How to Price Weekly Pool Service

Take your minutes at the stop plus the drive, times your rate, then add the chemicals. That is the price of one visit. Times it by the visits in a month, and you have the monthly price.

Do not start from what the guy down the street charges. His route, his pools and his costs are not yours. Start from your own numbers, then check them against your area.

Time your own stops for a few weeks. Your real minutes beat any chart you find online.

A normal stop on a home pool often takes 20 to 40 minutes on site. A big pool, lots of trees or an attached spa takes longer.

Most weekly service covers these tasks:

• Test and balance: check chlorine and pH, then add what the water needs.
• Skim: net the leaves and bugs off the top.
• Brush: scrub the walls and steps so algae cannot take hold.
• Vacuum: clean the floor when it needs it.
• Baskets: empty the skimmer and pump baskets.
• Equipment check: look at the pump, filter and pressure, and note what looks wrong.

Write down what your weekly stop includes. The customer should know what they pay for each week.

Most pool pros charge one flat price each month. A month has about 4.33 weeks on average. So times your price per visit by 4.33 to get the monthly price.

A flat price is easy for the customer to plan for. It is easy for you to bill too. Some months have 5 visits, some have 4, and it comes out even over the year.

Pools use more chlorine in summer heat. You can keep 1 price all year and average it out. Or you can set a summer price and a winter price. Pick one and say so up front.

Here is one way the numbers can add up. Every figure is an example. Swap in your own rate and your supplier's prices.

Say your rate is $60 an hour. It has to cover your pay, the truck, gas, insurance, test kits and the office.

• Time on site: 25 minutes.
• Drive to the stop: 10 minutes.
• Labor: 35 minutes at $60 an hour, about $35. Labor means the work, not the chemicals.
• Chemicals: about $8 a visit on average for chlorine, acid and the rest.

That is about $43 a visit. Times 4.33, it comes to about $185 for the month.

Chlorine and acid prices change a lot by state and supplier. Track what each pool really uses for a month or 2. Then fix the price if your guess was off.

Look at the pool and the yard before you quote. Each of these adds time or chemicals, so each one is fair to price.

• A big pool: more water takes more chlorine and more time to brush.
• Lots of trees: leaves fill the baskets and the floor fast.
• An attached spa: it has its own water to test and its own walls to brush.
• A salt system: the cell needs a clean now and then to keep making chlorine.
• A green pool: algae means a big cleanup first. Price it as its own job.
• Filter cleans: a full filter clean takes time, so price it as its own line.
• Hard access: a locked gate, a dog in the yard or a long walk all add minutes.

Some states and cities need a license to service pools. In many places algaecide counts as a pesticide, which can need its own license. The rules vary a lot, so check yours before you take on stops.

Give the customer 2 or 3 real choices, each with its own monthly total. For example:

• Chemicals only: test, balance and empty the baskets each week.
• Full weekly service: chemicals plus skim, brush and vacuum.
• Full service with filter cleans: the weekly service plus 2 or 4 filter cleans a year.

On each choice, say which day of the week you come. Say how the customer reaches you when the water looks wrong.

Then say what is not included. For example: a green pool cleanup, repairs and parts, storm cleanup, an acid wash and leak checks. Each one can be its own quote.

Keep each stop type and add-on in your price book. Then the next pool takes a few minutes to quote, and it comes out the same every time.