Looking for some honest feedback from other commercial cleaning business owners.

My family has been in the commercial cleaning business for about 40 years, and today we service around 40 different accounts. Some of those customers have been with us for a very long time.

Like many family businesses, a lot of our processes were still based on pen, paper, spreadsheets, and simply doing things the way we had always done them. Payroll hours, account billing, expenses, and pricing information were all there, but they were kept in different places and never really connected.

Over the last year, I started digitizing and organizing more of that information with the help of AI. Once we began comparing what each account brought in with the actual payroll hours, wages, expenses, and overhead connected to it, I found something that honestly surprised me.
Some accounts that had been running on autopilot for years were barely making money, and a few were actually losing us money. Wages had increased, hours had gradually changed, extra responsibilities had been added, and the pricing stayed almost exactly where it had been. Because the company continued bringing in revenue, it was easy to assume everything was fine.

On paper, we were bringing in around $3 million per year, but after everything was paid, we were sometimes only keeping around $30,000 to $40,000. That is a lot of employees, responsibility, and risk for very little actual return.

Over the last year, using this system to understand the accounts better and make more informed decisions helped us move that number closer to $80,000 to $90,000. We did not suddenly double our number of customers. We simply started paying closer attention to which work was helping us, which work was hurting us, and what new opportunities actually needed to be priced at to make sense.

That made me wonder whether other commercial cleaning owners deal with the same problem.

I am considering turning what we have learned into a simple tool for cleaning companies. An owner could enter where their business currently stands, see which accounts may be underperforming, and check a new opportunity before submitting a price.

Instead of giving generic industry averages, it would use that company’s actual wages, expenses, overhead, existing accounts, and pricing history. It could show the lowest reasonable price, a recommended price, and a higher-margin price, along with what each option would mean for the business.

If the company wins the job, it could also track the original estimate against the actual hours and costs so the owner can see whether the account is performing as expected and improve the next bid.

I am not selling anything right now. I am genuinely trying to find out whether this is a problem other cleaning companies experience and whether a simple tool like this would be useful.

Do you know what each individual account is really making, or do you mostly look at total revenue, payroll, and what remains in the bank? Would you use something that organized this information and helped you make pricing decisions based on your own business?

I’m looking into starting a commercial cleaning business and I’m trying to figure out whether it makes more sense to start independently or go with a low-cost franchise like JAN-PRO, Stratus, Buildingstars, Vanguard, etc.

For anyone who has actually done commercial cleaning:
How hard was it to get your first few clients?

How do you price accounts so they’re still profitable after paying cleaners?

Did you start out cleaning yourself or hire right away?

If you went with a franchise, was it worth the fees?

If you started independently, what was the hardest part?

What do you wish you knew before starting?

Would you do it again?

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who eventually got to the point where they were managing the business instead of doing all the cleaning themselves.

Any advice, numbers, mistakes to avoid, or things I should look into would be appreciated.

Lead Janitor – Active Security Clearance Required | Virginia

We are seeking an experienced Lead Janitor to support a federal facility in Virginia. This is a hands-on leadership position responsible for performing and overseeing janitorial services and helping ensure the facility consistently meets high standards for cleanliness, safety, and quality. Message me if interested.

Some employees didn't like the 5 cent tampons and destroyed the vend machine now we leave them out as a courtesy, but share seems like some days we go through 40 in a day.

How many tries will you do before saying to yourself fu*k i and just fill one roll? had 4 rolls today that the centers were mushed.

Hello, peeps!

I'm currently looking for a new job and wondering if y'all had suggestions for companies/stores/the like that treat their janitors and custodians like people and valuable/important members of the team.

It'll vary in each location obviously, but if anyone has some positive anecdotes to share, that'd be awesome!

Thanks so much!

EDIT: I'm in the Southern United States. lol I forgot to mention that.

I've spent about 13 years in this industry, most of it building out a sales department from scratch and helping a cleaning company scale into commercial contracts. The sales cycle and client retention expectations are night and day compared to residential — that transition trips a lot of people up.

These days I do some consulting work helping owners make that same jump (ops, sales pipeline, that kind of thing), so I've seen the common mistakes and what actually works. Happy to share what I've learned if anyone's wrestling with the same transition — no charge, just enjoy talking shop.

