Commercial sq ft rate variance

[Goomer]

Regarding commercial square foot pricing, how much of a difference do you have between your lowest per/sq ft rate and your highest??

I'm finding it difficult to zero in on a set square footage price because no rate makes sense on both my larger jobs, as well as my smallest.

As an example, this week I did a 3500 square footer, and a under 200 sq/ft waiting area on another day.

If I charged the same for both, on the higher end I would have priced myself out, and with the lower end, I would have wound up working for peanuts.

I find myself pricing by estimated time in my head, but feel the need to convert that total to a tangible sq ft rate on paper when submitting quotes.
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I understand a little variance, but on paper, I find myself all over the place in regards to my sq ft rates.
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Thinking I should work on creating some kind of sliding scale rate based on total area.
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How much do you guys vary in your sq ft rates??</o</o</o

 

[Lee Stockwell]

I don't share the "mechanics" (measurements and such) of my bids on the proposals, as this is often used by subsequent bidders to calculate their bids.

There is no magic answer. Know what YOUR costs are, and your breakeven. Factor in all hidden and sunk costs.

 

[Able 1]

.12 to .18 a square ft. here, but I have cleaned at 10 cents for a big job in the middle winter.. I have gone and looked at jobs and priced it by how long I "thought" it would take, and I will never do that again! I measure everything now..

 

[ruff]

As always, it boils down to time spent. Which is what you want/need to make per hour.

I charge a minimum that covers the first 300 square feet. That minimum takes into account my drive time, set up and break down times + the fact that I still need to make a profit. Carpet cleaning ain't my hobby.
After that you can proceed with the same logic. Say the first 2000 square feet are at xx per square foot, the next 2000 after that are charged at....(somewhat less.)

Or if you pretty much know how long it will take you just give a total. In my bids I do specify the areas and total square footage to avoid any potential misunderstanding as to the exact areas that we agreed on.

You're not all over the place with the rate, you're pretty consistent I would assume, only it is measured by time spent.

 

[Goomer]

I don't share the "mechanics" (measurements and such) of my bids on the proposals, as this is often used by subsequent bidders to calculate their bids.

I considered this issue also, as I find some customers are "trained" to expect a rate based solely on sq ft.

It does seem easier just to leave it off paper, but I know the masses price based on sq ft commercially, even most members here.

This being the case, I am curious as to how others deal with this, and how much they fluctuate, because I am "all over the place" with my rates.

 

[Goomer]

.12 to .18 a square ft. here, but I have cleaned at 10 cents for a big job in the middle winter.. I have gone and looked at jobs and priced it by how long I "thought" it would take, and I will never do that again! I measure everything now..

Using my latest 200 sq footer only as an example, even at your highest of .18, are you going to bang it out for only 36 bucks??

Here lies my issue.

 

[jcooper]

How much do you guys vary in your sq ft rates??

I do pay attention to total sqft, but I'm most concerned with - how long it's going to take, how difficult, night work... Etc.

Like Lee, I don't give a sqft price.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

I sometimes share that info on an INVOICE, but not on a BID.

 

[Goomer]

Or if you pretty much know how long it will take you just give a total. In my bids I do specify the areas and total square footage to avoid any potential misunderstanding as to the exact areas that we agreed on.

You're not all over the place with the rate, you're pretty consistent I would assume, only it is measured by time spent.

Getting a lot better estimating time needed.

I feel obligated to include a total square footage, but I guess your right in not having to necessarily attach a rate to it.

I was under the assumption that pricing by the square foot commercially was practiced by most.

Most threads regarding commercial pricing always fall into a sq ft language, but as I am starting to do a bit more commercial work, I am starting to notice some flaws in
doing it this way.

 

[jcooper]

I have gone and looked at jobs and priced it by how long I "thought" it would take, and I will never do that again! I measure everything now..

Yes, sqft and hours. Need both!

Sometimes jobs will look smaller/easier then they really are. Knowing the sqft keeps me from under estimating. I still do it anyways, as I think I'm super human(for the first few hours, anyways.).

 

[Goomer]

I sometimes share that info on an INVOICE, but not on a BID.

Makes sense.

I was programmed to include a rate WITH the totals all the time.

Seemed to me that's how it was to be done.

Never thought to separate them.

 

[Able 1]

Using my latest 200 sq footer only as an example, even at your highest of .18, are you going to bang it out for only 36 bucks??

Here lies my issue.

Well, that comes down to a min charge.. I look at every commercial job, then you can get a better idea of what you are in for(soiling,chem,time,ect..). The last big one I gave an estimate for showed me the estimate from the other guy, and he had in his estimate for 10,000sq. ft. for protector at $95!! LOL I have no problem telling my prices since I don't go after this work, I just pick it up when others (low ballers) fail.

 

[Goomer]

Yes, sqft and hours. Need both!

Sometimes jobs will look smaller/easier then they really are. Knowing the sqft keeps me from under estimating. I still do it anyways, as I think I'm super human(for the first few hours, anyways.).

Good point.

There is definitely a value in calculating both, if not for only your own internal calculations in support of your man/hour estimations.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

The real crunch here is to not present your work as just a "commodity" just like any other.

This is a relationship business still. Listen closely for your customers' issues, and make their problems go away. If two or three company's bids were similar (or even higher...gasp) than yours, why would they choose you?

