You built the business
doing the work.
Running it is
another job entirely.
Gustry gives working owners practical calculators, guides and systems to help them know what to do next — and grow without burning out.
- Use your real numbers
- Built for owner-operators
- Free tools plus practical systems
- No calls or consulting required
Start here
What are you trying to figure out?
The enemy is guessing. Pick the question in front of you and get a number, not a motivational speech.
CleaningCan I afford my first cleaner?Payroll cost, capacity, reserve and break-even jobs on your own numbers.
PricingWhat should I charge?Break-even price and the price that actually hits your target margin.
ClientsIs this client really worth it?Keep, raise or drop — annualized, per visit and per labor hour.
GrowthWhere does more revenue come from?Test add-on services and attach rates before you commit to them.
SoftwareDo I need software right now?Whether the admin hours you'd save can plausibly pay a subscription.
OperationsHow do I run a smoother business?The cleaning resource hub, organized by the problem you're solving.
Cleaning toolsWhat am I really spending to do the work?Free calculators that run on your rates, job hours and drive time.
Cleaning systemsWhat's the best way to get it done?Sourced guides on pricing, hiring, recurring work and the solo-to-crew handoff.The schedule filled up.
The numbers got harder to see.
You became the estimator, the scheduler, the salesperson, the bookkeeper, the recruiter, the trainer and the customer-service department — while still doing the actual work.
Gustry exists for everything that came next: the decisions nobody trained you for, and the math behind them.
- What do I actually need to charge?
- Is this client worth keeping?
- Can I afford an employee?
- When do I need software?
- Will growing help, or just make me busier?
Gustry / Cleaning
Cleaning business resources, by problem
Keep more
Find where jobs, clients and drive time are eating your margin.
Is this cleaning job actually profitable?
Analyze one job: contribution profit, fully loaded margin, allocated overhead, break-even price and the price needed to hit your own target margin.
Open the toolAvailable nowKeep, raise or drop this client?
Analyze one recurring client: fully loaded profit per visit, monthly and annualized effect, target price and the levers to test before you renegotiate.
Open the toolAvailable nowWhen to raise prices
The signals that justify a price increase on an existing client or your whole book, and how to sequence it.
Open the toolAvailable nowPricing frameworks
How to build a price that supports payroll instead of matching whatever the last quote in town was.
Open the toolEarn more
Increase the value of the customers you already have without selling random add-ons.
First clean vs recurring economics
Why the first deep clean and the recurring visit need different pricing logic, and how to set both.
Open the toolAvailable nowWhich cleaning add-ons are actually worth offering?
Compare up to ten add-on and expansion services by fully loaded profit, profit per productive labor hour and modeled monthly profit at your own attach rate.
Open the toolGrow without breaking it
Know when you can afford help — and what systems you actually need next.
Can I Afford to Hire My First Cleaner?
Model payroll cost, productive capacity, owner hours freed, payroll reserve and break-even jobs using your own numbers.
Open the toolAvailable nowDo I need cleaning business software yet?
Model whether admin time saved and recovered lead contribution can plausibly pay for a subscription, including setup time and payback, before you compare any vendor.
Open the toolSolo to first crew
Onboarding, quality checks and callout coverage for the first two or three cleaners.
Not published yetStart with these guides
All cleaning guidesHow much should a cleaning business charge?
There is no correct national cleaning price. Build yours from labor, owner replacement value, supplies, travel, payment fees, overhead and your own target margin.
Open GuideWhat determines your profit margin
Separate contribution profit from fully loaded profit, and see the drivers that actually move a cleaning business margin: owner labor, nonbillable time, overhead, fees, routing and scope creep.
Open GuideIs this client profitable?
Analyze a recurring cleaning client per visit and per month. See why high revenue can still be weak economics, and what to test before repricing or replacing.
Open GuideWhen to hire your first cleaner
Busy is not the same as financially ready. Model loaded payroll, utilization, new revenue versus owner replacement, reserve coverage and break-even jobs first.
OpenThe path
What Gustry does
Decision support, not a content farm and not a software company. What you need, what you don’t, and what to do next.
