Quoting a new job and repricing an existing one are different problems. A new quote is a calculation. Repricing an existing contract is a calculation plus a conversation — you're asking a client who's used to paying one number to start paying a higher one, without giving them a reason to shop around.
This article covers repricing specifically. For pricing a job from scratch, see How to Price a Commercial Cleaning Contract.
Why a flat price becomes a shrinking margin
Labour costs, supply prices and overheads typically rise every year, even when a contract's price doesn't move. A margin that looked healthy when you signed the contract can quietly erode to almost nothing a couple of years later — not because anything went wrong on site, but because the cost side of the equation kept moving while the price side stood still.
Recalculate — don't guess at a percentage
Adding a flat "5% increase" to last year's price is common, but it's a guess dressed up as a number — it doesn't tell you whether 5% actually covers what your real costs have done. Re-running the job through the calculator with today's labour rate, supply costs and overhead gives you an actual, defensible figure instead of a round number picked to sound reasonable.
Use the Free Quote & Profit Calculator to recalculate the job with current figures, then compare the result to what the client's actually paying now.
A simple process for repricing
Giving notice and a reason
Most clients don't object to a price increase itself — they object to being surprised by one, or not understanding why. Check your own contract's notice period requirements, and give the client a straightforward reason (rising labour or supply costs, for example) rather than no explanation at all. This isn't legal advice — review your own contract terms, or get professional advice if the notice requirements aren't clear.
Presenting the increase properly
A price increase communicated as a phone call or a one-line email tends to read as arbitrary. Presenting it as an updated, properly formatted proposal — with the new price shown alongside the service it covers — reads as a considered business decision instead.
Use the Free Proposal Builder to reissue your pricing professionally once you've recalculated it.