What should a janitorial service contract include?

A good janitorial contract says exactly what gets cleaned, how often, by whom, for how much, and what happens when it does not go right. It should name both parties, set out the scope task by task, state the service days and hours, settle who supplies materials, fix the price and payment terms, prove the company's insurance, say who employs the cleaners, and give each side a clear way to end the agreement.

Vague contracts are where disputes start. "Nightly office cleaning" means different things to different people, so write it down.

Parties and place

Put the legal names and addresses of both businesses on the contract, and the address of each space to be cleaned. Ask for the company's local business licence. Virginia counties, cities and towns may levy license taxes on businesses, trades, professions, occupations and callings,^[6] so ask the company for the licence from the locality where it operates.

Scope of work, task by task

This is the section that matters most. O*NET lists the occupation's tasks as servicing, cleaning or supplying restrooms, gathering and emptying trash, cleaning floors by sweeping, mopping, scrubbing or vacuuming, cleaning windows, glass partitions and mirrors, and dusting furniture, walls, machines and equipment.^[1] Use that kind of list as a starting point, then give each task a frequency: every visit, weekly, monthly or quarterly.

Add the parts that are easy to forget. Name the rooms or areas that are excluded. Say what happens with periodic work such as floor stripping, carpet extraction and interior glass, and whether it is priced separately. O*NET also lists following procedures for the use of chemical cleaners and power equipment to prevent damage to floors and fixtures, and monitoring building security and safety, such as locking doors after operating hours,^[1] so spell out your expectations on keys, alarm codes and locking up.

Schedule, access and supplies

State the days of the week, the time window and how the crew gets in. Say who gets a key or code, what happens if an alarm goes off, and what the company does if the space is not accessible on a given night.

Settle supplies in writing. Name who provides chemicals, liners, soap, paper goods and equipment such as vacuums and floor machines, and who pays for them. Ask for the list of products the company will use in your space, especially if you have staff with sensitivities or specialty floors.

Insurance and who the workers are

Ask for proof of coverage and keep it on file. Every employer subject to the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act must insure the payment of compensation to its employees,^[3] although employees of a business that regularly has fewer than three employees in the same business in Virginia are outside the Act unless they and their employer voluntarily elect to be bound by it.^[4] Ask what applies to the crew that will work in your space, and ask for a certificate. Also ask for general liability coverage, and say in the contract that the company keeps its coverage in force for the whole term.

Then settle who employs the cleaners. In a civil action over worker misclassification, Virginia law presumes that a person paid for services is an employee of the person who paid, unless the worker is shown to be an independent contractor under Internal Revenue Service guidelines,^[5] and an individual who has not been properly classified as an employee may bring a civil action for damages against his employer if the employer had knowledge of the misclassification.^[5] A company that stands behind its own employees is a safer partner than one that passes the risk around. A contract line that the cleaners are the company's employees, hired, supervised and paid by it, is cheap protection.

Price, payment and changes

State a monthly price for the base scope, and list what is billed extra, such as periodic work, extra visits and supplies. Put the invoice date, the payment due date and any late fee in the contract.

Wages are the biggest cost in cleaning, so say how a price change is handled. From January 1, 2027, the state minimum wage rises to the greater of $13.75 an hour or the federal minimum wage, and from January 1, 2028, to the greater of $15.00 an hour or the federal minimum wage.^[2] On a multi-year contract, agree whether the price is fixed or can move, and what notice you get before it does.

Quality, term and exit

Agree how you report a missed task, how fast the company must fix it, and who is your point of contact. A short walkthrough checklist, used monthly, keeps problems small.

State the start date, the term and the renewal terms. Beware of automatic renewal with a long notice window. Give each side a right to end the contract with written notice, and a right for you to end it sooner if problems are not fixed after notice. Ask whether the company's staff can be hired by you or a successor, and whether the contract restricts it.

Stop and call a pro if

A contract is a legal document. Have a lawyer read it before you sign when:

• it runs several years, auto-renews, or carries large cancellation fees
• it asks you to take on liability for the company's workers or equipment
• the company will not show proof of insurance or says every cleaner is an independent contractor
• your space needs biohazard, sewage or mold cleanup, which routine janitorial crews are not the right service for

Where to go next

See what janitorial services cost in Virginia to compare quotes, and what commercial landscaping contracts should include for a similar checklist. Browse more commercial answers or commercial services on Loclis.

When you are ready to price the work, describe the job once and local commercial cleaning businesses quote it.