8 Questions to Ask a Commercial Cleaning Company Before Hiring

The questions to ask a commercial cleaning company before hiring cover eight points: proof of insurance and a certificate of insurance (COI), how keys and alarm codes are handled, background checks, the written scope by frequency, who brings supplies, who actually shows up, how problems are reported and what the contract lets you change or cancel.

Interviewing cleaners this week? Use the 8-question table as your interview sheet, then see how we answer the same list.

The 8 Questions at a Glance

These are the questions to ask a commercial cleaning company before you hand over a key. They come from the problems small offices and practices run into most: a missing certificate of insurance, a key nobody can account for, a scope nobody wrote down.

Use the table as your interview sheet. The right column shows what a clear answer sounds like, so you can spot a vague one.

Questions About Trust: Insurance, Keys and Background Checks

The first three questions protect your space while nobody from your team is in it. Ask them before you talk about price.

1. Are You Insured, and Can You Send a Certificate of Insurance?

A certificate of insurance, or COI, is a short document from the cleaner's insurance agent that summarizes the policy: the insurer, the type of coverage, the limits and the policy dates. It is how you check coverage without reading the whole policy.

Many landlords and property managers ask every vendor for a COI before they enter, and some ask to be named on it as certificate holder or additional insured. If your office or practice sits in a leased professional building, check your lease for that requirement first.

• Ask for general liability coverage and the policy dates
• Ask whether workers' compensation covers the people who come into your space
• Ask whether the company has a janitorial bond, which is separate from liability insurance
• Keep the COI on file and ask for a new one when the policy renews

2. How Do You Handle Our Keys and Alarm Code?

Keys and codes are the question most owners forget until something goes wrong. Ask how many copies the company keeps, where they are stored and who can use them.

A careful answer covers the whole life of the key: how it is labeled (never with your business name or address), how it is logged, and how it comes back if you end the service. For the alarm, ask for a separate user code for the cleaner if your panel allows it, so you can see when it was used and delete it later without changing your own code.

Also ask what happens if the alarm goes off during a visit. Ask your alarm company whether your city or county charges for repeated false alarms, and make sure the cleaner knows the cancel procedure and who to call.

3. Are the People Who Clean Background Checked?

Ask who is checked, what kind of check is used and when it was done. "Yes, everyone" is not an answer until you know whether it covers every person who might enter, including a substitute on a sick day.

For a medical or dental office, add a privacy question. The cleaner should agree never to open drawers, charts or patient files, and to clean around screens and paperwork without moving them.

Questions About the Work: Scope and Supplies

Most cleaning complaints in small offices come from tasks nobody wrote down. These two questions fix that before the first visit.

4. What Exactly Is in the Scope?

Ask for the scope in writing, split by frequency. "Office cleaning twice a week" says nothing; a list of what happens on every visit, what happens weekly and what happens monthly lets you check the work.

Ask what is not included, too. Common exclusions are inside electronics, stripping and waxing floors, carpet shampoo, exterior windows and anything above a safe reach. In a clinic, sharps and regulated medical waste belong to a licensed waste hauler, not the cleaner.

Our daily, weekly and monthly office cleaning checklist is a good template to hold any quote against. Practices can use the medical office cleaning checklist instead.

5. Who Brings the Supplies, and Which Products Do You Use?

There are two kinds of supplies, and they are often confused. Cleaning products and tools are usually the cleaner's. Paper towels, toilet paper and hand soap for your restrooms are usually yours, refilled by the cleaner from your stock.

Ask which products will be used and request the Safety Data Sheets if anyone on your team has allergies or asthma. OSHA's Hazard Communication standard is the rule behind those sheets and product labels. If you prefer gentler products, the EPA's Safer Choice program certifies cleaning products with safer ingredients.

Questions About People and Problems

Two things decide whether an after-hours plan works: who has your key, and the message you get when they leave, such as a note that a toilet was running or the soap ran low. These two questions cover both.

6. Who Will Actually Show Up?

Ask whether the same person or crew will come each time, and who comes when they are sick or on vacation. A different face every week means the checklist gets relearned every week.

Ask how a new person is introduced, too. You should know in advance when someone new will have your key and code, not find out from the alarm log.

7. How Will We Hear About Problems?

After-hours cleaning happens when nobody is there to see it, so reporting is part of the service. Ask for a short message at the end of each visit and a single contact for complaints and changes.

A good report flags what the cleaner noticed, not only what they cleaned: a running toilet, a leak under the break room sink, a door that did not latch, soap running low. Ask how fast they reply when you report a miss, and how it gets fixed. You can see how this works night by night in how after hours business cleaning works.

Questions About the Contract

Contract terms decide what happens when the service is not working. Ask before you sign, because changing them later is harder.

8. What Are the Contract Terms?

• Length: month to month or a fixed term, and whether it renews automatically
• Notice: how many days you need to give to cancel
• Changes: how to add a visit, skip a holiday or adjust the schedule
• Price: what can change the price, and how much notice you get
• Keys: how and when keys and codes are returned at the end

If a company calls itself janitorial, ask whether the contract includes building upkeep such as restocking or small repairs. Our guide to commercial cleaning vs janitorial services explains where the line usually sits.

How Gatehouse Clean Answers These 8 Questions

We think you should hold us to the same list. Here are our answers, including the ones we are still finalizing as a new company.

We clean small offices and medical and dental offices in Davenport, ChampionsGate, Four Corners and Kissimmee. See what is included in our office cleaning in Davenport and our medical office cleaning for clinics and dental offices.

Red Flags When Comparing Cleaning Companies

Some answers should end the conversation, however good the price looks. Watch for these when you compare quotes.

• No COI, or "we will send it later" after the first visit
• A price given over the phone without seeing the space
• No written scope, only "general cleaning"
• No clear answer on who keeps your key and what happens to it at the end
• A long contract with no exit if quality drops

A walkthrough is the simplest test. A company that wants to see your restrooms, kitchen, floors and busiest rooms before quoting is pricing your space, not a guess. Ready to compare? Send us your property details and tell us your hours.

Hiring a Commercial Cleaner FAQ

Short answers to what owners and office managers ask before hiring a cleaning company. Want ours in writing? Request your cleaning quote.