Commercial cleaning

Commercial cleaning: specify the outcome, then buy the hours

One local tradesperson gets your request – no ring-round.

Your request: Commercial cleaning

Free and without obligation. It goes to exactly one business.

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Free · no obligation · only one business gets your number

Cleaning contracts go wrong in the same few ways: a vague specification, hours that do not match the building, and no agreed way of checking the result. Before asking for a price, write down what clean means for each area and how often. Describe your premises once, and the request goes to one cleaning contractor covering your location.

Exactly one business. Your request is handed out once. After that, no other business sees it.
You know who will be in touch. Before the business receives your contact details, we send you its name, address and phone number.
Withdraw at any time. You can withdraw your consent at any time – using the link in our email.

Types of cleaning service

Regular contract cleaning covers the daily or weekly routine: emptying bins, vacuuming and mopping, cleaning kitchens and toilets, dusting desks and touch points. Deep cleaning or periodic cleaning deals with what the routine misses: carpets, upholstery, high-level dust, kitchen extraction areas, floor stripping and resealing.

Window cleaning ranges from ground-floor glass to high-rise work using rope access or mobile elevating work platforms. Post-construction or builders' cleans remove dust, paint splashes and packaging before handover. Communal area and stairwell cleaning is common for residential blocks and mixed-use buildings, often combined with bin store and entrance cleaning.

Writing the specification

Two approaches are common. An input specification lists tasks and frequencies; an output specification describes the standard each area must meet and leaves the method to the contractor. Many buyers use a mix: fixed frequencies for washrooms and kitchens, outcome standards for offices. Either way, attach floor plans and state the floor types, since carpet, vinyl and stone need different methods and equipment.

floor area by type and use, with plans
cleaning times: before opening, during the day or evenings
tasks and frequencies per area, and periodic tasks per year
who supplies consumables such as paper, soap and bin liners
security arrangements: keys, alarm codes, lone working
how quality is checked, and how complaints are handled
contract length, notice periods and price review terms

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Health and safety duties on both sides

Cleaning chemicals fall under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations. The contractor should assess the products it uses, train its staff and keep safety data sheets on site. As the client, you should tell the contractor about hazards in your building, such as laboratories, machinery or areas with restricted access.

Window and high-level cleaning is work at height. The contractor must plan it, use suitable equipment and have people trained to use it. Ask for method statements and risk assessments for any work above ground level. Where cleaners work alone in the building out of hours, ask how the contractor manages lone working.

Changing contractor: TUPE

When a cleaning contract passes from one contractor to another, or from an in-house team to a contractor, it is usually a service provision change under the TUPE regulations. The government uses cleaning as an example. The cleaners who mainly work on your contract generally transfer to the new contractor with their existing terms and continuity of employment.

This affects price and planning. Incoming contractors need accurate information about the staff and their terms, which the outgoing contractor has to provide. Ask each bidder how it has allowed for TUPE and how it will handle the changeover so the cleaning does not stop.

What drives the price

Labour is by far the largest part of a cleaning contract, so the hours needed to meet the specification drive the price. Wage rates, including rises in the National Living Wage, feed directly into it; ask how the contract handles them. Other factors are the type of floors, the level of use, the times cleaning must happen, equipment, consumables and supervision. A price that looks low often assumes fewer hours than the building needs, which shows up as missed tasks within weeks.

Keys, data and access

Cleaners usually have access to the whole building out of hours. Agree how keys and alarm codes are held, who is authorised to enter, and how staff changes are reported to you. Clear desk rules, confidential waste handling and locked offices protect documents and equipment; the contract should say what cleaners may and may not touch. Ask what checks the contractor carries out on staff, such as right-to-work checks, which employers in the UK must make.

How the request reaches one contractor

You describe the premises, the service and the frequency. We confirm your phone number and email, then offer the request to cleaning companies in your area without naming your business. One provider can buy it; it pays Offrano, and the service is free for you. Before the contractor receives your details, we email you its name, address and phone number.

We cannot promise that a contractor will take the request. If none does within 21 days, it is withdrawn. You are free to decline any proposal. Offrano only checks that the buyer is a registered business, so ask for references from similar premises, insurance certificates and sample risk assessments.

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Frequently asked questions

What should a cleaning specification include?

The areas and floor types, tasks and frequencies or outcome standards per area, cleaning times, consumables, security arrangements and how quality is checked. Floor plans help. A clear specification lets you hold the contractor to the result.

Does TUPE apply if we change cleaning company?

Usually yes. A cleaning contract moving to a new contractor is a service provision change, and the cleaners assigned to it normally transfer on their existing terms. The new contractor's price must reflect that, so ask how bidders have treated it.

Who is responsible for the cleaning chemicals?

The contractor, under COSHH, for the products it brings and uses: assessing them, training staff and keeping safety data sheets. You should tell the contractor about hazards in your own premises.

Can one contractor handle routine cleaning and window cleaning?

Many do, often using a specialist subcontractor for high-level windows. Ask whether any part of the work is subcontracted and how the main contractor manages the subcontractor's safety and quality.

How can we check the cleaning is actually done?

Agree a simple audit: regular walk-rounds against the specification, a log of periodic tasks and a named supervisor. Some contracts link payments to audit results. What matters is that both sides use the same checklist.

Will several cleaning companies contact us?

No. The request can be bought by one provider only, and we email you its details before it sees yours. You can still invite other contractors directly.