When Is a Cleaning Account Too Small?

Hello Friends,

Not all revenue is good revenue.

When you’re just starting out, it’s tempting to say yes to every account—big or small. But if you want to grow a healthy, profitable commercial cleaning business, you need to ask yourself one question:

Can this small account actually make me money?

Let’s break down the two biggest dangers of small accounts.

1. Can You Achieve a Net Profit?

Let’s say you land a $400/month contract. Sounds nice, right? Until you look closer.

You still need to pay your cleaner.

You still need someone to inspect quality.

You still need to manage the relationship.

You still need to pay insurance, admin time, and maybe even travel.

After all that, what’s left?

Probably nothing. Or worse—you’re losing money and don’t even realize it.

Small accounts often come with the same operational demands as bigger ones, without the margin to justify the effort.

2. The Hidden Cost of Small Accounts

Here’s what most people miss:

Time wasted on logistics. That $400/month contract that’s 20 minutes out of your usual route? It just ate an hour a week.

Overhead doesn’t scale down. Admin, scheduling, communication—it all takes time no matter the contract size.

Risk vs. reward. A single complaint or credit can wipe out months of your thin profit margin.

And when a small account churns, you’re back at square one—with nothing to show for it.

So, When Is It Too Small?

The answer is simple:

If you can’t build a system that delivers real profit from the account, it’s too small.

That doesn’t mean small accounts are always bad—but they need to be:

• On your existing route

• Easy to service

• High margin

• Low maintenance

If they don’t check those boxes, pass.

You’re in business to make money—not to stay busy.

Cheers

~ Etiene

How I can help you today ;

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