15 Ways to Save Money in Your Cleaning Business

To quote William Shatner of Star Trek fame; “If saving money is wrong, I don't want to be right.” After all, don't you want to take your cleaning business where no man has gone before?

Saving Money In Your Cleaning Business!

Money saving ideas for your cleaning business

I've experienced, first hand, the highs and lows of being a cleaning business owner. Some costs are expected, such as insurance, rent, utilities, and taxes. However, I did learn that by initiating some surprisingly simple money savings ideas, I was able to reduce costs.

1. Hire part-time workers vs. full-time workers. This can save money on benefits, higher wages, and paid breaks.
2. If you have full-time employees, consider combining two 15-minute breaks into one half-hour break. Studies show that this will save approximately 20 minutes of productive time. Why? The national average for a 15 minute break is actually 27 minutes!
3. Take control of absenteeism. For example, develop a perfect attendance bonus per pay period, or don't pay sick leave for the first day of absence. Be sure to check with your state laws on attendance policies first.
4. Hire "floaters" or "project teams". Floaters fill in for absent employees and handle special projects and detail cleaning.
5. Only allow overtime for emergencies and unplanned events.
6. Avoid unemployment judgments and employee lawsuits by documenting disciplinary actions. Avoid using phrases like "he has a bad attitude". Bad attitudes are difficult to prove. Rather, give examples of specific poor performance.
7. Do not hire borderline employee prospects. If you have a 90-day probationary period before hiring an employee as a regular employee, be sure to provide constructive feedback throughout the probationary period so that if you need to let them go, it won't come as a surprise.
8. Provide the proper tools for the job: wide-path vacuums for large hallways and open areas; back-pack vacuums with attachments for detail work; auto-scrubbers for large-area hard floor care. The more productive the equipment, the more productive the employee, which saves money.
9. Use a three and one system for carpet care. Use a surface brightening system like bonnet cleaning the first three times, and on the fourth time, extract the carpet. Costs for bonnet cleaning are low and productivity is high.
10. Save on chemical costs by using dilution control stations.
11. Save on restroom paper costs by using double-roll tissue dispensers and roll towel paper dispensers.
12. Remove obsolete and dangerous products such as ammonia, bleach, scouring powder, and aerosols. Control supply costs by using multi-purpose cleaning products such as hydrogen peroxide cleaners that can be diluted for different cleaning tasks, and purchase high quality, brand name cleaning supplies.   
13. Negotiate with your suppliers. For example, if you've been increasing sales in your company, see if your janitorial supplier will give you a price break for reaching certain milestones. Saving on paper supplies and can liners for the buildings you clean can put money directly into your bottom line.
14. Institute zone or team cleaning program. Blended cleaning and collaborative cleaning and creating pre-determined cleaning routes will help also improve production rates.
15. Provide three types of training: orientation, classroom and on-the-job. Hold regular meetings with employees to cover training, safety topics, and employee feedback. Providing better training that also engages employees will help with employee retention, which dramatically saves on employment costs.

Whether a struggling new cleaning business or a long tenured business owner; cutting costs makes good financial sense. Basic cost savings ideas don't necessarily have to be an expensive venture. Like the money savings ideas listed above, some simple improvements can help pay bills and build capital. No matter what your current financial situation is, saving money will allow your cleaning business to “live long and prosper.”

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