Pool Service Pricing 2025: How to Stop Losing Money and Build Real Profits

Picture this: You're running a successful pool service business with hundreds of accounts, working longer hours than ever, but somehow your bank account doesn't reflect all that hustle. Sound familiar? You're not alone. In the latest episode of Pool Nation Podcast, industry veterans Edgar De Jesus and Zach Nicholas pull back the curtain on one of the most critical—yet often avoided—topics in the pool industry: pricing for profitability. As we head into 2025, with equipment costs rising 7-9% and chemical prices nearly doubling in some cases, the time for guesswork pricing is over.

The Perfect Storm: Why 2025 Demands a Pricing Revolution

The pool industry is facing unprecedented cost increases across every category. Major manufacturers have implemented significant price hikes throughout 2024, and the trend shows no signs of slowing down. Edgar De Jesus breaks down the numbers that every pool professional needs to know:

If we look at the equipment side, if we look at the parts for replacements for all of those, we have seen that 2025, we've seen that increase seven, eight, nine percent, whatever it is. That's only on the equipment side, Zach. That's just on parts and equipment, motors, automation, all that kind of stuff.

— Edgar De Jesus, Pool Nation Podcast

But equipment is just the beginning. The real shock comes when you examine chemical costs. Liquid chlorine has jumped from around $3 per gallon to $5-7. Chlorine tablets that once cost $80-88 per bucket now run $130-200. These aren't minor adjustments—they're seismic shifts that demand immediate attention to your pricing structure.

Beyond pool-specific costs, every aspect of running a business has become more expensive. Utilities, office supplies, fuel, insurance—it's a comprehensive increase that many pool professionals haven't fully accounted for in their pricing models.

The Loss Leader Trap: Why Maintenance Must Be Profitable

One of the most dangerous mindsets plaguing the pool industry is treating weekly maintenance as a loss leader—a way to get into backyards with hopes of landing repair work or equipment sales. Zach Nicholas challenges this thinking head-on:

A lot of people are looking at the weekly maintenance side of the business as a loss leader. And they're viewing it as like a tool to get in the backyard and then hopefully get some other sales like equipment repairs, renovations, things like this. And I don't agree with this at all. In my opinion, weekly maintenance should be a standalone service in itself.

— Zach Nicholas, Pool Nation Podcast

This approach is financially dangerous for several reasons:

• Resource Intensive: Maintenance requires significant labor, chemicals, equipment, and management
• Unpredictable Revenue: Relying on repair sales creates inconsistent income streams
• Scalability Issues: You can't build a sustainable business on unprofitable core services
• Market Vulnerability: When economic conditions tighten, discretionary repair spending drops first

Instead, successful pool professionals must view their business through the lens of "micro-businesses" or verticals, where each service line—maintenance, repairs, equipment installation—stands as a profitable entity on its own.

The Revenue vs. Margin Mistake That's Killing Pool Businesses

When pool professionals gather, the conversation inevitably turns to one question: "How many pools do you service?" This revenue-focused mentality is precisely what's keeping many operators from achieving true profitability. The hosts identify this as a fundamental flaw in how the industry thinks about success.

Running a business based on revenue rather than margin creates several problems:

• Volume Over Value: Focus shifts to acquiring more accounts rather than optimizing existing ones
• Operational Chaos: More pools mean more complexity, often without proportional profit increases
• Burnout Factor: Working harder for the same (or less) money leads to unsustainable business practices
• Competitive Vulnerability: Low-margin businesses can't weather economic storms or competitive pricing pressure

The most successful pool professionals think differently. They focus on profit per pool, cost management, and building sustainable margins that can withstand market fluctuations.

The Mathematics of Profitable Pool Service: Getting Your Numbers Right

Pricing isn't guesswork—it's mathematics. Yet many pool professionals operate on intuition or simply match competitor pricing without understanding their true costs. This approach is particularly dangerous in today's environment of rapid cost inflation.

And I always equate it to water chemistry, right? You start doing it at the beginning, you're not comfortable with it. There's a lot of different terms, right? pH, alkalinity, the LSI, all these things that you were just not familiar with. But you learn because of the repetition... And financials to me is the exact same thing.

— Edgar De Jesus, Pool Nation Podcast

To build a profitable pricing structure, you must account for:

• Direct Costs: Chemicals, equipment wear, fuel
• Labor Costs: Not just wages, but benefits, workers compensation, training time
• Overhead Allocation: Insurance, office expenses, equipment maintenance
• Profit Margin: The return on your investment and risk
• Growth Investment: Funds for business expansion and improvement

The key is treating each cost category with the same precision you'd apply to balancing pool chemistry. Small miscalculations compound quickly when multiplied across hundreds of service calls.

Strategic Timing: Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Adjust Your Pricing

Many pool professionals delay pricing adjustments, hoping costs will stabilize or worried about customer reactions. However, the current market environment actually provides excellent cover for necessary price increases. Customers are experiencing price increases everywhere—from coffee to utilities to insurance.

The seasonal nature of the pool business also creates natural adjustment points. As Zach Nicholas notes:

This is the time of year where I want to say we slow down... we can have these conversations like we're going to have today and talk about the business side of things, really dig in. And I think the timing is super appropriate because, at least for us, the heat's kind of dying down. The pools are getting a little bit easier to take care of.

— Zach Nicholas, Pool Nation Podcast

This slower period provides the perfect opportunity to:

• Analyze your true costs from the busy season
• Calculate proper pricing for the upcoming year
• Communicate changes to customers before peak season begins
• Implement new systems and processes to support higher margins

Building a Sustainable Future: Beyond Just Raising Prices

While adjusting prices is crucial, sustainable profitability requires a holistic approach. The most successful pool professionals combine proper pricing with excellent service delivery and strong customer relationships. This approach allows them to maintain higher margins while reducing customer churn.

Key strategies include:

• Value Communication: Help customers understand what they're receiving for their investment
• Service Excellence: Deliver consistent, high-quality service that justifies premium pricing
• Relationship Building: Strong relationships reduce price sensitivity
• Operational Efficiency: Streamlined operations protect margins even as costs rise

The goal isn't just to survive the current cost increases—it's to build a business model that can thrive regardless of external economic pressures.

Conclusion: Your Profitability Action Plan

The pool industry stands at a crossroads. Those who embrace proper pricing principles and treat their maintenance operations as the profitable businesses they should be will thrive in 2025 and beyond. Those who continue operating on hope and volume-based thinking risk being casualties of an increasingly challenging market.

The path forward is clear: calculate your true costs, build in appropriate margins, and price your services to reflect the value you provide. Yes, you might lose a few customers along the way—but you'll make more money serving fewer pools, with less stress and greater long-term sustainability.

Remember, every successful pool professional was once uncomfortable with business finances, just like they were once uncomfortable with water chemistry. The key is consistent application and a commitment to running your business like the valuable enterprise it is. Your future self—and your bank account—will thank you for making these changes now rather than waiting another year.

Episode Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction and Industry Cost Increases
• 05:30 Equipment and Chemical Price Analysis
• 12:15 The Loss Leader Mindset Problem
• 18:45 Revenue vs. Margin Thinking
• 24:20 Pricing Mathematics and Cost Calculation
• 31:10 Strategic Timing for Price Adjustments