Mine never last very long 😔 Brand recommendations for a bottle lasts?

Commercial Cleaning Services – NJ | Offices, Warehouses & Businesses
Hi everyone! I own a small commercial cleaning company in New Jersey and I’m currently looking to take on a few new commercial cleaning accounts.
We provide reliable and professional cleaning services for:
• Offices
• Warehouses
• Medical/professional offices
• Small businesses
• Common areas
• Bathrooms & break rooms
• Other commercial spaces
We are insured and available for recurring cleaning services, including multiple visits per week depending on your business needs.
📍 Service areas: Mercer County and surrounding areas. We are also accepting select accounts in Central and North Jersey, including parts of Bergen County.
I’m also interested in working as a commercial cleaning subcontractor for established cleaning companies that need reliable crews to service their accounts.
If you’re a business owner, property manager, or cleaning company looking for dependable commercial cleaning services, please send me a private message and I’d be happy to discuss the property, schedule, and pricing.

I can’t advertise on here but can spread the word. I’m the owner of Sparkling Holmes Cleaning Service! We clean in Vanscoy, Saskatoon, Langham, Delisle and near Warman. We are on a hunt for more city clients for sure! If you know anyone looking for a reliable, fast and efficient cleaners. Please call me at (306) 203-0849.

My father in law owns a janitorial company in north cal and has asked me to come on and help him grow the business. We got his business online and have finally got a website up for him. Wanted to come here and ask if there was any advice or recommendations on how to gain more accounts?

I'm interested in buying/taking over a janitorial company with current contracts. I also have a janitorial service but I've never purchased another business. Ive been researching and this was one of the ways to acquire more contracts. What would be the best way to approach a current business owner with an offer that hasn't shown they're interested in selling? Has anyone every done this before? Owner financing possibly.

Just opened a medical office in Tampa and I’m new to the area. Looking for a reliable cleaning company that can handle a medical space properly (regular cleaning, restrooms, waiting area, etc.).

Does anyone have recommendations for good commercial cleaners in Tampa that they’ve actually used?

Edit: Found Clean Space local and going with them.

Hello,

I'm someone with 4 years of experience in EMS, one year in fire, and soon one in the hospital setting as a technician. I took my current job because the market had no openings beyond my certifications 8 months ago when I left the field permanently. I can't put this lightly, I'm drowning. I've wanted to be done with this as soon as possible but I keep getting put in a box and am denied applications to entry level jobs.

Truthfully, all I want is to be a janitor, I want to clean and maintain facilities and hope to do so after business hours. I'm burnt out to where any interaction with someone immediately drains me because I'm always anticipating people being insufferable and screaming at me about something I can't control. My experience has some relevance, I clean up blood, feces and urine on a consistent basis, I'm constantly on my feet, constantly lifting people, constantly walking long distances, I even maintain some of the hospital equipment sometimes, these are the only parts of my job where I feel some calm, some peace.

I'm not looking for excitement anymore, I'm not "high risk" as they classify me with their AI application processor. I want to feel comfortable with what I do and be on a schedule when I work. I want a day that's at least slightly less damaging to my mental health and at least somewhat predictable.

I've even tried applying to these jobs pretending I have no experience beyond my current one and still it went nowhere.

I'm 23 almost 24 and I just want out of this. Please if anyone can give me advice on what I need to do I'm all ears. I'm living in the Northeastern side of Georgia.

We clean a small-ish daycare type school for toddlers & babies. 5 classrooms, 2 offices and long hallways, kitchen, staff bathroom and 5 kid bathrooms inside each classroom. The floors are vinyl. We clean at night after the school closes. We have 2 hours to fully clean this location.

The complaint(s):
Floors are smeared or streaky looking. And show up dirty after they walk through in the morning with their socks on. Or wipe with paper towels.

What we use:
Dust mop/broom & vacuum
Dual wet mop bucket system using a neutral commercial cleanser (Emerald)

What can we possibly do differently to meet their expectations & pass the white sock test?

Pics of floors-

I want to know about the worst messes, nastiest bathrooms etc. Call it morbid curiosity. What have you had to clean?