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Cleaning Company Business Plan

Cleaning might be a chore for someone but to some people, it is no less than passion.

And why not, who doesn’t like a nicely organized and spick and span place? Although all of us can accept that some of us are better at it than others.

If you are planning to start a new cleaning services business, the first thing you will need is a business plan. Use our sample Cleaning Company Business Plan created using Upmetrics – Business Plan Software to start writing your business plan in no time.

Before you start writing your business plan for your new cleaning company, spend as much time as you can reading through some samples of cleaning and maintenance-related business plans.

Industry Overview

The cleaning industry stood at a whopping value of 61 billion dollars and isn’t going to slow down any time soon.

Also, with the recent pandemic, the importance of cleaning has grown. And if you know how to organize spaces too there’s no stopping you from building a thriving business.

So, while a bunch of us satisfy ourselves by watching the oddly satisfying cleaning videos on YouTube you could be out there building a profitable business out of it.

But before you go, we have a few tips and business planning hacks compiled for you.

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Things to Consider Before Writing Your Cleaning Company Business Plan

Pick a specialisation.

Pick what kind of spaces you want to clean. It helps you hire people who are the best at a certain job. After all, cleaning different spaces requires a different set of skills and precision.

You can go for anything from cleaning outdoor spaces, hotels, offices, schools, etc.

Decide what additional services you can provide

Sometimes business is all about going that extra mile. Decide what additional services you can provide apart from the primary ones.

This would also largely depend upon the sector of the cleaning industry you are in.

Know your target audience like the back of your hand

Knowing your target audience helps you provide better services and change as their preferences change.

The cleaning industry is a lot about putting technology to maximum use.

Know your competitors

Knowing your competitors is crucial. It helps you stay ahead of them and have a foresight of what’s going to happen in the industry.

Write Your Business Plan

If you have been mocked for cleaning a little too much, don’t take it to heart. Make a business out of it. And here’s a little bit of data to give you the required motivation.

Reading sample business plans will give you a good idea of what you’re aiming for. It will also show you the different sections that different entrepreneurs include and the language they use to write about themselves and their business plans.

We have created this sample cleaning company business plan for you to get a good idea about how a perfect cleaning company business plan should look like and what details you will need to include in your stunning business plan.

Cleaning Company Business Plan Outline

This is the standard cleaning company business plan outline which will cover all important sections that you should include in your business plan.

• Market Validation
• Short-Term (1 -3 Years)
• Long Term (3-5 years)
• Mission Statement
• Keys to Success
• Units Sold v/s Revenue Chart
• Company Ownership / Legal Entity
• Interior Operating Facilities
• Hours of Operation
• Start-up Summary
• Garden Maintenance
• Grounds Maintenance
• General Cleaning
• Disinfecting
• Customer Service
• Residential Cleaning
• Commercial Cleaning
• Specialty Cleaning
• Market Trends
• CMS Market Distribution
• Competitive Advantage
• SWOT analysis
• Distribution Strategy
• Marketing and Promotion Program
• Positioning Statement
• Marketing Channels
• Pricing Strategy
• Organization chart
• Management Team
• Hiring plan
• Important Assumptions
• Brake-even Analysis
• Profit Yearly
• Gross Margin Yearly
• Projected Cash Flow
• Projected Balance Sheet
• Business Ratios

After getting started with upmetrics , you can copy this Cleaning Company Business Plan into your business plan and modify the required information and download your cleaning company business plan pdf or doc file.

It’s the fastest and easiest way to start writing your business plan.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

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Download a sample cleaning company business plan

Need help writing your business plan from scratch? Here you go;  download our free cleaning company business plan pdf  to start.

It’s a modern business plan template specifically designed for your cleaning company business. Use the example business plan as a guide for writing your own.

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About the Author

Vinay Kevadiya

Vinay Kevadiya is the founder and CEO of Upmetrics, the #1 business planning software. His ultimate goal with Upmetrics is to revolutionize how entrepreneurs create, manage, and execute their business plans. He enjoys sharing his insights on business planning and other relevant topics through his articles and blog posts. Read more

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Cleaning Services Business Plans

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Starting a cleaning business? A good business plan will give you a leg up on the competition. To get an idea of what your business plan should look like, check out these sample business plans for cleaning services, janitorial services, carpet and upholstery cleaning services, and other related businesses.

If you’re looking to develop a more modern business plan, we recommend you try LivePlan . It contains the same templates and information you see here, but with additional guidance to help you develop the perfect plan.

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How to create a cleaning business plan, alyssa sanders, published on february 11, 2021.

Many cleaning business owners feel like they don’t need a cleaning business plan, which is why they’re unable to build a scalable cleaning business.

Trying to grow a successful cleaning business without a business plan is like going on a road trip without a map… You know where you want to go but have zero vision or plans of how to get there.

A great cleaning business plan will help you to create, visualize, and conquer your goals. Also, it’ll help you to capture potential market opportunities you can use to grow your business.

In this article, we’ll talk about what makes a great business plan as well as how you can create the best business plan for your cleaning business.

By the end of this article, you’ll have all the tools and information you need to start creating the best cleaning business plan TODAY!

How to Use Your Cleaning Business Plan to Set You Up for Success

Since a business plan helps you to organize your goals and discover growth opportunities, just by creating a cleaning business plan, you’re setting your business up for success!

In addition, a business plan helps you to:

• Stay organized
• Prepare for the unexpected
• Keep your focus on clear goals

As a result, your business plan is one of the most important foundations you can give your business.

Pro tip! A business plan is not a “one-and-done” task. As your business grows and evolves, it’s important to consistently re-evaluate and update your business plan. A good rule of thumb is to conduct your full revisions annually and your financial revisions monthly.

1. Cover Page

Cover pages serve as a great quick-reference point for your new employees. It gives them a quick overview of your management and contact structure.

Plus, as your cleaning business grows, it’ll offer you a great way to streamline your training process and offer new employees a brief business overview.

Also, your cover page provides quick contact information for every viewer. This is especially useful if you apply for any grants or loans.

Think of your cover page as a cover letter for your cleaning business. Since it’s the first thing viewers will see, it’s essentially a brief business overview.

As a result, it’s important that your cleaning business plan emanates the ultimate professionalism. It should resemble a professional booklet and be as pristine and current as possible.

These are some things your cover page should include:

• Business name
• Contact information
• Business address (if any)
• Your role in the cleaning business

After you’ve created your cover page, it’s time to start on the executive summary.

2. Executive Summary

Think of your executive summary as a brief, one-page summary of your entire cleaning business plan.

This is where you’ll explain your business’ main concepts in order to establish solid growth goals to help scale your cleaning business’ growth.

Your executive summary should include things like:

• Company history
• Mission statement
• Business goals and objectives
• Competitive advantages (your keys to success)

Once your executive summary is complete, you’re ready to create your business overview.

3. Business Overview

Your business overview is important because it explains your business’ basic function, everyday operations, and operational structure.

Upon a mere glance, your business overview allows anyone who enters into your business to quickly understand how you operate. This is especially helpful when someone like an employee or third-party accountant needs a brief business overview.

Company Summary

Your company summary is a brief outline of the vision of your cleaning business.

These are a few things you’ll want to include in your company summary:

• What types of cleaning services will you offer?
• How frequently do you plan on services for your jobs?
• Are you offering services for residential, commercial, or both?
• How do you think the weather (i.e. the rain) will affect how frequently you’ll service the properties?

After answering these questions, you should have a complete company summary for your cleaning business plan.

However, since every cleaning business is different, you might have to add additional information to your company summary.

Your company summary is one of the best ways you can provide an outline of your everyday operational structure to new employees or third party viewers.

A company summary is a great way to help give you a sense of direction. Additionally, this helps to give you a better idea of who your ideal cleaning client is.

Company Ownership

Remember when you first started your cleaning business and you had to decide which business entity in which you wanted to register your business as?

Whether you’re registered as a partnership, corporation, sole proprietorship, or something else, it’s important to include this information in your business plan because of its tax implications.

Since your business entity protects you from being personally liable for your business’ financial implications, it’s an important part of your business.

As a result, it’s important to include your company’s ownership in your company summary.

And if you haven’t registered your cleaning business yet, then click here to read our full guide on starting a cleaning business .

Start-Up Summary

In short, your start-up summary details your startup costs and uses your assets to calculate your cleaning business’ value.

Your assets and startup costs have the potential to be key predictors of your business’ success.

Also, if you ever apply for loans or grants, this is typically the most important section they’ll look at to determine your eligibility.

If you’re just starting out, then this section will be a start-up summary. However, if you’re updating an existing cleaning business plan, then this section will include your business expenses and assets .

Start-Up Costs

In order to calculate your true overhead costs, you’ll need to have an estimate of your start-up costs.

Once you’ve established your cleaning prices , your startup costs can be included in your overhead costs.

In addition, your start-up costs section is important because it can cause you to lose money and undercut yourself on pricing if you skip it or do improperly do it.

As you begin your start-up summary, you’ll start by including all of your start-up costs. This will tell you how much it’ll cost you to buy all of your necessary equipment and chemicals to start or maintain your business.

It’s important to also note that any equipment or assets that you already own should NOT be included in this section. This section is only intended to cover the things that you need to buy.

Typically, your start-up costs will include things like:

• Office supplies
• Business software
• Cleaning equipment or chemicals
• Capital to pay your cleaners (if any)
• Marketing expenses (i.e. you website , ads , etc… )

Include how much all of these things will cost you in your start-up summary.

Regardless of whether or not you’re looking for outside financial assistance, your startup costs help you to create a better financial plan for your cleaning business.

Long-Term Assets

Any assets that you already have that will contribute to your business in the long-term, you should include in your start-up summary.

Since they don’t have to be regularly replaced, an example of a long-term asset in your cleaning business are your company vehicles.

Your business’ assets are a huge predictor of your success because of how much value they bring to the table. As a result, they’re a huge reflection of how much your cleaning business is worth.

Also, your long-term assets are important because they indicate to third party financial advisors how much your business is worth if you need to apply for grants and such.

As you document your long-term assets, don’t forget to be as detailed as possible and note things like the make, year, model, cost, and etc… 

Short-Term Assets

Alternatively to your long-term assets, your short-term assets are the assets you already own that contribute to your business in the short-term.

Just to mention a few, these are a few short-term assets that you might already have:

The more assets you have, the less overhead you have, which means you’ll have more revenue going towards your profit.

As a result, all of your assets are important to document so that you’ll have a better idea of how much your business is worth.

Even though it’s likely tedious work to record all of your short-term assets, it’s a VITAL process for your cleaning business. This will help you later on when you start tracking assets .

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4. Cleaning Services

Depending on how much your calculated costs are from the previous step, you can determine which cleaning services you’ll be able to provide.

You should base your decision on which cleaning services to provide based on these two things:

• Your cleaning equipment: The cleaning services you’re able to offer are limited based on the equipment you’re able to afford.
• Your area: If there’s a demand for a cleaning service that no one offers in your area, then you have the perfect opportunity to quickly soar past your competition.