- 01
A clear answer first
Plain guidance on what the decision actually turns on, before anything is recommended or sold.
- 02
A calculator when math decides it
Enter your own pay rates, job hours and drive time and get a number you can act on.
- 03
A guide or system when implementation decides it
Frameworks and one-time-purchase document systems for the processes you repeat.
- 04
Software only when it genuinely solves it
Sometimes the honest answer is a spreadsheet, a free tool or somebody else’s product.
Where to go next
Cleaning resources hub
The business side of running a residential cleaning company, organized by problem.
Open Free toolsFree cleaning tools
Calculators and decision tools that run on your own numbers.
Open SoftwareWhen cleaning software is worth paying for
Decision factors for the point where manual coordination costs more than a subscription.
Open SystemsComplete operating systems
One-time purchase document systems for the processes you repeat.
OpenSystems
Stop building the business side one document at a time.
Gustry Systems bundle the documents, checklists and workflows needed to solve the whole job — not just one piece of it.
Document the business
SOP Starter System
Get the repeatable processes out of your head and into a system your team can follow.
- Ready-to-use SOP templates, long and short form
- Task, quality and recurring-work checklists
- Review, audit and version control tools
- Resources
- 19
- File formats
- 2
- Purchase
- One-time purchase
$29
Hire without chaos
Employee Onboarding System
A complete 90-day system for bringing on your next employee clearly and consistently.
- Pre-start, first-day and manager checklists
- Training tracker and role expectations worksheet
- 30/60/90-day plan with check-in and review forms
- Resources
- 16
- File formats
- 2
- Purchase
- One-time purchase
$39
Win + start clients right
Client Onboarding & Proposal System
Scope the work clearly, close the job, and start every client the same way.
- Proposal and scope-of-work templates
- Intake form, discovery questions and kickoff agenda
- Onboarding checklist and follow-up emails
- Resources
- 13
- File formats
- 2
- Purchase
- One-time purchase
$39
Run the whole business
Small Business Operations Toolkit
Every system in one bundle. The complete operating library for running and growing your business.
- Includes all three systems above (48 resources)
- Planning, admin, vendor and asset registers
- Continuity checklist and a 30-day implementation plan
- Resources
- 58
- File formats
- 2
- Purchase
- One-time purchase
$99
Practical systems
Built to help owner-operated businesses run more consistently.
One-time purchase
Pay once. Keep the resources.
Built to be used
Clear tools, workflows and documents — not theory.
How we work
The standards every page on this site is held to.
Research-backed
Claims that matter carry a visible source and a reviewed date.
No fake testing
We do not claim firsthand operator experience or hands-on product testing.
No paid rankings
Nothing is ranked because of a commission, and affiliate relationships are disclosed.
Free can be the answer
A simpler tool, a free option or a competitor is a legitimate recommendation.
Run the numbers before you add more work.
Price a job, test a client, model a first hire — with your own numbers, in the browser, with no account.
Frequently asked questions
- Are the free templates really free?
- Yes. Every free template downloads directly with no account, no email gate and no trial. If you want a complete system rather than a single document, the paid kits are a one-time purchase.
- What file formats do I get?
- Free templates are provided as PDF for reference and DOCX where the document is meant to be edited. Paid systems include editable DOCX files plus print-ready PDFs.
- Is there a subscription?
- No. There is no membership, no login and no recurring charge. Paid systems are one-time purchases, with the download link issued immediately after checkout.
- Who are these built for?
- Owner-operated and small service businesses of roughly 1 to 50 people: cleaning companies, consultants, agencies, landscapers, trades, photographers and professional services firms.
- Can I edit and rebrand the documents?
- Yes. Use them inside your own business, add your logo and change the wording. You cannot resell or redistribute them as templates.
- Are these legal documents?
- No. They are operating documents. Anything touching employment, contracts, tax or compliance should be reviewed by a qualified professional in your jurisdiction.
Researched, written and edited by Gustry. Formulas are published on the page, sources are cited and dated where claims matter, and we do not claim firsthand operating or product-testing experience.