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Replies

• 

  Graeme @ BGS November 7, 2009 at 4:52pm

  Hi Sandra.
  
  I would charge a min of £50 to undertake the cleaning of the patio.
  
  As a general rule of thumb and as an example, I would charge out at a rate of £4 per m2 for block surface and £2 for Tarmac etc. with uplifts for access / objects and stains etc. But have at least a min. change.
• PRO

  Stephen @ SJS November 7, 2009 at 4:54pm

  Without knowing the size of the area is difficult to help you out, other considerations are hire/use of equipment these factors should all come into consideration as has been stated on other threads overheads have to be accounted for, difficulty is getting a price in the current market that is acceptable to you & not offensive to the customer .
  
  Cheers
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk November 7, 2009 at 7:47pm

  takes longer than u think to do properly - sweep off and drain/wash away dirt !!
  
  price=quality , so up to you to charge upon reliability /overheads / distance . is it just you?
  
  £35 (cash) sounds fair for a regular - whos equipment? what area/place ie north/south?
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk November 7, 2009 at 9:09pm

  its a dirty job lol
  
  Pro Gard said:

  I always clean the glass off aswell, even if you mask it or use a flat surface cleaner you still get splashing...... TBH I hate pressure cleaning.
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  Sweetpea November 10, 2009 at 3:36pm

  Thanks everyone for your replys on this.I quoted £50 and she is going for it.
  
  Still worried about this commercial quote that I must do today.Do I basically give them an annual figure and then request equal payments on a monthly basis? What happens then if they or I decide to end the contract early and of course the majority of the work is in the Summer and not now when the contract could potentially start.
  
  I am worried about being completely out ( either way! )
  
  Help!!!
  
  ard said:

  Price the pressure cleaning as a fixed price quote to the customer. Personally I would be wanting around £60 for it, it may only take a half hour but you still have to load up unn load, travel time etc.
  
  As for commercial, i personally break a quote down into the amount of vistits per annum with a price per visit and the total yearly price of all the visits. NEVER stipulate the time spent on site per visit as this varies.
  
  The price per visit is worked out by the amount of hours needed per visit multiplied by my hourly rate I charge out at (£20ph) plus fuel if mowing then all the extras added on eg weedkiller etc.
  
  Specify the work that will be done over the course of the year and any exclusions eg tree work is often not covered under a contract.
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  Graeme @ BGS November 10, 2009 at 3:49pm

  Re commercial - go for equal payments on a monthly basis with two / three months cancellation period. This should ensure that you at least cover you costs. Also highlight any additional charges that are out side the scope of the basic contract and how these should be paid. For example invoiced end of month and what your payments terms are.
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  Sweetpea November 10, 2009 at 3:59pm

  Thanks Graeme,thats helpful.
  
  
  
  Graeme @ The BGS Group said:

  Re commercial - go for equal payments on a monthly basis with two / three months cancellation period. This should ensure that you at least cover you costs. Also highlight any additional charges that are out side the scope of the basic contract and how these should be paid. For example invoiced end of month and what your payments terms are.
• 

  pete November 10, 2009 at 7:08pm

  I wonder if your residents assoc. place is big enough to keep you going all day Sandra? Karen and I do two residential communal garden places, both big enough for us to be there all day - we cut the grass (mulch in our case when possible) and then just carry on till, well till we've had enough basically..... Our quote (just for their records) is based on visits for when the grass should need doing, so goes like this:
  
  April to September = 18 visits (3 full days each month)
  October, November, December and March = 8 visits (once a fortnight)
  January and February = 2 visits (once a month)
  Total = 28 visits
  
  Duties to include:
  Grassed areas cut and tidied – edges trimmed.
  All beds, borders and shrub areas forked over and kept weed free.
  Pruning and trimming of various shrubs, ensuring they are left well defined around obstacles eg. windows, to be maintained throughout the year.
  Cutting/trimming hedges of previous years growth.
  Light pruning of trees to keep in shape.
  All communal paths and car parks kept clear of leaves, litter and moss.
  All garden waste removed.
  
  
  The first one we've been at for five years – so they know us now - and the total is divided into twelve and paid into our bank at the end of each month. There's also a two day hedge here for which we have a separate contract.
  
  The second place we've only been at for a year – we've worked the visits out the same but at the end of each month we invoice them for the work done that month. Next year we hope they'll split it into twelve equal payments for us.
  
  Don't know if that helps too much - but it's what we've done.
• 

  Graeme @ BGS November 10, 2009 at 9:00pm

  So you do fixed price contracts Pete!? All the residents associations we do have to be fixed price with uplifts for extra.
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  Sweetpea November 11, 2009 at 3:35pm

  Thanks Pete.Helpful info.Quote now gone so fingers crossed !
  
  pete said:

  I wonder if your residents assoc. place is big enough to keep you going all day Sandra? Karen and I do two residential communal garden places, both big enough for us to be there all day - we cut the grass (mulch in our case when possible) and then just carry on till, well till we've had enough basically..... Our quote (just for their records) is based on visits for when the grass should need doing, so goes like this:
  
  April to September = 18 visits (3 full days each month)
  October, November, December and March = 8 visits (once a fortnight)
  January and February = 2 visits (once a month)
  Total = 28 visits
  
  Duties to include:
  Grassed areas cut and tidied – edges trimmed.
  All beds, borders and shrub areas forked over and kept weed free.
  Pruning and trimming of various shrubs, ensuring they are left well defined around obstacles eg. windows, to be maintained throughout the year.
  Cutting/trimming hedges of previous years growth.
  Light pruning of trees to keep in shape.
  All communal paths and car parks kept clear of leaves, litter and moss.
  All garden waste removed.
  
  
  The first one we've been at for five years – so they know us now - and the total is divided into twelve and paid into our bank at the end of each month. There's also a two day hedge here for which we have a separate contract.
  
  The second place we've only been at for a year – we've worked the visits out the same but at the end of each month we invoice them for the work done that month. Next year we hope they'll split it into twelve equal payments for us.
  
  Don't know if that helps too much - but it's what we've done.