Most managers stay with a cleaning company they have outgrown for one reason: switching feels like a hassle. It does not have to be. Done in the right order, a changeover happens between two visits and your team barely notices. This guide walks through the steps so you can move to a better service without a gap.
First, check your notice period
Dig out the contract and find the termination clause before you do anything else. Most commercial cleaning agreements run on a notice period — commonly 30 to 90 days — and some auto-renew if you miss a window. Knowing your date tells you when you can realistically start a new provider and stops you paying for two contracts at once.
Line up the new provider before you give notice
The mistake that causes gaps is serving notice first and looking for a replacement second. Do it the other way round:
- Get a free walk-round and a written quote from the new provider
- Agree a start date that lands the day after your current contract ends
- Confirm the scope, schedule and the first visit in writing
Only once the replacement is booked should you give notice on the old contract.
Handle keys, alarms and access deliberately
Access is where switches go wrong. Make a short list and work through it:
- Collect keys and fobs back from the outgoing cleaner
- Change or reissue alarm codes
- Brief the new team on access, parking and any out-of-hours arrangements
- Confirm who holds what, in writing
A provider who vets and DBS-checks their staff makes this far less nerve-racking — you are handing access to people who have been properly checked, not whoever turned up.
Brief the new team on what good looks like
Your old provider learned your building over months. Shorten that for the new one: share your scope, flag the areas that matter most, and point out the spots the last clean always missed. A good account manager will ask anyway.
A clean changeover is mostly sequencing. Book the new provider, agree a start date that closes the gap, sort access, then give notice — in that order.
Expect to see the difference quickly
The upside of switching shows up fast when the new provider proves their work. From the first visit, you should be able to see what was done rather than hoping it was.
That is how we run every changeover: a free walk-round to scope it properly, a start date that closes the gap, and photo proof of every clean from day one — plus a guaranteed free re-clean if anything is not right. If you are stuck with a service you have outgrown, get a free quote and we will plan the switch around your notice period.