Raising your prices is the bit most cleaners put off. You've known for months, and somehow it never happens. Two worries sit behind it: when's the right time, and how to say it. Here's the short version of both.
When to raise
When your costs have outrun your rate, and you can give fair notice. That's the whole test.
A lot of people wait for April, because it feels official: the tax year, the minimum wage change. But April is a comfort blanket, not a rule. If your costs climbed in June and you wait until next April, you've carried 9 months on a rate that's already too low, for the sake of a date.
So don't ask "has enough time passed since I last raised?" Ask "is my rate still fair to me, given what it now costs to do this job well?" If it isn't, the time is soon, with notice.
Check the rise is fair
"I feel like I should charge more" is hard to put in a message. A real number isn't.
The cost of living is published every month by the ONS. If you last set your rate 2 or 3 years ago, you can see how much prices have risen since, and what your rate would be if it had simply kept pace. Often that settles it: you're not asking for more, you're catching up.
You can run the check yourself in a few minutes. Find the ONS cost-of-living rise since the month you last set your rate, then apply that percentage to your current rate. That's your catch-up number. It doesn't tell you what to charge, it just turns a guilty guess into a figure you can stand behind, backed by an official source.
What to say
Once you know the rise is fair, the message is easier than you think, because you're informing, not asking. Here's one that works. Copy it, make it yours:
Hi [name], I wanted to give you plenty of notice that from [date] my hourly rate will be £[X] (it's currently £[Y]). I've kept my rate the same since [month]. Over that time the cost of living has risen by around [X]% (official ONS figures), and this small change keeps me giving you the same standard of clean. Thank you for your understanding, I really value cleaning for you. Any questions, just ask. Best wishes, [your name]
Why it works: notice up front, so no surprise. A real reason backed by an official source, so the number isn't plucked from the air. The rise tied to what they care about, the same standard of clean. No apology, because you've nothing to apologise for. And no room for a haggle, because you're telling them, kindly.
Give 4 to 6 weeks' notice where you can. Enough to feel considerate, not so far off you talk yourself out of it.
The bit worth remembering
It feels like a confrontation. It almost never is. A good client reads a short, kind message, thinks "fair enough", and carries on booking you. They book you for the lovely job you do, turning up and getting it right.
So check the number, pick a date a few weeks out, and send the message. Your costs didn't wait. Your prices don't have to either.