If you’re in the market for a cleaning service, examine your budget to determine how much you can comfortably afford to pay. Also, ask whether the company offers a trial period or satisfaction guarantee.
Ask how the company vets and trains its cleaners. For instance, Slate NYC conducts background and reference checks on its Keepers before they join the team.
Identify Your Cleaning Needs
Identifying your cleaning needs and setting a budget is critical to determining whether you can afford professional cleaning services. Start by preparing a spreadsheet of household expenses like childcare and groceries. You can also use a resource like Mint to make financial goals and track your progress.
Create a list of the cleaning services you plan to offer and set a price for each service. Some cleaners offer package pricing based on rooms and other criteria, while others charge by the hour.
Advertise your cleaning business in local service directories and online lead generation websites. Use a mobile app to manage your clients. Send digital quotes and invoices to clients, and get paid 4x faster with Jobber Payments. Also, utilize tools to keep your team consistent and efficient, like job checklists.
Set a Budget
If you want to hire a cleaning service, it’s important to do your research. This includes finding out if the company you’re interested in is insured and bonded. This ensures you have legal protection if something goes wrong.
To determine whether your budget can afford a cleaning service, make a budget worksheet. You can find lots of printable budget charts online, and some programs like Excel come with templates that you can customize to your household expenses. Fill out columns for income and for expenses such as childcare, groceries, and loan payments.
Also consider big one-time expenses and savings you may need to set aside for emergencies. A little financial foresight can go a long way in helping you decide whether or not to hire a cleaning service.
Do Your Research
As you start to narrow down the list of possible cleaning services, ask about how they screen their employees. Ideally, you want to choose a company that interviews candidates and runs background checks before hiring them.
If the cleaning service doesn’t perform these checks, you should move on to another candidate. Also, find out if they employ their cleaners as independent contractors or employees of the company. Your accountant can help you understand the tax ramifications of each option.
You should also consider how friendly and professional the cleaning service is. They should be able to answer your questions quickly and courteously. They should also be willing to work with you to customize your cleaning package. This can save you money and time in the long run.
Ask Questions
If you want to make sure the service is capable of doing what you need it to do, ask questions and conduct research. It is best to discuss your requirements before hiring a cleaning company, so they can tailor their services to suit your needs.
Find out how long they have been in business, as this can be an indication of the quality of work that is provided. Also, find out if they have a system in place to guarantee their work. This could be through a team member checking the other members’ work or a manager from the company coming to conduct random quality checks.
Find out if you need to prepare the premises for their arrival, such as moving furniture or locking up belongings. This can save you a lot of hassle in the future.
Make an Offer
Once you’ve narrowed your choices, ask if the cleaning service is willing to do a trial cleaning of your home. Reputable companies will be happy to do this so you can test out their services and make sure they’re a good fit for your needs.
If you’re seeking business cleaning services, put together a prospectus that includes the services your company offers, the price per hour, how many workers are in your cleaning crew, testimonials from previous clients and references, and insurance information. Hand deliver these materials to the business owner and ask for an opportunity to show them how your team can benefit their company.
Conlcusion:
If you’re not satisfied with the results, find out what their re-clean policy is. Typically, this involves a touch-up or free cleaning, but each company has its own policies so it’s important to find out.
