What are typical monthly supply costs for a cleaning business?

Supply costs vary widely depending on the size of operation. A solo cleaner might spend £50-100/month on chemicals, cloths and consumables. A small team cleaning 10 commercial sites might spend £300-600/month. Supplies typically represent 5-15% of total cleaning contract revenue.

Should I charge clients separately for supplies?

There are two common approaches: include supplies in the hourly rate, or itemise them separately with a markup. Itemising gives transparency and allows you to recover costs with a 10-20% markup. Including them in the rate is simpler but means you absorb price increases.

What markup should I add to cleaning supplies?

A markup of 10-20% on supply costs is standard in the UK cleaning industry. This covers the time and fuel cost of purchasing and delivering supplies to sites. Some contracts use a fixed monthly consumables charge instead of a percentage markup.

How can I reduce supply costs?

Buy chemicals in concentrate form and dilute on site. Order in bulk from wholesale suppliers. Use trigger spray bottles with concentrated refill sachets. Switch to microfibre cloths which last longer than disposable wipes. Compare prices from multiple suppliers regularly and negotiate annual contracts for better rates.

CleanCalcs

Supply Cost Calculator

Estimate total monthly and annual supply costs for a cleaning operation.

Chemicals (monthly)

Paper Products (monthly)

Bin Liners (monthly)

Gloves (monthly)

Cloths & Mop Heads

Other Consumables

Markup %

For billing to clients

How We Calculate This

How the calculation works

This calculator totals up monthly costs across all supply categories and projects annual totals.

Formula

Monthly total = sum of all category costs

With markup = monthly total × (1 + markup %)

Annual = monthly × 12

Daily average = monthly ÷ 30

Frequently Asked Questions

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Last updated: February 2026

All calculations are estimates. Always verify quantities and timings for your specific situation.