How to start a commercial cleaning business

How commercial cleaning differs from house cleaning

The mop is the same. Almost nothing else is. Before you chase your first office, know what you're signing up for:

The trade-off is worth it for many owners. A residential customer can cancel next week. An office on a one-year contract with a 30-day notice period is predictable revenue you can hire against. And the work happens after hours, so some owners run commercial at night alongside a residential business by day.

Pick a niche you can deliver

"Commercial cleaning" is a dozen businesses. The niche you pick sets your equipment, your training and your price. Start with one or two:

Most new commercial cleaners start with small offices of 2,000 to 15,000 square feet. The buyer is one person, the scope is predictable, and you can clean one in a couple of hours with a crew of one or two.

Set up the business for contracts

Registering a commercial cleaning company is the same as any cleaning company: a provincial name registration or incorporation, a free CRA business number, and GST/HST once sales pass $30,000. The start-up guide walks through each step. Commercial adds three things.

1. Register for GST/HST early

Business customers claim back the GST/HST you charge, so it doesn't make you look more expensive to them, and you get to claim back the tax on your equipment and supplies. Many commercial cleaners register from day one.

2. Insurance and paperwork that matches the contracts

Expect every commercial customer to ask for a certificate of insurance. $2 million in general liability is the usual minimum; property managers and larger buildings often ask for $5 million and want to be named as an additional insured. In Ontario, many will also ask for a WSIB clearance certificate, which shows your premiums are paid. Some ask for a bond. Details are in the licence and insurance guide.

3. Equipment for buildings, not homes

Many offices supply their own consumables (paper towels, toilet paper, soap and bags). Ask during the site walk and write it into the contract either way.

How to bid commercial cleaning from the hours

Ask ten cleaning companies for a per-square-foot price on the same office and you'll get anything from 5 cents to 68 cents, because the building, the visits and every company's costs differ. Operators who bid commercial work for a living agree on the method instead: work out the hours, then price the hours.

Step 1: Walk the site and write the scope

Measure or confirm the cleanable square footage. Count restrooms, kitchens and private offices. Note the floor types, the traffic, the hours the building is open to you and any security sign-in. Then agree on what happens every visit and what happens weekly, monthly or quarterly.

Step 2: Turn the area into hours

Divide the area by your pace. For routine office cleaning, operators report one cleaner covers about 2,500 to 4,000 square feet an hour, around 3,500 on average at five nights a week. Fewer visits means more dirt each time, so the pace drops: about 3,000 at three nights, 2,500 at one. Large open or multi-tenant buildings run faster, 5,000 to 7,000. Add time for difficulty: private offices and partitioned restrooms take longer, and medical clinics take much longer (about 1,500 to 2,000 square feet an hour).

Step 3: Price the hours

Your cost per labour hour is the cleaner's pay, plus payroll costs (operators cite 20 to 30% of pay for CPP, EI, vacation and WSIB), plus supplies. Your billable rate is that cost divided by what's left after overhead and profit. Monthly price = hours per visit × visits a month × billable rate.

Small accounts break the formula. A 2,000 sq ft office works out to under an hour a visit, but you still drive there, park, sign in and set up. One operator's rule: never schedule less than 1.5 labour hours a visit. Small accounts carry fatter margins than big ones, and that's fair.

Write a proposal that wins (and protects you)

The proposal is where most of the money on a commercial account is made or lost, usually on a line nobody wrote down. One operator missed a floor seal on a 40,000 to 50,000 square foot job and paid $10,000 to $20,000 out of pocket after signing. Write the scope like you'll be held to it, because you will.

On term and notice: public-sector janitorial contracts we reviewed ran one to three years, and many let either side end the contract on 30 days' written notice (some 60). Expect private buildings to ask for something similar. A 30-day clause cuts both ways: you can walk from a bad account, and they can walk from you, so your service is your contract.

On payment: commercial customers pay on invoice, and many pay on 30-day terms. Some corporate clients pay on 90-day terms. Know the terms before you price, and make sure you can cover payroll for two or three months before the first payments land.

More Knocks gives commercial customers a proper request form and signed quotes, and sends invoices with HST and your tax number on them.

Where to find commercial cleaning accounts

• Walk in. Small offices, dental clinics, daycares and gyms near your other jobs. Ask who handles cleaning, leave a one-page summary, and follow up in a week. Route density matters even more at night.
• Property managers. One property manager can control a dozen buildings. Getting on their vendor list usually means your insurance certificate and WSIB clearance, then a small account to prove yourself.
• Public tenders. Government, school-board and hospital janitorial contracts are posted on CanadaBuys and MERX. On MERX, set the custodial category codes in your profile so matching notices come to you. Read the award results too: they show who won and at what price.
• Subcontracting. Larger janitorial companies subcontract buildings they can't staff. Lower margins, but steady work while you build references.
• Post-construction. Builders, renovators and general contractors need final cleans on every job. Expect a request for your WSIB clearance before you start and before you're paid.

Federal contracts can also require security screening for your company and staff. Read the security requirements in the tender before you spend a weekend on the bid.

More ways to find customers, including email rules for following up, are in the guide to getting cleaning clients.

Staffing night crews

Commercial cleaning is a staffing business. The account is won on price and kept on reliability, and reliability comes from your crew.

• Employees, not "contractors." A cleaner who works your schedule, in your accounts, with your supplies, is very likely an employee to the CRA and the WSIB, whatever the paperwork says. Budget payroll costs from day one.
• Pay for the hours worked. Ontario's minimum wage is $17.95 from October 1, 2026, and travel between buildings during a shift generally counts as work time.
• Same crew, same building. Customers notice when the cleaner changes every week. Keep crews on the same routes where you can.
• Inspect. Walk each account yourself, or have a supervisor do it, on a schedule. Find the missed trash can before the office manager does.
• Track keys and codes. Log who has which keys and fobs, and change codes when someone leaves.

Proof matters more in commercial work, because nobody sees you clean. The More Knocks cleaner app gives crews their schedule, checklist and photos, and check-in and check-out record when they were on site.

Growing without getting squeezed

A few habits keep a young commercial cleaning company healthy:

1. Don't let one account get too big. If one building is half your revenue, its 30-day notice is your company's 30-day notice.
2. Review prices every year. Wages, WSIB rates and supplies rise. Put the review date in the contract so the conversation isn't a surprise.
3. Sell the extras. Carpet extraction, floor strip and wax, window cleaning and post-renovation cleans are where margin often lives. Price them separately.
4. Cluster your routes. Three buildings on one street at night beat three buildings across the city at the same price.
5. Mind the cash gap. Payroll goes out every two weeks; invoices come in at 30 days or more. Grow only as fast as your cash can carry.

And if residential work is your base, keep it. The steady daytime revenue funds the night shift while the commercial accounts build.