I’ve been in this business for more than 30 years, and one thing has not changed. Commercial cleaning companies do not make it easy to understand how their services are priced and why, and that makes your job more difficult than it should be.
Yes, I’m saying that as the owner of a commercial cleaning company. But as a business owner myself who reviews quotes from our own partners every day, I know how frustrating it can be to look at proposal pricing that doesn't make sense, or offers little to no insight on how the vendor arrived at the numbers they’re quoting you.
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So, if you’re:
You are in the right place.
It doesn’t matter if you currently have a quote in front of you from In-Tec, or you’re simply considering starting a conversation with us. We are here to empower you with knowledge about our pricing, so you can make the right decision for you regarding your next commercial cleaning partner.
In this article, you will learn exactly how we evaluate the following factors in the pricing of our commercial cleaning services:
For each, we will review in detail what each factor encompasses, why it matters, and how it influences the pricing and value you receive as an In-Tec client.
Do all commercial cleaners price their services the way we do?
No, of course not. However, as you read through this guide, I would encourage you to demand the same level of transparency from other commercial cleaners you are considering — and to consider it a “red flag” of sorts, if they cannot.
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As a commercial cleaning company owner myself, of course, I view this expenditure as a necessary expense. However, we understand whatever you decide to spend on cleaning is at your discretion. You just want to know you’re getting value for your investment — both directly in the services rendered and indirectly through increased productivity, happier employees, and more.
And we couldn’t agree with you more.
The No. 1 cost will always be labour and the investment required to ensure proper staffing to meet your commercial cleaning needs. In full transparency, our labour costs may be higher than those you might see with a competitor, and we stand by that. Why? Our cleaners are In-Tec employees, not contractors — and we make it a point to invest in our people, because that’s how everyone wins.
That means we not only provide the cleaners you’ll meet with equipment, but also intensive training. In fact, that’s part of the reason why when my wife, Anne, and I were choosing office space for In-Tec, we chose an A-grade office rather than a C-grade (standard for our industry), so our cleaners could be trained on-site on how to clean office environments like many of yours.
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More specifically, when Anne and I were designing the office fit out, we deliberately added more detail to things like dividing walls. We also added ledges and spaces that can be difficult to clean — or to even see if they need cleaning. We also decided that rather than stick to what most see in a suburban location, to build the fit out to an A-grade standard. This gives us the ability to not only train our team on how to clean a complicated office, but also to clean to the best standard for A-grade office environments, such as top-end accounting firms, law firms, and more.
We also work hard to make sure our cleaners are fulfilled and happy in their work. (And when your cleaners are happy, the results you see will speak for themselves.)
Obviously, the more cleaning we need to do, the greater the labour investment will be. For instance, if you require six cleaners or more onsite due to the size and complexity of your facility (or facilities), those cleaners will need a supervisor to ensure everyone is working as efficiently as possible, with a keen eye on maintaining the standards of clean we’ve all agreed to.
After all, haven’t you noticed within your own organisation, the more staff you bring on, the more they require monitoring? Increased staff numbers means increased complexity. Having more oversight as teams increase ensures all runs smoothly, with minimal hiccups or errors.
As I'm writing this, our hourly rates range from $78.50 to $94.20 (excluding GST per hour). Does every commercial cleaner have the same prices we do? No, but this range should give you a starting point to understand what you should expect.
The mop and bucket we’re all used to was first invented and patented in the United States by Thomas W. Stewart in 1893:
Other than trading in the original wood handle for metal or plastic, not much has changed with this cleaning staple, right? There’s just one problem. The traditional mop and bucket you see many commercial cleaners using isn’t terribly effective at cleaning floors. For the most part, all you’re really doing is moving dirty water around.
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Which is why we rarely, if ever, use them with our clients. Instead, we invest in what we know to be the industry’s best tools, as well as anything you may need that is specific to your organisation or your industry. For instance, an iMop is an automated floor scrubbing machine that cleans floors much more efficiently and effectively than a traditional mop. It is also not a small investment.