Now, write a three to five-sentence paragraph explaining the services you’ll offer.

If there’s any seasonality or frequency, be sure to note those factors of your services. This will help you to build a foundation for your everyday business operations.

5. Market Analysis Summary

In essence, your market analysis summary explains how your cleaning business is going to compliment the needs of your target market.

Here, you’ll pinpoint any industry trends and define your ideal client.

Your market analysis summary helps to grow your cleaning business because it helps you to get a picture of your local market and choose your ideal client .

Now, include the answers to these questions in your market analysis summary:

• Age, income, and socioeconomic status
• Identify their wants and desires (what they care most about)
• Find the local target market size (how many locals fall under this category)
• Cleaning services
• Business sizes (team sizes, company size, etc… )
• List services (with prices) that are similar to yours
• Why might your ideal client choose your competitors over you?
• How can you make it to where your ideal clients will hire YOU over your competitors?

Pro tip! If you haven’t already, you can download our FREE cleaning client persona template to help you to define and identify your ideal client. Plus, it’s a great idea to include it in your cleaning business plan to look even more professional!

One of the best parts about your market analysis summary is that you can really customize it and make it as detailed as you need.

6. Business Strategy

All of the previous sections of your cleaning business plan have had a hand in helping you develop your business strategy.

Now, we just need to tie all of the previous information together into this section.

Plus, when you have an excellent cleaning business strategy, it helps you to establish the best cleaning pricing strategy possible.

This section is predominantly focused on building the best business strategy possible, which will help you to better scale your business.

Cleaning Pricing

If you want to build a wildly successful cleaning business, then you’ll have to master the art of pricing your cleaning services for maximum profit.

As you calculate the perfect price for your cleaning business, you should consider things like:

• Profit goals
• Software cost
• Taxes and fees
• Overhead and equipment cost
• Hourly rate (including employee pay)

These are a few among the many factors you should consider before establishing the best possible cleaning price for your services.

Click here to download our FREE pricing calculator build just for cleaning business owners like you! This calculator is quick, easy to use, and it’ll tell you exactly how to price your services.

Fix Your Pricing in Under 10 Minutes

7. implementation strategy.

In essence, your implementation strategy outlines the marketing and sales strategies you use to upsell your cleaning services .

Depending on your overhead costs and services prices, you can determine how many clients you’ll need to win in order to reach your profit goals.

Then, you have to find out how you’re going to win those clients.

Take a look at a few basic marketing strategies to get you started:

• Facebook Ads
• 9-arounds with flyers

Click here to explore more marketing strategies you can use to win more cleaning clients .

In your implementation strategy, you can get as specific as you’d like and include things such as:

• Sales forecast
• Sales strategies
• Milestones (if any)
• Competitive advantages

Your implementation strategy is whatever you need it to be. Use it to explore various ways to determine how you’re going to win more clients and reach your overall goals.

When you properly create an effective implementation strategy, you can establish a clear plan of what your marketing campaigns need to look like in order to surpass your goals .

8 Steps to Effectively Advertise on Facebook (with video instruction)

8. management summary.

Fun fact: Labor costs can make up as much as 30% of your annual revenue costs.

As a result, your management summary makes up an important aspect of your cleaning business plan.

Unlike many of your other costs, you can better control your labor costs than anything else.

Streamlining your everyday operations, increasing your route density, and improving your time management are just a few ways you can control your labor costs.

By the way, did you know that Service Autopilot can automate ALL of these tasks AND MORE using our cleaning software? One of the keys to keeping your labor costs down is knowing when to hire more cleaners.

Click here to check out our free, quick guide to knowing when and how to hire the best of the best cleaning employees!

Your prices + operational costs + your profits will help you find out when you should hire your next cleaners.

Your management summary should include things like:

• Your salary
• Labor costs and employee pay
• Number of employees needed to reach your goals
• How many jobs you can realistically complete in a day (if you’re flying solo)
• Minimum service charge to service a property (and still reach your profit goals)

At first, you might not have enough clients to hire a new cleaner and that’s okay.

Many new cleaning business owners clean houses on their own for a year or two until they win enough clients to hire their first employee.

When you start feeling tired and overworked, then you know it’s time to hire a new employee .

However, if you’re feeling overworked and still can’t afford to hire a new cleaner, then it’s probably time to consider raising your cleaning prices .

Click here to see how much you should be paying your cleaners (there’s also a FREE employee wage calculator inside).

Fix Your Wages in Under 10 Minutes

9. financial plan.

A financial plan gives you a sense of how successful and profitable your cleaning business is.

When you don’t have a financial plan, you’re blindly growing your business without any clue to the state of your finances.

The types of cleaning businesses that skip this step are the types of cleaning businesses that end up leaking profits and going bankrupt.

It’s a good idea to consult with your bookkeeper or accountant as you build out this section of your business plan.

A financial advisor is great because they can evaluate your finances early on and discover profit holes and financial concerns BEFORE they become a problem.

Even though it does cost a bit to speak with a financial advisor, it can determine the success or failure of your cleaning business.

I strongly suggest you speak with a reputable financial advisor ASAP before completing this business plan.

After all, your finances are important and can either make or break your business.

As a result, the margin for error is small and it’s important to get it done right the first time . Make sure you consistently consult with financial advisors.

Take a look at a few things your financial plan includes:

• Balance sheet
• Business ratios
• Start-up funding
• Personnel planning
• Expense budget
• Break-even analysis
• Projected cash flow
• Projected profit and loss

The items above in bold are the ones the bare bones items that you MUST include in your financial plan. The rest of the items are bonuses that you can use to take your business plan to the next level.

Even though not everything listed above will apply to you, it’s a great start in creating your first cleaning business plan.

Use Your Cleaning Business Plan to Build a Successful Cleaning Business

At last, you’re ready to get out there and begin building out your first cleaning business plan!

Even though a business plan can be time-consuming, this complete, step-by-step guide shows you a simplified process of how YOU can create the best business plan for you starting TODAY.

Now, you have all the tools and knowledge you need to use these steps to successfully grow your cleaning business and surpass your goals!

Related: How to Get Your Cleaning Clients to Pay You

Originally published Feb 11, 2021 5:41 PM

Tags: Business Operation , Featured Post

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How to Write a Cleaning Business Plan – Simple Guide

• By William Boyton
• Last Updated: September 3, 2022
• Cleaning Business

How to Write a Cleaning Business Plan - Simple Guide

Do you intend to establish your own cleaning company ? Would you want it to be a resounding success? If that's the case, you'll probably require a business strategy.

Many cleaning business owners believe that their firm does not require a plan, which is unfortunately erroneous. Not having a plan is like embarking on a journey without a map. Although you know where you want to go, you don't have the vision or the strategy to get there.

An effective cleaning business plan will assist you in defining, visualising, and achieving your objectives. Hence, it acts as a "roadmap" for your business.

Nevertheless, not everyone knows how to create an action-oriented business plan. If you're one, we've got you covered!

Below, we'll discuss how to write a purposeful business plan that'll help you corner the cleaning business market.

What You'll

Below you’ll find How To Write a Cleaning Business Plan

Why Write a Business Plan Anyway?

Writing an action-oriented commercial cleaning business plan, start-up summary, management summary.

Have you ever taken an exam without studying? If yes, I can guarantee you had an awful experience. Plus, you regret it to date. Starting a business without a plan isn't any different.

If you don't prepare ahead of time or craft a master plan, you'll not only be unsuccessful but also find yourself fighting an uphill battle within few months. You may experience financial loss or end up earning a bad reputation in the market, which will perhaps crush your business dreams.

Additionally, a survey conducted by the National Australia Bank found that one-third of Australian small businesses fail because they don't have a business plan.

Therefore, a business plan is crucial for your business. In fact, considering making one is already your step number one in achieving your business objectives.

Also, many successful business owners today believe that a business plan helps them "sleep well at night." So, here's how it may help you.

• It'll clear your thought process and ease your decision making
• You'll be able to create a marketing roadmap (defining target customers, market, and product promotion)
• You would catch up on the right talent at the right time.
• It'll define your business management goals and provide structure to your organisation.
• You'll better be able to summarise your skills and establish the finances you require.

Before discussing the business plan template for your cleaning business, know that the "Business plan" is not a one-and-done task. Instead, you'd need to update it time and again to compete with the market.

In other words, keep your plan "ever-green." As your business evolves, instead of sticking to the same old plan, update and re-establish it.

Your cleaning business' cover page may serve as the "first impression," and you perhaps don't want it to be a bad one.

So, how exactly can you design a pre-eminent-looking cover page, and what details do you need to cover? Let's unveil a few.

First, you should consider the information that needs to be included in your cleaning service cover page. Here are some things you are required to cover.

• Business name
• Contact information
• Company's address
• Your role in the commercial cleaning business

Second, you need to consider the design. Remember, "Less is more"; therefore, it's best to keep the cover page sleek and minimal. Bear in mind that you have your business plan executive summary to summarise the contents of your cleaning business.

Hence, no need to include unnecessary information on the cover page. Also, it shouldn't be too busy graphically either. Simply put, the design should not overcome the text. Otherwise, it'll be difficult to discern the information in the first go.

Furthermore, do not undervalue your business name; it functions as an identity for your company. Consider a unique and memorable company name .

Laslty, invest right in the logo. It serves as your cleaning business' visual identity. Consider hiring a professional who can design a simple yet powerful logo that looks distinctive.

Executive Summary

An executive summary is a synopsis of your entire business plan. As such, many business owners want it to be the last part and for the right reasons.

Crafting your executive summary at the end gives the most accurate picture of your business plan. As such, it provides an A+ description of the janitorial services you're offering. The Australian Government Support for Business also suggests writing the summary in the last.

Here's how you can keep it engaging.

Start With a BANG

Start with something that captures the reader's attention and tricks them into continuing reading. For example, include a relevant quote or thought-provoking stats regarding janitorial businesses.

Your audience should be encouraged to know more about your cleaning business. The reading should be thorough, yet it should not reveal everything.

Condense It Down

Your summary should highlight the best and most important features of your cleaning service, ditch unimportant details. Here's what you need to include.

Business Overview

• Target market
• Local competition
• Marketing strategy
• Financial highlights

Make It Stand Out

Make sure your summary has a clear and well-defined structure that is impactful. For instance, someone who has no prior knowledge of cleaning businesses should comprehend the primary elements of your company in the first read.

Keep It Positive

Keep the language optimistic. At this point, you do not need to discuss the potential challenges, risks, and stumbling blocks of your business. Instead, your tone should convey a sense of positivity.

Business Owner

In this section, you'll only discuss yourself. But what exactly will you include? Consider the following things.

Background/History: Do you have any prior experience in the cleaning business? Do you plan to train your employees? What skills are you bringing to your company?

Development: Do you plan to spread your business in the cleaning industry? What makes your strategies stand out among others in the business?

A business overview explains the operational structure of your cleaning company. Upon mere glance, your audience shall know how your company operates. This is particularly helpful for a person who seeks a job at your company.

Below are a few things you may discuss in your business overview.

