq ft per visit
or roughly 1–2% of monthly contract value

$ /mo

Paper products (TP, paper towels, hand soap)

Only include if YOU supply them — many clients provide their own.
If you supply: $20–$50 per restroom per month

$ /mo

Trash bags & can liners

$0.10–$0.25 per liner per visit · Count all receptacles
(desk cans + common area + restroom bins) × cleanings/mo

$ /mo

Equipment maintenance & wear

Amortize your equipment over its lifespan: vacuum $300–$2,000 (2–4 yr), mop system $100 (1 yr), backpack vac $500–$700 (3–5 yr). Most mid-size accounts: $50–$150/mo

$ /mo

Other / miscellaneous

Mileage to this account, parking, specialty products, etc.

$ /mo

Total Monthly Supplies

$0.00

Enter what you know about the facility

Restrooms in facility

Count individual restrooms, not stalls

Total trash receptacles

Desk cans + common area + restrooms

Do you supply paper?

TP, paper towels, soap

You can edit the numbers after applying.

Industry rule of thumb

Total supplies (all categories combined) should run 3–6% of your monthly contract price. Under 3% is possible for large open-plan accounts. Over 8% usually means you're supplying paper products or have unusually high specialty chemical costs.

Quick check: if your suggested price ends up around $4,000/mo, expect $120–$240/mo in total supplies for a typical office account.

Overhead % of Revenue

%

Typical breakdown: vehicles & fuel 3–6% · general liability insurance 2–4% · management/admin time 3–5% · software, phone & office 1–2% · marketing 0–2%.
12–18% is the most common range for small to mid-size cleaning companies. Solo operators with no office often run 8–12%.

Target Profit Margin

%

Under 10% — high risk, no buffer for surprises.
10–15% — thin but workable for large, stable accounts.
15–25% — healthy target for most commercial cleaning.
25–35% — achievable in medical, specialty, or niche accounts.

How the price is calculated: Overhead and margin are both % of revenue, so the formula works backward from your direct costs:
Suggested Price = (Labor + Supplies) ÷ (1 − overhead% − margin%)
Example: $2,800 direct costs ÷ (1 − 0.15 − 0.20) = $2,800 ÷ 0.65 = $4,308/mo

The math behind the split

Every dollar of revenue gets split three ways: direct costs (labor + supplies), overhead, and profit. They must add up to 100%.

Scenario	Direct Costs	Overhead	Margin
Tight / competitive bid	75%	15%	10%
Healthy commercial account	65%	15%	20%
Specialty / medical	55%	15%	30%
Danger zone	80%+	15%	5% or less

What overhead actually includes

General liability insurance — required by nearly all commercial clients. Budget $150–$400/mo for a small company.
Vehicle costs — fuel, insurance, maintenance, lease payments. The largest overhead item for most operators.
Your own time — owner/manager hours spent estimating, scheduling, and managing don't bill directly to accounts but are a real cost.
Business software — payroll, scheduling, accounting, cleaning management apps.
Marketing & sales — website, advertising, proposal tools.

Your Company Name

Company Address

Company Phone

Company Email

Client / Prospect Name

Job / Quote Title

Proposal Date

Client-Facing Notes (optional — appears on proposal)

This text appears on the client proposal. Keep it scope-facing, not cost-facing.

ℹ Showing tasks for Office — this list follows the Facility Type you pick in Base Labor (Section 1). Change it there to switch checklists.

Select all

Uncheck anything not in scope — items appear on the proposal.

Add a custom task

Prepared for:
Date:
Valid for:	30 days from date above

Facility Type
Total Area
Service Frequency
Special Instructions

Chemicals	—
Paper products	—
Trash bags	—
Equipment wear	—	amortized estimate

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