How to organize a profitable apartment cleaning business. Opening a cleaning company: business plan from scratch

The cleaning business (professional cleaning of premises) is gaining increasing popularity. Let's look at how to open a cleaning company.

This business does not require licenses or permits, and the initial stage does not cost much. So for those who want to open their own business without large investments, a cleaning company may be an ideal option. However, it is necessary to take into account the nuances of this enterprise.

For example, when opening a cleaning business from scratch, you can specialize in cleaning industrial premises or apartments after renovation, or in regular cleaning of offices. To find clients, you need to advertise accordingly.

Or you can first come to an agreement with a specific enterprise (shopping or entertainment center) and only after that organize a structure and hire workers.

So each time you need to act in accordance with the environment - the presence of potential customers and competitors. Find your niche in the expanding market for cleaning services and determine what is more in demand in a given region - carpet cleaning or tile washing.

However, in any case, it is necessary to draw up a business plan. Of course, there is a ready-made business plan for cleaning services on the Internet, but it is usually not very useful.

What else is attractive about a cleaning company - a business from scratch begins to make a profit with minimal investment. Let's look at what you need to get started.

How to open a cleaning business

Registration. It is most convenient to register an LLC for this work.

Licenses and permits. Absent, but it’s worth familiarizing yourself with GOST for cleaning buildings and structures.

Equipment. In any case, a vacuum cleaner is necessary; carpet cleaning machine (disc); window cleaning kit. You also need your own transport to transport equipment and people. In addition, all employees must have workwear with the company logo.

Staff. The main problem of cleaning companies is staff turnover. It is also necessary to train staff. All office and administrative functions are usually performed by the founder (director). An accountant can be invited or work part-time.

A seemingly simple business contains many conditions that must be taken into account before starting work. It is best to take the Business Youth training course before starting your own business, where you can get practical help on starting any projects.

Opening a cleaning company means cleaning premises; these companies appeared in the country not so long ago and cause skepticism among businessmen and consumers in terms of assessing their prospects.

According to statistics, the cleaning business is a good option for making money if you calculate everything well and start.

How to open a business well

Opening a company is divided into stages:

registration with the tax service, the pension fund, other social insurance funds, statistics agencies and Rospotrebnadzor;
selection of clients (firms, wealthy clients, other customers);
development of a list of services;
develop a price list;
selection of employees;
purchase of tools, detergents.

Cleaning is a narrow concept that reflects part of the services: employees of a cleaning company clean carpets, furniture, pillows, wash blankets and that’s not all.

It is advisable to immediately find a regular client, whose payment will be the company’s first constant source of income.

The services should be offered to a business center in need of cleaners. These establishments hire cleaners for a low fee, there are not enough of them there, and the problem is already solved in the usual way with the help of cleaning companies.

Opening a cleaning company in a small town

How to open a cleaning business in a small town? Doing business in a small town has its own specifics; it has its own advantages and difficulties. Businessmen do not flock to such places because of the small number of clients, their low solvency, because there are serious risks.

It is worth trying to cover several categories of clients with services: both individuals and companies. Entrepreneurs have recently paid attention to their image, and prefer to entrust cleaning to professionals who work at a high level.

The company's services are used by people who need helpers and do not have time to do the cleaning themselves. These are rental property owners or people who want to help their parents.

In a large city, it is better to occupy a narrow niche. For example, start cleaning up construction waste and restoring floor coverings, getting developers interested. All new buildings, without exception, remain littered, with an abundance of defects that the developer company does not eliminate.

In a small town it is not so difficult to find clients and build a reputation. The specifics of the business force us to serve different categories of clients, but there is a chance to receive a regular income.

We rely on the business plan

A business plan from scratch for a cleaning company is a document that describes the goals of creating the company, calculations, market analysis and other information. If you do it exclusively for yourself, without demonstrating it to outsiders, you should limit yourself to the practical part:

who is the participant or participants in the project;
plans for organizing the enterprise (who has what responsibilities);
market analysis, comparison of competitors, description of their advantages, what to do to become more attractive in comparison with others;
circle of potential consumers, price list;
financial part – expenses, income, their structure;
analysis of risks, ways to reduce or avoid them.

Each of the listed points can be divided into several additional ones or combined. A business plan is a living document; changes and additions need to be made to it regularly. They will help you plan your future development path and take into account past mistakes. This will allow you not to overload your head with additional information. For those who do not know how to open a company from scratch, a business plan will be an excellent auxiliary tool. Drawing up a business plan will be successful if you remember that it is created primarily for your own needs.

Video

How much does it cost to register a cleaning company?

