It is tempting to copy a competitor's price and charge a little less. That number may have no connection to the time or costs in your own work.
Build your price from three numbers: how long the job takes, what you need to earn for that time and what it costs you to complete the job.
Start with the hours, not the house
Square footage is only a starting point. A cluttered home with two bedrooms can take longer than a sparse home with four, and bathrooms usually take more time per room than bedrooms.
Time your own jobs for two weeks. Record the start, finish, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and whether it was a regular visit or the first deep clean. Your own completed jobs are more useful than a general rule from another business.
Until you have enough completed visits, label each time as an estimate. Update it with the middle value from comparable jobs as you collect more results.
Decide what your hour is worth
This is the number people avoid. Your hourly figure has to cover more than the time in the house: the drive, the messages, the quoting, the supply runs, and the weeks when someone cancels.
If you want to take home a given amount per hour worked, the rate you charge has to account for work you cannot bill directly, such as travel, quoting and supply runs, as well as time inside the home.
Add what the job actually costs you
Include products, laundry, fuel, parking and wear on equipment. Small costs add up across every job, so leaving them out means paying part of the customer's cleaning costs yourself.
Then leave room for jobs that run long. A home that has not been cleaned in six months is not the same job as one cleaned every other week, even if the home looks similar on paper.
Charge differently for different work
A regular clean every other week, a single deep clean and cleaning after a move require different amounts of work. Give each one its own price instead of losing money on the harder jobs.
Cleaning after a move deserves its own estimate. Empty homes expose more surfaces, and the customer may be depending on the result for a deposit.
Raise prices on new customers first
If your current prices are too low, you do not have to change every existing client at once. Use the new price for customers who ask from today, then update regular clients at a clear point with advance notice.
Tell existing customers what the new price will be and when it begins. Keep that conversation separate from the prices you quote to new customers.