What Cleaning Services Are You Offering?

Cleaning businesses aren't limited to laundry services. There is a lot you can offer like

• Residential cleaning
• Commercial cleaning
• Carpet cleaning
• Window cleaning
• Swimming pool cleaning
• Car washing
• Chimney washing
• Janitorial services

Nevertheless, make sure you opt for services that you're specialised in. Is it car washing, carpet cleaning, or pressure washing? Whatever it is, choose wisely. Make sure your employees are trained well, and you have prior knowledge about the cleaning services you're offering.

What Type of Cleaning Equipments Do You Use?

You're perhaps aware that each cleaning service has unique cleaning equipment . What cleaning equipment are you using for your company? (based on the services you're offering)

Mentioning your cleaning equipment is another way of earning the trust of your customers. They'd know that your brand doesn't operate on cheap cleaning products. Here are a few products you may want to invest in.

• Glass cleaner
• Disinfectant
• Washing liquid
• Laundry detergent
• Dishwasher chemicals
• Mildew cleaner

Pro Tip: Make sure you test the products. Perhaps you do not want to ruin the home appliances or clothes of your customers. It'll be a huge dip in the business.

How Will Weather Affect Your Business?

Will the weather conditions affect your business? They perhaps will. Make sure you include it in the overview of your cleaning business plan. Rainy and stormy weather conditions have a huge impact on the services you're offering.

Considering the market is another critical step of your service business plan.

Location: Where will you provide the cleaning services? Is it limited to a specific area or a broader region?

What motivates the customers to purchase: Are you offering special discounts on special events? Or Is it your prompt service, despite the inclement weather, that motivates the customers?

Why will they choose your company? What special thing do you offer your customers that other cleaning business owners don't? How is it distinctive?

Sales made to date: This one is optional, but it does leave a good impression on your customers. More sales (with positive reviews) are pretty impactful.

Marketing Strategy

It all comes down to this. No matter how good your business plan is, all of your hard work could be for naught if you don't have a killer marketing strategy. First, you need to consider the method. Is it flyers, Google Ads, or email marketing?

Whatever you choose, make sure you describe how you'll implement it. Also, discuss how it will be useful for the audience and why.

For instance, if you plan to start your business at a remote location with low to no internet connectivity, you should prefer cleaning flyers instead of Google Ads. Again, the key is to target the desired audience.

Also, plan your budget. How much will the marketing exactly cost you?

Market Competitors

Before you analyse your market competitors, you must carry out market research. For example, you can carry out online surveys or SWOT analyses to know about your customers' needs. Also, it'll give you an insight into the feasibility of your service.

Once you've done your research, you need to do a competitor analysis. You are required to assess their weaknesses and strengths.

Consider the following questions when identifying your rivals:

• Who's your local competition? (List 4-5 competitors)
• Consider their cleaning services
• Staff size (number of active employees)
• Reflect on the prices
• What services are they offering?
• How do the customers view your competitors?
• What are their strategies for business operation?
• How will their strategies impact your business?
• How much market share they own?
• Are they a big threat to you?

Examining these questions keenly will help you devise a smart business plan. It will also ensure that you do not face unexpected challenges in the near future.

Your start-up summary outlines the start-up costs of your assets and services. In other words, it calculates the value of your cleaning business.

Additionally, if you plan to apply for loans, this section, in particular, will determine whether you're eligible or not.

Start-Up Costs

To calculate legit overhead costs, you'd need to determine your start-up costs.

Once you've set up your cleaning charges, you can include your start-up costs in your overhead costs. You must pay attention to this section as skipping or doing it poorly can leave you with losses.

As you begin your start-up summary, make sure to cover all the start-up costs. It will help you know how much it'll cost you to buy the required equipment and chemicals to maintain your business.

Also, note that any products or equipment that you already own shall not be included in this section. This part is only meant to cover the things you need to buy.

Here are a few typical things that you might need.

• Supplies for the office
• Cleaning products and equipment
• Funds to pay the cleaning staff
• Marketing charges (ads, websites,, etc..)

Consider and include all these things and their expenses in your summary. It'll help you create an effective and forceful financial plan for your cleaning company.

Long and Short-term Assets

Your long-term and short-term business assets should also be included in the start-up summary.

So, any assets that you already own will help your business in the long run. For instance, the company vehicles pretty much lie in the category of long-term assets.

Alternatively, short-term assets are the equipment you already own and they would benefit your cleaning company for a short period of time. Here are a few short-term assets that you're likely to own already.

• Vacuum cleaners
• Floor brush

Although recording all your assets (especially the short-term) can be a challenging task, but it's a critical part of the procedure. Any assets that you already own give you an insight into what your company is worth.

Consequently, the more assets you have, the better your chances of making your firm successful.

Pricing Strategy

Want to go an extra mile with your cleaning business plan? You'll perhaps need to master the art of pricing the cleaning services .

This will earn you maximum profit and establish your business for the better. Consider the following things.

• Hourly rate
• Employee pay
• Software expense
• Equipment cost
• Overhead expense

Additionally, you also need to determine your profit goals. While this might be a bit time-consuming, it'll help you stand out among others in the cleaning business.

You cannot perhaps run your company if you do not consider this one. The management summary includes information about all the people "managing" your company.

You can discuss the people involved in developing your cleaning business and how the entire organisation is managed by them. Here's what needs to be included in the management summary.

The Team Leader

A team leader is responsible for selecting and organising the team. While we cannot ignore the role team as whole plays, one true leader serves as the company's backbone.

Here you'll need to include the details about your team leader. Try mentioning his background, credentials, and vision. Also, provide a summary on how the leader chose the management team (what things he considered?)

The Team Itself

In this section, you need to talk about your team. Here are a few things you may need to add up to the management summary.

• The academic background of your managers
• Any professional training or courses that they've had before Skills
• Their experience in the related field
• The accomplishments they have achieved while working for your company.
• A few personal details (age, city or place they live in currently, their notable activities)

Outside Professionals (if any)

Most businesses require an outside professional for help. Hence, your cleaning business staff doesn't only include the people who work for you.

So, if you're taking the help of an outside professional, do not forget to mention him in your business plan. This will demonstrate to investors that you have covered all aspects of your firm.

Costs and Profits

Your management summary should also include the labour costs and profits. Take a look at few things below.

• Your salary
• Employees needed to reach your objectives
• Labour costs

As a starter, you may not have enough clients to hire a cleaner, and that's perfectly alright. Remember that it does take a year or two for your business to establish, even if you devise a perfect business plan.

Once you have the clients and feel overworked, know that you need to hire a new cleaner.

Nevertheless, if you still can't afford to hire a new employee, you may want to revise your cleaning prices. Simply put, your cleaning prices might be low, so better raise them.

This is another challenging task for your business plan. If you do not consider this step, you may go bankrupt or leak the profits of your cleaning business.

Try to consult a financial advisor for this step, as he would guide you better regarding your business' failure or success.

Your finances can make or break your company; therefore, there is very little room for error. A little beyond it, and you'll lose all your money. Listed below are a few things that you may need to include in your financial plan.

• A financial statement
• Profit and loss projections
• Forecasted sales
• Personal management
• Analysis of the break-even point
• Funding for new businesses
• Cash flow forecast

While you may not need to include everything in your business plan, the items listed above can step up your business game.

Creating a Budget for Your Business

Your cleaning business, like all other businesses, requires careful budgeting. In fact, budgeting is the key part of every company. This will prevent you from overspending and getting into debt later. Also, you won't have to worry about paying your employees either.

Consider the following rules.

• Cut down on unnecessary costs. For instance, if you know a cheap yet effective cleaning brand, considering purchasing one.
• Track your sales, profits, and expenses every month.
• Consider hiring more cleaners and divide the paychecks instead of paying more to a single cleaner.
• Avoid spending the profit that your earn.
• When planning the budget, don't consider each penny that you have in your bank account.
• Talk to a professional.

What can I do to keep my cleaning business safe?

The cleaning business has its risks considering the hazardous chemicals found in the cleaning products. Catch on a few tips below to ensure safety for your cleaning company.

• Make new solutions each time.
• Avoid using harsh/strong chemicals
• Check for the expiry date of products
• Avoid mixing chemicals
• Keep your chemicals in sealed containers
• Maintain your electric appliances
• Train your employees well

To ensure that you get only positive reviews and do not run into unexpected accidents, make sure to keep the chemicals in good condition and a safe place. Also, ensure that your team is well-versed in how to handle each product.

Do I need to get any training before I start my cleaning business?

When launching a cleaning business, there are no legal requirements for specialised certifications or qualifications. You'll be able to manage your business with ease as you gain skills and relevant experience over time. Nevertheless, if you want to get qualified to see yourself perform better beforehand, you can consider taking a course.

How can I quickly attract cleaning clients?

Surprisingly, you can get clients insanely fast if you research right, market right, and show commitment to your cleaning business. Consider following the tips below.

• If you have a website, engage with your website visitors through live chat
• Keep your website content up-to-date
• Connect to your clients through social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, etc.)
• Offer coupons and discounts (It'll surely attract new customers)
• Last but not least, create an effective business plan (as discussed above)

If you have six hours to cut down a tree, spend the first four sharpening your axe. Simply put, do your homework for a successful business strategy before you step out in the market with your cleaning business.

It will clarify your objectives, allowing you to move forward with confidence. While it may appear to be a daunting task, our guide has broken down each step to help you take your company to the next level.

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Discover The Best Cleaning Companies In Your Local Area Find a skilled, reliable professional who is proud of the work they do.

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• Start a Cleaning Business Guide
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• List Your Business
• Verification Process

How to write an effective cleaning services business plan

Key takeaways

• Write your executive summary last to create the most compelling start
• Include an actionable business strategy and clear financial plan to prove your growth potential
• Frame your cleaning business in a positive light—especially for lenders and others outside your team—but always be realistic

Cleaning your house—sweeping, mopping, vacuuming—are chores everyone has to do but few people love. It’s no wonder thousands of homeowners and business owners across the country outsource their cleaning every year. With a strategic cleaning services business plan , you can start a profitable new business that makes the most of this demand.

Here are six key sections you need to include in your business plan template to help you successfully start your cleaning company .

1. Executive summary

Every cleaning services business plan starts with a compelling executive summary that offers a concise overview of its contents.

First impressions are important, and the executive summary is your first chance to introduce your business and explain your purpose. If you’re sharing your business plan outside of your team—perhaps to lenders or potential business partners—it’s crucial to make your summary as enticing as possible. If not, they may not even read the rest of your plan. 

Even if you’re only sharing your business plan within your management team, a strong start gives busy managers the key facts about your business. This allows them to understand and implement your purpose and values until they have time to sift through the more detailed parts of your business plan. An executive summary also helps excite your team about the business they’re helping to build.

A solid executive summary should include:

• A brief intro to your business
• Your mission statement , which is a short, powerful phrase that defines what you do (for example, “to provide healthier, safer workspaces for professionals”)
• What makes you stand out, as compared to other cleaning services
• An overview of your business strategy and financial plan

Keep your summary brief and put the most impressive facts forward. This section should be no more than one page long, so make sure to leave out unnecessary minor details or flowery language. You can go into much greater detail with the rest of your business plan , which should be at least 30 pages long .

