It’s both scary and exciting.

A pool cleaning business can set you on the path to independent, toes-in-the-sand income and to running your own company. No boss, no restrictive hourly pay, and no mindless “Do it the way I say it, or you’re fired.”

But stepping outside the guardrails also puts you in a deepwater business ecosystem where you’ll survive by your wits and determination.

Take heart. We’ve collected the wisdom of 70+ successful pool cleaning business owners in this guide on how to start a pool cleaning business. It’s not rocket science, but it is science. Once you know it, you’ll be ready with the chemistry, economics, and customer service tools you’ll need to make it a success.

Ready?

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1. Learn to clean pools

This does not go without saying:

If you have a long pole and a Shop Vac, you’re probably itching to start skimming, brushing, and sending invoices tomorrow. No one will stop you from jumping right in, but the #1 good advice from pros in our survey is: Work for another pool service pro for at least one summer first.

You’ll get a birds-eye view of whether pool cleaning is really for you, and you’ll learn pool chemistry, how to make repairs, handle criticism, deal with customers, and keep on working. At a bare minimum, read the pool school posts at troublefreepool.com for a crash course in chemistry.

Also, educate yourself in LSI so you can charge higher prices, do more pools in less time, and make more money. Here’s a great guide to run a crystal clean pool service business with LSI. And see our pool maintenance checklist to see if you’re in line with what you’ll need to do at every stop.

Pro Tip: Find a pool care pro who’ll take you under their wing — and who doesn’t mind if you call them 17 times a day with questions about how to fix a leaking elbow pipe or keep a pool from turning green while you wait for a replacement pump.

2. Pick a pool cleaning business name

Meet your next customer, Madge.

She called because your pool cleaning company name stuck in her head.

Choose a memorable, descriptive business name. Some tips:

• Use the words “pool care” or “pool cleaning” in the name.
• Consider adding your local area to the name, such as “Benton Pool Care” or “Park Slope Pool Cleaning.” Local info will help you rank higher in local web searches.
• Think about a name that makes your customers feel the way they want to, like “Crystal Clean Pools” or “Blue Water Pool Care.” They’ll associate the feeling with your business, and you’ll get more calls.

Pro Tip: Ask ChatGPT to generate a list of pool cleaning business names for your area. You may not find one you like, but it’ll inspire you and make the creative process a lot easier. Use the guidance in the bullet points above in your prompts.

3. Get a pool cleaning business license

“Yes, we’re licensed.” It may be one of the first questions you’re asked. 

To start a pool cleaning business legally, you’ll need at least an LLC. In some states, you’ll also need a state pool cleaning license.

LLC

An LLC is a limited liability company. It’s there to protect your personal assets (like your house or car) so you can’t lose them if a customer decides to sue. (If you have an LLC, they can only get your business assets if they win.)

If you’ve never set up an LLC before, it’ll take about an hour. You can also have a tax pro or an online LLC formation company like LegalZoom do it for you.

Pool cleaning license

Some states require you to have a pool cleaning license or certification in addition to a general business license. To find out if you need one, Google search “pool cleaning license” plus your state. For instance, you need a license in Florida, Texas, and California to do anything beyond basic cleaning, such as repairs or installations.

Contractor’s license

If you plan to hire people, you’ll need a contractor’s license in most states. Google search “pool cleaning contractor’s license” and your state name to see if you need one. Some states will require you to take a test or a two-day class to get your license.

Pro Tip: Most states require a commercial pool cleaning license for commercial and municipal pool cleaning, even if they don’t mandate one for residential pools.

4. Open a business checking account

You’ll sleep better if you build a wall between your pool cleaning business money and your personal money. It’ll also be easier to see if you’re making a profit, pay employees, and have a stress-free tax time.

To do it, open a business checking account with an online bank like BlueVine or Relay to accept customer payments — and to pay employees and expenses online and with paper checks.

Pro Tip: You can accept credit card payments with a service like Square, but PayPal, Zelle, and Venmo will give customers a way to pay with minimal cost and setup.

5. Get pool cleaning business insurance

Uh-oh.

What if an employee backs into a customer’s garden shed or botches a cleaning and another pro gets called in to help? A standard business insurance policy will cost about $100 a month and give you $1 million in liability insurance.

You’ll need to buy a state-specific policy, so do a search for “business insurance” and your state, then do a little price shopping. Business insurance policies are pretty standard, so you should have an easy time finding a policy.

Pro Tip: Set your prices at a comfortable level, and don’t compete with the unlicensed and uninsured. You’ll be a lot happier and a lot less stressed.

6. Plan your offerings

Question: What pool cleaning services will you offer? Will you do just cleanings, or add installations, maintenance, inspections, and support? Will you sell salt systems and pool pumps, chemicals and other equipment?

Devote some time to head-scratching and jot down all the different things you’ll need for any service you’ll offer. For instance, if you’ll sell salt systems, what will you do when a customer calls and asks for support? Make sure you can access the training, time, supplier relationships, and tools you’ll need to offer each service, hassle-free.

Pro Tip: You can make good money servicing pools, but the real money isn’t in the cleanings. It’s in repair, acid washes, filter cleans, and product sales. There’s a lot to learn, so find a mentor who isn’t in your area and won’t be threatened by your pool care company.

