Guides for cleaning business owners
Start it, insure it, fill the calendar.
Written by a Toronto cleaning company for the owners coming up behind it. Every fee, rule and price is checked against the official source and dated, so you know how fresh it is.
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Register, insure and open the doors
Start-up guide · Canada
How to start a cleaning business in Canada
How to start a cleaning business in Canada, step by step: costs, registering in Ontario and other provinces, HST, insurance, pricing, contracts and your first hire.
14 min read · 24 sourcesStart-up guide · Rules and cover
Cleaning business licence and insurance: what you actually need
Do you need a licence to run a cleaning business? Which insurance, bonding and workers' comp you need in Canada, what it costs, and the rules city by city.
12 min read · 23 sources
Start guide · Insurance
The cheapest insurance for a cleaning business (that still pays out)
What cleaning business insurance costs in Canada in 2026, what drives the price, the cheap policies that cost you later, and safe ways to pay less.
9 min read · 6 sourcesGrow
Find customers and keep them
Growth guide · Marketing
How to get cleaning clients (and keep them booked)
How to get clients for a cleaning business: Google Business Profile, reviews, door hangers and neighbourhood mail, referrals, email rules and commercial cleaning leads.
11 min read · 12 sources
Growth guide · Commercial
How to get commercial cleaning contracts (and keep them)
How to find and win commercial cleaning contracts in Canada: walk-ins, property managers, CanadaBuys and MERX tenders, site walks and pricing the bid.
9 min read · 5 sourcesRun
Money, pay, training and getting paid
Run guide · Money
How to manage the money in a cleaning business
How to manage cleaning business finances in Canada: price from real costs, profit per job, GST/HST, deductible expenses, tax savings and paying yourself.
9 min read · 6 sources
Run guide · Getting paid
The client didn't pay. Here's what to do next.
Cleaning client didn't pay? The reminder schedule, handling complaints, demand letters, small claims limits by province, chargebacks and deposits.
12 min read · 8 sourcesRun guide · Pay
How much to pay cleaners in Canada
How much to pay cleaners in Canada in 2026: wages by city, minimum wage by province, the real employer cost per hour, pay per job and contractors.
9 min read · 8 sourcesRun guide · People
How to train cleaners so every clean looks like yours
How to train new cleaners: a five-day training plan, room order, chemical safety and WHMIS, house rules for customers' homes, and quality checks.
10 min read · 4 sourcesBy trade
Start a cleaning business in your trade
Trade guide · Commercial and janitorial
How to start a commercial cleaning business
How to start a commercial cleaning business: pick a niche, insure for contracts, bid offices from production rates, write proposals, staff night crews and find accounts.
11 min read · 11 sourcesTrade guide · Window cleaning
How to start a window cleaning business
How to start a window cleaning business: equipment and water-fed poles, how to price per window, Ontario's window cleaning safety rules, insurance and getting customers.
11 min read · 10 sourcesTrade guide · Pressure washing
How to start a pressure washing business
How to start a pressure washing business: equipment and costs, pressure vs soft washing, how much to charge per square foot, runoff rules, insurance and the Canadian season.
11 min read · 9 sourcesSee More Knocks run one of your own jobs
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