Common questions about cleaning contracts and how we work

We review your enquiry and respond to arrange a walk-through of the building. The walk-through is the first substantive step: nothing is priced or agreed before we have seen the building, measured the areas in scope, and noted the finishes. The walk-through is not a sales visit — it is a working session that produces the information the specification is built from.

It depends on the complexity of the building and how quickly both parties can move through the drafting and review stages. For a straightforward single-floor office, the process from walk-through to signed document is typically two to three weeks. For a multi-tenanted building, a food premises or a healthcare setting with regulatory considerations, it will take longer. We do not issue a specification until both parties have reviewed it and confirmed it is accurate — speed is not the objective, accuracy is.

We serve commercial premises across Ireland. The walk-through requirement means we need to visit the building in person — enquiries from outside Dublin are welcome and the practical arrangements are discussed as part of the initial response.

We work with premises of varying sizes and do not publish a minimum floor area or minimum contract value. The specification process itself has a fixed cost in time that means very small premises may not find our approach economical. Use the contact form to describe your building and we will be straightforward about whether it is a practical fit.

Yes. If you have an existing contractor and want to formalise what the contract covers — or if you want to understand how what is currently being delivered compares to what was agreed — we can build a specification against the building as it is now. That specification can then be used with the existing contractor or as the basis for a tender if you are considering a change.

The buyer decides. We provide a framework — the task groups, the frequency bands, the area schedule structure — and we advise on what is typical for the use pattern of the building. But the decision about what is in scope, what frequency is acceptable, and what standard is required belongs to the buyer. The contractor prices against those decisions. We do not set a "recommended" standard and we do not tell buyers what they should be paying for.

Any material change to the building — a new area fitted out, a floor taken back, a kitchen extended — triggers a scope review, not a renegotiation from scratch. The variation procedure in the specification describes how changes are submitted, priced and documented. The updated specification is signed and dated by both parties, and the previous version is retained as a record. This is why the area schedule is measured in square metres from the outset — additions and removals have a factual basis.

The review interval is agreed and written into the specification before it is signed — typically three months after commencement for the first review, then every six months thereafter. At each review, both parties compare the specification against actual delivery, identify any variances, and amend the document if changes are agreed. The review date is not optional and it is not a courtesy meeting — it is the mechanism that keeps the written specification connected to what is actually happening in the building.

No. A price issued before the building has been measured, the finishes noted, and the scope agreed is not a price — it is a guess that will be revised, and the revision usually happens after the contract has started. We price against a measured, agreed scope. That means the walk-through comes first.

The contract price covers the labour and equipment required to deliver the task groups at the frequencies set out in the specification. It does not automatically include consumables — whether consumables are included in the price or supplied by the buyer is stated explicitly in the specification. Periodic works are priced and included in the contract at commencement; they are not added later at premium rates. Any task outside the specification is a variation and is priced separately.

A reduction in scope is a variation in the same way as an addition. It is submitted in writing, the price adjustment is agreed against the same rate structure as the original contract, the specification is updated, and the updated document is signed by both parties. Reductions in scope do not automatically reduce the contract price by a proportional amount — the price reflects the total labour deployed, some of which may be fixed regardless of which tasks are removed.

Each visit produces a sign-off record: tasks completed are signed off against the task list by the operative or their supervisor. That record is retained and available to the buyer. At supervisory check visits, the areas cleaned in the previous visit are checked against the sign-off. Any variance is documented, communicated to the operative, and confirmed as resolved on the next visit. The access log — which records date, time in, time out, and operative name — provides a parallel record of when the building was attended. Together, these constitute a verifiable record of service delivery. See the Verification Loop for how this works in practice.

That is stated in the specification, not assumed. The consumables clause names every category of consumable — hand soap, paper towels, toilet tissue, bin liners, sanitiser refills — and assigns responsibility for supply to either the contractor or the buyer. If the contractor supplies, the cost is factored into the contract price. If the buyer supplies, the contractor's obligation is to report low stock, not to absorb the cost. This clause is written before the contract starts so that the question does not arise mid-service.

The buyer is notified before the change takes effect, not after. The replacement operative receives the same induction to the building as the original — the access procedure, the area schedule, the task list, any restricted areas, and the colour-coding scheme in use. The roster is updated. A change of operative does not alter the specification; the tasks, frequencies and standards remain as written.

Yes, subject to it being within the general scope of cleaning work and not in the list of tasks that are outside scope on every contract. A one-off request is submitted in writing, priced, and agreed before the work is carried out. It does not alter the specification — it is a separate instruction carried out on an agreed basis. If the same task is requested more than three times, it should be considered for inclusion in the specification as a variation, so that it is properly scoped and priced rather than accumulating as an informal addition.

Report it in writing to the named contact in the specification, citing the task group, the area, and the date. The contractor investigates against the sign-off record and the access log, confirms whether the task was completed or missed, and — if missed — arranges a make-good visit within the timeframe stated in the absence and remedy clause. A single missed task is a service failure and is remedied. A pattern of missed tasks across multiple visits is a systematic failure and triggers a specification review. The written record on both sides is what makes that distinction possible.

The damage reporting clause in the specification requires the operative to report any damage found during a visit — broken fixtures, signs of a leak, anything out of the ordinary — to a named contact within a stated timeframe. That creates a timestamped record. If damage is found after a visit that was not reported by the operative, the investigation uses the access log and sign-off record to establish the timeline. The contractor carries public liability insurance; claims are handled through that channel. The specification and its records are the evidence base for any claim.

A written specification with dated sign-off records and a documented pattern of failures is the basis for a formal notice under the contract. Without a written specification, there is nothing to enforce against. With one, the buyer can demonstrate — from the records — that the contract has not been delivered as agreed. The contract terms, including termination provisions, are separate from the specification itself. If the specification is part of the contract and the contract has been materially breached, the buyer's position is documented and defensible. Without a specification, it is not.

Before giving notice to the existing contractor, you should have a written specification for the building — one that is agreed with the incoming contractor and reflects the actual areas, task groups and frequencies you want. If you issue notice without a specification in place, the incoming contractor is starting in the same position as the outgoing one: no written definition of success, and the same scope disputes waiting to happen. The specification is the first step, not an afterthought.

Yes. A written specification is a tender document. Contractors who receive a fully measured, task-listed specification with a frequency table and area schedule can price against it accurately. That means the prices you receive are comparable — they are all priced against the same scope — and the lowest price is not automatically the least complete one. The specification makes the tender process functional.

The access log for the past twelve months; the sign-off records for the same period; a list of all operatives who have had access to the building and the key-holding arrangements; the finishes register if one was compiled; any COSHH or product data sheets for cleaning products used on the premises. Not all of this will exist if the contract was not run against a written specification — but requesting it establishes what the outgoing contractor has and has not been maintaining, and it identifies any gaps that need to be filled before the incoming contractor starts.