[paulstevens]

hi all i'm a window cleaner but i am looking to break into this part of the business any of you lovely people got a few mins to spare and write down what equipment  i would need for internal office/business cleans and where the best place to source supplys from
thanks
in advance
Paul

[angela stone]

we have a few commercial customers - nothing on a grand scale, mind.  All I have is a henry, and the usual cleaning materials - polish, glass cleaner, hard surface cleaners.  colour coded cloths etc- we use mostly evans vanodine prods as we tried them, and we like them and find them well priced.
don't forget insurance.
we sourced local suppliers through yell.com


we also provide a tailored cleaning specification for each customer, terms and conditions, and a quotation in writing after we have been to see them.

we never quote over the phone and we quote per job rather than per hour - as the guys on here had advised when I was starting up, and we have had no queries from customers by doing so - they think it makes sense!
hope this helps,

good luck!

ange

[maid4u]

I am brand new to the forum so please excuse my lack of knowledge in both the cleaning business and forum etiquette. I have been studying domestic cleaning franchises (No wait) I know it's probably a swear word on here and I have NO intention of buying into one but I am looking to learn about their methods of operation. As a management franchise it appears that you don't do the cleaning yourself but instead introduce cleaners to the clients and charge an agency fee. The clients have to provide their own cleaning materials and pay the cleaners direct (in my area £6.50 per hour) and the client is charged an agency fee by way of standing order. Here is my question, Do any of you operate this way and if so how much do you charge as an agency fee? One franchise suggests charging upto £3.50 per hour! I have also seen other companies charge a one off agency fee of about £200 for the year. I still have lots of research to do and appear to have come to the right place to learn but I need to get my head around the initial set up and what works best. I like the idea of not having to pay the cleaners wages and having to pay them when sick etc as the terms and conditions state that the client employs them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Mark

[peter1972]

I operate this way. £3.50/hour is reasonable for a wealthy area. I charge £3.45/hour for better areas and £2.95/hour for other areas. People up north often charge £2.50/hour. Some people will always think it's too expensive, but you don't want to deal with those sort of clients, anyway. Let the bargain basement cleaning firms handle their complaining instead!

Not having to pay wages and operate payroll is a major advantage.

There are basically 2 types of domestic cleaning franchises:
1. As above - the cleaners are all self-employed and paid by the client, whilst you are paid by standing order in advance. For example, Selclene.
2.The franchisee provides leased cars for cleaners and materials, whilst employing the cleaners. For example, Molly Maid.

It's significant that the Selclene model franchises are bigger and more profitable!

[maid4u]

Peter

Thanks for replying. If you act as an agency is there any requirement for insurance because the cleaners are not actually employed by you? Is it common practice for the client to provide the cleaning materials? I can see how you could justify this, client maybe prefers certain smell of products etc.

Mark

[peter1972]

I would provide insurance - it's a strong selling point and will stop you being sued by clients, as there will be breakages and clients will go for you, not the cleaner.
The clients are supposed to provide the materials. (In case of a tax investigation, if you supply them you could be deemed to be the employer.) You justify this by saying  a lot of the cleaners don't have cars and so can't carry much or that clients have individual preferences, but if pressed, say you'd prefer the clients to provide the materials, as it's company policy.
Where are you located?

[maid4u]

I am located near Salisbury in Wiltshire. I would be grateful of any info and am looking to purchase anything that will provide the guidance in setting up but so far that service seems to be unique to the franchise companies.

[peter1972]

Maid4u - if you could provide your email, I'll send you a manual. It's not the exact manual of any domestic cleaning franchise, but in effect it's the same, as all the Selclene clones follow the same system.

[kleen4u]

Interesting topic - one I think I raised a while ago - employed cleaners vs "agency".
While the agency route certainly appears, on paper at least, to be the more profitable and easy to run, the general advice I was given here (and elsewhere) pointed towards the employed cleaner route being the generally preferred option. While you have to operate payroll and pay holidays etc, you are more likely to get a long term commitment from your cleaners (you get what you pay for) and you will attract cleaners who are looking for a proper ongoing job. The Selclene system would presumably result in a greater turnover of staff and attract people who are just looking for short-term "cash in hand" "extra money" work - eg. benefit fraudsters etc. So while you relieve yourself of the problems of payroll/holiday pay etc, you take on board other problems - higher staff turnover, cleaners leaving without notice (as they are paid cash on the day, you obviously cannot withold pay in lieu of notice), etc. I also fear there is a fine line tax-wise and the Selclene model is just about legal. How long before the govt clamp down on this kind of activity?
There is probably no firm answer to this one. Does anyone else here work the Selclene way?

[maid4u]

Peter

Very kind of you, please forward to
vistahypno@aol.com


Mark

[maid4u]

kleen4u

I have used the search facility on here to view posts on this subject, some as far back as 2003. There seems to be many questions unanswered.

1. Is it legal to set up as an agency and have the cleaners operate as self employed, paid directly by the client. Cleaners would be working in the same place which appeared to be the stumbling block when previously discussed.

2. How can you provide insurance for the cleaners if they are not your employees?

3. I have a friend who is an ex police officer and now works for the police via an agency. Agency charges police £15 an hour and friend gets £12 of it so surely it's legal

4. If the cleaner is employed by the client are they entitled to sick and holiday pay?

[kleen4u]

maid4u -

when deciding which route to take, I found this one a real minefield, full of contradictions.

I would imagine the answers to your questions are
1) its just about legal i would say, otherwise the big franchises wouldnt get away with it
2) your insurance would presumably need to include insurance for subscontractors, which are effectively what your cleaners would be
3) Certainly makes sense. If its good enough for the cops then it should be good enough for cleaners.
4) If the cleaners are employed by the client on a perm contract then they would be entitled to sick pay, etc, but presumably your cleaners would be self employed, not directly employed by the clients.

As i say, its a minefield and I found it hard to get any clear cut answers to the same questions - it certainly seems far from black and white. Because of this lack of clarity I went the route of employing cleaners.

[maid4u]

Kleen4u

Thanks for some clarification, the thing that I can't get my head around is the issue of insurance. Using my example of the police friend, the agency don't have insurance for him so why would we need insurance if the cleaners are self employed? It doesn't make sense apart from a good selling point maybe, but an expensive one at that.
If you act as an introductory agent not providing cleaning materials etc I cannot see how you can be at all liable for the actions of a self employed cleaner.
Anybody got the definitive answer?

[peter1972]

It is a selling point, alongside vetting and providing replacements.
Whether you could be successfully sued by a client for damage if you never pretended to offer insurance is a difficult one, as everyone I know who operates this system has insurance.