What this calculator compares
Normally enter quantity 1 for the entire agreed balcony job. Record dimensions and finishes in the quote brief, but do not enter square metres as this item count. Different balconies require a combined whole-job quote. Enter the confirmed package amount in the labour / package field. Products and equipment already in that package must be marked included, not added again. For an hourly, area-based or minimum-visit offer, first ask the provider for the total covering this exact scope, minimum charge, crew and booked time; this view does not calculate area or working time. Use per-item pricing only for identical scopes with the same quoted unit price. Mixed sizes, conditions or prices need one agreed whole-job amount.
This tool calculates from your entered quotations; it does not estimate a market tariff or verify a provider. Blank prices, unknown tax terms and unresolved extras keep the result incomplete. You must confirm the topic-specific scope checks before a cost difference appears.
How the arithmetic works
Labour is either the entered whole-job total or a per-item amount multiplied by the shared item quantity. Separate provider parts use the same unit choice. Each visit and extra charge is a whole-job amount added once. Use agreed whole-job totals for mixed models, repair units or prices.
Provider amount = labour/package + separately charged provider parts + visit + extras − eligible visit credit. A credit cannot exceed either the charged visit fee or the entered provider work excluding that visit. It cannot offset customer-bought parts. An included or no-charge visit is not deducted again. This model does not handle a separate cash refund arrangement.
The standard UAE VAT rate is 5%. VAT is added once to VAT-exclusive provider amounts, and not added to amounts already including VAT or confirmed not charged. Enter all of one provider’s amounts on the same VAT basis.
Project cost = provider total after its VAT treatment + your separately purchased parts at their final retail total, including any retail VAT and delivery. This keeps customer-supplied parts visible without taxing them twice. Already-owned parts count at the value you explicitly enter; entering zero deliberately excludes their historic purchase cost. No deposit or prior payment is deducted, so the result is not a remaining balance.
A worked example
Illustrative arithmetic only, not a market price: an agreed whole-job cleaning package of AED 200 plus AED 30 of separately charged products and AED 20 of access charges totals AED 250 before tax, or AED 262.50 if all provider amounts exclude 5% VAT. The visit and every other line are confirmed included or not needed. Do not add products, equipment or extras again when they are already included in the package.
Assumptions and limits
Money is entered in AED with up to two decimal places. Each monetary field is limited to AED 1,000,000; item counts to 100; handyman lists to 12 rows; hours to 100; and technicians to 20. These are input-error safeguards, not market, capacity or safety limits. Invalid values are not silently rounded into valid inputs. Calculated monetary lines, VAT and totals are rounded to two decimal places.
Unentered damage, scope changes and future work are excluded. The known-provider subtotal uses the amounts as entered, without adding unconfirmed VAT or customer purchases; it is not an all-in quote. Even a complete cost comparison does not certify suitability, workmanship, insurance or approval.
Do not lean over railings, stand on furniture or improvise access to outer glazing. Keep children and pets away from the work area. Blocked drainage, loose railings, damaged waterproofing or unsafe contamination need assessment beyond ordinary cleaning; do not hose dirty water onto neighbouring property.
Read the related Dubai cost and scope guide·Balcony cleaning