How to Choose a Commercial Cleaning Company in Santa Fe

To choose a commercial cleaning company in Santa Fe, check four things before you compare prices. The company should be bonded. It should carry general liability insurance, and workers' compensation if it has three or more workers. It should hold a City of Santa Fe business license and be registered for New Mexico gross receipts tax. And somebody should supervise the crew and answer for missed work. After that, ask for a walkthrough and a written, itemized scope, and compare the companies that pass on price.

Bonding

A janitorial bond protects you if a cleaner steals from your business. Bonded and insured mean different things: the bond covers theft by the company's workers, and insurance covers damage and injury. Ask what the bond covers, for how much, and whether a claim needs a criminal conviction first, because some bonds require one. A cleaning crew usually works after hours with your keys or door code, so this is the coverage you would rely on if something went missing.

Insurance

General liability insurance pays if the crew damages your property or somebody is hurt because of the work, such as a visitor slipping on a wet floor. Ask for a certificate of insurance sent directly from the company's insurance agent, and check the dates on it. If your lease requires it, ask to have your landlord named as an additional insured.

Workers' compensation is separate. New Mexico requires it for employers with three or more workers, and part-time and seasonal staff count toward the three. A company that calls all of its cleaners independent contractors may not carry it, so ask.

Licensing

New Mexico has no state license specific to cleaning. A Santa Fe cleaning company should have a City of Santa Fe business license and a registration with the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department for gross receipts tax, which applies to cleaning services. That tax should appear on its invoices.

Supervision

Cleaning slips when nobody checks it. Ask who checks the work and how often, whether the crew works from a written list for your building, who your contact is and how quickly they answer, and how a missed task gets reported and put right. Ask too whether the same crew comes each time, and whether any of the work is passed to subcontractors.

Dust, old buildings and sensitive staff

High-desert wind puts fine dust on every sill and floor in town, and it comes back quickly, so ask how a company deals with it. Microfiber cloths pick dust up where cotton pushes it along. Older buildings with plaster walls and tile or wood floors need products that will not damage them. Clinics, care centers and offices with chemically sensitive staff need products without harsh fragrances or residue.

The walkthrough and the estimate

A company that quotes a flat price over the phone has not seen your building. Ask for a walkthrough, then a written scope that lists each task, where it is done and how often, with the price broken out. That document is what you hold the company to later, and it lets you compare bids line by line.

Where ProSite stands

This team started in Santa Fe as Sun Green Cleaner. We are bonded, insured and licensed. We walk your building with you, and a free, line-itemized estimate follows within 48 hours of that meeting. Our crews use microfiber in place of cotton and clean with products that leave no bleach or harsh residue. Ask us the questions on this page; we would ask them of anyone.

More on the work itself: commercial cleaning in Santa Fe, janitorial services in Santa Fe and office cleaning in Santa Fe.