Look at the work, not just the bottom line
- Have every company write up the scope, listing each task and how often it gets done.
- Ask how many hours of labor per visit they based the price on.
- Find out what supplies are part of the deal and what costs extra.
- Make sure you know whether the occasional work, like floor care, comes with the price or gets billed on its own.
What ought to be in a cleaning contract
| Contract term | What it should say |
|---|---|
| What's covered | Every task, every room and how often it gets done. If something gets skipped, this is what you point to. |
| When they clean | Which days, what times and what happens around holidays. |
| Price and what's in it | What you pay each month or each visit, whether supplies are part of it, and how anything extra gets signed off and billed. |
| Insurance | Proof they're carrying liability insurance, plus workers compensation if they've got employees on payroll. |
| Keys and alarm codes | Who's holding the keys or codes, and the plan if they get lost. |
| Checking the work | How often somebody looks the work over, and how you report a missed task and get it fixed. |
| Length and canceling | How long you're signed up for, and how much notice it takes for either of you to get out of it. |
Things that should make you think twice
- They hand you a price without ever seeing or asking about your building.
- There's no written scope, or the scope never says how often.
- They won't show you proof of insurance.
- They push a long contract with no easy way out if the cleaning goes downhill.