Some business owners find it better to write the executive summary last, which allows you to easily narrow down the best points to highlight and saves time on later revisions.

2. Business description

Your business description section is the place to talk about the details of your company and what it does best. Start off with a paragraph or two that provides details about:

• Your company’s purpose: Are you a commercial cleaning company or a residential cleaning business ?
• Your company history: Are you a startup ? If not, how long have you been in business? What experience do you bring to the table? 
• Your location: Where do you operate? What area do you serve? Do you have office space?
• Your team: How many employees do you have? How many people work in the front office? How many are on your janitorial team?
• Your objectives: What specific, measurable goals do you have? You can update your cleaning business plan over time, but choose 1–3 goals you’ll focus on for the next three years, such as “increasing net profits by 110% and reaching 75% growth within our first year .”

Target market

No cleaning business can be the perfect fit for everyone. Be specific about the clientele you want to serve, including your ideal client’s demographics and interests. Explain the problems they’re facing that may lead them to search for a cleaning company .

As an example, a house cleaning service may specifically target upper-middle-class families with children and busy work lives. They need a cleaning company so they can have more time to relax and be with their kids.

If you’re not sure what types of clients you want to focus on yet, do some research on other cleaning businesses in your area. Who are their typical clients? Are there any noticeable gaps you could fill? Are there less saturated parts of your local cleaning industry you could enter?

Value proposition

Your value proposition explains why you’re uniquely suited to serve your target market . You can use this part of your cleaning services business plan to highlight your greatest strengths—for example, if your team members are cleaning industry veterans or if you use particularly high-quality or eco-friendly products.

Cleaning services

It’s crucial for you to describe each type of cleaning service you offer. If you offer carpet cleaning , you may give some brief insight into what carpet materials you can clean and what carpet cleaning plans you offer. If you offer window cleaning services , specify whether you work with high-rises or only single-story buildings.

3. Market analysis

As the owner of a cleaning business , you need to keep an eye on trends in your industry and immediate market. The market analysis section of your cleaning services business plan shows your investors and partners both your knowledge and ability to succeed by answering questions like:

• What is the current state of the cleaning industry ? Is demand or spending projected to grow? Who is seeking services right now?
• Who are your competitors? Who are their potential customers ?
• What opportunities and challenges will you face entering the market?
• Despite the challenges, what gives you a competitive advantage? For example, you may be entering a saturated market, but you could still be the only office cleaning service in your area focused on serving small businesses .

Answer these questions as accurately as possible and back them up with thorough research and data. While you should always aim to put your cleaning business in a positive light to impress potential lenders, partners, and others, your business plan also serves as a guiding document for your company so it should be realistic. Your management team will benefit from understanding the actual challenges they’re facing and how you plan to overcome them.

4. Business strategy

Growth is essential for every company. In this portion of your cleaning services business plan , you’ll flesh out exactly the actions you’ll take to achieve that growth.

A great business strategy includes two components:

Pricing strategy

How you price your cleaning services can have a significant impact on your sales and your ability to reach your target audience. If you’re a new business , it can also affect your ability to attract new customers.

If you’re trying to attract money-conscious clients, it makes sense to offer coupons and deals on your services when you’re first launching your business. Coupons and deals can get their attention quickly, allowing you to make them loyal to your brand before you charge full price—which may still be at or below typical prices in your market. 

On the other hand, if you want to position yourself as a luxury cleaning business, your potential customers might not be seeking competitive pricing and be willing to pay more for higher-quality janitorial services .

Learn about nine pricing strategies you can implement in your business.

Sales and marketing strategy

The other essential component of your cleaning business strategy is your sales and marketing strategy , which explains how you intend to grow your cleaning company through driving business and making sales. This is where you can explain:

• How you’ll generate leads
• How you’ll engage those leads and drive them toward a purchase
• How you’ll keep engaging and retaining customers over time

This section should include all of the strategies you’ll use to promote and market your cleaning business (with details), such as running social media ads, claiming your Yelp Business Page , sending emails, or using traditional marketing like direct mail or print ads.

Most business plans will also include a sales forecast here that explains the results you expect to see based on your marketing efforts.

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5. Management summary

The management summary of your cleaning services business plan details how your company will operate on a day-to-day basis. A strong management summary will prove your team’s competence as a whole. Below are some subsections to consider including in this part of your plan.

Business structure

This section is relatively simple—just explain who owns your company and what business structure you have ( sole proprietorship , LLC, S corporation, etc.). If you have any other stakeholders, such as employees with equity in your business, make sure to provide this information too.

Management structure

The people behind the wheel of your business are the ones who shape its direction the most. That’s why your business plan should provide a brief biography of each member of your leadership team, as well as their relevant experience. Highlight all of their education and credentials, along with any relevant career accomplishments. For example, if you have 10 years of experience as the operations manager of a national cleaning company, highlight that.

Operations plan

Create a visual organizational chart for readers ( these free templates can help), so potential investors can easily see the hierarchy structure within your company. How do your cleaning technicians receive assignments? Do you have a customer service representative taking calls? Expand on how your cleaning service functions in individual departments and as a complete unit.

6. Financial plan

Writing a business plan doesn’t have to cost any money unless you hire a business consultant to write it for you, which usually costs at least $1,500. However, as you’re writing your plan, you do need to be aware of the costs of running your business.

Use this section to describe what expenses you’ll face as a business. Separate any startup costs (like LLC formation costs ) from ongoing operational costs (like rent, payroll, and cleaning equipment expenses) to present a clear picture of your potential.

It’s critical to be highly accurate with your financial figures in your cleaning services business plan. Overestimating expenses is better than underestimating them so that you or your team aren’t surprised by any additional expenses later on. Do your research on average prices and expenses or even chat with other cleaning business owners if you’re not sure.

Using your sales forecast as reference, present your expected financials for the next three to five years. What will your profit and loss statements, cash flow statements, and other financial documents look like? Use charts and graphs with specific numbers whenever possible. You may want to work with an accountant on this step, as they can advise on what’s realistic.

Put your cleaning services business plan into action

Once your cleaning services business plan is complete, it’s time to start putting it into action. After launching your business, enact your business strategies. Your business plan should provide guidance for at least the next three years, though it’s perfectly normal to need to make adjustments to your objectives and strategies at any time. Get more tips on how to market your cleaning business to take your cleaning services to the next level.

The information above is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice and may not be suitable for your circumstances. Unless stated otherwise, references to third-party links, services, or products do not constitute endorsement by Yelp.

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Sample Janitorial and Commercial Cleaning Business Plan

Example commercial cleaning & janitorial service business plan.

This is a comprehensive tutorial on putting together a sample janitorial & commercial cleaning service business plan. This template can be used by cleaning services, janitorial service, commercial cleaning specialty and carpet cleaning businesses.

The goal was to write out a custom business plan using practical information and cover the main topics.

Some of the topics were too big and we had to use an introduction and then provide a link to the full resource. Every section has a link to view details of specific sections.

The plan divided into 6 sections:

• Business Description

Table of Contents

Commercial Cleaning- Janitorial, Carpet Cleaning, VCT, Tile, Office Cleaning

In the executive summary we list all the main sections and then give a brief description of the topic.

• Business Description – Next Door commercial cleaning service located in Toledo Ohio and was incorporated as an S Corp July 2020. We are currently in the start up stage with August 1st 2020 as our first day of business. We currently have 3 employees, one marketing person and 2 cleaning technicians. ND currently leases 5 000 sqr feet of office and warehouse space out of Toledo. Our current target market is employers with 50- 100 plus employees, primarily professional offices with cleanable office space of 10,000 sqr feet minimum.
• Services – Next Door will provide daily cleaning services to local businesses including an emphasis on specialty cleaning services such as : Carpet cleaning, hard tile cleaning, VCT waxing, furniture and general disinfecting. Most businesses don’t have the time to recruit, hire and especially training cleaning staff. It can take 3-6 months to train a good cleaner, this is time, money most businesses would rather devote to their specialty and their clients and not on maintaining a clean building.
• Marketing – The company is going to use Account Based Marketing, what this means is weighting our budget to best payoffs. The strategy is to shift our resources to the biggest payoff and not market to every business equally. Some businesses will spend $1200 year, while others might spend $50k. We want our marketing plan to reflect that . This can really hit home – if we apply 80% of our effort to just 20% of our leads (our Key Accounts) we will receive 80% of the  rewards.
• Management – As we grow especially in commercial services where its common for businesses to have 10, 20 and even hundreds of employees. We want to avoid this first slide of every employee, every customer, invoice, equipment question coming to you directly. This is guaranteed to fail eventually and create lots of stress in the process.
• Operations – Commercial cleaning employee manual or handbook, this can be used for janitorial, carpet cleaning and commercial cleaning services. The purpose of this sample is to share some topics and general information to include in an employee manual.
• Financial – The financial part is the final part of the business plan and here we will use charts, graphs and spreadsheets mainly to map out a long term successful future.

1.Business Plan- Summary

Next Door commercial cleaning service located in Toledo Ohio and was incorporated as an S Corp July 2020. We are currently in the start up stage with August 1 st 2020 as our first day of business. We currently have 3 employees, one marketing person and 2 cleaning technicians. ND currently leases 5 000 sqr feet of office and warehouse space out of Toledo.

Our current target market is employers with 50- 100 plus employees, primarily professional offices with cleanable office space of 10,000 sqr feet minimum.

Client sustainability is going to be the main variable to consider when deciding which business to market to. We want to be thinking of industries that will be in business for the next 20 years.

Medical, clinics, doctor, technology, professional services like architect, law, financial. We see these as basic services that will survive the ups and downs of the macro economy. The main threat long term is the use of remote workers but we feel this is still a long ways out in large numbers.

Next Door plans to be diverse offering daily building cleaning services and also high margin specialty services. We believe this mix will balance our revenue/profits out over long term macro changes.

1.1 Industry Overview

Currently the retail sector of the industry is a mess and very difficult to make work. As more people continue to buy online retail stores continue to close stores and significantly cut back on cleaning budgets.

Right this second hospitality is also in shambles with pandemic and government ordered shutdowns or limitations on capacity. This includes restaurants, hotels, leisure, etc. We believe there will be permanent damage to this sector and will stay away for the first couple years. Even when they do get back on their feet they will be keeping budgets tight.

Industrial businesses are hit and miss, really depends on the specific product they make. This will be a sector ND will keep in the marketing mix

Medical, including hospitals clinics and doctor services are always needed and with an aging population only will be needed more. The only risk long term is more doctors using online tools to speak with patients but they will always need to see patients face to face somewhat.

Professional services including technology, lawyers, engineers, management, etc is one of the safest in our opinion long term. These are services that can’t be replaced easily by future robots. These services require thinking and not just repeating tasks. The risk is remote staffing but we feel in large numbers there will always be enough office space needed.

