What does a fixed monthly office cleaning price actually cover?
One number for a written list of rooms and tasks, on a set number of nights each month. If a night takes longer than planned, that is the cleaning company's problem, not a line on your bill. At JCIL the number is set after a walkthrough, invoiced on the 1st and due in 15 days, and you can leave with 30 days' written notice.
Why do office cleaning bills move around?
Most surprise invoices come from one of three places. The first is hourly billing: the crew logs time, and the total changes with every slow night, new hire or holiday party. The second is scope drift: a task that was never written down (the fridge, the conference room glass, the extra suite you took over) gets done once, then billed. The third is add-ons that were never priced, such as carpet extraction or a floor finish that shows up as a one-off charge after the fact.
A fixed monthly price only solves those problems if the number is tied to something you can read. A flat fee with no written scope is just an hourly bill with the hours hidden.
What should be written behind the number?
Before you accept any flat price, ask to see four things on paper:
- The rooms. Reception, open office, private offices, conference rooms, kitchen or break room, restrooms. Rooms that are off-limits should be listed too.
- The tasks per visit, per week and per month. Trash and recycling every visit; glass and detail work on a slower rhythm.
- The nights. How many visits a month the price buys, and which nights.
- What is not included. Add-ons and exclusions, named, so nobody argues about them later.
If two companies give you a flat number, compare the scopes, not the totals. The cheaper one often covers fewer rooms or fewer nights.
How is a flat monthly price built?
A serious quote is built from the space, not from a guess over the phone. The steps are usually the same: measure the square footage, turn it into the labor one visit takes, multiply by the number of visits in the month, and apply a minimum per visit so a small office still gets a full visit. That is how we do it, and the formula is laid out on our pricing page.
Your price is set at the visit. We don't publish a flat rate table for offices, because the same 3,000 square feet can be two quiet rooms or twelve busy ones.
The price we write down is firm. If the job takes longer than we planned, that is on us.
What happens on the invoice side?
A fixed price is also a fixed rhythm of paperwork. With us it runs like this:
Your service starts once the agreement is signed and the first month is paid. After that, each month is invoiced.
Each month is invoiced on the 1st and due in 15 days. Pay by ACH or card through the invoice link, or by check. Cash is not accepted.
Because the invoice is the same every month, your accounts payable team can approve it without checking a timesheet. The number changes only when the scope changes, and a scope change is written and approved by you first.
You get the scope in writing before any work starts, and nothing is added or changed without your written approval.
What is usually outside the flat price?
Recurring cleaning and periodic projects are different kinds of work, so most companies quote them apart. In our case, commercial carpet extraction, floor buffing or sealing, disinfection, post-construction cleaning and an initial office deep clean are add-ons, each quoted on its own before it is done. Paper towels, toilet tissue, hand soap and trash liners are supplied by you unless your written scope says otherwise.
We bring the cleaning products and equipment, and they are included in your price.
How long are you tied in?
A fixed price should not mean a fixed sentence. Ask how much notice you need to give, whether there is an annual term, and what happens if the service slips.
Office cleaning is month to month. Cancel with 30 days' written notice.
Report an issue with a photo or description by 6:00 p.m. the next business day and we redo that area at no charge on the next visit or the next business evening. A missed visit is made up the next evening and credited on your next invoice.
The proposal itself also has a clock, so the number you were quoted is the number you sign:
A proposal is valid for 30 days from the day we send it.
Is a flat price right for every office?
For recurring cleaning, almost always: you get one predictable number and the company carries the risk of a slow night. It fits less well for work that is genuinely one-time, such as a move-out or a post-construction clean, where the effort depends on what the space looks like that day. Those are better priced as a project, in writing, before anyone starts.
If you want to see how your own office would be priced, the walkthrough is free and you keep the written scope whether or not you hire us.
FAQ
Is a fixed monthly price cheaper than hourly cleaning?
Not always cheaper, but it is predictable. You pay for a written scope and a set number of nights, and a slow night doesn't raise the bill.
Can the monthly price change?
Only when the scope changes, for example new rooms or more nights, and only after you approve the change in writing.
Why won't you quote a monthly price over the phone?
The same square footage can hold very different work. We measure the space and walk it with you first, then send the price and the scope in writing.
Is the first deep clean part of the monthly price?
No. An initial office deep clean is an add-on quoted on its own, except for our founding clients, who get it included.
Want one written monthly number for your office? Book a free walkthrough and we'll measure the space with you.
We clean offices from Boston north to Gloucester, Massachusetts only: Boston and Cambridge, North of Boston, North Shore.