A well-managed, professional cleaning service will have some key management policies and practices in place so that they are able to focus on growing their business rather than wasting time on customers demanding services not clearly identified in the contract.

Remember that tasks multiplied by frequency generates the bulk of the cost of any contract. When you multiply the total direct labor hours times the burdened labor rate and add in overhead, supervision, profit, supplies and equipment you have a proposed budget that should allow you to make a reasonable profit. A successful BSC (Building Service Contractor) should know their real costs for labor, supplies, etc. if they have any experience in the cleaning business. If they are just starting out, they need to be aware of over estimating or under estimating the price since either one can be an expensive waste of time and resources.

If you have a long term contract (one to five years) and are required to estimate consumable supplies such as toilet tissue, paper towels, hand soap, liners, etc. you need to allow for any major cost of living changes with a semi-annual review. This may require your distributor to provide detailed delivery information so that when you sit down with your customer you are dealing from facts, not anecdotes. It is important that in the wording of the contract that you can make adjustments (up or down) to reflect the actual costs of these products. No one can really predict the cost of paper, petroleum based products, etc. If they can, they should certainly be in the stock market and guide the rest of us.

The only thing worse than not getting a contract is getting it for the wrong price and slowing losing money or being forced to cut services.

Your comments and questions are important. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then, keep it clean...

Mickey Crowe has been involved in the industry for over 35 years. He is a trainer, speaker and consultant. You can reach Mickey at 678-314-2171 or CTCG50@comcast.net.


posted on 2/3/2015