Buying a commercial cleaning company in Orlando and Central Florida

• Many customers, none too large, so losing one doesn't hurt badly. Watch for one property manager who controls several buildings.
• Customers who have stayed for years, including through price increases.
• Prices based on the hours each building actually takes, with profit tracked by account.
• Area managers or supervisors who check the work and handle complaints without the owner.
• Specialized work that's harder to replace, like medical offices, floor care or buildings that require security clearances.
• A steady way to hire and train, because turnover never stops here.
• Written agreements with every customer, not handshake deals.
• Customers who've added services over time, a sign they trust the company in their building.

• Revenue by customer, and the five largest customers' share.
• Contract terms: length, notice period, price increase clauses, and whether the contracts can be transferred to you.
• Customer turnover: accounts gained and lost each year for three years.
• Labor cost per account, overtime, and pay compared with local competitors.
• How cleaners are paid: as employees with taxes withheld, or as contractors with nothing withheld. If contractors, ask your accountant about the risk.
• Immigration paperwork (Form I-9) for every employee. Florida also requires employers with 25 or more employees to check new hires through E-Verify.
• Insurance claims: damage to customers' property, accusations of theft, injuries.
• Who customers deal with, and whether they'll stay.
• Supervision: how many buildings each supervisor checks in a night, and what happens when a cleaner doesn't show.

• How many accounts do you have, and how long has the average customer been with you?
• Which accounts did you lose last year, and why?
• Are your cleaners employees or independent contractors?
• How do you know a building was cleaned properly?
• When did you last raise prices, and how did customers react?
• Who brings in new accounts now?
• Which customers buy extras like floor care, and how do you price it?

This region covers Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Sumter and Marion counties: Orlando, Winter Park, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Sanford, Clermont, Leesburg, Ocala and the large retirement communities of Sumter and Lake counties. Tourism is what the area is best known for, built on the theme parks, the hotels, the vacation rental homes around Kissimmee and the Orange County Convention Center. It's far from the only business. The University of Central Florida and the military simulation and training offices near it support a technology base, and health care is a major employer.

Marion County is horse country, with thoroughbred farms around Ocala, and it has added warehouses and distribution centers along Interstate 75. Retirees in Sumter and Lake create steady demand for medical practices, home care, home maintenance and auto services. The building trades, restaurants, and companies that serve hotels and rental homes do well across the region.

Central Florida is inland, so storm surge isn't the worry it is on the coasts. Hurricanes still bring wind damage and flooding, though: Hurricane Ian flooded neighborhoods in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties in 2022. Ask whether the business or its customers were affected.

Tourism keeps demand steadier through the year than in markets that depend on winter residents, with busy stretches around school holidays. Hotels, parks and restaurants compete hard for workers, which pushes up wages for any company that hires hourly staff. New homes have spread fast in Osceola, south Lake and southeast Orange counties and around Ocala, so check whether a company's customers are in growing areas or older ones. Traffic on Interstate 4 limits how much ground a service company can cover in a day.