For people offering power washing or pressure washing services to residential and commercial customers, being able to create professional-looking estimates plays an important role in landing business. Skynova's estimate software enables pressure washers to produce polished estimates for customers from the job site or office in minutes.

The pressure washing job estimate template can be sent directly from the platform (notifying you when it is opened) or sent to your customer as a PDF. You can stop using Microsoft Word, Excel, and even Google Docs to create DIY estimates. With the estimate handled in short order, you have more time to do your work, using high-pressure water spray, with cold or hot water, to clean grime from driveways, roofs, cladding, siding, decks, and much more.

The Skynova estimate template will help polish your documentation's appearance and speed up the payment process. Then, you can really focus on what matters most - the water pressure. If you're in power washing, check out the template we've made below just for your business:

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How to Create a Pressure Washing Estimate

When running a pressure washing business, paperwork, including estimates, is often seen as a necessary evil. After all, people don't pursue house cleaning services, such as pressure washing, to spend their days doing administrative tasks.

But maintaining a professional appearance in estimates, invoices, work orders, accounting documents, retainer requests, and other business documents will help you land and retain cleaning business. The speed with which pressure washing estimates and invoices can be created and approved online will enable you to do work and receive payments faster, whether you charge for your services by the hour, per square foot, or by the job.

Simply follow the steps below to create a professional pressure washer's estimate that you can send to any commercial or residential customer.

  1. Input Everyone's Contact Information

    In this section of the estimate, you need to indicate the name and contact address of who the estimate is from (you, the business owner) and the recipient (your customer). Depending on the legal setup of your power washing business, you would either use our business name or your proper name. In either case, the name should be one that the customer clearly recognizes. If the estimate appears to come from someone they don't know, they may ignore the estimate.

    Make sure that you have the right spelling and correct address for your customer. Typos and mistakes detract from the appearance of professionalism. If you are interacting exclusively with your customer online, you can enter an email address and/or telephone number instead of the street address (or as well as).

  2. Upload Your Pressure Washing Business Logo

    To demonstrate the professionalism of your pressure washing services, it's a good idea to include your logo if you have one. Simply check the "Logo" option under the customization options at the top of the estimate template page. It accepts the four most common image formats: JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP.

  3. Add Your Identifying Estimate Number

    If you have a busy power washing business, it's important that you're able to create unique identifying numbers for your business forms, so you can easily track and refer to them. If you have a purchase order (P.O.) number you want to associate with a particular estimate, you can also add one through the customization options at the top of your pressure cleaning estimate template page.

    Once an estimate has been accepted, and the job is completed, Skynova helps save you time and work by allowing you to automatically convert estimates to invoices. Simply:

    • Locate the estimate on the "List of Estimates" page.
    • Click the gray icon to the left of the estimate and select "Convert to estimate" in the drop-down menu.

    An invoice ready for editing is automatically created based on the estimate you selected.

  4. Add a Date to Your Estimate

    The estimate date is either the date you create or send the estimate. Since both things generally happen on the same day, you usually don't have to choose between them. If there is a gap between creating and sending the estimate, perhaps use the sending date for the estimate to seem more timely. Keep in mind that potential customers generally expect a speedy response when asking for a pressure washing estimate, so it's a good business practice to follow up quickly.

  5. Log the Cost of Your Cleaning Supplies

    The estimate template allows power washing professionals to estimate the costs of their cleaning supplies separately and chemicals used for fence, deck, siding, and roof cleaning jobs. In some cases, these costs would be folded into the overall estimate. The estimate figure would also cover overhead costs, such as:

    • Vehicle gas, insurance, and loan
    • Advertising
    • Phone and internet
    • Equipment maintenance
    • Office rent

    If charging separately for cleaning supplies and chemicals, be sure to use straightforward descriptive language (such as "Brand X Industrial Heavy Duty Cleaner") rather than just a store product number, so the customer knows what they are paying for. In the Skynova template, you would also enter the number of units and price per unit to come up with a final cost for each listed supply.

  6. Input Your Power Washing Labor Cost

    When coming up with an estimate for the labor that must be performed for a power cleaning job, the contractor usually has a choice of charging by the hour, per square foot, or by the job.

    To come up with a figure that is both competitive and profitable requires checking out the competition and also looking at national averages for such services. For example, some sources estimate it costs between $220 and $380 to power wash a house siding, $130 and $220 for a driveway, and $250 and $420 for a deck or patio. Others estimate the average cost of pressure washing at 16 to 22 cents per square foot.

