i'm trying to figure out a good constant % number for what i should put back into the biz specificly for use items like chemicals, pads and things like that...
should I just put a % back based on each application?... example 1000sq ft house
...chemical cost is aprox 5%... so put back 5% of the cleaning carpet cost
...if they apply protectant %30 back of the additional cost on protectant
then i need to figure in replacment on pads... so another %2 in a pad fund?
basicly i'm trying to put together a budget
maybe just haveing a generic 15%?
initaly i know i'll be putting back significantly more money to pay for other things i feel i'll need (software, education, steam machine, better vac ect) I'd just like a fairly simple and stright forward budgeting system for everything, i want all my ducks in a row when I go full time and drop the pizza gig
You are a little high on your approximation of your cost of cleaning solution and pad replacement. When I sit down at the end of a calendar year (coming up soon!) to separate out income from various expenses, I find my total for cleaner and pads is normally between 1 1/2 and 2% of my gross income for the year. I think, if you are like most people operating any kind of service business, marketing/advertising will represent your largest single expense. Ten to fifteen percent of gross sales is what you might want to put away for future m/a efforts. If you are successful (as many have been) in generating a high percentage of repeat and referral customers, this figure could drop significantly. The quality of your work - or of whoever does the work for you - will have a strong influence on your success in gaining repeat customers, and via them, new customers they happily refer to you.
