Starting a Janitorial Company: Equipment, Pricing, First Clients

A janitorial company is one of the few service businesses that can be started with under 10,000 dollars in equipment, scaled to 100,000 dollars per month with one truck and two crews, and run from a home office for the first 2 years. The constraints are time, sales and operations more than capital. Here is the path from zero to a profitable cleaning business.

Step 1: Decide Your Niche

Janitorial covers many niches. Pick one to start:

• Office buildings (10,000 to 50,000 sq ft) — predictable, recurring
• Medical offices and clinics — higher rate, more documentation
• Retail stores — early morning before open
• Restaurants — late night after close
• Industrial / manufacturing — specialised work, higher rates
• Post construction — high rate, intermittent

Office is the most accessible first niche because clients are abundant, schedules are predictable and the equipment overlaps with most other niches.

Step 2: Equipment

The starter kit for a one or two person crew:

• Two HEPA commercial vacuums (one as backup)
• Wet/dry vacuum
• 175 RPM floor machine
• Battery burnisher (for VCT clients)
• Microfibre cleaning system + janitorial cart
• Chemistry (neutral cleaner, glass, disinfectant, degreaser)
• Pads and supplies (60 to 90 day starting inventory)

Total: 5,000 to 10,000 dollars. Add a heated carpet extractor in month 6 once you have an account paying for it.

Step 3: Vehicle

A used cargo van is the standard. 7,000 to 15,000 dollars for a serviceable van. Floor mat the cargo area, install shelves, install a partition between cab and cargo. Decals later (300 to 500 dollars).

Step 4: Insurance and Setup

• General liability insurance (1 million per occurrence): 600 to 1200 dollars per year
• Janitorial bond: 100 to 300 dollars per year
• Commercial vehicle insurance: 1,200 to 2,400 dollars per year
• Workers comp (if employees): 4 to 8 percent of payroll
• Business license: 50 to 500 dollars (varies by city)
• EIN (free from IRS)
• Business bank account (separate from personal)

Step 5: Pricing

Janitorial pricing methods:

• Per visit. Flat rate per cleaning (e.g. 250 dollars per visit, 3 visits/week)
• Per square foot per month. 0.05 to 0.20 dollars per sq ft per month for office work
• Hourly. 25 to 65 dollars per hour for one off projects

For a 15,000 sq ft office cleaned 3x/week, a typical price is 0.08 dollars per sq ft monthly = 1,200 dollars per month. Crew time is roughly 2 hours per visit x 3 visits = 6 hours per week. At 30 dollars per hour cost, that is 720 dollars/month in labour. Margins of 30 to 40 percent net are achievable.

Step 6: First Clients

The first 5 clients matter most. Approach:

• Walk into local office buildings, ask for the property manager
• Bid against existing cleaning companies (price lower in year 1 to win)
• Offer a free trial cleaning to demonstrate quality
• Ask for referrals after 90 days of good service
• List on Google Maps, Yelp, Nextdoor
• Post on Craigslist services

Step 7: Operations

• Build a written checklist for each account
• Use a time tracking app (Buddy Punch, Connecteam) for clock in/out
• Take photos of completed work for client portal
• Bill at the end of the month, due in 15 days
• Use accounting software (QuickBooks, Wave) from day one

Step 8: Scaling Past One Crew

The next milestone is hiring your first employee. Most owners stay solo for the first 6 months while learning the work and the accounts. Then hire a part time employee for evening shifts. Then a second crew. Then dedicated supervisors. Each step from solo to 2 crews to 5 crews is a different management challenge.

Common Mistakes

• Underbidding to win the first account (cannot scale)
• Skipping insurance (one slip and fall ends the business)
• Mixing personal and business finances (tax mess)
• No backup equipment (one breakdown = missed accounts)
• Hiring too fast without systems
• Not raising prices on existing accounts (margins erode over time)

Realistic Year 1 Numbers

• 5 to 10 small accounts ranging from 800 to 3000 dollars per month
• Total revenue: 80,000 to 150,000 dollars in year 1
• Net to owner: 30,000 to 60,000 dollars (assuming owner labour)
• Year 2 revenue with scaling: 150,000 to 300,000 dollars
• Year 3 revenue with hired crews: 300,000 to 600,000 dollars

The cleaning business is profitable when bid right, supplied right and run on a clear weekly schedule. The biggest threats are underbidding to win and skipping insurance. Avoid both, deliver consistent quality and the business compounds steadily.