Of course, if you were to ask me what equipment would best suit your site, I would reply that it depends on your site and your needs. But let’s take a look at two real-world examples from sites we clean.
Yes, we use the latest battery vacuum at this site. But given what I have said so far, you may be surprised to know that the traditional mop and bucket comes in quite handy at this type of site. After all, the desired outcome at such a facility is to control the nature of the dirt onsite. But due to the nature of the site, everyone accepts that we cannot even come close to capturing most of it.
At this site, we have the best equipment, ranging from the iMop to a full HEPA-controlled vacuum — even disposable cloths. The desired outcome is the capture and removal of as much dirt and soiling at the site at every clean. Yes, the client accepts that there is an extra cost that comes with this equipment set up.
As you may have gathered from the two examples above, determining the equipment setup cost for your site is highly dependent on a number of factors. However, to be as transparent as possible, so you can understand what type of figures we are looking at, let’s take a look at what we see as the three most common costs:
Does this mean the equipment and materials cost for each site can range a lot? Yes. But it is important to note this is paid for by the cleaning company, generally before any cleaning has commenced.
Let’s review the example we discussed in the section about labour. Due to the size of your facility and the complexity of your cleaning needs, you will require at least six cleaners onsite. Although each of those individuals are well trained, honest, and hardworking, they are now a team that needs a supervisor to keep everything running smoothly.
“Can't you just employ cleaners, train them, and then they will just do their job?"
If you’re wondering this, I understand. I wish we could. But like you, the larger your team gets, the more you need to supervise (watch them).
Now, I am not saying that our cleaners are lazy or won't naturally do the job at hand. But even I need to have checks and balances in place to ensure I get what I need done. This is why, at times, we need to make accommodation for an onsite supervisor for larger teams.
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However, to guarantee we are always fulfilling our promise of commercial cleaning that is managed for you, not by you, we take our responsibility to achieving and maintaining your standards of cleanliness a few steps further. To give you some clarity, if you have cleaners onsite five days a week, someone from our team — myself, an account executive, or someone else you trust from In-Tec — will conduct a weekly site visit or audit to ensure we are always delivering the service you’re paying for.
Mind you, very few commercial cleaners share our proactive mindset toward service delivery. Many commercial cleaning companies love to operate with a more “set it and forget it” mentality. What I mean by that is, they will set your site up, they will give their cleaners a bit of training, and then they will move onto recruiting the next new client for their cleaning company. The only time you’ll ever see them again is if you go out of your way to identify and report an issue with your service.
Originally, I was going to close this section by saying, “And that's if you’re lucky.”
Then it hit me. “I know what “set it and forget it looks like,” but do they? After all, I’ve explained why your site may need more supervision than you may have originally thought. So why not take a moment to define what I mean when I say “set it and forget it.” And I cannot think of a better example than this one … from when I used to be a cleaner.
In fact, there are two examples that come to mind!
This is what is called a set and forget. The site can have a good cleaner who genuinely cares assigned to the site/s — and you as a client can be happy. But what happens if a bad cleaner gets assigned to the site? It becomes up to you, the client, to complain … and hopefully get things resolved.
This is why “set it and forget it,” in my opinion, does not work. And yes, maybe you might be lucky.
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So we have dug into labour, equipment/materials, supervision, and support. But does your specific industry have an impact on the cost? The answer is yes, your industry category can have some impact on how your commercial cleaning services are priced with us. To be more specific, there are three segments that influence what your investment may look like:
But why you may ask? Let’s dig in further.
As we’ve already discussed, when it comes to commercial cleaning — and as this covers all types of industries ranging from manufacturing plants to A-grade offices — the cost can vary a lot. But what about the other two sectors, health and food manufacturing? How do these segments change the cleaning costs?
When you go to the doctor or maybe a hospital, you will see all sorts of equipment, machines, tools, and other implements (some strange) that you will only see at these locations. And just like your doctor or the hospital, there are cleaning requirements and/or equipment that are either very specific to health cleaning needs.
Additionally, some equipment may require an upgrade to be used in the health sector. An example would be an iMop. This can be upgraded to clean rooms in health facilities, something that can be needed in areas like day surgery rooms, etc.
