The 3 Most Common Methods For Pricing Janitorial Services

Which is Best for Your Facility? In the commercial cleaning industry, there are three primary means for pricing daily janitorial services. To be clear, daily janitorial services consist of 4 primary tasks – wiping and dusting surfaces, vacuuming, mopping, and sweeping floors, collecting and removing trash, and cleaning restrooms and break areas. Tasks such as hard surface floor restoration (e.g. stripping and waxing VCT), carpet restoration, and cleaning exterior windows are considered extra services and should be priced separately. The three primary methods of pricing are (1) price per square foot, (2) time and materials, and (3) fixed monthly fee.…

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The Top 4 Things To Look For In A Janitorial Company.

Finding a reliable commercial cleaning company can be a challenge. A quick Google search for “Commercial Cleaning Companies” yields a hodgepodge of results. Many the search engine results are not actually cleaning companies. For example, some are simply marketing companies posing as cleaning companies. Examples are Vanguard, Executive Cleaning Services, and Jensen Brothers. These companies do not provide cleaning services – they simply gather your information and find a subcontractor. Other search engine results will be things like Yelp, Bark, Home Advisor, etc. So, it can be a challenge to simply find a REAL commercial cleaning service. But, once you…

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What Is The Purpose Of A Site Visit?

An important step in the commercial cleaning sales process is the site visit or facility tour. While it is possible to receive an reasonable proposal from a commercial cleaning company without this step, allowing a potential cleaning vendor to “lay eyes on” your building will produce better results. In this article we discuss the purpose of the site visit, and how to best prepare for visits from potential vendors Purpose of the Site Visit Information To Be Gathered Below are the 4 items cleaning vendors are seeking to discover while visiting a building How You Can Help There are a few things you can…

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3 Reasons Why Janitorial Wages Matter.

When a facility manager or MRO buyer is contemplating a new janitorial vendor, the most important item in the proposal is the janitorial wages. If the wages are wrong, the proposed price will be drastically different than the reality. And when this happens, no one’s toilets get cleaned. 1. The cost of labor is the biggest part of a proposal bid. The cost of labor is most of the proposal price, sometimes reaching as high as 85%. There are two components of labor pricing: Estimated man-hours and wages. Obviously in the equation, the wages is the multiplier. Looking directly at…

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5 Things We Learned From 2020 & What It Means for You

As with every industry, 2020 proved to be an interesting year for companies in the janitorial industry. In this article, we will share some things we learned in 2020, and what you might expect from the industry in 2021. 1. There is an important difference between cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting Before COVID, these terms were used interchangeably. However, we quickly discovered these terms are quite different. The EPA makes a clear distinction between these terms: Cleaning is done with water, a cleaning product, and scrubbing. Cleaning does not kill bacteria, viruses, or fungi, which are generally referred to as “germs.”…

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Outsourcing Janitorial Services Considerations

The decision to outsource business and operations tasks is typically motivated by a desire to focus on core business functions. Each organization must first decide which functions are core to their business, and which tasks would be best performed by an outsourced vendor. This decision is unique to every organization. It is also not uncommon to develop a hybrid outsourcing approach to certain services. For example, a company might employ an attorney to handle certain items, but outsource more specialized legal services. Likewise, IT functions are also typically handled in this way. Daily functions are generally handled by an internal…

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Developing a Commercial Janitorial Budget & Understanding the Importance of Janitorial Production Rates

Let’s get this out there: commercial janitorial work is not complex. As such, it would stand to reason that purchasing commercial janitorial services would be very simple: call a few vendors, ask for “quotes”, and pick the least expensive. Simple, right? Well, maybe not. In this article, we discuss janitorial production rates and their impact on setting your janitorial budget. The 800-Pound Gorilla: Labor Costs As mentioned in previous posts, the cost of direct labor, or wages, accounts for 75-80% of most janitorial budgets. Furthermore, by adding in the cost of labor related items like payroll taxes, benefits, uniforms, and…

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COVID Cleaning Services: 6 Most Commonly Asked COVID-19 Commercial Cleaning Questions

By now you have probably heard just about everything there is to hear about COVID-19. It is a subject that is difficult to avoid. Since the outbreak, the gathering of information surrounding what you should do to keep your facility safe has been a bit like drinking from the proverbial fire hose! The commercial cleaning industry has tried very hard to stay in front of this issue, but the facts seem to be a bit of a moving target. To make matters worse, there has been an influx of market participants making unrealistic claims or simply profiting at the expense…

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What To Expect From Your Janitorial Service Post-COVID-19

The Janitorial Service industry was largely considered an afterthought prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, these commercial janitorial services serve a vital role in keeping facilities safe for employees, students, patients, customers, and other types of visitors. As such, you should expect the relationship between your organization and your custodial services team to change. In this article, we will discuss expectations surrounding cleaning and disinfecting your facility, and expectations from and for your cleaning team. 1. Cleanliness Now Equates to Safety Employees, patients, students, and other visitors to your facility will have high expectations surrounding the cleanliness of your facility. A…

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Changing Janitorial Service Providers: 3 Tips to Ease the Transition

There are a variety of reasons why you may find it necessary to make a change in custodial vendors. Unfortunately, the most common reason for change tends to be poor performance. One of the questions that I am asked most often during the sales process is: “How long will it take your company to get started cleaning our facility?” The short answer is: 30 days. During this 30-day period your new cleaning vendor will be performing two very important start-up processes. Process #1 – Building the Team There is a common misconception that companies in our industry have a…

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