Cleaning Business Owners: How Do You Know If a Job Is Actually Profitable?

Hi everyone!

I’m currently researching how small cleaning businesses calculate their prices and track profitability.

I’m also developing an early-stage pricing calculator and would love to better understand the real challenges business owners face.

I have a few questions:

1. How do you currently calculate your cleaning prices — hourly rates, square footage, or individual tasks?
2. Do you include supplies, travel time, labor costs, and overhead when preparing quotes?
3. Have you ever completed a cleaning job only to realize your actual profit was much lower than expected?
4. What is the biggest challenge when trying to price a cleaning job accurately?

I’m especially interested in hearing from independent cleaners and small cleaning business owners.

I’m not selling anything. My goal is to learn from real experiences and develop a genuinely useful tool.

Thanks in advance for sharing your insights!