As you can imagine, any area or site that is involved with food production and manufacturing must be clean; after all, it may be producing the food you eat. So, in the food manufacturing segment, the cleaning needs, just like the health sector can be very specific.
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The best way to explain is that all equipment must comply with HACCP. Simply put, everything must be of such a high quality so that it will not breed bacteria. It should also remove all contaminants from the surface, not fall apart. And yes, there needs to be a way for cloths to not only be washed, but also dried (not over food).
Like you, we are a business. Are our services much different from yours? Probably! But just like most businesses there are the backend processes that whilst most don't see, do happen. For us this includes general manager, finance director, HR manager, payroll officer, accounts payable and receivable role, and of course me, a managing director.
And like you, sometimes we wonder why this is all needed. But ensuring our employees are managed and paid correctly, all the relevant compliance is covered off and, of course, the systems are in place to ensure your service is delivered to standard … well, it just takes what it takes.
Why is this a factor in our commercial cleaning pricing? For the same reason why your overhead and operating costs influence how you price your products and services. This is simply how above-board for-profit businesses operate, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
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More than likely, this being a factor in our pricing does not surprise you. But we mention this because you should be wary of commercial cleaners that have operating costs that are so low, they don’t have any impact on how they price their services. They may be engaging in unsavoury or illegal business practices, such as hiring sham contractors to act as your cleaners. So, again, the lower the cost, the more questions you should ask.
Now, I know it may seem strange for me to be so blunt in stating our own profit as a factor in how we price our commercial cleaning services. But I promised I would be completely transparent with you in this article, so that is what I’m doing..
But us being profitable ultimately benefits you:
I could go on, but you get my point.
Plus, let’s be honest, if you’re a for-profit business, your own profit margins are a factor in how you price your products and services — and commercial cleaners are no exception. We are not unique in this way, and none of us should feel ashamed in our desire to run healthy, profitable businesses where our employees and our clients all win because of smart, ethical business decisions.
In fact, when you work with the right partner, cleaning company, they should understand that what you decide to invest in this service is at your discretion. And we get this. But we will take it one step further and say that we think we should return to you, either what you spend or even more — maybe even be looked at as a profit centre.
Yes, we’ve seen time and again how our commercial cleaning services have increased employee productivity and delivered measurable, bottom-line ROI.
Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. Can I back it up? You bet I can. Let’s take a look at two clients of ours.
The discretionary spend on cleaning was $180,000 per annum. However, after we took on the cleaning of the site, it was noticed that the clients team productivity had increased. Yes, it could have been anything that made this change. However, the only thing that had changed during this period was the cleaning.
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It was determined that after we cleaned the site up to the correct standard — and maintained this standard — that the staff onsite felt valued and thus, were more efficient. Things were simply clean, and they could do their job, resulting in a gift to the client of a 10% productivity gain. Using basic figures, overall payroll costs of approx. $6.6 million, the dollar gain was $660,000, leaving a final net return to the client of $480.000.
The cleaning spend at this site is $106,600 per annum. And just like the above mentioned site, the client noticed that his team not only seemed happier (clean toilets, and more, can do that), but that they wanted to do more. When he asked them what changed, they simply replied, “You changed the cleaning company, the site is clean and we feel valued!”
Did he put a value on this change? Again, using the basic payroll figure, he worked out that the change to the bottom line was a gain of $422,000. On top of that, his cleaning cost for this site (what he pays us) went down, as well. So, at face value, it is a gain to him of $315,400, but could be more.
Are we the right commercial cleaning partner for you? Only you can make that call.
That said, we hope this article encourages you to ask incisive questions about pricing of any commercial cleaner you encounter. You deserve to know exactly what you’re paying for and why, as well as how a commercial cleaner runs their operations.
If you're interested in learning more on how to choose the correct commercial cleaning partner for your organisation, you can download our guide, 10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Commercial Cleaning Company. Or you can contact us at any time with your questions, or to start a conversation about how we may be of service to you.