Commercial Property Management is currently experiencing a lot of financial problems with 20-30% of tenants not paying leases. We will be avoiding this sector over the short term.

1.2 Company Description

Next Door is an S Corporation formed in the state of Georgia with 2 shareholders Jason & Lisa Jones. The state or city does not require any special permits or licenses. The company will provide building cleaning services to other businesses.

The office/shop is located in between 2 main thruways giving access to all areas throughout the metro area within 30 minutes. This was a major reason for choosing this location, it is centrally located. Also with commercial cleaning businesses we needed warehouse space to hold various equipment and store misc cleaning products.

 Office is currently leased for 5 years.

Most cleaning staff will report directly to the buildings they service and not come to the office often. The office will be staffed with marketing, management and human resources. Supervisors will share workspace in the office but mainly work in the field at client buildings.

Because of this we only needed 3000 sqr feet of office space and 2000 sqr ft of warehouse.

Mission Statement Our goal is to provide a clean and healthy environment for our customers through state of the art cleaning technology and a commitment to customer service Method Clean Biz

Safety is a priority for our customers and employees, while in your facility we follow a detailed health & safety program, This insures quality service, happy employees and competitive prices.

One of the things Next Door wants to be about is safety, this is as a value proposition for marketing but also be aggressive in training, supervising employees through monthly safety meetings. We feel this is a topic that will be important in the forseeable future.

Also the large employers we target are generally the ones that care about safety. Under 50 employees you will start to see the topic be less and less important.

1.3 History and Current Status

The company is a start a up and we don’t have any history to share. Jason and partner Lisa Jones started the company August 1 st 2020. Jason has worked in the commercial cleaning industry for 20 years as a former franchise owner, operations manager and salesperson for 2 different businesses in the industry.

Lisa is a former office manager and salesperson for a landscaping service for 7 years with an MBA from Georgia University.

Jason feels after 20 years in the industry with practical real life experience in various management roles that the industry is changing and one variable is to focus more on high margin project work to combine with lower margin cleaning contracts.

Lisa has an MBA and can add the business structure needed to grow and sustain long term growth.

Both have experience in sales specifically in the service industry and know how to market, sell contracts.

1.4 Goals and Objectives

The goal is to build the business to about $1.5 million in sales with an owner benefit of about 20% which equals about $300k in benefits, wages and profit for the shareholders. The timeline is 5 years with a slower rate in the first 2 years while they are building the core infrastructure and then dramatically scale that up in years 3-5 after the core is solid.

One of the experiences Jason has had is small businesses growing too fast too early and then crashing because they don’t have enough management in place. Often owners try to do everything themselves and burn out.

1.5 Critical Success Factors

The key to success in the cleaning industry is human resources, people. Recruiting, hiring, training and supervising staff and also developing management, supervision talent in house. We feel the best way to grow and sustain it long term is by developing our cleaners into supervisors.

Each lead person is creating the next lead person. Trying to hire supervisor’s from other cleaning businesses comes with a lot of challenges, some have bad habits to begin with that are difficult to change. Also run the risk they quit after a short time and have information about the internal workings of the business and client lists, training material etc.

Training and supervision will be key success factors. The challenge In the cleaning business is employees are working at the customers location, mainly unsupervised on an hour by hour basis. This is why hiring the right people in the first place is so critical and then getting them in a routine through training.

We will create a culture of everyone sticking together and supporting each other. With 90% of the workforce working remotely it becomes important we communicate with each other on a regular basis and trust each other.

There will be a big emphasis on communicating nightly through email, text, phone so employees are tuned in.

1.6 Company Ownership and Exit

The company has 2 shareholders with Lisa owning 40% of the shares and Jason 60%. Each has the option to buy the other out at an agreed upon price after 5 years. Shares cannot be sold to a third party unless agreed to by both.

Jason will hold the title of CEO and have direct authority over Operations dept. Lisa will have the title of President with administrative and Sales/Marketing directly reporting to her.

The long term plan is operate the business for approximately 15 years and sell to the general public splitting the sale price 60/40.

2. Services

Next Door will provide daily cleaning services to local businesses including an emphasis on specialty cleaning services such as : Carpet cleaning, hard tile cleaning, VCT waxing, furniture and general disinfecting.

Most businesses don’t have the time to recruit, hire and especially training cleaning staff. It can take 3-6 months to train a good cleaner, this is time, money most businesses would rather devote to their specialty and their clients and not on maintaining a clean building.

The 2 nd part is specialty work. Most businesses do not want to invest $10ks of dollars of capital into cleaning equipment that is used 1x month or maybe even only a couple times a year. Also the training of employees required, again for a task that might only need to be done a couple times a year.

Businesses would rather spend that capital on areas where there is a much bigger payoff.

2.1 Service Description

• Daily janitorial and office cleaning
• Carpet steam cleaning truckmount
• Carpet cleaning low moisture
• Hard surface steam cleaning including ceramic, porcelain and quarry tile
• VCT floor waxing, polishing
• Office furniture steam cleaning
• Disinfecting services

Daily Janitorial and office cleaning

The company feels the key to success in daily cleaning is one initial training and two communication. Often cleaning businesses are small and lack management talent, understaffed and overall desperate for bodies on any given day.

We feel the competitive advantage is in training cleaners not only the technical skills but also the importance of service skills. Often clients will like a cleaner and think they are the greatest in the world even if their technical skills are average.

NEXT DOOR wants to make this a key part of training cleaning staff. Some of the training elements will be uniform, appearance, communication with the client, body language, how to address complaints, safety equipment like wet floor signs, tone to use when speaking with clients, etc.

Training will take approximately 3-6 months with technical training only taking 30% of the time. The company feels not only will we have happier clients but cut down on employee turnover by reducing the stress. We feel by training employee’s customer service skills they will also feel like we care about them and want to see them succeed in life in general.

More than anything clients want to know you care and we want to focus on training staff to be proactive in relaying that message. Most clients understand people are human and will make technical mistakes. BUT it is unacceptable to not care about a client building or the staff that works in that building when they are paying you.

2 nd Key element is communication. Most cleaning employees work remotely and does not interact with management on a daily basis. This more than anything can lead to cleaners feeling like nobody is watching and worse nobody cares.

The company is going to be very aggressive in creating a communication system so we interact with every cleaner, every day in some way. Either by a supervisor stopping by, calling, texting or maybe even email in some situations. Our thinking currently is daily text alerts mixed with phone calls.

Carpet Steam Cleaning- Truckmount

The company will invest almost $40k in a van based carpet cleaning system. This system will allow us to steam clean carpets at a very high level of quality and production. With advanced systems we can have a 10 on quality and a 10 in production. This system can also clean up to 300 feet away from the van, targeting large employers we will need to work at great distances on a regular basis.

Carpet Cleaning- Low Moisture

An emerging and often overlooked service is using low moisture technology to clean carpets. With this service the company can sell high margin services at an affordable price. Often in larger buildings access can be a problem or they need the area turned over quickly, low moisture provides a quick 30 minute dry time.

Hard Tile Steam Cleaning

Using the van based carpet cleaning system we can quickly change tools and offer steam cleaning of various tools. This is another high margin service to offer and it makes the daily office cleaning a lot easier and quicker.

Often these areas are the toughest areas to clean: restrooms, lobbies, cafeterias and also the areas that receive the most complaints.

The long term goal is create a route just cleaning hard tile surfaces, the benefit is it’s a high margin service and also can help get our foot in the door to sell big monthly cleaning contracts.

VCT Floor waxing, Polishing

VCT flooring is usually located in high traffic areas like hallways, cafeterias and restrooms. We have found the overall appearance of a building can be greatly impacted by having shiny, clean looking floors. This can be accomplished by stripping old finish off and applying new or high speed polishing.

How clients “feel” about a cleaning service overall can come from how well a cafeteria floor looks. This is medium profit margin service in most cases because how labor intensive it can be. But can help greatly in the overall satisfaction of clients.

Office Furniture Cleaning

Office furniture is another high margin but niche service. The company will use the van based truckmount system in most cases to keep production high. This can include partitions, chairs and small sofas

2.2 Competitive Advantage

In section 2.1 we covered what we believe our competitive advantage is for janitorial and daily office cleaning.

Specialty cleaning services: carpet cleaning, upholstery, office furniture, VCT, hard surface cleaning has some of the same focus but there are two key points to make.

Two things we have found true with specialty services is most janitorial businesses are not very good at them. The main reasons are lack of training in staff and equipment. We believe in buying the highest production equipment available and spending considerable resources in training of technicians.

These two variables can give NEXT DOOR a significant advantage over competitors and get our foot in the door for janitorial services at client buildings of competitors.

#1 Using van based truckmounted system and also current low moisture carpet cleaning systems.

#2 Using dedicated technicians that have been through specialized training at certified organizations like the IICRC.

Often janitorial services will send general cleaners out to complete these tasks with limited training and modest equipment.

3. Marketing Plan

Marketing is a huge subject in itself, we already have a large section with a specific marketing plan. In this section we will give a brief overview and then the link to the full marketing plan.

3.1 Marketing Research

Toldeo Ohio metro area is the designated service area. Toledo has a total of 18,000 businesses but we need to narrow that number down to a manageable number.

Key Accounts – businesses with 100+ employees = 328

Businesses with 50 + = 659

Key Account total = 987 businesses

These represent where we will dedicate 75% of our budget and resources

Growth Accounts- businesses with 10 -50 employees = 4300

These are growing businesses that we will dedicate roughly 15% of our budget too. Remember some of them will grow to 50 employees over the long term.

Advertising – misc. advertsing will receive the smallest piece of the pie of 10%. This will include google, adwords, social media etc. The reason is we can’t control always who calls from a big advertising campaign, some will be big and most small but its still an opportunity for PR/Marketing and fill in gaps. 

3.2 Competitors- High Barriers To Entry

Part of our marketing strategy is coming up with areas that are difficult for our competitors to easily repeat. If there is one thing we know about human behavior its if something is easy everyone will do it. So we want to look for tactics that are very difficult for our competitors to do.

Difficult to do: targeting businesses with 50 plus employees is a key part of this strategy. Most commercial cleaning services will find it very hard to do consistently over long periods of time. One of the biggest reasons is patience, larger jobs take a lot more patience and lets face it most cleaners are not very patient and our current society is built for on demand.

EASY To Do:

• Lead generation service
• Google search adwords
• Facebook marketing

HARD To Do:

• Telemarketing
• Door to Door sales
• Highly Targeted Google display ads
• Direct Mail

3.3 Sales Plan

6 Simple Steps To Creating a Commercial Cleaning Sales Plan

How to create a commercial cleaning sales plan, this can apply to commercial cleaning, carpet cleaning and janitorial services. We are going to cover 6 steps to creating a dedicated sales plan we can follow every day, month and year. A sales plan is meant to be a living document that as we learn will be updated and improved over time.

Step 1 What is our objective or financial goal?

Step 2 What Resources are available, what is your commitment level?

Step 3 Targeting, who are the types of businesses you will focus on?

