The math behind
the tools.

Cleaning quotes and target margin

Labor cost = people × paid hours per person × hourly pay × (1 + additional labor cost percentage). Add supplies, non-labor travel expenses and allocated overhead to get job costs before payment processing.

Percentages are decimals in the formula. The target margin plus processing rate must be less than 100%. Processing cost is the price times the rate, plus the fixed fee. Estimated profit is the price minus all entered costs including processing.

Margin = profit ÷ price. Markup = profit ÷ total cost. When total costs are zero, markup is undefined and shown as a dash. The model assumes one payment and excludes sales tax. Round an actual customer quote deliberately; displayed values are rounded to cents independently, so a displayed sum can differ by a cent.

Fixed prices and additional time

The price to test is the amount you intend to quote, rounded to cents when you use the target quote automatically. Processing fees are calculated from that fixed amount.

Additional labor cost = people × extra minutes per person ÷ 60 × hourly pay × (1 + additional labor cost percentage). The test assumes all workers stay longer at the same rate. Supplies, vehicle expenses and allocated overhead stay fixed; overtime premiums and extra non-labor costs are not modeled.

The time cushion is the initial profit divided by the cost of one additional minute for the whole crew. A price already at or below its costs has no positive cushion. With zero hourly labor cost, the model cannot show a finite time limit; that does not make your real time free. Margins at a zero price are undefined.

Allocating monthly overhead

Overhead per job = monthly overhead ÷ monthly job person-hours × this job’s person-hours. Use the same definition of hours in both places, including paid travel and setup when those are included in the quote. Avoid allocating any expense already counted as a direct job cost.

This is one allocation method. A realistic monthly hours estimate matters; entering too many hours makes the share per job look too small.

Client estimates and internal exports

The client estimate uses the fixed price selected in the time test and the service, scope and notes you enter. It excludes internal wages, costs, profit and time-test details. Review the draft, taxes, scope and conditions before sharing it. It is not a completed contract.

The internal CSV and ordinary calculator printout include calculation details. Saved cost scenarios retain costs and target margin, but not client information or the time-test settings.

Weekly team capacity

Productive person-hours = people × paid weekly hours per person × productive time percentage. Whole-job capacity is that result divided by person-hours per job, rounded down.

Two people cleaning for two hours consume four person-hours. Planned workload uses planned jobs × person-hours per job. The tool shows remaining hours or the shortfall when the plan is over capacity.

This is not a scheduling or routing system. Work windows, travel routes and individual availability can further limit a workable schedule.

Software cost

Monthly base cost includes the subscription, chargeable seats above the included allowance, messaging and other recurring charges. Monthly processing cost adds payment volume × processing rate and transaction count × fixed fee.

First-year total always uses 12 months and setup once. Monthly cost per person excludes setup. Values assume the same activity each month. The model excludes taxes and any costs, discounts or commitments that you do not enter.

Examples and validation

Default values demonstrate how each tool works. They are not wage surveys, cleaning production standards, local prices, tax rates or vendor quotes.

Calculators reject non-finite and out-of-range inputs. We keep full precision during calculations and round displayed results. CSV exports include the inputs so an estimate can be reviewed later.