How to Price Pool Service Routes: A Worked Example

There is no standard price for pool service, and any number you read online may have nothing to do with your area, your costs, or your route. The better approach is to work out what a stop costs you, then add what you need to earn. This guide shows the method with made-up numbers. Swap in yours.

If you would rather plug your own figures in directly, use the pool route pricing calculator.

Start with what a stop costs you

A stop has four kinds of cost. Write each one down for your own business.

• Your time, including the drive between stops, not just the time at the pool.
• Vehicle costs: fuel, maintenance, insurance, and wear.
• Chemicals and supplies used on that pool.
• Overhead: insurance, software, test kits, phone, taxes, and anything else it costs to run the business.

Most new owners remember the chemicals and forget the drive time and overhead. Those two are where profit disappears.

A worked example

These numbers are invented to show the steps. They are not a recommended price.

Say a stop takes 25 minutes at the pool and 10 minutes of driving, so 35 minutes total. Say you want to pay yourself $30 an hour for your time. Then:

1. Time cost: 35 minutes is about 0.58 hours, times $30, is about $17.50.
2. Vehicle cost: say $3 per stop (you can work this out from your monthly vehicle costs divided by stops).
3. Chemicals and supplies: say $6 per stop on average for this pool.
4. Overhead: say your monthly overhead is $600 and you have 100 stops a month. That is $6 per stop.

Add them: $17.50 + $3 + $6 + $6 = $32.50 per stop. If you visit weekly, that is about four stops a month, or roughly $130 a month, before any profit margin. Add whatever margin you want on top.

The point is the method. Your time per stop, your hourly target, and your overhead will all be different.

Things that change the price of one pool

• Size. Bigger pools take longer to brush and vacuum.
• Debris. Pools under trees need more skimming and more basket emptying.
• Equipment. Cartridge and DE filters, salt systems, and covers all change your workload.
• Access. A hard gate or a long walk from the street adds minutes to every visit.
• Condition. A neglected pool takes extra work to get under control, and that is often a separate one-time charge.

It is fine to have different rates for different pools. A flat rate for every customer means some pools pay well and some barely cover the visit.

Flat monthly rate plus chemicals

Many operators bill a flat monthly rate for the visits, and charge chemicals separately when a pool needs more than usual. This keeps a quiet pool from subsidizing a heavy one. If you do this, keep a record of what you add at each stop, which is what a chemical log is for. Then the charge on the invoice has something behind it. The layout is covered in the invoice template guide.

Check your existing customers

Once you know your cost per stop, go down your route sheet and compare it to the monthly_rate on each row. Some stops will be well above the line, some below. Pools that sit below it are candidates for a rate change at renewal, or a different schedule. Do not raise everyone by the same amount without looking, because the underpriced ones are the problem.

It also helps to know how many stops fit in a day, since that sets how much a day of your time can earn. See how many pools one tech can service per day.

Telling a customer about a change

Keep it short and give notice. Something like: "Starting next month, your monthly rate will be $X. Costs have gone up and I want to keep the same service." No long apology. Customers who like the work generally stay.

Tools

You can do all of this on paper, in a spreadsheet, or with the calculator. PoolServiceBook stores a flat monthly rate per customer and optional per-unit chemical charges, then builds the monthly invoice from them. It does not process payments. You can try it free for 14 days without a card at the signup page.