And please, don't get carried away with "quantity discounts".

 

[Ron Werner]

I charge 30 and 40 cents /sf with a min of 150. I take what I get and let someone else take the rest. The other guys need to work too. Commercial is bonus for me

 

[hogjowl]

Life got easier for me when I reached that magical age of IDGAS. That age varies from person to person, but the benefits are universal.

Now, I price based on my unique CODB, and not on the artificial limitations set by my competitors.

 

[Shane Deubell]

I only care about gross profit, the goal is 60% or higher.
Very few customers require a sqr ft price, so we just quote the gross amount and never use a sqr ft number.

You are right the sqr ft $$ is all over the place, who cares. Its all about the monies...

 

[boazcan]

I only care about gross profit, the goal is 60% or higher.
Very few customers require a sqr ft price, so we just quote the gross amount and never use a sqr ft number.

You are right the sqr ft $$ is all over the place, who cares. Its all about the monies...

Good points!

If everyone is doing something, don't do it. Only give total price. Each job stands on its own, and we customize the service for each client.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

 

[encapman]

.12 to .18 a square ft. here, but I have cleaned at 10 cents for a big job in the middle winter.. I have gone and looked at jobs and priced it by how long I "thought" it would take, and I will never do that again! I measure everything now..

I agree with those comments!

A sliding scale from .10 - all the way up to the upper .20's per sq ft is a fair mark. What determines where the price per sq ft lands is based on everything you see when you survey the job...
What's the size of the area to be cleaned?
What's the condition of the carpet? Soil load? Fiber? Etc.
How frequently will it be cleaned?
Do they have multiple locations?
Is it easy to access water and electricity.
Is the area to be cleaned easy to access?
Is there furniture, cubicles, or junk in the way?
Who will move things - us or them?
Can they be brought onboard for some extensive pre-vacuuming?
Does the company seem pleasant to work with, or are they prickly?
ETC. ETC. ETC.

As you look over the account you can slide the rate up or down according to all of the conditions of the account. Hence it really becomes impossible to set a fixed price in stone. Every job is different.

 

[Dolly Llama]

Thinking I should work on creating some kind of sliding scale rate based on total area.

eeYepper

How much do you guys vary in your sq ft rates??

minimum rates apply...
but my rates can vary wildly contingent all the things Rick has outlined
or how late I'm am on the house payment



..L.T.A.

 

[WillS]

.18 seems really low. Commercial we are getting at .26

 

[JS41035]

.26 ? Geez we would go broke. We're getting .27


....

 

[Able 1]

.18 seems really low. Commercial we are getting at .26

Curious how many SF you can do an hour with your foamy thing?

 

[your_good_sons]

I have a sliding scale. For example hot water extraction: <500 sf $90, so if you have 200 sf it is $90. If you have 400 sf it is still $90. I have nothing published beyond >20,000 sf and that is 11.5¢. Will I go lower? Not telling. Do I get any >20,000 sf properties? Don't I wish. I do have a 5,500 sf property that gets clean 4 times a year. They get the >20,000 rate.
Friday I just picked up a strip & wax of 4,000 sf. They want a strip & wax quarterly. They want a scrub and recoat the months we don't strip and wax. They want dust mop, damp mop and burnish every day but Sunday. That's 24,000 sf of burnishing a week. This is my first over 1 million sf contract. It is an insane amount of money. Tomorrow I pick up two 1500 rpm burnishers that will be kept at this account.
The price per sf is way off the charts. The annual contract is still in the upper $70,000's for the year. I am very fortunate to get this. It starts Thursday. Until it presented itself, I had no idea what it was going to cost. I had to come up with a number we could both live with.

 

[Desk Jockey]

We've cleaned for as little as 7.5 cents a sq/ft for a 120,000 sq/ft facility cleaned 3x times a years for a 3-year contract. To as much as .85 for above ground level work (park and drop a portable and elevator up to the job). Those are the extreme.


The average "Corporate" cleaning is between .12 .18 depending on many of those factors Rick listed, soiling conditions add into that, distance from the street, access to water, time of day the work. We do a lot of jobs in the .15-.18 range but we clean more over all volume of sq/ft in the lower price range.

What it comes down to is we have to look at it each time.

 

[Shane Deubell]

Exactly, commercial work is about estimating as much as selling.

Some of these jobs we only actually clean about half of the gross sqr ft. Due to walls, desks, partitions etc.
and people not moving anything, we only move chairs and maybe small tables.

Sat job was 10k sqr ft but took them only 5 hours due to the fact nobody moved anything. The cubes/offices were packed with stuff.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Saturday we had a quarterly account, 3,000 sq/ft, you're right all we move is trash cans and office chairs.

Portal to portal 2.5 hours two guys two Cimex's at .16 it comes out to $96.00 a man hour. Its an easy account, very well maintained.

It doesn't even look dirty until you start cleaning then you see how well it brightens up. You could almost get away with a good vacuuming and some spotting but it looks like new when we are done. I've cleaned it myself twice over the last few years.

 

[PrimaDonna]

Gotta have a min. charge for the small jobs. And explain it to the customer just as that. In that case we wouldn't even list the 200 sq. ft., just list as min charge and then list the area cleaned in the description (reception area or entry way).