The statement that you can start a business with only a rag and a bucket is not entirely true. This approach forces clients to immediately refuse the company’s services or limit themselves to a short period of cooperation, looking for those who work at a more professional level.

It is better to immediately buy suitable equipment, detergents, and hire specialists. The minimum amount that directors of successful companies talk about is 300 thousand.

Almost the entire amount will be spent on purchasing equipment and cleaning products. Expenses for salaries and office rent require less money, but they are constant and cannot be delayed.

Payment plans include taxes, payments to compulsory social and compulsory health insurance funds. In the case of an individual entrepreneur, tax payments are minimal, they can even be eliminated if you work alone on the general taxation system. You are allowed to choose a patent - 4 or 5 thousand, rubles. for 12 months. Insurance premiums are around 30 thousand for 12 months.

Payments are allowed to be made throughout the year, the main thing is that obligations are fulfilled before December 31.

If an individual entrepreneur hires employees, tax and insurance payments are calculated according to a different scheme.

It is advised, in order to avoid conflicts with clients, to insure the liability of employees in case of property damage, theft and other situations when the obligation to compensate for damage arises. Insurance will protect you from unexpected problems and costs, and will make your clients more favorable.

An individual entrepreneur or a company is required to keep records, so it is better to outsource accounting, tax reporting, and legal support to other companies. This approach is more profitable compared to hiring employees; the cost of these services is reduced by 2 times.

What documents are required for a company from scratch?

certificate of registration with the Federal Tax Service;
notification of registration with the pension fund;
charter, if a legal entity is registered;
a work book for each employee or an employment contract signed with each of them;
office lease agreement.

No licenses or permits are currently required to run a cleaning business.

Requirements for personnel and premises

An office is needed for negotiations, communication with employees, storage of tools, chemicals, etc. Having a full-fledged office, albeit a modest one, gives some solidity to the company. At first, a small room will do, but later you will be able to move to another office, where there is enough space for both administrative staff and tools. If there is a lot of equipment, large machines, a separate room is hired, and everything is stored there.

A company that claims to be reputable provides employees with visits to store work clothes, rest and take breaks. If a company only demands from staff and does not take care of them, the company will face a shortage of personnel. Treating employees attentively will attract potential employees if they are needed, and provide them with an incentive to work harder and hold on to their jobs.

How to open a cleaning company from scratch

4.6 (91.11%) 9 votes

Cleaning is a professional service for cleaning various premises and maintaining cleanliness.

Even in Europe and the USA, with their established market for cleaning services (about 80% of all commercial real estate is serviced by cleaning companies), this area is characterized by a rapid pace of development. The top 500 franchises according to the American business publication Entrepreneur include 17 cleaning companies - all of them are showing rapid growth.

In Russia, only a fifth of all commercial real estate is serviced by professional cleaners. But while the non-residential cleaning market in Russia has major players working with large shopping centers, business centers, and government agencies, the residential cleaning market is not consolidated. It is represented by small local companies operating within one city, as well as individual cleaners who constantly work for several clients. Therefore, the barrier to entry into this market is not so high.

The goal of this project is to create a cleaning company specializing in cleaning residential premises (apartments, houses, cottages) in a city with a population of one million.

The main factors for the success of this business:

Low competition. Even in big cities, there are no major players in this market; it is occupied by small businesses or “private traders” with whom they can successfully compete. In cities with a population of less than 500 thousand people, it is quite possible that the market will be free.
Demand. In any city there is a solvent audience that does not want or does not have the opportunity to clean their houses on their own. Even those who clean their homes themselves order additional services, such as dry cleaning of mattresses and carpets.
High MRR(monthly recurring revenue). A person needs cleaning constantly, once every 1-2 weeks. If you provide quality services, the client will order it again and again, which, coupled with a high average check, will lead to an increase in MRR. And a high MRR is not only a stable monthly income, but also the ability to predict and track the profitability of an enterprise in advance.

Initial investment amount is 325,000 rubles*

Break even achieved after 4 months of operation

Payback period is 9 months

Average monthly profit first year implementation of the project is 96,800 rubles.

* excluding monthly costs (office wages and cleaners, chemicals and consumables). They can be found in the “Financial Plan” section.