Step 4 Services, what services will you focus on?

Step 5 Activity Log- What physical actions will you take on a daily/weekly/monthly rotation

Step 6 Training- What Training do you need to accomplish your goals?

3.4 Pricing Strategy

Pricing Strategy- After deciding on a goal we then can create a pricing strategy.

Cost Plus – we figure our costs for a job and then add our gross margin. Our gross margin goals will be as follows

• Specialty cleaning  jobs including carpet, tile, furniture and VCT- gross profit- 70%
• Small cleaning jobs less than $10k per year- 60% profit
• Medium jobs- $10k – $30k per year – 50% profit
• Large Jobs- $30k plus- 40% profit

The reason is smaller jobs require much more office support in fill in staff, supervision, training, supplies, etc.

Larger jobs are self contained with a team leader working on site at a client building to provide all those tasks.Supervisor will inspect 1x week.

Square foot – sqr ft or unit pricing is best when you have experience with a specific service and type of client. Sqr ft pricing will be used using the above gross profit goals.

Time and Materials – or another way to use this is hours X hourly rate. This is often used when you are unfamiliar with a service or type of client building. This strategy will be used when we are unfamiliar with a job, misc tasks, obscure requests and 1x jobs.

3.5 Sales Strategy

Strategy section: objective is increase cashflow, measure by percentage increase, goal is 30%. How do I increase our cash flow? How does this change our sales strategy?

 In commercial cleaning, carpet cleaning or janitorial cashflow is extremely important, maybe the most important challenge we face. What happens whenever taking on a new project is we have costs of labor, chemicals, equipment, gas but might not see a payment for 30, 60 or even 90 days. First is the data or analytical part, we currently are at 22% and in previous months hovered around 24% but now need to greatly increase that.

How to: look at the current client list, is there a pattern with accounts that fall below our goals? Reduce invoice terms, is there a pattern of industries, sizes or areas that are paying in terms greater than 30 days net? Change our terms to 15 days net for all one time jobs, these are usually specialty cleaning services carpet cleaning, windows, small construction projects.

Over time I think most of us find certain industries have industry logic built in that it is commonplace to pay in certain invoice cycles. This is fine but something we have to think about as we grow.

For example you are currently cleaning a lot of property managers and they are all paying 60 days plus, that might be a situation where its time to stop marketing to that group and find a new target

3.6 Sales Forecasting

This is a quick video on using forecasting to determine when it is time to hire a new technician. Often us contractors wait until the last minute to hire new staff and that usually doesnt work out too well. Regardless if hiring a part, full time or casual employee its always best to plant the seed and start the process months before we actually need someone.

The easiest way is to create a table in word or spreadsheet in excel or just take a piece of paper and a pencil. This is an example of a sales forecasting table separate by 3 columns. Customer, estimate amount and probability or forecast.

In the first column list name of the customer or bid, examples medical building, restaurant and property management account. Second column list the gross amount of the bid, in this example we put $1000 dollars for medical, $12000 restaurant and $3000 for property management company. The total comes to $16,000.

To forecast list low,medium and high of 25 percent%, 50 percent % and 75 percent %. Now this is subjective, sometimes we win low % bids and lose bids we think we have nailed down, it happens.

At this point its time to start placing ads, time to collect and read resumes, interview the best applicants. You want to have all this pre-planned and set up 2 weeks, 2months and 4 months in advanced so when the work does come in you have a list of contacts to put in place.

4. Management

4.1 company organization.

As we grow especially in commercial services where its common for businesses to have 10, 20 and even hundreds of employees. We want to avoid this first slide of every employee, every customer, invoice, equipment question coming to you directly. This is guaranteed to fail eventually and create lots of stress in the process.

This second example is more of a traditional organizational chart for a commercial cleaning service, janitorial service. In this slide we show 3 departments: operations, sales and administration. You can see a big difference right away in this structure, instead of every employee reporting directly to you, now they report to the managers and the manager’s report to you.

The Operations Manager will have all the supervisors, team leaders, technicians, specialty cleaners and cleaning staff reporting directly to them.

Sales Person might have 1-2 assistants working for them setting appointments, sending out direct mail, emails etc. Often these can be part-time staff that either work inside sales setting appointments over the phone or outside sales/networker going door to door and attending events.

Office Manager or Administration might have the bookkeeper and 1-2 office assistants helping with employee interviews, HR, fact checking resumes etc. Note, some owners prefer to have the bookkeeper/financial staff next to them and report directly to owner and not under admin.

4.2 Professional Support

The company needs to make a list of various vendors, suppliers and professional services. Below is a starting list of vendors will need to hire.

• Accountant/ Tax
• Financial advisor
• Equipment supplier
• Day to day cleaning solutions supplier Main
• Back up supplier
• Payroll service
• Credit card
• Credit card processing
• Website hosting
• Digital marketing
• Design marketing
• CRM provider
• Technical consultants – IICRC or ISSA
• Business specialty consultants
• Phone service
• Van mechanic- tires, inspection, etc.

4.3 Management Structure

In this section we will show some examples of organizational charts to structure a commercial cleaning, janitorial or commercial carpet cleaning service.

5. Operations

5.1 employee handbook.

Commercial cleaning employee manual or handbook, this can be used for janitorial, carpet cleaning and commercial cleaning services. The purpose of this sample is to share some topics and general information to include in an employee manual.

** Note this is not a legal document and any employee manual should be customized and verified with a local consultant or lawyer based on your specific state laws.

Welcome to Commercial Cleaning Service!

On behalf of our big family of fellow associates, owner, vendors, customers and management we want to welcome you to our team.

At Commercial Cleaning Service, we believe that every associate contributes to our growth and are also rewarded equally. We want every team member to take pride in driving our van, wearing our uniform and serving our customers to the best of your ability.

This employee handbook is a simple way to describe the expectations of our team members and outline the policy and procedures we follow to provide the absolute best service experience possible.

All associates are expected to become familiar with the contents of this handbook in the first 30 days of employment and share all questions they may have with management.

Topics to be covered:

• Timekeeping
• Direct deposit
• Termination
• Phone usage
• Equipment usage

5.2 Recruiting, Hiring and Interview Process

How to hire employees for your commercial cleaning service. The goal is to create a flow chart to map out the hiring process, I find it very helpful to be able to see processes and map out the different steps involved. I feel it helps a lot in understanding and the actual follow through.

The 10 Essential Steps To Hiring Amazing Employees For Your Commercial Cleaning Service

• Job opening

Job Description

• Create Database

Find Recruits

Phone Interview

Onsite Interview

The first step is determining we have a job opening or several job openings and writing a job description. A job description has the basic tasks involved, hours/days, full time or part time, any certification or education requirements.

Identify the type of person we would like to hire. Some positions require a detail minded person while others need a lot of physical labor. It is our job to find good matches of the recruits with the position.

Before running ads we want to create a database to hold all of this information and make it easily searchable in the future. Often we will have several qualified candidates but only one opening currently and want to find the other candidates later on.

Run Advertisements

Decide where we will run advertisements on, for how long and what is our total budget. The best place to start is referrals of course by sharing on social media and through email blasts of our current database and reaching out to former candidates. Some options for advertising are indeed, monster, local newspaper.

Go over the resumes and score the best qualified candidates for contact.

I personally like the phone interview first to reach out and get a feel for the candidate, ask a couple basic questions and make sure they understand the job description.

This will depend on the position of course, next an onsite face to face interview. Also can meet in a coffee shop, some people prefer a relaxed setting so candidates are more comfortable.

Go over all the information and make a final decision.

This is where we have the new employee fill out required paperwork, insurance, sign off on employee manual’s and layout the next steps.

5.3 Safety Meetings

The goal of this template is to create a 12 step safety manual with meetings on a monthly basis covering different topics. Cleaning businesses encounter several situations at clients building’s, company shop, office and driving to commercial carpet & tile cleaning jobs.

12 Month Health & Safety

Month 1 Introduction

The purpose of this health and safety program is to establish company standards for working in client buildings, driving in company vehicles and working in company office/shop.

The company has identified 12 key topics to be covered in monthly safety meetings that all employees must attend. It is intended that this manual is a “living” document to be upgraded and added to with input from employees, owners and managers.

• Introduction
• PPE- personal protective wear
• Electrical Cords
• Work area signs, tape
• Vans/Equipment maintenance
• SDS Sheets, Chemical storage, mixing

5.4 Employee Compensation

Often, we try to reward employee behavior through bonus programs and focus on one specific performance at a time, for example an attendance bonus.

In this example instead, we are going to create a Balanced Scorecard using a point system. The difference is we will have 5 different performances instead of focusing on only one.

The points vary from poor to satisfactory to excellent and at the end of the review we will add the points up give a financial bonus based on the number of points.

The five variables we will be using in this bonus evaluation are

• Inspections
• Customer Survey or Review

The Top 5 Performance Evaluations

Attendance- Attendance will depend on if the employee is full time or part time. I think we definitely have to weight this somehow. We could deduct a point for every day missed but honestly anymore than 1 is too many and even 1 is not good.

On Time- I understand some cleaning jobs when they clock in doesn’t matter a lot but for project work like carpet cleaning, floor work, etc. often clients are waiting for us, so it is critical.

Inspections- This can be a weekly or monthly inspection you would normally have. To make this easier I would just use a 5 point system or grades A,B, C,D,F and then transfer that to the scorecard.

Equipment- will depend on the type of service, for office cleaners we will be mainly looking at floor machines and maintaining vacuums.

For project work though like carpet cleaning, tile cleaning the equipment is critical and cost upwards of $50k plus. In that case I would weight it much higher than an office cleaning position.

Customer Survey or Review- This will break down between residential and commercial cleaning services. With residential nowadays reviews have become very important in digital advertising.

5.5 Inventory

The company will use an inventory control system made with excel spreadsheets managed by the operations manager. Inventory will be made on a 30 day cycle and 14 day cycle when cashflow is tighter in the first 2 years.

• On site inventory will be delivered and maintained by the building supervisor on a weekly basis. Cleaners and team leaders are to submit to supervisor supply needs and supervisor hands in worksheet to operations manager.
• Specialty Cleaners working out of shop will complete an inventory checklist daily and hand in to operations manager.

5.6 Credit Policy and Cashflow

The company will extend terms to clients following the sales strategy explained above.

Standard 30 days net

Exceptions 60 day net

60 day plus only authorized by CEO

Specialty cleaning jobs recurring 15-30 day net

1x Specialty jobs due on receipt to 7 day net maximum.

The company will follow this policy regarding tracking accounts receivable and payable

Complete an aging receivable at least monthly to track how much of your money is tied up in credit given to customers, and to alert you to slow payment problems.

Also tracking accounts payable using the same format.

Current- 30 day- 60 Day- 60 day + – Charge offs

6. Financials

The financial part is the final part of the business plan and here we will use charts, graphs and spreadsheets mainly to map out a long term successful future.

The main topics we will cover are:

• Start up funds and 1 st year
• Income statement
• Break even point
• Balance Sheet

6.1 Start up and 1st Year

In this section we think about all the money we will need to start up including 1x cost and monthly cost.

