Pool & spa
Pool Service Estimate Calculator
Builds a pool service quote, where the variable is time per stop.
Result
A planning estimate, not a quote. Access, the age of the equipment, what is found once it is opened up and local labour rates all move the real figure, sometimes a long way.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Hours times crew times rate, plus chemicals and the call-out. For a recurring service the useful number is time per visit, because that times the visit frequency is what the account consumes from a route. A pool with heavy tree cover, a high bather load, an old filter or difficult access takes longer every single week, and quoting it at the route average means subsidising it from the rest of the round for as long as the account lasts.
What moves the number
- Time per visit, which recurs every week for the life of the account.
- Trees and surroundings, which drive skimming and vacuuming time.
- Equipment condition, since old equipment generates problems.
- Access, including gates, dogs and whether anyone needs to be home.
Where this one goes wrong
Walk the pool before quoting a recurring account, because the difference between a fifteen minute stop and a forty minute one is invisible from a phone call and compounds weekly for years. Heavy tree cover, a failing filter, poor circulation and an undersized pump all show up as time. Access is the other thing to check in person: a locked gate nobody answers, a dog that has to be shut in, or equipment behind a storage area all add minutes every week. Quote from the actual stop rather than the pool's size.
Before you quote
- Visit before quoting a recurring account.
- Price tree cover and bather load, which recur weekly.
- Check access, gates and dogs, which add time every visit.
Questions
About this calculator
Why do pool service quotes vary for similar pools?
Because the time per visit varies more than the pool does. Heavy tree cover, a high bather load, failing equipment and awkward access all add minutes every week, and those minutes recur for the life of the account. Two similar pools can be a fifteen minute stop and a forty minute one.
Should I see the pool before quoting?
For a recurring account, yes. The factors that determine cost are not visible over the phone, and a mispriced weekly account is subsidised from the rest of the route indefinitely. A short visit before quoting is the cheapest hour in this business.
Does access really affect the price?
Over a year, considerably. A locked gate that needs someone home, a dog that must be shut in, or equipment behind storage adds minutes to every visit. Fifty-two visits a year makes a few minutes a week into real hours, which is why it belongs in the quote.
The formula
total = hours x people x rate + parts + call-out, then sales tax
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How to use this calculator
- Hours on site (h). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.2 h.
- People needed. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $95.
- Parts and materials ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $48.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $95.
- Sales tax (%). Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to estimated total, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Hours on site | 1.2 h |
| People needed | 1 |
| Labour rate charged | $95 |
| Parts and materials | $48 |
| Call-out or diagnostic fee | $95 |
| Sales tax | 0% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Estimated total main result | $257 |
| Labour | $114 |
| Before tax | $257 |
| Sales tax | $0 |
About $257: $114 of labour, $48 of parts and a $95 call-out.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only labour rate charged, this is what happens to estimated total. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Labour rate charged ($) | Estimated total |
|---|---|
| $48 | $200.60 |
| $71 | $228.20 |
| $95 example above | $257 |
| $143 | $314.60 |
| $190 | $371 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Hours on site (h)
- Measured in h, between 0 and 400, starting at 1.2 h.
- People needed
- A number, between 0 and 40, starting at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($)
- A money amount, starting at $95.
- Parts and materials ($)
- A money amount, starting at $48.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($)
- A money amount, starting at $95.
- Sales tax (%)
- Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Estimated total | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Labour | A money figure. |
| Before tax | A money figure. |
| Sales tax | A money figure. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.