2. Description of the business, product or service

List of services provided:

Regular cleaning means dry and wet cleaning of the entire room. It is necessary once every 1-2 weeks and includes dust removal and wet cleaning of all surfaces in the apartment or house.
General cleaning is a comprehensive cleaning of the apartment, including washing windows and balconies and kitchen appliances from the inside. General cleaning of the premises is required once a month.
Post-construction cleaning is a one-time service required after renovation of an apartment or house. It is aimed at getting rid of traces of building mixtures, glue, and limescale from all surfaces in the apartment.
Dry cleaning of upholstered furniture. Professional cleaning service for furniture (mattresses, chairs, sofas, armchairs) using a special vacuum cleaner. Produced 1-2 times a year.
Ironing is done at the customer’s home using the company’s equipment and ironing board. Payment is hourly.
Delivery of keys to the customer. If the customer is not at home when the cleaners arrive and finish cleaning, he can order the delivery of keys from him and to him for an additional fee.
Separate services included in general cleaning. For example, window cleaning. Can be ordered separately or combined with regular cleaning.

Opening hours: from 7:00 to 22:00. All services are provided at the client's premises.

3. Description of the sales market

In 2014-15, the commercial real estate cleaning market, which previously occupied more than 90% of the cleaning market, entered a stage of stagnation associated with price dumping against the background of cost optimization of large companies and business centers. In turn, the residential cleaning market began to grow, due to the fact that the services of housekeepers became less accessible to the middle class. At the moment, this growth continues.

In cities with a population of over a million, there are about 10% of the solvent population who are ready to order cleaning of their house or apartment. On average, there are 2.5 inhabitants per dwelling in Russia. Let’s estimate the potential and actual market volume per month for different cities, provided that the client orders cleaning twice a month for 2,000 rubles:

* calculation was made taking into account the smaller share of the solvent population in cities with a population of less than 1 million people.

4. Sales and Marketing

Promoting a cleaning business is not an easy task. You will have to simultaneously work with several segments of potential clients and answer their key questions.

Let's highlight these segments:

Those who do not know about household cleaning at all. Their question is: “What, can I order cleaning of my house?” They just need to tell you about the company in detail. There are many such people. For example, 70% of our regular customers ordered cleaning from us for the first time.
Those who are used to cleaning on their own. “Why should I order if I can do it myself?” If this is a principled position, there is nothing you can do, but the rest of the categories need to convey the benefits of professional cleaning, talk about employee training and work standards.
Those who want to order, but are afraid/doubt. Their question is “What if it’s unsafe/expensive/inconvenient?” Your job is to refute these assumptions. And not only in word, but also in deed. Today, in the age of the Internet, any published story that your cleaner stole something, or that the reported receipt was lower than the actual one, will kill the reputation of your business.
Those who order from “private traders” or other companies. Learn how these categories work. Order cleaning for yourself and think about what you can do better. This will distinguish you favorably, and this will form the basis for the positioning of your company.

In any case, constant active marketing will reduce the profit of your enterprise to zero. High-quality service delivery and a high percentage of customer returns - this is what needs to be achieved first.

Apartment cleaning prices (RUB):

House cleaning prices (RUB):

Prices for additional services:

	Price (unit)
	500 rub. for a place
	500 rub. per piece
	1000 rub. for a place
	100 rub. per piece
Washing a standard window	250 rub. per piece
Stained glass window cleaning	500 rub. per piece
Washing a standard balcony	1500 rub. for the balcony
Cleaning a stained glass balcony	2500 rub. for the balcony
	500 rub. in an hour
Cleaning the oven from the inside	600 rub. per piece
Cleaning the refrigerator from the inside	600 rub. per piece
Washing the microwave from the inside	600 rub. per piece

The average bill is 3,000 rubles.

5. Production plan

Stage 1. Registration

First of all, you need to register your business.

In the OKVED-2 classification, select item 81.21.1 “Cleaning activities for apartments and private houses.” It is included in the “household services” class and falls under UTII.

You will also need to produce and register a seal and open a bank account. In total, you will spend about 4,000 rubles on registration.

Stage 2. Premises

Your activities will be related to the storage of chemicals, equipment, and the constant arrival and departure of employees. Therefore, an apartment as a premises would be a bad option. Rent a small, inexpensive, vacant space. It should have a bathroom, two rooms, and good ventilation. Since the arrival of clients is not expected, the premises do not require repairs. A plus will be the availability of free parking near the office and accessibility to public transport. In a city with a population of one million, such an office can be rented for 25 thousand rubles per month.

Stage 3. Purchase of equipment, uniforms and chemicals

To get started you will need:

20 cleaning kits (mop, mop, bucket, bag) - 40,000 rubles.
20 sets of uniform - 30,000 rubles.
Professional vacuum cleaner that can be used for post-construction cleaning - 23,000 rubles
Vacuum cleaner for dry cleaning of upholstered furniture - 47,000 rubles.

Monthly costs:

Consumables (sponges, rags, gloves, caps, etc.). All this will cost about 500 rubles per cleaner
Chemicals - about 1200 rubles per month per cleaner

Total: 140,000 rubles initial costs + monthly.