GENERAL/ADMIN                           

BANKING FEES  $200.00                $15.00

CONSULT FEES   $500.00                $95.00

OFFICE SUPPLIES              $200.00                $60.00

LICENSE FEES      $150.00                $15.00

BUSINESS INSURANCE   $500.00                $380.00

TOTAL GENERAL/ADMIN              $1,550.00            $565.00

SUBSCRIPTIONS                $237.00

TOTAL OPERATIONS       $-            $237.00

MARKETING/PROMO                    

ADVERTISING    $1,500.00            $1,800.00

PROMO $300.00                $50.00

TOTAL MARKETING/PROMO       $1,800.00            $1,850.00

WEBSITE/MOBILE APP                  

DOMAIN              $1,000.00            $30.00

HOSTING             $-            $30.00

TOTAL WEBSITE/MOBILE APP     $1,000.00            $60.00

RENT/LEASE       $-            $750.00

PHONE $-            $137.00

ELECTRIC              $-            $237.00

GAS       $-            $150.00

WATER/SEWAGE              $-            $50.00

WASTE REMOVAL            $-            $40.00

REPAIR/MAINTENANCE $-            $200.00

SECURITY             $-            $25.00

Then Estimate what the first year will look like.

TOTAL START-UP COSTS $4,850.00

TOTAL RECURRING MONTHLY COSTS               (1 YR = 12 MO)        $87,612.00

TOTAL BUSINESS EXPENSES         $92,462.00

ESTIMATED FIRST-YEAR BUSINESS INCOME          $112,000.00

BUSINESS FIRST-YEAR PROFIT/LOSS         $19,538.00

AVAILABLE CASH/ SAVINGS/OTHER          $30,000.00

BUSINESS BALANCE        $49,538.00

6.2 Break Even Point

In this section we look at how much revenue we need to generate to break even every month. This can be tricky sometimes for beginners, we want to calculate using a fixed monthly cost like rent and also a percentage of cogs or cost of service.

Fixed Cost            $4,300

Cost of goods sold            $3,000

Number of Jobs 1

Average Job Price             $9,300

6.3 Income Statement

Our income statement is a profit and loss statement, looking at net income and then minus taxes to see net, net.

6.4 Cashflow

Cashflow statement is one of the most important financial metrics to follow for a commercial cleaning business. Just because we have invoiced a client doesn’t mean we physically have the money in the bank.

Often what can happen is cleaning services fall behind and then have to start borrowing large sums of money to stay alive each month.

6.5 Balance Sheet

Lastly is the balance sheet what do we own and what do we owe. Including intangible assets like intellectual property which is difficult to judge so be very conservative.

Cleaning Company Business Plan Sample

This business plan sample will provide insight on how to establish a cleaning company in today’s digital reality.   If coordinated properly you can hire cleaning contractors to compete for work, and make a profit without ever leaving your office!  Read this business plan example carefully, and ask yourself how YOU can create a cleaning company that thrives in this space.

Are you wondering how to create a cleaning company? Starting a cleaning business can be a lucrative and rewarding venture, but it requires careful planning and a well-written business plan. In this blog post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about creating a successful business plan for your cleaning company or service.

Let’s start with the basics. A business plan is a written document that outlines the goals, strategies, and financial projections for your business. It’s an essential tool for securing funding, attracting investors, and guiding your business’s growth and development.

When writing your cleaning business plan, there are several key components you should include:

Executive Summary: This provides an overview of your business and should include a brief description of your cleaning services, target market, and financial goals.

Company Description: In this section, you’ll provide a detailed description of your cleaning business, including your cleaning company mission statement, legal structure, and ownership information. When crafting your cleaning business mission statement, be sure to focus on your core values and the unique aspects of your cleaning services. Your mission statement should convey your commitment to providing high-quality cleaning services to your customers while also highlighting your company’s overall goals and objectives.

Market Analysis: This includes information about your target market, competition, and industry trends.

Service or Product Line: Here, you’ll describe the cleaning services you offer, including pricing, packages, and any add-ons or specialized services.

Marketing and Sales: This section outlines your marketing and sales strategies, including advertising, promotions, and customer retention plans.

Financial Projections: This includes financial projections, such as revenue and expense forecasts, cash flow statements, and break-even analysis.

Remember to review and revise your cleaning business plan regularly to reflect any changes in the market or your business. Your plan should be a living document that guides your business decisions and helps you stay on track toward achieving your goals.

In addition to writing a strong business plan, there are several other steps you can take to ensure the success of your cleaning business:

Define your niche: Consider specializing in a particular type of cleaning service, such as commercial, residential, or window cleaning. This can help you stand out from your competition and attract more clients.

Determine your pricing: Research your competition and set your prices competitively. Consider offering discounts or promotions to attract new clients.

Invest in quality equipment and supplies: High-quality equipment and cleaning supplies can help you provide better service and increase client satisfaction.

Develop a strong online presence: Create a website for your small business cleaning service and social media accounts to promote your business and the type of cleaning services available, and connect with potential clients.

Hire the right staff: Hire reliable, trustworthy employees and invest in their training and development to ensure the quality of your cleaning services.

There are many successful cleaning businesses, from small residential cleaning companies to large commercial cleaning services. Each successful cleaning business has a unique business plan tailored to their services and target market.

One example of a successful cleaning business is My Clean Company. This company provides commercial and residential cleaning services, including carpet cleaning, window cleaning, and janitorial services. My Clean Company’s business plan includes a detailed analysis of their target market, a breakdown of their services and pricing, marketing strategies, and financial projections.

Another example of a successful cleaning business is Major Cleaning Services. This company specializes in commercial cleaning, including office cleaning, medical facility cleaning, and industrial cleaning. Major Cleaning Services’ business plan includes an analysis of their target market, a list of their services and pricing, marketing strategies, and financial projections.

Starting a cleaning business, whether it’s a housekeeping business, home cleaning, commercial cleaning, or janitorial service business, can be challenging. However, creating a well-crafted business plan can help increase your chances of success. A cleaning business plan will help you identify your target audience, services, pricing strategies, marketing strategies, and financial projections. By developing a comprehensive business plan, you can launch and grow a successful cleaning business that provides valuable services to your customers.

1.0 Executive Summary

“Baseline Cleaning Inc.” operating as “Baseline Cleaning” (the company) was incorporated in the Province of Nova Scotia on January 10, 2020 by Mike Walton.  The company provides both residential and commercial cleaning services for customers in the Halifax metropolitan region. The business will be based on an online cleaning business model developed by “Cleanco Training Company” This model allows for easy and quick business scaling while building the business remotely with the help of virtual assistants and subcontracted cleaners, rather than part- or full-time staff.

A unique factor of this business model is that there will be no employees. All cleaners will be hired as subcontractors, and any admin/sales work will be done by the owner Mr. Mike Walton. As the business grows and systems and automation are established, the owner plans to minimize his day-to-day responsibilities in the business.

Using Cleanco Training Company’s online cleaning business model, they plan to launch within a 28-day window and be profitable after 1-2 months. By their sixth month of business, projections indicate that the company will earn at least $10,000 in revenue each month. They’ll build on the business model with their own online marketing initiatives through paid Google ads and maintain an active social media presence.

Now is the ideal time to start a business in this industry. The cleaning industry took a significant loss in 2020 due to the pandemic. In 2021 we’re starting to see residents’ disposable income increase, as is their budget for professional cleaning for their homes. As businesses begin to recover from pandemic-related losses, their budgets for outsourced cleaning services will be restored, opening a vast potential market for Baseline Cleaning   to tap into.

The company is seeking a $40,000 bank loan from SBA through their Startup Program to cover the costs of launching this business.

2.0 Business Overview

Baseline Cleaning provides residential and commercial cleaning services for customers in the Halifax area and will be structured based on the proven online cleaning business model developed by Cleanco Training Company. Establishing Baseline Cleaning business on this model will enable faster growth and profit potential.

Baseline Cleaning will be an online business with no brick-and-mortar locations. All work will be done by the owner Mr. Mike Walton, contracted virtual assistants, and subcontracted cleaning staff.

All subcontracted cleaners will have to meet strict requirements and supply their own equipment and eco-friendly cleaning products. Baseline Cleaning will keep a portion of the profits from every cleaning job. At launch, bookings and admin will be handled by Mr. Walton, but as the business grows, the Company will implement systems and automation so he can minimize his day-to-day responsibilities in the business.

At launch, the business will operate six days a week from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. As demand increases, the company expects to be running 24/7 cleaning availability within the first year.

2.1 Industry Overview

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, cleaning and sanitization have been top of mind for many families and businesses. Even after the pandemic is declared over, the need for professional cleaning of residences and businesses will continue to be a greatly in-demand service across Canada and in the Halifax area.

In Canada, the janitorial services industry is a $5.6 billion industry with over 30,000 cleaning businesses today. Even with the decline in 2020 revenues, due to the pandemic, the sector is poised for five years of rapid growth.

These new businesses will benefit from low barriers to entry ─ the capital investment to start a cleaning business is much lower than in other industries as you only need basic cleaning supplies to get started at a small scale.

2.2 Mission & Vision Statement

Mission: We believe all people deserve to live in healthy homes and workplaces, so we are on a mission to bring eco-friendly cleaning services into their homes, offices, and commercial spaces. No one should ever worry about the cleanliness of their homes or workplaces.

Vision: We will be the premier 24-7 professional cleaning business of choice in the Halifax Metropolitan Region, providing high-quality cleaning services for homes and businesses in every community we serve. Our clients can go about their day while our team of trained professionals ensures their homes and workplaces are immaculate.

2.3 Goals and Objectives

Baseline Cleaning has the following goals and objectives:

• To earn at least $10,000 of revenue by month six of operation
• See 20-40% annual growth between years one and two
• See 10-40% annual growth between years two and three
• To consistently earn 10-30% EBITDA in the business

The company’s five-year goals include:

• Legal Structure: The company is an incorporated business to reduce personal liability of Founder and President, Mike Walton (100 shares)
• Successful implementation of business operations automation wherever possible
• Over 50 loyal cleaners hired as subcontractors
• Over $50,000 monthly gross revenue

2.4 Key Success Factors

Baseline Cleaning is building its business through the coaching and support from Cleanco Training Company and their proven Online Cleaning Business Opportunity program. This program provides entrepreneurs with a 28-day program to launch their online cleaning business, including business research, branding, development, and training/support.

In addition, success of the business will be supported by:

• Raising $40,000 in start-up capital: This capital is required to purchase the business start-up coaching package from Cleanco Training Company and will be used towards business set-up, marketing, logo, website development, and other necessary start-up expenses.
• Hiring professional, trustworthy cleaning staff: Subcontractors will be acting on behalf of Outlier Clean. Their professionalism, knowledge, and skills as cleaners will reflect on the business’s reputation in the market.
• A high volume/low margin strategy : Since much of the competition is price-based, the company needs high customer volumes to accrue more profit while remaining competitive.
• Accessing niche markets : If niche markets emerge, the company can offer specialized services to these markets to increase profits while minimizing competition.

