A pool route’s monthly price covers labor per stop, chemicals, and margin across the weekly visits. Per-stop cost times visits per month, marked up, sets the recurring rate.
The example
$18 cost/stop, 4 visits, 35% margin.
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Item | Value |
| 2 | 72 / 0.65 | — |
| 3 | Monthly | → ~$111 |
The formula
The formula:
How it works
How it works:
- Per-stop cost = labor (time × rate, incl. drive) + average chemicals.
- Multiply by visits per month (usually ~4 for weekly).
- Divide by (1 − margin) for the price that yields your target profit.
- Adjust for route density — tighter routes lower per-stop labor and raise margin.
Pool routes live on density and chemical control. The monthly price is small per stop, so profit comes from packing stops tightly (less drive time per visit) and not over-dosing chemicals. Build the price from a real per-stop cost — including drive time and average chemical spend — then mark up to margin. A route priced on optimistic stop times quietly loses money once you add the driving.
Try it: interactive demo
Labor/stop, chem/stop, visits/month, margin.
Variations
Monthly cost
Before markup:
Per-visit price
Monthly ÷ visits:
Annual contract
× 12:
Pitfalls & errors
Include drive time. Per-stop labor must cover driving.
Margin not markup. Divide by (1 − margin) for the price.
Chemical average. Use a realistic per-stop chemical cost.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
How do I price a monthly pool service in Excel?
How many visits per month?
What drives pool-route profit?
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