Pressure washing price calculator

Each surface is priced on its own, then the surfaces are added up into options. The rule is the same one Birdy's quote builder uses for a price-list item sold by the square foot, so the number here matches the number on a quote.

surface price = square feet × rate per sq ft (rounded to the cent)
if a surface has a minimum and the price is lower, the surface price = its minimum
option total = the surfaces in that option, added up
if the option total is under your job minimum, it becomes the job minimum

The minimum charge is what makes small jobs worth the drive. A 400 sq ft driveway at $0.15 is only $60, which rarely covers loading the truck. A surface minimum fixes the small surfaces, and a job minimum fixes the small visits.

Here is the calculator's starting example, a house with five surfaces. These are example numbers to show the math, not going rates in any market. Use what you charge.

The driveway shows the surface minimum at work: 800 sq ft at $0.15 is $120, so its $150 minimum is used instead.

Three options turn "yes or no" into "which one". The customer compares your options with each other instead of with the next company's price, and the extra surfaces are in front of them without a second visit.

• Good is the job they asked for, priced fairly.
• Better adds the surfaces customers often want once they see them: driveway, walks, patio.
• Best is the whole property, including the slow or specialty work like a roof soft wash.

Our guide to good, better, best quotes covers how to pick what goes in each option and how to name them.

Multiply length by width for flat surfaces, and add the pieces together. For siding, multiply the length of each wall by its height, and leave the windows in: they get cleaned too.

Map and satellite tools are fine for a first quote. Measure on site for anything with steps, odd shapes or heavy staining, and say on the quote that the price is for the area measured.

Start from what a job costs you, not from what someone else charges. Work out what an hour of your crew costs, how many square feet they clean in an hour on each surface, and the margin you need. Then check that the rate wins jobs in your area.

rate per sq ft = (cost of a crew hour ÷ sq ft cleaned in an hour) ÷ (1 − the margin you want)

The job profit calculator checks one job's real margin once it is done, and the pricing guide walks through setting rates surface by surface.