SmallCrew Client Value Calculator

How this calculates

A typical client's lifetime is one divided by monthly churn: at 4 percent a month, a client stays about 25 months. The calculator caps lifetime at 60 months, because below about 2 percent churn the number stops being a forecast. If you enter months instead of churn, it converts the other way and shows both.

Margin per visit is price minus the direct cost you enter: supplies, fuel and mileage, card fees, and any helper pay for that visit. Your own time is not counted unless you add it to direct cost, and the tool says so. Lifetime margin is the first visit's margin (its own price minus direct cost) plus every later visit's margin, with the number of visits set by lifetime and frequency at 4.33 weeks per month.

The cost to win a client is cost per lead times leads per client. Payback is the first month in which the client's cumulative margin covers that cost. The suggested spending ceiling is the lower of two limits: the margin a client returns in their first three months, and one quarter of lifetime margin. A next-visit-free reward is counted as one visit price given up, since the direct cost is spent either way.

The yearly figure for your client book is a run rate, monthly margin times twelve, with churn not applied. The "what churn costs you" block instead follows your current clients through the next 12 months with no new clients added: the book shrinks by your churn rate each month, and the tool compares the margin it returns at your churn rate with the margin at one point lower. Everything here is a projection from the numbers you entered, not advice, and it holds price, cost, and churn constant, which real businesses do not.

How to use the result

Set a lead budget or referral reward from the ceiling. If a paid lead source costs more per client won than the suggested ceiling, it is not that the leads are bad, it is that the client takes too long to pay for them. The source tracking guide shows how to measure cost per recurring client by channel, and the referral program guide covers a reward that pays out only when the new client completes a first visit.

A first-clean discount is usually cheap against lifetime value, but only if the client stays. Move the first-visit price up and down and watch how little the lifetime number changes; then set churn a point higher and watch how much it changes. The discount is not the risk. A first clean that never becomes a recurring client is, which is what the onboarding guide is for.

Retention is worth more than most marketing. The "one point less churn" line is often larger than any realistic lead budget, because it applies to every client you already have. The habits that move it are the same-evening follow-up, a redo policy, and asking for reviews the right way, covered in the reviews guide. When the numbers say a client is worth more than you thought, the price increase guide is the next read, and the Cleaning Price Calculator builds the price per visit from your own costs and target earnings if you are not sure the number you entered is right.

Frequently asked questions

What is a recurring cleaning client worth?

In this calculator, the margin they return over the time they stay: price minus direct cost per visit, times the visits in a typical client lifetime, with the first visit priced separately. Lifetime comes from your churn rate, one divided by the monthly share of clients who stop, capped at five years. Enter your own price, cost, frequency, and churn and the tool gives the number for your business rather than an industry average.

How much should a cleaning business spend to get a new client?

Less than the margin a new client returns in their first three months, or one quarter of their lifetime margin, whichever is lower. The tool shows both and suggests the lower one as a ceiling. If a lead source costs more than that per client won, the client takes too long to pay back the cost, and the money is better spent on retention or a cheaper channel such as referrals.

Is a discounted first clean worth it?

Usually, as long as the client stays. The discount is a one-time reduction against a lifetime of visits, so the calculator treats it as a lower first-visit price and shows how little it changes lifetime margin. The risk is not the discount but churn: a first clean that does not turn into a recurring client is a loss at any price, which is why onboarding matters more than the size of the offer.

How do I find my churn rate?

Count the recurring clients who stopped in the last three months, divide by the number you had at the start of that period, and divide by three for a monthly rate. If you have no history yet, use the months option instead and enter how long you think a typical client keeps you; the tool converts it to the equivalent churn and shows both, so you can switch to the rate once you have real numbers.

Should I give a referral reward and how big?

A reward paid only after the referred client completes a first visit costs you a known amount against a client the tool has just valued. A next-visit-free reward costs you one visit price, and the calculator shows that as a share of lifetime margin, which is usually small. Set the reward below the suggested spending ceiling, keep it the same for everyone, and never tie it to reviews.

Related guides

• How to run a referral program for a cleaning business, the two-sided offer this calculator helps you size.
• How to price house cleaning services with flat rates, where the price per visit should come from.
• How to onboard a new recurring cleaning client, the two weeks that decide whether a first clean becomes a lifetime.
• SmallCrew Growth Calculator, to project the whole business over 12 months with these same numbers.
• Check whether software pays for itself, with this price, frequency, and client count filled in.