first and foremost....even the nicest people live like Animals.... Nasty ass houses.
I would say that an initial would depend on an estmate of $75-$150 for an intial cleaning depending on a few things.
1. house size...total square footage. It will give your wife a rough est of the amount of time it will take her to clean.
2. family size- including pets... You know that kids and pets can distroy a clean house in minutes. Buy a dyson it is worth every penny. I was shell shocked at the $550. price tag for the pet vac (dc 14) but we have two cats and a small boy.
3. overall condition on a walk thru.
Other than that I would call around to a few of the other cleaning companies in town and get some pricing info...so she can be compeditive.
As far as cleaning ala-cart I donno. I guess general cleaning should include at least.
vaccume, mop, wiping baseboards and trim, dusting, cleaning of mirrors, wipe down of counter tops and sinks (kitchen and bathrooms) cleaning of toilets and general wipe down of most surfaces.
as far as extra charges.
wiping down of light fixtures and ceiling fans $5-10
cleaning of switch plates and outlet covers. extra $5
Any extesive dusting...exp. inside large clocks, corner hutches, showcases. and cleaning of glass. extra $5-10 depending on the task
cleaning windows and glass doors. (only if there are a ton of windows and glass doors) I would go ahead and clean then if it was only six or under, and only the inside of them. ******I would say if they want the outside cleaned on all of the window then she should charge them. $15-25 depending on how many windows and the accessablity to clean the outside. aka do the windows flip in.
changing bed linens and washing of anything...$5 per load.. includes wash, dry, fold, and or iron.
Hell the list can go on for days... Dave can tell you I have a major OCD issue with a clean house.
Bottom line. Talk to your wife and she what she thinks is reasonable as far as the services she wants to offer and the price.
Set up a contract in writing with basic info on it inculding prices. Have the Ala-cart items below it. Make sure that she takes two copies of the contract with her to have signed. One she keeps one they keep. Have the customer Initial in the box next to the services they have selected including ala- cart items. Have them set up a schedule of what day, time and frequency she will becoming to clean. That way everyone has a clear understanding of what is going on when.
**** most important Have the contract Always signed and initaled in BLUE ink.*** (the reason for the blue ink is that black ink is easy to duplicate with a copier... just cover your ass if you ever need to go to court to get money out of a non-payer it will stand up better for you... Blue is much harder to duplicate.)
Oh and last but not least. When possible always get your money up front. If they seem questionable get paid first.
I hope this helps,
Meg