PressureWashingBossPro Blog — House Washing & Recurring Plans

Driveways and Flatwork: Tracking Surface Cleaner Jobs From Quote to Invoice

Flatwork is the bread and butter of residential pressure washing. Driveways, front walks, back patios and pool decks are easy to sell, easy to show off and easy to add to a house wash. They are also easy to under-quote, because concrete looks smaller from the street than it is under a surface cleaner. Tracking flatwork properly starts with the measurement and ends with the invoice.

Flatwork Has Its Own Details

Roofs are covered in Roof Soft Washing Jobs: Measuring, Quoting and Scheduling Roofs. Flatwork is the opposite end of the house, and it is just as worth getting right.

In PressureWashingBossPro, the flatwork surfaces are Driveway, Sidewalk, Patio and Pool Deck. Each job lists the ones being washed, along with the square feet, the surface (usually concrete, sometimes stone or pavers) and the method, usually surface cleaner. A driveway-only job reads like “Driveway, Sidewalk · 1,100 sq ft · Concrete · Surface Cleaner” on the crew's phone.

Some owners run hot water on oily driveways. If that is your setup, put hot water as the method so the right rig goes out.

Measuring a Driveway Without a Tape

The property map can measure square feet from the satellite view. Trace the driveway, the front walk and the patio, and you have the numbers before the customer finishes describing their house on the phone. For a long driveway or one hidden under trees, a quick drive-by to confirm is still a good habit, but most driveways measure cleanly from above.

Estimates can price off a property's measurements, so the driveway you measured this year prices the same way next year without measuring again. For the full measuring walkthrough, see Measuring Houses, Roofs and Driveways From the Satellite View.

Quoting Flatwork

Build the estimate from your service list. Most companies have a driveway and walks line, a patio line and maybe a pool deck line. Common add-ons on flatwork include:

• Rust removal on concrete stained by sprinklers or fertilizer
• Gum removal on walks and entries
• Oil spot treatment on the driveway
• Sealing, if it is a service you offer

A minimum charge for small driveway-only jobs is a common habit, because the setup time is the same whether the slab is big or small. However you price, put the square feet and method on the estimate, so they carry onto the job when the customer approves online.

Flatwork With a House Wash

The most common place a driveway shows up is next to a house wash. The customer wants the siding done, and while you are there, the driveway too. On one visit the crew soft washes the house and then runs the surface cleaner over the concrete. Doing it in that order means the rinse from the house does not land on a freshly cleaned driveway.

Bundling the two into a package makes the sale easier, and it is covered in a later guide in this series. Even when a customer only asked about the house, a quick mention of the driveway, with its measured square feet already on the estimate as an optional line, often turns into a yes.

Practical Notes for the Crew

General habits that keep flatwork jobs going smoothly:

• Check the access notes for cars to move. A text the night before saves knocking on doors.
• Pre-wet the lawn edges and plants along the driveway.
• Post-treat or rinse as your process calls for, and watch for runoff onto neighbors' property.
• Note any cracks, spalling or old stains that will not come out, and photograph them before you start.

That last one matters. Concrete that was already damaged sometimes looks worse once it is clean, and a before photo saved with the job shows what was there when you arrived.

Before-and-After and Recurring Flatwork

Driveways are the best before-and-after shot in the trade. A half-cleaned driveway, with a sharp line between dark and clean, sells the next three jobs on the street. The crew takes the photos in the crew app and they stay with the job.

Flatwork also fits recurring plans. Driveways under trees or in humid areas get dark again, and a yearly plan alongside the house wash keeps them clean. Some customers want just the driveway on a plan, which is fine. The plan comes due on the Waiting List when the days run out.

From Complete to Paid

When the crew taps Complete, the invoice is created with each surface as a line item and sales tax added. If the customer has a card on file, it can be charged before the rig leaves. If not, they pay online from the customer app.

For more on the residential side, from house washes to yearly plans, visit the PressureWashingBossPro house washing software page.