2.5 Staffing

All Baseline Cleaning staff will be subcontractors. During the first year of operations, the Company plans to hire 20 cleaning subcontractors working an average of 25 hours per week each. As demand increases, the company will add additional cleaners. In year two, Baseline Cleaning plans to subcontract up to 50 cleaners, and in year three, the company will work with 75-100 cleaning subcontractors.

All subcontractors will receive basic training from the Company. In addition, they are required to:

• have previous cleaning experiences (business or corporate cleaning preferred)
• have access to a reliable vehicle for transportation to and from customer locations
• be available at least 25 hours a week
• have the capital to invest in their own cleaning supplies and equipment if necessary (can be negotiated).

In the future, virtual assistants, marketing, and sales team members may be added to the company. This will be dependent on customer demand and what business operations can be automated.

2.6 Management Team   

At this time, the company will only have one management team member.

Mike Walton

Have Questions? Looking To Get Started?

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3.0 Products & Services

Baseline Cleaning will provide cleaning services for private residences and businesses in the Nova Scotia area. The company will offer three primary cleaning services:

Service #1: One-time Cleaning

This service is for clients who just need a one-time or short-term cleaning service. This service will be popular with realtors, for move-in/move-out cleans, and anyone who needs a small cleaning job completed. $120 + GST

Services #2: Special Cleaning

The company will offer special cleaning packages and services for those with unique or specific cleaning needs. These services may include disinfecting after COVID-19 exposures, special event cleans, or any deep cleaning needs customers may have. $200 + GST

Service #3: Recurring Cleaning

The company will be promoting regular, recurring cleaning services for consistent predictable and cash flow. Based on the customer’s needs, routine cleaning services can be booked weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. This service will be offered at a slightly lower hourly rate than a one-time clean. $150 + GST

Cleaning Pricing Packages

Depending on the cleaning service ordered, cleaning packages will range from $75-100 per hour. Discounts will be given for repeat customers and recurring bookings.

The Sales Process

Customers can book one-time, special, and recurring cleaning services via phone, email, or the company website. Once the customer places a booking, they will receive an email notification informing them of our time of arrival. They will leave their home from the time that the cleaning starts until our time of completion.  Once the clean has been completed they will receive a notification. A subcontracted cleaner will be assigned to the job based on their areas of expertise and location. Once finished, customers will receive a call or email that will ask for their review and a link to book another cleaning job.

4.0 Operations

The company will have no fixed, brick-and-mortar location and will be run as an online business. At inception, the company will be managed by Mr. Walton from his home-based office at:

250 Talon Dr, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Z2L 5P2

4.1 Equipment

The company will not maintain any equipment or supplies. Each subcontractor will be required to provide their own cleaning supplies and equipment.

4.2 Inventory

The company will not keep an inventory of products or cleaning equipment. Baseline Cleaning will have a list of preferred products for subcontractors to reference. When requested, the company can purchase recommended supplies on behalf of a subcontractor. The company will not store any products/equipment on-site, and the subcontractor will reimburse the company for any such purchases.

Let's Get Started!

5.0 market analysis.

Janitorial services in Canada is a nearly $6 billion industry with over 30,000 businesses in Canada that employ over 125,000 staff. Companies in janitorial services serve four main types of clients:

• Commercial Cleaning (71.4%)
• Residential Cleaning (8.4%)
• Damage restoration and cleaning (4.6%)
• Other bundles commercial services (15.6%)

Growth in this industry is linked to several key trends :

• The competition between “green cleaning” operators
• The expected increase of new entrants into this market in the next five years
• The ageing Canadian population will increase the need for residential cleaning services
• General Canadian business growth to increase floor space available for cleaning

After a year of uncertainty in the professional cleaning industry, the sector is finally starting to seek an uptick in business.

A large percentage of Baseline Cleaning customers will be corporations and businesses. As these businesses recover from COVID-19 restrictions, they’ll have more budget to outsource cleaning services. Consumers will also be expecting businesses to maintain clean health and safety protocols going forward, so companies will need to invest budget into cleaning and sanitization.

The cleaning industry is also closely tied to the success of several vertical markets :

• As the construction industry continues to boom, the potential client base for cleaning companies will grow with it.
• The increased need for healthcare services in the future will require special cleaning services to support them.
• As customers return to public transit and transportation again, they will demand stricter cleaning protocols.
• As manufacturers and retail businesses emerge, so too will their need for cleaning services.

Market Drivers

The industry depends on the success and growth of other businesses and the available disposable income of families. In Canada, there are four main market drivers of the janitorial services industry:

• Number of Businesses : There are currently over 1.3 million businesses in Canada (with an annualized growth rate of +0.2%, 2016-21). As the number of companies grows, the need for cleaning and janitorial services will increase.
• Value of nonresidential construction : As the country rebounds after the pandemic, the value of nonresidential construction is expected to grow 4.49% between 2021 and 2026 to $186.07 billion. This growth means more buildings that require professional cleaning and janitorial services in the near future.
• Corporate Profit : IBISWorld predicts overall corporate profits in Canada to rebound following the sharp economic declines from 2020. In 2021 it’s expected to grow 15.8% to surpass pre-pandemic highs. More profitable businesses mean more budget can be allocated to outsourced cleaning services for offices, commercial spaces, and businesses.
• Households earning $100K+ : While the number of Canadian households earning over $100K dropped 6.4% in 2020, the future is predicted to grow at a faster rate. In 2020, there were over 4.23 million households over this earning threshold. That number is expected to rise to 4.32 and 4.51 million in 2021 and 2022, respectively. By 2027 the number of households earning over $100K is expected to be 5.54 million. As household income increases, people are more likely to hire domestic help in their homes.

Janitorial services in Canada is classified as a mature industry:

“Mature industries have an array of characteristics, one of which is complete market acceptance of industry services. Furthermore, industry operators are increasingly bundling cleaning services. This practice is expected to continue over the coming years, as large operators are expected to continue expanding into Canada. However, while the bundling of services is expected to change the structure of the industry over the 10 years to 2025, it is unlikely to dramatically increase revenue, as downstream markets may replace their current janitorial service providers with an industry operator that offers additional services.”

CANADA INDUSTRY (NAICS) REPORT 56172CA

5.1 Competition

Good Lookin Cleaning Services

CS Housekeeping

Highrise Service Group

5.2 competitive advantage.

In a highly fragmented industry like professional cleaning and janitorial services, the industry is highly competitive. This means that consumers often compare based on price as the dividing factor. For cleaning businesses to succeed, they need competitive pricing and to provide some form of added value to the end customer.

To stand out in this market, Baseline Cleaning  has several primary advantages over their competitors:

Same-Day cleans available

While most cleaning services will be scheduled days or weeks in advance, Baseline Cleaning will open a select number of same-day appointments for quick cleans. Instead of customers waiting 2-3 hours or more for cleaners from other companies to arrive on-site, Baseline Cleaning   will ensure service within 1-2 hours for these same-day bookings.

Cleaning Hours

After the first year of business, Baseline Cleaning plans to promote 24/7 availability for cleaning services. As the company establishes its presence and customer loyalty, it will maintain 6-days a week availability, Monday through Saturday, from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Subcontractor App

Subcontracted cleaning staff will have exclusive use of a Baseline Cleaning mobile app to view job information and accept jobs.

Quality Control

To maintain a high quality of service, all subcontractors will be required to take before and after photos to ensure top-level services. Such images may be used as case studies or on social media as before/after collages.

Loyalty Discounts

To thank and encourage loyalty in customers, long-term and regular customers will be given discounts and special offers.

5.3 Risk Analysis

Risk: The COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic presents both a risk and an opportunity. Even with the economy and the course of the virus seemingly headed in a more positive direction worldwide, some are still wary of bringing in “strangers” into their homes. To mitigate this, all subcontractors are required to actively follow all public health guidance, including wearing masks while in homes as required by public health. Think Clean’s pandemic health and safety protocols will be shared with our customers so they can feel safe.

Risk: Not enough business

Without a loyal customer base, Baseline Cleaning will struggle to be profitable. To mitigate this, the business will remain agile to follow trends in the market to offer new cleaning services and technology, expand service areas, or specialize as needed to optimize profits and recurring revenue. This may include taking on more corporate clients if the demand is there.

6.0 Marketing Plan

Baseline Cleaning has two main customers profiles:

Primary Customer: Residential

Condo-dwellers will be our target client. They are often between the ages of 30-65 with healthy disposable income. They are hiring a cleaning company because they have other things they’d rather be doing with their time. They now have the budget to afford a cleaning service for their home. They are willing to pay for the convenience of coming home to a clean house at the end of the day.

Another group of residential clients includes older, retired individuals who, due to sickness, injury, or disability, cannot maintain their homes themselves. Often an adult, child or younger friend or relative would be booking their cleaning services for them.

Secondary Customer: Commercial and Businesses

The company will also offer cleaning services for commercial or business clients. These are businesses that need regular cleaning of their offices, storefronts, or commercial spaces. These clients often want cleaning services in the evening or on weekends when customers and staff are not on-site. The Company’s ideal commercial client is a business that is on the recovery after a rough year dealing with the pandemic. They are profitable again and understand the value that a clean workplace or storefront has to their business and are ready to outsource their janitorial and cleaning needs.

6.1 Key Channels

The main marketing tool for Baseline Cleaning will be their website. The website will share more detailed information about services, demonstrate knowledge of the industry, and be used as the primary way for customers to book cleaning services.

The website will be created in consultation with the Cleanco Training Company business coaching program. It will include booking forms with pricing parameters, a mobile app, online payment processing, and a customer login portal.

In addition, a marketing funnel will be created to lead prospective customers through the buying cycle to becoming paid customers. This includes the set-up of email automations.

Social media and paid ads will be the primary channels used by Baseline Cleaning to build their reputation in the community and to attract new loyal customers:

• TikTok: to post before and after pictures from cleans to show the transformations
• Facebook Ads: to promote brand awareness and promotions
• Google Ads: to build brand awareness and do hyperlocal marketing
• Other social media channels will be built up to share valuable customer content, share promotions and events, and build brand awareness for the company.

Google Ads will initially be set up by Bsbcon, a consulting business in Vancouver, BC.  The business is a specialist in this space with over 20+ Years of experience.  Set up costs will be $1,000

On a monthly basis our Google Ads expenditures will cover the cost of the ads and management fees.  For example, in month 1 our spend is $550, where Bsbcon will waive the management fee.  At the end of Year 1, we see a monthly spend of $1,200 where $950 is dedicated to Google Ads and $250 for management fees.

A major part of Bsbcon’s Google Ads management services is 24/7 assistance.  If the company encounters any challenges with their ads (extremely slow, something unusual) we can contact Bsbcon to have them review it and provide a report.  After the first 3 months there will be KPIs developed.  These will be built on the data collected in conversions, pages of interest, and submission forms completed.

6.2 SWOT Analysis  

7.0 Financial Projections

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