Guide
How to price a cleaning job without undercharging
Most cleaners who burn out were not bad at cleaning. They were priced badly — usually because they charged for the time the job took rather than for what the job was worth, and because they never worked out their own floor.
Per hour or per job
Per hour suits regular work on a property you already know: the scope is predictable, and the client can see that the time is honest. Quote it as a rate, not as an estimate, so a slow week does not become a conversation.
Per job suits end of lease cleans, deep cleans, Airbnb turnovers and commercial work. Those jobs are defined by a standard rather than a clock — an inspection list, a changeover window, a site schedule — so an hourly price pays you for being slow and penalises you for being quick, which is exactly backwards on the jobs where thoroughness is the point.
Work out your own floor before you quote anything
Add up what a year costs you to run: insurance, equipment, consumables, phone, transport, accounting, tax set aside, and the money you need to live on. Divide by the number of hours you can actually sell — not the hours in a week, because travel, quoting, admin and cancellations are unpaid.
That number is your floor. Every quote below it is work that makes you poorer for doing it, and the only useful thing about knowing your floor is that it turns 'that feels low' into a number you can say out loud.
What moves the price, and by how much
- Condition, more than size. A large property cleaned regularly is quicker than a small one that has not been touched in a year.
- Bathrooms and ovens. Both are slow, both are inspected, and both are where an underpriced quote is usually lost.
- Carpets, if they need steam rather than vacuuming.
- Access: stairs, no lift, nowhere to park, restricted hours.
- Anything you have to bring: ladders, a steam cleaner, specialist products.
Quoting so it does not become an argument
Say what is included, in the quote, in a list. Oven inside, extractor, inside cupboards, windows, carpets, balcony. A price with an itemised scope survives a disagreement; a single number does not, because there is nothing to point at.
Then hold it. A quote that moves on the day because the property was worse than described is the most common source of a bad review — and it is avoidable, because the fix is photographs and questions before you quote, not a new number afterwards.
Questions people ask
House cleaning in Australia
End of lease cleaning: what the check-out inspection actually looks at · What actually decides the price of an end of lease clean · Airbnb turnover cleaning: what a two-hour changeover actually needs · Getting your first ten cleaning clients without paying for advertising · Reviews and complaints: the two things that decide your next ten jobs · Growing from one cleaner to a small team without losing the standard · Insurance for cleaners: what the policies are and what to check · A cleaning equipment checklist that pays for itself · Keeping cleaning business records that survive a tax review · Keeping the clients you have won · How much does a cleaner cost? What actually moves the number · How often should you clean your house? A schedule that holds · A cleaner or a cleaning company? What you are actually choosing
Practical advice rather than an inspection standard. The standard that matters is whatever your tenancy agreement and entry report say.