7. Buy pool cleaning equipment

Some good news:

You can get going for about $800, though there are plenty of add-ons a seasoned pro will say you “can’t live without.” Our advice: Start small, and grow your pool cleaning equipment list as you go. At a bare minimum, you’ll need:

To get started

• Truck
• Shop Vac
• Taylor pool test kit
• Carbon fiber pool pole
• Net
• Brush
• Basic tool set
• Rubber mallet
• Side pump
• Water hose
• Chemicals (liquid chlorine, chlorine tabs, stabilizer, calcium, baking soda, and diatomaceous earth)

Very soon after you get going

• Hammerhead or Riptide (less expensive but high quality) pool vacuum
• Dolly to carry everything from your truck
• Valpak pool caddy
• Pressure tips
• Socket and wrench
• Leaf blower
• Stands to clean salt cells
• Lid wrench for older style lids
• Magic Lube
• Zip ties
• PB Blaster
• Pool leak detection equipment
• CRM software for client info, sales, scheduling, routing, and invoicing
• Empty buckets for diluting acid
• Measuring cups
• Dog treats 😉

Pro Tip: Don’t stock up on pool chemicals right away. Instead, build their cost into your pricing. Buy them from local wholesalers as you need them, and mark them up on your invoices.

8. Find pool cleaning customers

Here’s a secret:

There are so many bad pool cleaners out there it’s staggering.

Once you know what you’re doing, you’ll have more referrals than you can shake a skimmer at.

The trick is getting those first few. Here’s how:

1. Offer a discount to friends, neighbors, and family for their first cleaning.
2. Sign up on Nextdoor, Angi, Thumbtack, or another local service site. Several pro pool cleaners in our survey get most of their customers from Nextdoor.
3. Place door hangers. You can buy ready-made door hangers from sites like Print4Less.
4. Make a Facebook business page, and create a simple ad with Canva. Post it in the Facebook Marketplace, and make simple posts twice a week about your services.

Once you have your first few customers:

1. Get some post cards, fridge magnets, t-shirts, and truck wrap with your business name, logo, and phone number, to advertise your pool company while you’re doing other things.
2. Create a website with an online form where potential customers can request a quote.
3. You can also buy a route. Some pool service pros in our survey swear by buying a route to scale up your pool cleaning business. Others say, don’t ever do it. The choice comes down to how much money you have available up front.

Pro Tip: Choose your customers wisely. Avoid the ones who’ve been through several pool cleaners and “can’t find a good one,” because you’ll waste time and money and still won’t satisfy them.

9. Write a pool cleaning business plan

Do you really need a pool service business plan?

Only if you want to succeed.

If you need a loan to start your pool cleaning business, your lender will demand a business plan. Don’t worry — you can build it from your work in several of the steps above. It should include:

• Company description: Your business, goals, who your customers will be, your services, strengths, and how you’ll stand out.
• Products and services: Will you offer repairs, maintenance, and installation as well as pool cleaning? How much will you charge for each?
• Market research: How many customers are in your area, and how much will they pay for pool cleaning?

• Competitive analysis: Your competition, what they’re doing right and wrong, and how you’ll do it better.

• Management: A bio of each team member (even if it’s just you) and what they’ll do.

• Financial documents: Mockups of profit and loss statements, cash flow statements, and balance sheets for the next three years.

• Marketing plan: How you’ll get customers and the kinds of marketing you’ll do.
• Budget: How much will your equipment, chemicals, marketing, and operations cost? What are your fixed costs, and what percentage of sales will go to expenses? For example, you might estimate you’ll charge $200 for a pool cleaning and spend $30 on chemicals. Your budget should show descriptive numbers.
• Executive summary: Write a summary of your business plan and place it at the top, but write it last so you have something to summarize.

Even if you won’t need a loan, the business plan structure above will help you prepare your pool cleaning business for success. Also consider:

• How you’ll pay for what you need while you’re waiting for your customers to pay you
• How many pools you need before you start making “enough”
• Your creditworthiness
• Whether you’ll work alone or have a helper — and how you’ll pay them?
• How you’ll handle installation and support of anything you sell, like pool pumps or salt systems.

Pro Tip: Set your prices low at first to get customers, but eventually you’ll have to raise them enough to pay someone to do your job and still leave room for you to turn a profit. Do yourself a favor and read the book, Profit First.

10. Use pool cleaning business software

Beware.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks most new pool cleaning business owners fail to anticipate is all the “work” customers don’t pay for.

For instance, how will you handle:

• Invoicing
• Chasing down customers who make you wait and follow up ten times before they pay
• Bookkeeping
• Filing quarterly estimated taxes with the IRS
• Scheduling
• Route mapping to make sure you spend less time driving and more time cleaning pools
• Keeping track of different services at different customer locations
• Tracking your revenue and profit
• Phone calls and emails from your home number/address or a dedicated business line
• Your business address. Will you use your home address, a USPS PO box, or a UPS mailbox?

These common pool care business tasks eat up a lot of time and resources. But breathe a deep sigh of relief, because there are excellent, dedicated pool service business software options custom-made to make your life easier. At the same time, they’ll make your company more profitable.

As soon as you can afford it, start using pool cleaning business software like GorillaDesk — a full-featured field service software tool to trim your workload, tame your schedule, and handle your invoicing.

GorillaDesk is the highest-rated pool care software on top review sites like Capterra for good reason. Our exemplary customer service chats with you in three minutes on average, and our interface is legendary for its ease of use and full-featured power. Call for a free demo today.

You’ve got this. You’ll soon be out there skimming, vacuuming, and brushing while you watch your monthly earnings grow. Good luck!