I get to quote a new large apartment complex, construction Cleanup. I would like to double check with you guys to make sure I’m not under quoting myself because I’ve never quoted this big of a job. It’s 3 stories, it’s 270 panes (all standard side by side double windows) and 45 double sliding doors, gonna need to rent a lift for the outside most likely, I had decided on $4 a pane per side (so 16 total per window for in and out) plus the price of the rental. Is this too low, too high, or about right? I am pretty quick and efficient, 4 years experience now, so at least not slow. 
Thanks, all!
I’d be $10+ per pane per side, but I would quote to not get it.
What type of glass?
If its tempered, how will you remove the construction debris?
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Why do you quote level three the same price as level one. I price per level ( difficulty ). I have a set price for each level ( Out ). Also - have you checked to see if D/H units tilt in ? As far as your price, we would be lower than that applying my estimating formula. Do you have a set OBJECTIVE price sheet that you use for estimating ? I guess I am a little surprised that you are uncertain or reluctant about your pricing. It tells me you may not have a set estimating guide that you use ( a formula ) When you have this it disciplines you to stay the course and trust your historical pricing to deliver for you and your hourly goal.
I spent a lot of time coming up with mine, timing every detail of movement and cleaning so that a price per unit would convert to my hourly rate goal. It takes so much guessing out of estimating - and yes I understand there are variables for each job and levels of difficulty.
Note : A " Unit" is anything and everything you touch or do in the course of a job. Establish your unit
price - count and multiply - submit your price.
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Your set price should be what you charge for a regular clean; for construction clean up things change rapidly, there is a charge for that.
Would $4.00 be what you charge for a regular clean? If so how much more should you charge for a CCU? $2 more? Or 2 times more? With a CCU you will run into issues that will test your ability and your risk factor. Tread carefully and charge accordingly.
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Yeah, I will be bidding to get if possible, not in a place to be just letting these kinds of jobs go, unfortunately. 
@WDW I am moving in that direction, but I got in to this business a little differently than most. The old window cleaner in town (he’s 80 and still washing some) trained a family friend who was in college at the time, he really only did it as a little money on the side deal, a year or two later he “trained” me, and did a pretty good job, but his pricing was more along the old guys who still prices like he’s in the 70s, I wasn’t taught much about business running because he didn’t do much of that (as far as running a professional company anyway). So when I started I was the neighborhood kid washing windows for a straight $2 a pane on every job, and it wasn’t until year 3 that that changed. I got a uniform, I got car magnets, legit business cards and bills and everything, so I just finished up my first year making over $20,000, a huge deal for me! That said, I’ve only recently gotten to the point where my pricing has been lining up the way I want, and I’ve done very little construction Cleanup, and no huge jobs, so my pricing on construction work is where I do not know what to do. I’m building a spreadsheet for pricing, but all of that was a very very overly long way of saying no, I do not have a pricing guide or sheet yet. I’ve been charging by the pane this whole time, I’m only recently starting to think about charging per unit instead. Thanks for the input!
@Garry yeah, just realized that if I was doing this job non construction I’d be around $4 a pane… Id better be more like $6. I’m just worried about pricing too high, a lot of the people in my area aren’t used to these professional window cleaning prices it seems. (Maybe that’s everywhere) . Is 4,000 plus $200 for lift rental (that’s the cost here) too much for this place (construction clean, in and out, 3 floors, lots of in and out of apartment units and such)? I tend to price things and then get cold feet asking for so much because I’m afraid of being “unfair” or something. 
Thank you all for your feedback, I know I’ve been at this a while but I still lack quite a bit of experience due to the area I live in not having many of these types of jobs.
Hey WDW - Tell us more about your estimating formula, or if you don’t mind, maybe shoot me an email, I’d be very interested to hear about it.
Perhaps, similar to the OP, I have a formula and am learning to trust it, but would love to hear more about what others do. I have veered away from it a few times and gotten skunked, so simple as it is, I am now pretty strict about staying to it, or if adjusting the price, being sure I tell the customer “The price is $XXX but I’ll do it for $XXX”. For example, if the calculation tells me the price is $218, maybe I drop to $200 but let the customer know the price was $220 (I typically round up or down).
Per OP - I think the price sounds too low personally, for a proper construction cleanup, perhaps it’s different with residential that an apartment like that, but if you have to scrape every window outside and possibly inside, I’d be looking more towards $8-10 per pane. AND, reading your other posts, raise your damn prices! you are undercutting the market and deserve better pay! I try to stick to $5.50 per pane for the first two stories, that works out to be an hourly for me that I like.
