What pressure washing software has to do, and how a wash should be priced
A pressure washing company sells crew time, chemicals and truck time. Every job is a different surface, a different size and a different level of dirt. So the software has to quote many kinds of work fast, and then show you whether each quote paid. Here is a short checklist to bring to any demo.
| The job | What the software should do |
|---|---|
| Quote any surface | Price flatwork (driveways, patios and sidewalks) by the square foot, fences and gutters by the linear foot, and houses and roofs as one job price, all with a job minimum. |
| Build a full quote | Put a house wash, roof wash and gutter brightening (removing the black streaks on the outside of gutters) on one quote, so the customer can say yes to all three at once. |
| Win the booking | Log every call and text with the customer's history on screen, and follow up on quotes that go quiet. |
| Handle the spring rush | Show every crew on one calendar and warn you before two jobs land on the same crew. |
| Prove the work | Let techs take before and after photos that stay on the job and can go out with the invoice. |
| Bring them back | Repeat house and roof washes each season and remind the customer before the next visit. |
| Show the profit | Compare what the job earned with what it cost: crew time, drive time, chemicals and truck. |
How to price a pressure washing job from its real costs
Start with crew hours. Count all of them, not just time spent spraying. Loading the trailer, the drive, rolling out hoses and the final rinse-down are all paid time. Multiply those hours by the full cost of one person-hour. That is the wage plus payroll taxes, insurance and workers' comp (the insurance that covers injured workers). Our labor burden calculator shows what sits on top of the wage. Then add chemicals and other materials, plus the truck and fuel. That total is your job costs.
To set the price, divide job costs by one minus your margin. Margin is the share of the price you keep after job costs. It is not the same as adding a markup on top. What is left pays for the office, ads, software and your own pay.
Illustrative numbers only: a two-person crew does a house soft wash (a low-pressure wash with cleaning mix) and gutter brightening. They spend 3 hours on site, plus 1 more hour for loading, driving and setup. That is 4 paid hours for each person.
| Item | How it is worked out | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Labor | 2 people × 4 hours × $30 full cost per hour | $240 |
| Chemicals and materials | Soft wash mix, gutter cleaner, small parts | $25 |
| Truck and fuel | Truck and trailer time and fuel for this job | $40 |
| Job costs | $305 | |
| Price at a 50% margin | $305 ÷ 0.50 | $610 |
| Left after job costs | $610 − $305 | $305 |
Now see what can go wrong. If you added a 50% markup instead, you would quote $458 and keep only a third of the price. And if heavy green growth adds 1 hour for both people, labor rises to $300 and $245 is left. That is still a fair job at $610. At the $458 markup price, the same extra hour leaves only $93. This is why the software should put estimated hours next to real hours after every job.
For the full method, with per square foot rates, minimums and the costs that hide in a wash, read how to price pressure washing jobs without losing money. For house jobs in detail, see how much to charge to pressure wash a house, and for flatwork, how much to charge for a driveway. To test your own numbers, use the job price calculator. To work out a price from your own crew costs, try the free pressure washing pricing calculator.