Commercial
Questions to ask before hiring a commercial cleaning company
Twelve questions that separate a reliable commercial cleaner from one you'll be replacing in six months, and the answers you should expect to hear.
By Scrubhub Cleaning ·
Before you hire a commercial cleaning company, ask for proof of insurance, who exactly will be cleaning your building, how you’ll report a problem, and what’s written into the checklist. Those four answers tell you more than any price.
Most businesses ask two questions: how much, and when can you start. That’s how they end up hiring again a few months later. The company was cheap and available, and then the communication fell apart.
Insurance and paperwork
1. Can you send a certificate of insurance?
Ask for the certificate itself, not a yes on the phone. It should show general liability cover and the dates it’s valid. For a commercial building, $1M of liability cover is a sensible minimum. Many landlords and property managers require it before a contractor can work on site.
2. Do you carry workers’ compensation?
This one gets skipped, and it shouldn’t. Cleaning is classed as high risk because of ladders, wet floors and chemicals. If a cleaner without workers’ comp is hurt in your building, the claim can come looking for you.
3. Are your staff bonded and background checked?
Your cleaners will have keys or an alarm code, and they’ll be alone in your building at night. A bond covers theft by an employee. A background check reduces the chance you’ll ever need it.
The people who’ll actually clean
4. Will the same crew clean my building every visit?
Rotating crews are the most common reason commercial cleaning goes downhill. Every new face has to relearn your building: which door sticks, which office is off limits, where the supply closet is. Things get missed while they figure it out.
We send the same crew each visit. One of our dental clients put it this way in a Google review: “The team is the same week to week, they understand what medical cleaning means, and the invoicing is clean and professional.”
5. Who supervises them?
Ask who checks the work, how often, and whether you’ll ever meet that person. “We trust our team” isn’t a quality control system.
6. How do you handle keys and alarm codes?
You want a clear answer: who holds keys, how they’re stored, and what happens if one is lost. Ask for your own alarm code to be issued to the cleaning company so you can see their entries and exits.
Communication
7. How do I report a problem, and how fast will you fix it?
This is the question we’d put first if we could only pick one.
The most common complaint we hear from businesses about their last cleaner isn’t the cleaning. It’s communication. They noticed something missed, sent a message, heard nothing, and noticed it again the following week. You’re paying for a service, and you should have a say in how it’s done.
Ask who you contact, how (text, email, phone), and what the company commits to. A good answer sounds like “message this number, we reply the same business day, and we come back to fix anything missed.”
The most common complaint we hear about a business’s last cleaner isn’t the cleaning. It’s that nobody answered when something was missed.
8. Can I change the checklist?
Your needs change. A new conference room, a flu season, a big client visit. You should be able to say “add the glass partitions this month” without renegotiating a contract.
Scope and contract
9. Will I get a written scope of work?
Every room, every task, how often. Without it, “that wasn’t included” becomes the answer to every complaint.
10. Who supplies what?
Cleaning products, equipment, paper goods and trash liners. Get it written down. Ask whether the company uses its own vacuums and mops at your site or leaves them there.
11. What hours will you clean?
Most businesses want cleaning out of hours. We usually clean between 6pm and 10pm or between 4am and 7am, and weekends are available. Check that the hours work with your alarm schedule and any other contractors.
12. What does it take to end the agreement?
Ask about notice periods before you sign, not when you’re unhappy. A company confident in its service shouldn’t need to trap you.
Good answers and red flags
| You ask | Good answer | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Insurance? | Certificate sent the same day | "Yes, we're covered" and nothing in writing |
| Same crew? | Named crew, same people each visit | "Whoever's on shift" |
| Problems? | One contact, reply the same business day, return to fix | A general inbox and no commitment |
| Checklist? | Written, agreed at walkthrough, easy to change | "We clean everything" |
| Price? | Fixed price after a site visit | A quote over the phone without seeing the space |
Common hiring mistakes
- Choosing on price alone. The cheapest quote is often the one missing insurance, supervision or both.
- Hiring without a walkthrough. If they haven’t seen your building, they’re guessing.
- Not checking references for your type of space. An office cleaner may not understand a dental practice or a warehouse floor.
- Accepting a vague scope. You can’t hold anyone to “general cleaning.”
- Not asking what happens when the regular cleaner is off sick. A one-person operation means no clean that night.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
What insurance should a commercial cleaning company have?
General liability, ideally $1M or more, plus workers' compensation and bonding for staff. Ask for a certificate of insurance. We can send ours on request.
Should I hire a cleaning company or an individual cleaner?
An individual can work for a very small office. For anything larger, a company gives you insurance, cover when someone is sick, and someone to call when there's a problem.
How do I compare commercial cleaning quotes?
Make every company quote the same written scope: rooms, tasks and frequency. Then compare insurance, crew consistency and how they handle complaints, not just the total. Our guide to office cleaning costs in Fresno shows typical rates.
Do commercial cleaners need to be bonded?
It isn't always legally required, but it's sensible for anyone who holds keys to your building. A bond covers you if an employee steals.
What should be in a commercial cleaning contract?
The scope of work, frequency, hours, who supplies what, the price, how problems are reported and fixed, and the notice period to end it.
What to do next
Ask us all twelve. We’ll send our insurance certificate before we visit, walk through your building with you, and give you a written checklist with a fixed price within 24 hours. If frequency is still an open question, read how often an office should be cleaned, or see what’s included in our commercial cleaning service.