    If you were washing three townhouses at a fixed cost, you could use the estimate template to describe the overall task, use the "Unit Price" selection to indicate the cost per townhouse and "Quantity" to show the number of houses, automatically generating a total for doing the three together as part of the line item.

    Because a number of costs need to be covered by the estimate, a lot of care must be given to coming up with a number that is both competitive and fair to your finances.

  7. Enter Pressure Washing Discounts Given to the Customer

    When calculating the pressure washing cost for a job, you might decide to offer a new customer discount, a referral discount, a loyalty program, or some other price savings. Skynova's estimate makes it a snap to enter these, automatically subtracting the discounts from the job's overall proposed cost.

  8. Add a Note About the Power Washing Job and Any Other Information

    Pressure washing professionals also can add a note at the end of the estimate, providing useful information that gives context to the above line items. For example, it might explain which discount was applied or why a particular charge is included.

    It might also point out that any requested power cleaning done outside the estimate will have to be charged separately (for example, a residential customer who asks to have their driveway and the house done since the cleaner was already there).

    Or it might be used to cover unforeseen circumstances or contingencies. For example, a job cleaning loose paint off walls might require further cleaning and chemicals if mold is discovered underneath.

Tips and Best Practices for Pressure Washing Estimates

Whether its customer convenience, effective pricing strategies, or online marketing methods, here are five best practices for creating effective power wash estimates for cleaning jobs:

  • Keep It Convenient

    Convenience counts in pressure washing bids, as it does in other types of businesses. The more difficult or unclear you make the estimate process, the greater the chance you'll lose your potential customer before closing the deal. With a pressure washing estimate template from Skynova, customized to your requirements, you can present all the possible costs for potential pressure washing jobs in a clear, professional manner.

    Our software enables you to create the estimate quickly, so there is no waiting, and allows the customers to receive and approve the bid online, keeping the process smooth and seamless. Once the estimate is accepted, and the job is completed, you can easily convert the estimate into an invoice, also letting you know when the document has been opened and viewed.

  • Decide On a Pricing Strategy

    Power washers typically price jobs according to per square or linear foot, per hour, or a flat rate. Pricing by the hour ensures you get paid for every hour you work. Charging by the square or linear foot makes it easier to provide an estimate for different shapes of lots and buildings.

    And flat rates are often used by industry veterans who know how much time jobs will take and what factors will affect the cost, including rough surfaces. They'll typically calculate their estimate according to a rough total of square footage plus their markups. All three pricing strategies can be professionally presented in a Skynova estimate.

  • Measure the Space Properly

    Since a lot of power washing jobs are estimated according to the footage being cleaned, how you measure is important. Some projects are estimated according to square footage, including roofs, driveways, sidewalks, fences, decks, siding, parking lots, and garage floors. Here you might use a laser pointer to measure the length and width of the space. You would multiply these numbers and multiply their total by 1.35 to find the approximate square footage.

    A boat and house are examples of pressure wash projects that are charged by the linear foot. You measure the length of the structure without taking into account the width. A linear foot is typically charged at a higher rate than a square foot.

  • Make More Than You Spend

    Particularly when you start a power washing business, you must make sure that your expenditures are less than you charge. The four main costs are:

    • Power washing gear, including pressure washer, surface cleaner, nozzles, chemicals, and trailer or equivalent
    • Insurance, permits, and contractor license
    • Marketing and advertising to acquire customers
    • Transportation to customers' homes or businesses

    What you charge needs to recoup your costs while keeping you competitive. With a Skynova estimate, your costs may be included as part of your hourly, per foot, or flat rate fee or broken out as expense line items for things such as cleaning supplies and chemicals.

  • Market Yourself Online

    While flyers and print ads may play a part in your pressure washing business marketing plan, it's best to try to reach potential customers where they like to be - online. This means developing an e-commerce website optimized to get a good placing in search results, using social media channels and email marketing tactics.

    Customers who connect with your pressure washing business through the internet will be pleased to receive estimates and invoices online, which they can easily review and accept or query, and then pay virtually.

A Suite of Skynova Solutions for Pressure Wash Businesses

Customizable and easy-to-use Skynova estimate templates are essential products for power washing businesses. They enable you to quickly prepare professional estimates that speed up business processes and win and retain new customers.

The estimates also combine with other Skynova software products to provide a complete set of billing solutions, simplifying the process of winning customer business and getting paid. For example, we can expedite the process of proposal templates and invoicing, getting paid online, staying organized, and much more. Our accounting software can also get your small business up and running, helping you keep accurate records of your income, expenses, sales tax, and payments.

Skynova helps your pressure washing company prosper by simplifying and speeding up the billing process.

Additional Industry Estimate Templates