Buying a Cleaning Business: What to Check

Cleaning businesses are among the most common small service businesses for sale: the work is steady, customers book again and again, and you don't need a shop or expensive machinery to start. That also means they differ a lot — a one-person house-cleaning round and a commercial janitorial company with staff and contracts are very different purchases. Here is what to look at. Use it with our general due-diligence checklist.

1. What kind of cleaning business it is

Residential (homes, move-in / move-out, deep cleans): many small customers, often weekly or every two weeks. Ask how many are on a regular schedule and how many are one-off jobs.
Commercial (offices, medical, schools, retail): fewer, larger customers, usually under a written contract and often cleaned in the evening.
Specialist (carpet, window, pressure washing, post-construction): more equipment, more one-off jobs; check how steady the work has been month to month.
Ready-made or turnkey: set up for you (brand, website, systems) but with few or no customers yet. You are paying for a head start, not for existing revenue — compare exactly what is included and what support you get.

2. Customers and contracts

A customer list with how often each is cleaned and what they pay. Recurring customers are what most buyers pay for.
For commercial accounts: the written contracts, their end dates, notice periods, and whether they can be transferred to you.
How much of the revenue comes from the largest customers. If one building is a big share, ask how long it has been a customer and whether it will stay after the sale.
How new customers are found today and what that costs.

3. Who does the cleaning

Whether cleaners are employees or independent contractors, what they are paid, and how long they have stayed. Ask an accountant whether the way they are classified is right in your state.
How much of the work the owner does personally. A business where the owner cleans every day is a job you are buying, not only a business.
Who manages schedules, quality checks and customer calls.

4. Insurance, bonding and licences

General liability insurance, workers' compensation where staff are employees, and commercial auto if vehicles are used. Many commercial customers ask for proof of insurance before they sign.
Many cleaning companies carry a janitorial bond, which some customers require. Ask what the business has now.
Any business licence your city, county or state needs, and whether it can move to you or must be applied for again.
Claims or complaints in the last few years.

5. Equipment, vehicles and systems

A list of what is included: vehicles, vacuums, floor machines, carpet extractors, supplies, uniforms — and their condition.
The scheduling, quoting and invoicing software, the phone number, website, reviews and social accounts. Make sure they move to you.

6. Price and paying for it

Small cleaning businesses are usually priced on their yearly earnings (the profit plus what the owner pays themselves). Ask how the seller worked out the figure they quote, line by line. Our free valuation (with a free account) gives a first range from the numbers.
Many buyers use savings plus a loan; the SBA 7(a) program can be used to buy an existing business — see sba.gov. Some sellers will carry part of the price.
Agree a handover period (introductions to key customers matter a lot here) and a non-compete in the purchase agreement.

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General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Last updated October 13, 2026.