Price the job from your own numbers—not a guess
A pressure washing quote can look reasonable and still leave too little profit. The simplest way to check it is to work backward from the actual economics of the job.
Start with the work
Estimate the square footage or service scope, expected labor time, materials and chemicals, travel/setup time, and any other direct job costs.
Then account for overhead
Your price has to carry more than the hours spent spraying. Equipment, insurance, software, vehicles, admin time and other operating costs matter too.
Check break-even and profit
Before sending the quote, compare the proposed price with your estimated break-even point and projected profit. That gives you a much better decision than copying a competitor’s price.
For a quick check, run one real job through the free SGL Pressure Washing Pricing & Profit Calculator. Enter your own numbers and use the result as a planning tool—not a promise of a universal market price.
What to review before sending the quote
- Labor and expected production time
- Materials and chemicals
- Travel and setup
- Overhead
- Break-even
- Target profit margin
- Scope and customer expectations
The goal is simple: know what the job needs to earn before you commit to the price.
A repeatable costing worksheet you can build today
Use columns for service, scope, crew hours, hourly labor burden, chemicals and supplies, travel/setup, equipment allowance, overhead allowance, quoted price, projected margin. The numbers should come from actual recent jobs whenever possible, not a random national price benchmark.
Worked example, not a market-rate recommendation
Assume a job requires 3 crew hours at an estimated fully burdened labor cost of $30/hour ($90), $28 of consumables, $32 of travel/setup allocation and $45 of general overhead. The estimated cost to cover is $195. At an illustrative quote of $320, projected operating contribution is $125 before taxes or uncounted expenses: $320 − $195 = $125. The illustrative margin on price is about 39%, calculated as $125 ÷ $320, not $125 ÷ $195.
Check sensitivity before quoting
- If the job takes five hours rather than three, the two extra hours add $60 under these assumptions; your projected contribution falls to $65.
- If there is an extra supply run, add its actual labor, travel and purchase costs.
- For heavily soiled surfaces, estimate pre-treatment, dwell time and rinsing, not just spraying time.
- Compare at least two realistic scopes before offering an unnecessary discount.
Translate the math into a customer-ready offer
The customer needs the actual work described clearly. Use a written proposal with included areas, exclusions, expectations, price, estimated schedule, approval and change procedures. The Three-Tier Proposal Builder lets you evaluate the price and estimated gross margin of three credible scopes, then communicate those choices in Word. Never create a higher-priced tier with services the property does not need.
After-job review: compare estimates with reality
Record the actual crew time, supplies used, extra visits, discounts and change orders. Identify a single reason for any major variance. The Business OS helps track estimated and actual job profitability for this purpose. Next month's quoting system should be informed by completed jobs, not just what looked profitable on paper.
Checklist: Is the scope specific? Have you included setup, travel, labor burden, consumables and overhead? Does the quoted price exceed your documented break-even assumptions? Can you explain exclusions? Have you recorded a plan to review actual costs after completion?