Resources
How to Choose a Commercial Cleaning Company
A buyer’s checklist for vetting a commercial cleaning company: what to write down first, what to ask, which papers to request, how to call references and what to catch in a quote.
Write down what your building needs first
Before you call anyone, put the building on one page. Square footage matters less than the room mix: how many restrooms and fixtures, whether the breakroom has a dishwasher and a full fridge, how much floor is carpet and how much is tile or vinyl, and which rooms visitors walk through. Add the hours the building sits empty and who controls keys, alarm codes and badge access.
That sheet does two jobs. Every company you talk to prices the same building, so the quotes line up, and you learn fast who read it. Questions about your loading dock, your server closet or the suite that stays locked on Fridays are a good sign that someone is planning real work rather than filling in a template.
Rank your priorities while you are at it. In most offices the complaints start in three places: the restrooms, the front entry and the breakroom. Naming your top three gives you a yardstick for every answer you hear later.
Questions for the first conversation
A short call tells you a lot before anyone visits. Useful questions:
- Who will clean the building, and will it be the same people from week to week?
- Who supervises them, and how do they check the work?
- If I find a problem at 7 a.m., who do I tell and how?
- What happens when the regular cleaner is out?
- Who supplies toilet paper, towels, soap and trash liners, and who brings the chemicals and equipment?
- How are keys, alarm codes and access cards stored and returned?
Listen for a named role and a process in each answer. A reply such as ‘we take care of it’ tells you nothing about sick days or missed rooms; a reply that explains who covers the route and how you hear about it does.
Ask, too, how the plan changes when your building does. Headcount grows, a floor empties out, a tenant adds a clinic suite. You want to be able to move a room from nightly to weekly service, or add a day porter, without renegotiating everything.
Papers to collect before anyone gets a key
Request a certificate of insurance and read it rather than filing it. Check that the named insured matches the company you are hiring, that general liability and workers’ compensation both appear, and that the policy dates run past your start date. If your landlord or property manager needs to appear on the certificate, say so early so it is issued with the right names.
Ask how cleaners are screened before they enter client buildings. You don’t need every detail of the process, but you should hear that one exists and that it covers everyone sent to your site, fill-ins included.
Then ask for the full task list in writing. A quote that says only ‘general cleaning, five nights’ leaves nothing to hold anyone to. You want each area of the building, the tasks done there, and how often each task happens, plus a separate line for periodic work such as carpet extraction or floor refinishing.
Getting real answers from references
Ask for two or three references from buildings that resemble yours in size and use, then pick up the phone. A five-minute call with another office manager beats any letter or website quote.
Use questions that cannot be answered with ‘they’re great’:
- What went wrong in the first few months, and how was it handled?
- When you report something, how soon is it fixed?
- Has your regular cleaner changed, and how did the handover go?
- Would you hire them again for a building like this one?
Notice what the reference volunteers. Someone who talks only about the low price, or who pauses before saying they would hire again, is giving you useful information.
Use the walkthrough to judge the company
Nobody should quote your building without seeing it. Walk the whole space together, including storage rooms, stairwells, the loading area and the restrooms on every floor. Point out the trouble spots: the carpet lane by the coffee station, the busiest restroom, the glass entry doors that show every handprint.
Watch what the estimator pays attention to. Counting fixtures, checking floor types, asking where trash and recycling go and asking when the building is empty are all signs of an estimate built from your rooms instead of a rate card.
At Ascent Cleaning, every new building begins with that walk, and the quote we send back breaks your building into areas with a cleaning frequency next to each one, which makes it simple to check against your own list from the first step.
Red flags when you read the quote
Compare what is written down, not just the bottom line. Look for gaps like these:
- no task list, or tasks with no frequency next to them;
- no mention of periodic floor or carpet work, or when it would be scheduled;
- nothing on who supplies paper, soap and liners;
- no contact for complaints outside business hours;
- a start date offered before anyone has walked the building;
- pressure to sign a long-term agreement at the first meeting.
A quote far below the rest deserves a closer look rather than a quick yes. To set quotes next to each other and spot what each one left out, use the method in how to compare janitorial bids. A guide to commercial cleaning costs lays out what moves a price up or down, so you can tell a lean quote from an incomplete one.
Read the schedule line closely as well. A quote that names service nights but no time window, or a window that overlaps the hours your staff are still at their desks, causes friction in week one. If the work has to happen after 6 p.m. or before 7 a.m., the quote should say so in plain words.
After you pick: the first month
Set a simple check-in rhythm. Walk the building with the supervisor after the first week, list anything that needs adjusting, and agree on how day-to-day issues get reported. Most early friction with a new cleaning company comes from expectations nobody wrote down, so the written task list is your best tool.
Keep that list where both sides can see it and update it when the building changes. An office checklist organized room by room is a good starting point if you are building one from scratch.
When you are ready to compare, request a quote from Ascent Cleaning and we will walk your building and put every area and frequency in writing.
A few useful answers
Common questions.
How many cleaning companies should I get quotes from?
Aim for three. That gives you enough to see a pattern in price and coverage, and few enough that you can walk the building with each estimator and compare the quotes properly.
What should a commercial cleaning quote include?
Every area of the building, the tasks in each area and how often each is done; periodic jobs like hot-water carpet extraction or a VCT strip and refinish, each on its own line; who supplies paper, soap and liners; the service days and hours; and a named contact for issues.
What insurance should a cleaning company carry?
Look for general liability and workers’ compensation on the certificate of insurance, with the company’s legal name and policy dates that cover your start date. Ask for your landlord or management company to be listed if your lease requires it.
Is the lowest quote a bad sign?
Not by itself. If it covers the same rooms, tasks and periodic work as the others, it is simply lean; if tasks are missing, the gap explains the price.
Does Ascent Cleaning provide a certificate of insurance?
Yes. Every client receives one. Ascent is insured and carries workers’ compensation, our cleaners are background-checked before they work in your building, and supervisors run quality inspections once service begins.