How to review a recurring cleaning rate using actual visit time

Review the same job, not a mixed collection of visits

A recurring rate review begins with a simple question: how much work does the agreed regular visit now require? A slow first clean, a deep clean, and an ordinary maintenance visit answer different questions. Keep first, deep, and one-off cleans out of the regular baseline, even when they happened at the same home.

Check the notes on regular visits too. An unusual access delay, an extra room, or a one-time request deserves context. Do not quietly remove inconvenient observations to reach a preferred price; explain why a visit is or is not comparable.

Capture enough information to interpret the time

Record the date, visit type, actual crew count, elapsed on-site hours per cleaner, supplies cost, price charged, and a short note about changes. Two cleaners working two hours means four cleaner-hours. If their hours differ, use their average hours with the crew count to preserve the correct total.

Keep the cost assumptions used for each completed visit. If labor costs rise next month, that should inform future pricing without rewriting what an earlier visit cost under its recorded assumptions. Your review of future work can then use current costs with the observed time baseline.

Use a median, with context

Sort the comparable regular visits by total on-site cleaner-hours. The median is the middle value; with an even number of visits, average the two middle values. For five example visits taking 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, and 6 cleaner-hours, the median is 4. One unusually long visit has less influence than it would on a simple average.

Aim for at least three representative regular visits before relying on a baseline. Three is a practical starting point, not a guarantee of a dependable sample. Seasonal changes, different crews, and a recent scope change can still make the history misleading. With no regular observations, you have a quote assumption rather than an actual-visit baseline.

Translate the observed time into a cost scenario

Suppose a solo-cleaner visit was quoted at three hours and now has a four-hour regular baseline. At an illustrative $25 hourly labor cost, $15 in other entered costs, and a $150 visit price, original cost was $90 and estimated profit was $60: a 40% margin.

At four hours, cost is $115 and estimated profit is $35: about a 23.33% margin. For a 25% target margin, with no separate processing fees, $115 ÷ 0.75 gives approximately $153.33. The unrounded result is $153.333…; round up if you need to meet the target exactly. These figures are examples before income tax and omitted costs, not a local rate recommendation.

For a crew, the full toolkit uses median on-site cleaner-hours with current cost assumptions. Paid travel is calculated separately using the quoted crew. Review those assumptions rather than assuming an observed on-site total explains every cost.

Prepare options before proposing a change

Decide which scope the revised price would cover and choose a proposed effective date. Explain the relevant change plainly: for example, the agreed checklist consistently takes longer than the original estimate. Review your existing agreement and notice arrangements before sending the proposal.

Offer a useful alternative if the customer wants to keep the current budget: retain the original scope, agree fewer tasks, or discuss a different visit frequency. A calculated target does not predict acceptance. Record the actual response and confirm the final scope and price through your usual process.

Start the next baseline deliberately

After an agreed permanent scope change, consider a new job record so old timings do not dilute the new baseline. Continue logging regular visits and export backups. The value of a review is a clearer next decision, not an automatic price increase or a promise that every job will become profitable.