TivloYou have been cleaning the same office block for three years. The rate has not changed. Your labour costs are up fourteen per cent. Your supplies are up. Your insurance is up. You have been absorbing it because you do not want the conversation.
This year, you cannot absorb it any more.
The price increase conversation is the one that many cleaning company owners put off the longest. And the longer it is delayed, the worse the options get: either you raise it by a painful amount all at once, or you keep absorbing until the contract is no longer viable.
Here is how to handle it properly.
Why Most Price Increases Go Badly
The ones that damage relationships usually share the same pattern.
The client gets a letter or email with a new figure and a start date. No context. No advance notice. No conversation. The message received is: "Pay more or leave."
Facilities managers have budgets. Budgets have cycles. A price change that arrives with three weeks' notice in mid-quarter creates a problem for them that has nothing to do with whether your service is good.
The ones that go well are different. The client feels like a partner in the decision, not a target. They have enough notice to manage it internally. And they understand why.
The Framework for a Successful Price Review
Give enough notice to be usable
Eight to twelve weeks is the minimum for a commercial cleaning client. This allows them to budget it in their next quarter, take it to their finance team if needed, and respond to you without being under pressure.
Less than six weeks puts them in a position where their only real option is to say no or to resent the change. Neither is good for you.
Request a short conversation first
Do not send the new figure in writing without a prior conversation. Request a brief call.
"I would like to catch up with you at some point this month. We are going through our annual contract reviews and I want to talk through how things are going on the site and what the coming year looks like. Would you have twenty minutes in the next fortnight?"
This does two things. It gives you a chance to reinforce the value you have been delivering before the number is on the table. And it gives the client the respect of a conversation rather than a letter.
Lead with value, not with costs
When you have the call, begin with the relationship and the service. What has worked well. Any improvements you have made. What you are doing to maintain standards on their site.
You are establishing the baseline of value before you introduce the number. Clients who feel well-served and well-communicated with are significantly more likely to accept a price review than clients who feel like they are just paying for a service that turns up and gets on with it.
Be direct about the number
Once you have had the value conversation, be clear and direct.
"Our costs have increased significantly this year, particularly in wages and materials. I have been holding pricing steady as long as I can but I need to apply a review from [date]. For your contract, this means a change from [current rate] to [new rate] per [period]. I wanted to tell you personally before anything comes in writing."
Do not over-explain. Do not apologise excessively. A price increase from a business that has delivered solid work and communicates professionally is reasonable. Present it as such.
Send the written summary promptly
After the call, send a brief written confirmation the same day or the day after. The new rate. The start date. A summary of any changes to the scope if relevant. A line thanking them for the relationship.
This gives them a paper trail for their internal processes and demonstrates that you manage contracts properly.
Give them a way to raise concerns
At the end of the written confirmation, include something like: "If this creates any difficulty or you would like to discuss the scope before the start date, please do get in touch. I am happy to talk it through."
Most clients will not take you up on it. But the offer signals that you treat them as a partner, not a line on an invoice.
What Happens If They Push Back
Some clients will push back. Have a position prepared.
If the increase is genuinely marginal, consider whether there is a middle figure that keeps the relationship intact and still improves your position. A smaller increase now is often better than a bigger jump in twelve months.
If the client wants to reduce scope to offset the increase, have a clear sense of what is actually reducible and what is not. A reduced scope should mean a reduced service, not the same service at a lower rate.
If they say they will go out to tender, thank them for the conversation and mean it. A client who uses every price review to threaten going to tender is a client with a fragile relationship. Your best clients are the ones who see you as a partner, not a commodity.
The Role of Documentation in Price Conversations
The price increase conversation is much easier when you can point to a record of what you have delivered. If you have been sharing monthly inspection summaries, reporting completed works, and giving the client visibility into the service, the conversation is about reviewing a known quantity.
If the client's only touchpoint has been the invoice and the occasional complaint, the conversation is about justifying your existence.
Cleaning companies that document and share their work systematically are not just better at retaining clients. They are better at getting the rates their service justifies.
If you are not sure how your client communication and documentation practices compare, take the Tivlo scorecard. Four minutes, free, and it gives you a clear picture of where you stand.
[Take the scorecard at score.tivlo.app]