Stage 4. Hiring employees

First of all, you need to hire an office manager. This position does not require a person with any special competencies; he will simply supervise the cleaners, accept and send them to orders. Since the company's operating time is clearly more than 8 hours, most likely you will have to hire two employees in 2/2 mode. The employee's salary is 25 thousand rubles.

Your main problem will be hiring cleaners. Cleaning residential premises requires high demands on employees - in terms of discipline, appearance, readiness to work and improve their skills. But there is a prevailing idea that cleaning is the domain of low-skilled personnel or people looking for part-time work. In our experience, only 1 person out of 75 who responded is suitable.

But hiring people is not enough - they also need to be trained. You can independently study GOSTs, materials on the Internet, practice with equipment in order to subsequently train employees. You can hire a technologist on a piece-rate basis who will deal purely with training. In this case, each training for cleaners will cost you at least 2,000 rubles. One way or another, even recruiting a staff of 5 cleaners will take you about 2-3 months.

6. Organizational structure

The company structure is simple:

Manager - 1
Office managers - 2
Cleaners - 20

Naturally, you won’t hire 20 cleaners right away; initially, 5 people will be enough. But with 20 employees you will get the ideal combination - high turnover while maintaining a simple team structure. Increasing your staff will lead to the need to create an additional hierarchy, and this will be unnecessary complications for you.

Cleaners' salary is 60% of the order. Schedule: 2/2. It is mandatory to have a medical book with tests for workers in consumer services (for example, a beauty salon).

7. Financial plan

The financial plan is calculated based on the average cleaning bill of 3,000 rubles and the norm of 18 cleanings per cleaner per month.

Costs/month of work
Registration
Purchase of vacuum cleaners
Consumables
Cleaner kit
Chemicals

Salary for cleaners
Office payroll
Furniture, office equipment
Office rental
Marketing
other expenses

Total expenses
Income

Increased Cash Flow

Costs/month of work
Registration
Purchase of vacuum cleaners
Consumables
Cleaner kit
Chemicals

Salary for cleaners

White salary This is the only legal form of remuneration. Many job seekers, when looking for work, are also faced with illegal types of payment: black and gray wages. In order to figure out whether the salary from a given employer is legal, you need to pay attention to the following signs.

Signs of a white salary:

The full salary amount is indicated in the documents upon hiring.
Bonuses and other incentive allowances are calculated by order.
Money is transferred to the card or issued through the cash register. Cash payment must be made according to one of the following documents: cash order, payroll or payroll. Documents must be signed by the manager, chief accountant or authorized person. Opposite the name of a specific employee should be the amount that is issued in person.
No additional amounts will be issued in envelopes.
The actual amount of income is reflected in the 2-NDFL certificate and in the pay slip.
All deductions are made from the entire amount of the employee’s income.

What is official wages?

Many people don't even think about the fact that they are receiving illegal income. They work without registration or receive part of their payment in envelopes, but do not understand that part of their income is hidden. For most employees, it does not matter that the amount of their actual income according to documents is less than their real earnings. Employees pay attention to ensuring that money arrives on time, without delays.

The official salary is calculated either according to the report card or according to the standards met. An employee should not register for a salary less than the minimum wage established by the state.

Salary structure

Salary. For the calculation of which, the actual time worked according to the time sheet, or the standards actually fulfilled, are taken into account.
Bonus (for length of service, qualifications, length of service, rank or others).
Additional payments for work on weekends, for night work, for replacing an absent employee and others.
Incentive payments, including bonuses.
The regional coefficient established in a specific region.

When an employee is on sick leave, he is paid temporary disability benefits. When on a business trip, business trips. And when you go on vacation, you are paid vacation pay.

Features of employment

When hiring an employee, a hiring order must be issued. An employment contract is another fundamental document that describes the position, working conditions, rest, and the amount of remuneration for the duties performed.

You need to familiarize yourself with the following internal documents of the organization:

Collective agreement.
Regulations on bonuses.
Inner order rules.
Job descriptions.
Taxes and salaries.

You need to understand the difference between accrued and paid wages. The difference between them is the withheld personal income tax (personal income tax), trade union dues, alimony and other deductions under the writ of execution.

Additionally, the employer pays mandatory contributions to the following extra-budgetary funds from all accrued employee income:

Pension Fund of the Russian Federation (PFR).
Compulsory Health Insurance Fund (MHIF).
Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation (FSS).

Illegal types of wages

On the territory of the Russian Federation there is only one type of remuneration - official wages in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. In common parlance, such earnings are called white wages. No other types of remuneration are legal; there are no legal concepts of black or gray wages.

