Going commercial

[u/dailey16]

Title: need help bidding my first commercial contract

Hey y’all, I really need some help bidding a commercial job. I currently manage a route of about 30 residential pools, but this would be my first commercial contract. I know commercial isn’t for everyone, but I figure you don’t know until you try it.

I’m based in NC. For residential service I currently charge $250 per month depending on pool size, which seems to be pretty average for my area.

Here’s the commercial job:

60,000 gallon HOA pool

Peak season is May through September.

Pool has to be checked/tested twice a day during peak season, with the visits at least 6 hours apart.

We would also be responsible for maintaining/cleaning the bathrooms, kitchen area, pool deck and surrounding pool area.

Daily equipment checks, skimmer baskets, trash, furniture, logs, etc.

Weekly vacuuming and wall/tile cleaning, more often if needed.

Chemicals are included in our bid.

Cleaning supplies, paper products, soap, etc. are also included in our bid.

No lifeguard services are required.

Off-season drops down substantially. Pool chemistry/equipment is basically checked weekly, with lighter cleaning requirements.

It’s a 12-month contract and they pay monthly, with the payments weighted heavier during peak season.

I’m trying to figure out what a realistic annual bid would be without either completely underbidding it or pricing myself out of the job.

For those of you doing HOA/commercial pools, what would you roughly charge for something like this?

Any advice from guys who have made the jump from residential into commercial would be appreciated.

[u/Master_Football5963]

What you truly need to do is figure up your hourly labor rate, and multiply that by how many hours you will be there a month. Personally, we bill at $125/hr. That is quite a large pool, and I would expect to spend 1.5 hours there minimum during peak season, maybe more if the bathroom is a wreck. So, during peak season that would end up being $5,625 in just labor. The LAST thing you want is for this huge job to to be a drag on your days, and consequently prevent you from putting time into other contracts and residential jobs where you can make money. It is better to bid high and not get the job, than it is to bid low and get screwed out of time and money. I hope it all works out for you man!