Price increase letter to cleaning clients
Copy it, replace the bracketed bits, send it. Below the letter: the text-message version, how much notice to give, and what to say when they push back.
Hi [NAME], I wanted to let you know directly rather than have it turn up on an invoice. From [DATE], your [FREQUENCY] clean will go from [OLD PRICE] to [NEW PRICE]. That is an increase of [PERCENT]%, and it is the first change to your rate since [LAST CHANGE DATE]. The reason is simple: this work is almost entirely wages, and the wage floor has gone up twice since I last priced your contract. I have absorbed it so far. I would rather raise the rate a little and keep the same team on your site than keep the price flat and start cutting hours — which is what you would actually notice. Nothing else changes. Same team, same schedule, same scope. If you want to talk it through, call me on [PHONE] and we will find something that works. Thanks for the last [N] years — I do not take it for granted. [YOUR NAME] [BUSINESS NAME]
30 days, or one full billing cycle — whichever is longer
6–10%
The text-message version
For the customers whose entire relationship with you lives in a phone. Send it before the visit, never on the invoice.
Hi [NAME] — [YOUR NAME] from [BUSINESS]. Quick heads up that your [FREQUENCY] clean goes from [OLD PRICE] to [NEW PRICE] on [DATE], first rise since [YEAR]. Same team, same schedule. Give me a ring on [PHONE] if you want to chat it through.
Why it is going up, in words you can use
“Rising costs” persuades nobody because everyone says it. Name the actual driver in commercial cleaning instead:
- wage floors rose again, and cleaning is almost entirely labour
- insurance and employer costs went up with them
- consumables and equipment are still above pre-2024 pricing
When they push back
You will hear these within a week. Having the answer ready is the difference between holding the price and folding on the phone.
- "We'll get other quotes."
- Say: "Of course — I would too. One thing worth checking on the others is whether the price includes the same hours on site, and whether it is the same team each week or agency cover. That is usually where the difference is." Most switching threats die at the second quote, because the cheaper number turns out to buy fewer hours.
- "Can you hold the price if we sign for longer?"
- This is a good outcome, not an objection. Offer the current rate held for 12 months in exchange for a 12-month term — you trade a few percent for a year of certain revenue, which is worth more than the increase.
- "Everyone is raising prices, it's getting silly."
- Agree, do not argue: "You are right, and I have held this one for [N] years, which is why it has to move now rather than a bit every year." The operator who has not raised prices in three years has the strongest possible ground to stand on.
Is a price rise even the right move for you?
Sometimes it is not. Sometimes the money is in a service plan for customers you already have, or in the job you are quoting below cost without realising. Describe your business in one sentence and you will get three specific moves back — priced per month, with the arithmetic written out so you can put your own numbers in.
Free, no signup, about thirty seconds. If one of them is a price rise, you will get the number to put in the brackets above.
Give me three movesOther trades
A template, not legal advice. If you have a written contract with these cleaning clients, check what it says about notice periods and price changes before you send anything — the contract wins over any template, including this one.