How to Price a Duct Cleaning Job | Reddit & LinkedIn

To price a duct cleaning job, count the supply and return vents, note the number of HVAC systems, factor access difficulty and any mold or heavy debris, then apply your hourly labor rate plus equipment cost and markup. A typical residential duct cleaning runs $300 to $700, or $35 to $50 per vent, and takes a two-person crew two to four hours.

The difference between a profitable bid and a callback that eats your Saturday is scope accuracy. Walk the job, capture photos, and write down every variable before you put a number on paper. Guessing high loses the bid. Guessing low loses the margin.

1. Count vents and systems. Walk the home and count every supply and return register, then note how many separate HVAC systems feed them. Vent count and system count are the two numbers that drive the price.

2. Rate the access and condition. Note attic or crawlspace access, ceiling height, and whether there is visible mold, pet dander, or construction debris. Hard access and remediation add hours.

3. Price labor and equipment. Apply your crew hourly rate for the estimated two to four hours, then add negative-air-machine and brush wear cost. Price per vent or as a flat system rate, whichever your market expects.

4. Add markup and options. Apply your standard markup, then offer add-ons like dryer-vent cleaning, sanitizing fog, or a new return filter. Options lift the ticket without a second trip.

Duct cleaning is commonly priced at $35 to $50 per vent, with a job minimum of about $300. A two-system home with 20 vents lands near $600 to $900. Watch for lowball ads at $99 whole-home. Those are bait pricing that either upsells hard on site or does a shallow job, and matching them destroys your margin.

Once your numbers are set, speed and clarity win the job. On ContractShield you build the estimate in about 25 minutes with an AI draft ready in under a minute, then send it as a branded link the client reviews and accepts on their phone with no login. Every line shows where its price came from, so the client trusts the number and you keep control of your markup.

After acceptance, the same workspace runs the job. Tasks, photos, time tracking, change orders, and milestone invoices all live in one place, so you manage the work from the truck instead of chasing texts and email threads.

Bill on milestones so money comes in as the work progresses instead of in one lump 60 days out. ContractShield generates each milestone invoice from the accepted quote, so the numbers match and there is nothing to retype. Payments run through Stripe.

When an invoice goes past due, Collections sends a polite, then firm, then final reminder automatically, and you approve each step or let it auto-send. It recovers money you are already owed for 2% per job, 1% each side, capped at $250, with no per-lead fees, ever, with no per-lead charges and no seat fees.