Haha! Undercutting the market, eh? Around here I’m the expensive guy charging $3 a pane! (That’s what I generally charge for a standard home, between $3-4 a pane) and that’s why it’s hard to price the way you guys do! But I am trying, I really am!
Proper pricing won’t land you every job. But you do need to eat so who knows the market in your area.
Charging less means you need to land every job. People will almost always accept your lower price. Charging a little bit more means you can just move on to the next job without looking back.
For me a regular clean, $5 outside only for one window, $1 per pane outside only of French panes or cutups. Sorry, I’m not gonna chase the bottom of the scale - MOST ASSUREDLY on a 3 story job. That for sure gets a bump in price.
I do a thorough job and the customer is always happy. Construction Clean Up will humble you when it takes you to task. You will learn, grasshopper, not to give it away.
You asked for advice on such a quote? Price it like a professional and do your best - perspective of fair priced is different from the guy paying and the guy doing the work. Some days you are the statue, some days you are the pigeon - be the pigeon brother.
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Love that, thank you! 
Other questions/thoughts that you should ask.
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Do they pay when your job is done, and if so how fast, or do they pay when the whole unit is done? You don’t want to wait for months for that amount of work for a paycheck.
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What is their expected time frame? This could take you a few weeks depending on your skill level, the level of detail that you/they expect of your cleaning, and how many debries there are, and what type. Also as Steve mentioned removal method can drastically change time requirements.
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How many days will you need the lift? In my area it’s about 250 a day depending on lift type. If you need it for 4 days that $1,000! Is that something you have to foot or are they going to front the money? If they front it, which isn’t likely, who pays for extra days if it takes you longer than you think? At 3 stories, depending on landscaping if may be better to use a ladder though that will be much more of a back breaking effort. Also, what kind of landscaping do you have to work around? You will likely have to put sheets of plywood down to drive the lift over so as to do minimal damage. Also, are they expecting to hold you responsible for that damage or will that be excluded in writing with a waiver or contract?
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I would very strongly recamend that you try one window, and a fairly dirty one too as whatever is on that window is likely on other windows to some degree so whatever methods is needed on your dirty window will likely be needed elsewhere. On the resi windows I did I charged 32 per double hung, and it took me about 35-40 minutes per double hung to remove the stickers, plastic, paint, silicone, and concrete on the windows that had it. I move slow, but even if I was moving crazy fast and didn’t care about it I doubt I could have done it in under 20-25 min per window. CCU also usually includes cleaning track, sill, and frame, which when they are caked in dirt or worse things can take a good amount of time. I think I should have charged more, but that part of my market wouldn’t allow it, so I gave it up.
With big jobs like this you really have to know your various factors because one issue that you forgot to account for multiplied over all those windows could turn into hours or days of extra work. To me, your price is too low. If you charge 4k, pay for a lift for 4 days at 1k, you have 3k left, and then taxes your making about 20-25 an hour if it takes you 2.5-3 weeks which I feel is pretty reasonable for this amount of work, depending on all the various factors.
I know this is long, but I hope it helps!
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Helps very much, thank you!
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Chargingsnail just took you to church.
$16 / window seems good for ground level. Charge more for each level up and charge a tad more for the sliding doors cause they are bigger. Also check the tracks and frames, sometimes they can be more work than the glass. If so then the price goes up
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I hope it was a good church and not too preachy! I already had a bit of open mouth syndrome before I owned my own business. Since starting this business it has just gotten worse, haha!
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No problem here, it was a sermon much needed! And don’t worry, I too have what my friends call “the gift of gab”!
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Yes DVWW I will email the word document to you later today.
I haven’t read all comments but I reply to your post:
$16 per windows is just $1 more than I charge for a regular clean. I’m at $15 and that includes in/out, screens and tracks.
I would charge $30 per windows on construction cleans. Sometimes you have to clean them 3 times
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This thread is a treatise! Totally unbelievable. I have been doing CCU for almost forty years. It is loaded with surprises! My suggestion is to study the glass and do one window complete. It is all about time. Your customer also must know what you know. That CCU work is Non-Routine Window Cleaning. It is NOT a squeegee/mop situation. I wish you the best. And listening to the guys here is the best thing you can do.
Henry
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I concur!!!
