Pool Opening and Closing Price Calculator — Season Price, Bundle and Stops per Day

1. The pool

Length (feet)

Width (feet)

Average depth (feet)

Shape

Cover

Water at opening

Plumbing lines to blow out and plug

2. Time

Closing a 20,000 gal pool (crew hours)

Opening a 20,000 gal clear pool (crew hours)

Per plumbing line at closing (hours)

Driving per stop (hours)

People on the crew

Crew day (hours)

3. Costs and margin

Labour ($/hour per person)

Closing chemicals ($ per 10,000 gal)

Opening chemicals, clear water ($ per 10,000 gal)

Antifreeze, plugs, cover hardware ($ per closing)

Test strips, filter cleaner ($ per opening)

Visits that need a redo (%)

Cost of one redo ($)

Bundle discount for both visits (%)

Margin wanted (% of the price)

Minimum charge ($)

Enter the pool and your costs, or load the example, then click Price this pool.

Result

Opening at each water condition

Water	Hours on site	Cost	Price	Stops per day

The same pool at other sizes

Gallons	Closing	Opening	Season bundle

The arithmetic, and what it leaves out

Gallons are length times width times average depth times a shape factor (7.5, 6.7, 5.9 or 6.3).
Each visit's time is half fixed and half scaled by gallons over 20,000, plus plumbing lines, plus cover work (mesh, solid or safety, different at each end of the season), times 1, 1.3 or 2 for clear, cloudy or green water at opening.
Labour is elapsed hours (including the drive) times people times the rate. Chemical is your per-10,000-gallon cost times the gallons, times 1, 1.6 or 3 for water condition at opening. A redo is its rate times its cost.
Price is cost divided by one minus your margin, never below your minimum charge. The bundle is the two prices less the discount.
Not modelled: sales tax, licences and insurance, repairs found at opening, leak checks, heater or salt-cell winterizing, freeze damage, and what the pool or equipment maker requires. Follow your own procedure for how to close and open a pool; this only prices it.

Common questions

How much should I charge to close a swimming pool?

Add the crew hours (setup, lowering the water, blowing out and plugging the lines, fitting the cover), times the crew and their rate, then the winterizing chemicals and supplies and the expected cost of a redo, and divide by one minus your margin. This tool does that for the size of pool you type, and shows the same for the opening.

How much should I charge to open a swimming pool?

The same arithmetic with opening chemicals and the cover work in reverse, plus the one input that moves it most: how green the water is. A clear pool is a short visit; a green one takes about twice the time and three times the chemical. The table shows clear, cloudy and green side by side.

How many gallons is my pool?

Length times width times average depth times a shape factor: 7.5 for a rectangle, 6.7 for an oval, 5.9 for a round pool and 6.3 for a freeform. It is an estimate; use the volume you already know for a pool you service.

Should I discount opening and closing together?

A bundle locks in the customer for both ends of the season and saves a sales call, but it comes straight off your margin. The tool shows the season price, what the customer saves and the margin you keep after the discount.

How many pools can a crew open in a day?

Divide the crew day by the elapsed hours per stop, including the drive. The tool shows stops per day and the day's revenue for closings and for openings, which is the number that decides whether you take another route in spring.

What does this leave out?

Sales tax, licences, insurance, equipment repairs found at opening, leak checks, heater and salt-cell winterizing, freeze damage and anything the manufacturer or local rules require. It is a bidding aid, not a quote and not winterizing guidance.

Is my data uploaded?

No. Everything runs in your browser tab and nothing is sent anywhere. There are no accounts. The share link keeps your numbers in the link itself, which you choose whether to send.