Steve Hanson

When you own a cleaning business you need to come up with a system for controlling keys. Without a system in place you could be setting yourself up for a costly, unexpected expense because a lost key could prompt a customer to re-key the entire building.

How you control keys in each building may differ depending on the size of the building and the type of security involved. You may need to allow employees to keep possession of keys for the smaller buildings that you clean. In larger buildings it's best to keep the keys in a lock box in the building, not allowing keys to go home with employees. Supervisors may hand out keys at the beginning of the shift, or employees may be given a key to the lock box and then sign out keys during their shift.

You'll need to keep a set of master keys for each account and it's best to keep them in a lock box in your office. You can find lock boxes in office supply stores. Mark each key in some way, but never put the name of the account on the keys. You could use a black permanent marker, or you can use engraving tools found at home improvement stores to etch letters, codes or numbers for each account.

Keep a master key log that lists the name of the account, whether it's a key or card, the code, employee name, the date the key was issued and a space for the date the key was returned if the employee leaves the company. Also have a key sheet in each employee's file, listing all keys they have in their possession, along with their signature and date issued.

Getting your key control system in place is important for your own peace of mind as well as the security of your clients' buildings.

Note: If you are a member of The Janitorial Store you can download key control forms here:

Master Key / Card Log

Key Release Form

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Steve Hanson helps owners of small cleaning companies build a more profitable and successful cleaning business through his online community at TheJanitorialStore.com. Read inspirational cleaning success stories at http://www.cleaning-success.com, and sign up for weekly cleaning tips at http://www.TheJanitorialStore.com.