Running a route

Chemicals Included or Billed for Weekly Pool Service

Compare flat-price, billed-at-cost and hybrid chemical models for weekly pool service, with a worked cost example and how to track what each pool uses.

There are three common ways to handle chemicals on a weekly route. Each one puts the risk on a different side. Pick the one whose risk you can manage, then price it with real numbers.

The three models

A flat price is easy to sell and easy to bill. Billing separately is more accurate, and it means more invoicing and more conversations about the bill. A hybrid takes more explaining and can be the fairest of the three when your pools vary a lot.

Know what each pool really uses

Log every chemical you add at every visit for four weeks. Then average by pool. Without this you are pricing from memory.

Example: a 15,000 gallon pool where you raise free chlorine 3 ppm in a week. The reference figure is 10.2 fl oz of 12.5% liquid chlorine per 1 ppm per 10,000 gallons.

• 10.2 x 1.5 (for 15,000 gallons) x 3 ppm = 45.9 fl oz
• A gallon is 128 fl oz, so 45.9 / 128 = 0.36 gallon
• At an example price of $4.00 a gallon, that is about $1.43

Dosing figures are approximate. Test the water, follow the product label and SDS, and never mix chemicals.

Here is how two example pools compare over one week.

In this example, Pool B uses 2.5 times the chlorine and 2 times the acid. At one flat price, the owner of Pool B costs you about $3.28 more per week, which is roughly $14 a month. Use the chlorine dose calculator to check your own dosing math.

Set the price in each model

• Included. Visit price = time cost + that pool's own average chemical cost + a cushion. Build the cushion from the gap between your best and worst weeks in your log.
• Billed. List chemicals on the invoice at cost plus a markup you choose, and say how you will bill them. A monthly summary works better than a charge on every visit.
• Hybrid. Set an allowance per month, for example $15, and bill what exceeds it. Explain the allowance before the first visit.

For the time part of the price, see how to price weekly pool service.

Check a flat price against both pools

The pricing guide's example puts $6 of chemicals in a $44 visit price. Against the two pools above, that $6 covers Pool A with $1.94 to spare and falls $1.34 short on Pool B. Over 4.33 visits, Pool B runs about $5.80 a month under water on chemicals alone. With enough pools like B on a route, that gap adds up. This is why you log each pool before you pick a model.

Keep these outside any flat price

• Green or black water cleanups
• Startups after opening or long neglect
• Stain, scale and metal treatments
• Large water changes and the chemistry that follows
• Repairs and parts

Write this list into the agreement so there are no arguments later. The pool service contract page covers what to include.

Heavy chemical use often has a cause

When a pool eats chlorine or acid, look for the reason before you raise the price. High CYA means you need a higher free chlorine level to get the same sanitizing effect, since FC should stay about 7.5% of CYA or more. A trichlor-only routine adds about 6 ppm of CYA for every 10 ppm of FC. Fixing the cause can lower the pool's cost. See chlorine types compared.

Review each season

Chemical demand shifts with weather, bather load and debris. Log two weeks of use each season, compare with your last numbers and adjust allowances or prices. Supplier prices change too, so update your cost per gallon whenever a new invoice arrives.

Mistakes people make

• Setting a flat price from one average pool. Your route is not made of average pools.
• Not logging. If you cannot say which pools cost the most, you cannot say which ones lose money.
• Surprising the customer. Tell customers before you charge for extras, and show what was added.
• Forgetting tax. Whether chemicals are taxable and how that works on a bundled service price varies by state. Ask an accountant.
• Skipping the review. Re-run the numbers a few times a year, because supplier prices change.

Quick decision guide

1. Log four weeks of chemical use on every pool.
2. Sort pools into light, typical and heavy.
3. If the spread between light and heavy is small, a flat price is easy to hold.
4. If the spread is wide, use the hybrid model or separate tiers.
5. Write the policy into your agreement and your quote, and apply it the same way every time.