Black salary

An employment contract is not concluded with the employee, no hiring order is made, and there is no documentation of the person in the organization. Such an employee receives his salary in cash in an envelope.

Obvious disadvantages of illegal sources of income:

Lack of legal protection for employees.
No tax transfers.
Inability to officially go on vacation, sick leave or maternity leave.

The employee does not have any length of service and does not make any contributions to the Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund, the Pension Fund, or the Social Insurance Fund. In case of illness or dismissal, the employer often does not make the required payments. When the time comes to receive your pension, payments will be minimal.

The only advantage of such a source is the higher amount of illegal income. This option is convenient for business areas with a regular turnover of cash, which later goes to pay earnings.

This method is also convenient for real estate organizations. Only a few people register with such companies, and the rest receive only a percentage of sales.

Gray salary

Partially the official salary is called gray. At the same time, employees are registered on the minimum wage. It is from this amount that the employer pays all taxes. Sometimes an employee is assigned to a position with a lower salary. The remainder is paid in an envelope.

This scheme allows the employer to reduce the cost of taxes and allows you to increase wages. However, sick leave, maternity, vacation, as a rule, are calculated according to the minimum wage and their size is minimal. It is highly likely that after the decree, the employer will offer to quit, and if he disagrees, he will leave only the white part of the salary.

Another disadvantage of partly illegal earnings is that the employer regulates the amount in the envelope on his own and can set various fines and illegal deductions.

Scheme of illegal salaries disguised as dividends

Another way to pay wages is a scheme that includes a minimum wage and dividends. Each employee is given the opportunity to purchase shares of the organization, which he must sell upon dismissal.

These conditions are specified in the employment contract. A smaller part of the salary is processed and paid on time. The employee periodically receives most of the income in the form of dividends, which in fact make up the bulk of his earnings.

Taxes are transferred only from the minimum wage. The frequency of dividends is not monthly, but quarterly. In this scheme, dividends are a good cover for illegal income. To identify this scheme, they reconcile all employment contracts, minutes and documents of shareholder meetings, employee shares and the amount of payments.

What does the employer risk?

Often, the employer is calm and confident that employees will not complain, because they will not be able to prove anything without official documents. However, illegal schemes are detected quite easily. To do this, an unscheduled check is carried out and the number of employees in the workplace and in the staff list is simply compared.

Employee complaints to inspection bodies and witness testimony can help identify this scheme. Illegal payment of labor and tax evasion threatens the employer with heavy fines and even criminal liability.

Advantages and disadvantages of official earnings for an employee

The main advantage is the social security of the employee. If there is a violation of labor obligations, you can file a complaint with the regulatory authorities.
Registration of employees and payment of white wages is a sign of a stable organization.
Taxes are charged on all earnings. In the future, the amount of pension payments will be calculated from these taxes transferred to the Pension Fund.
Temporary disability benefits and vacation pay are calculated based on total earnings.
When you go on parental leave, it will be easier to return to your position while maintaining your salary, since the registration is official.
You can confirm your income with a certificate; this is sometimes necessary to obtain a mortgage or loan.
The salary is fixed; the employer does not have the right to reduce it at will.
If an employee is dismissed, the employer must pay all due payments.
You can return part of your personal income tax from the budget using tax deductions. This is beneficial if you buy an apartment or house with a mortgage.

The disadvantages are not so obvious, but they still exist.

Official income is usually less than illegal income. Because the employer reduces part of its expenses by cutting salaries.
Most vacancies in private business are offered with illegal earnings, so it is more difficult to find a job with an official salary.
Alimony and debts under writs of execution are withheld from official earnings; illegal income is easier to hide. In this regard, when registering an employee, the full amount will be deducted from the salary.

Advantages and disadvantages of a white salary for an employer

The obvious disadvantage is the cost of taxes.
Complex accounting reporting.
Inability to fire an unsuitable employee, since according to the Labor Code this is difficult to do.

There are much fewer advantages for the employer:

No liability for illegal wages and tax evasion.
Good reputation and stability of the organization.
Accounting transparency.

How to check whether an employee’s payment is official?

If an employee has doubts about whether he has official income, this can be checked as follows. You need to register in your personal account on the website of the Federal Tax Service and download the 2-NDFL certificate there. Organizations are required to submit these certificates annually by name. Having received a similar one in accounting, you can compare income by month.

Despite the obvious advantages of the white salary, most employers and employees settle on the gray version. When making such a choice, you need to weigh all the risks, since employees often lose more than they gain. It must be borne in mind that if the salary is illegal, the employer may delay its payment for an indefinite period, pay it not in full, or not pay it at all.