Resources
Starting Out with a New Cleaning Company, from Night One to Day 30
Your new cleaning company has a start date. The printable checklist below carries you through the month after it, from walking the building and handing over keys to a sit-down review once four weeks have passed.
Printable checklist
Why the first month deserves a plan
The paperwork is done and the crew’s first night is booked. What the service turns into over the following years is mostly decided now, in the weeks when the crew is still discovering where the closet key hangs, which boardroom stays busy past seven and which towel dispenser is bare by lunch. Habits formed in that month tend to stick, good or bad.
This checklist breaks the month into five stages, each with a few things for your side to confirm. It works whether this is your building’s first cleaning contract or a change from another provider. If a current company is on its way out, notice and the outgoing crew are covered in switching cleaning companies; the list below starts from the day the new company has been picked.
Before the first night: the walkthrough and the task list
The walkthrough is where the written task list meets the actual building. Bring the task list along and walk it with whoever the company sends to represent your account. Every room you pass should have a line on it, and every line should have a frequency.
- Each area on the walk appears on the written task list
- Off-limits and locked rooms flagged, plus any desk where sensitive files sit out
- The supply closet, the trash and recycling route and the dumpster location are shown
- Floors that need special handling, such as stone or a wood reception desk, are pointed out
- Whether the company or your office buys the paper, soap and liners is agreed
- Periodic jobs, such as carpet extraction or floor refinishing, have a planned month
Sign off on the task list only when it matches what you walked. Our scope of work guide shows the level of detail worth asking for.
Keys, access cards and the alarm
Access is the item most likely to cause a 10 p.m. phone call in week one, so settle it in writing before the first visit.
- Every key and access card handed over is listed on a sheet the company signs
- Alarm codes are issued per person, not shared
- The arming and disarming steps are written down and left with the crew
- A call list exists for a code entered wrong or a door that will not lock
- Doors that must stay locked during cleaning are named
At Ora Commercial Cleaning, keys and alarm codes go only to background-checked cleaners, and the signed list makes it simple to see who holds what if anything changes.
Week one: look every morning
For the first five mornings, take ten minutes to walk the main areas before the building fills up. The point this week is less about judging the crew and more about catching what the written list left vague.
- Restrooms: fixtures, floors and every dispenser
- Breakroom: counters, sink, tables and appliance fronts
- Entry and reception: glass, counter and floor
- Bins emptied throughout, including the ones in corners
- Building secured and alarm armed the way you arranged
- Anything moved, unplugged or left out of place
Write each miss down as a room, a task and a date. “Second-floor kitchen sink not wiped, Tuesday” gives the crew something to fix the next night. “Kitchen could be cleaner” does not.
Weeks two and three: run the feedback loop
By the second week the obvious gaps should be closing. Now the job is to keep notes flowing in one direction, so nothing gets lost between staff, your office and the cleaning company.
- One person on your side collects every note from staff
- Notes go to one contact at the company, on a set day each week
- Every note answered, and its fix looked at the next day
- Repeat misses are marked so they stand out in the review
- Tasks that need to move between nights are listed, not just mentioned
Ask staff to report what they see rather than how they feel about it. A short shared log, kept in one place, is easier to act on than scattered emails.
Snags that show up in the first month
Most early problems are not about effort. They come from things nobody knew to write down, and each has a simple fix once it is spotted.
Supplies run short midweek. Until the crew has seen a full week of use, nobody knows how fast each restroom goes through towels and tissue. Note which dispensers were empty and when, and the restock amounts can be set to match.
A room gets skipped. Usually it was locked, occupied late or missing from the list. Check which of the three before raising it, because each has a different fix.
The crew and a late meeting collide. If a team regularly works past the crew’s arrival, move that area to the end of the visit rather than leaving it out.
Supplies are easier to settle if the company brings them. Ora can stock paper, soap and liners from our own janitorial supplies, or restock from yours.
Day 30: the review
When the fourth week ends, set aside an hour with the company’s contact person and read the month’s log line by line together. Ora’s supervisors inspect the building against the same task list, so their findings and your log can be read together.
- Which misses from week one are now resolved
- Which items keep returning, and what changes for them
- Tasks to move between nights, or between weekly and monthly
- Whether visit times still suit how the building is used
- Dates booked for the next floor and carpet treatments
- How notes and replies will run from month two on
Update the task list with whatever the review changes and date the new version. From here, a monthly check-in usually replaces the weekly notes. Still comparing companies? Ask Ora for a walkthrough, and keep this checklist handy from the first night onward.
A few useful answers
Common questions
Is it normal for a new crew to miss a few things in the first week?
Yes. A few misses are common while the crew learns the building, which is why week one is for morning checks and specific notes. The thing to watch is whether a miss, once reported, stays fixed.
Who on our side should own the first month?
Someone who is on site early most days, an office manager or facilities coordinator for example. They gather notes from staff, pass them to the cleaning company and confirm the fixes.
What goes on the agenda for the day-30 meeting?
The log of misses and fixes, any task that keeps coming back, schedule changes, the periodic floor and carpet calendar and how notes will be handled from then on.
Should the alarm routine be tested before the first night?
Yes. Walk through arming and disarming with the company while you are on site, so a wrong code or a stuck door is solved in daylight rather than late at night.
Will the task list still change after day 30?
Yes. The first draft came from a single walk through the building, while a month of service shows how it is really used. Revising the list after the review keeps the service in step with your space.