Opening your own Cleaning Company
Do you want to set up your own cleaning company and start your own business as a cleaner? The cleaning industry is a diverse market, which offers several segments and thus numerous specialization possibilities. Here you will find an overview of the most important topics such as legal form, homefresh requirements, costs, marketing and more for your cleaning company.
Starting your own business as a cleaner – What are the prerequisites for setting up a cleaning company?
In general, there are no restrictions on setting up your own cleaning company. This means that it is possible to found a cleaning company without training or a master’s degree. Cleaning companies are part of a trade that does not require approval and does not prescribe any formal quality requirements. If you want to found a cleaning company, you should note, however, that the job title “cleaning company” is protected. In order to be allowed to call itself in such a way, you must have completed a nationally recognized training.
Technical requirements
The better you know the industry, the easier it will be for you to start your own business. Training as a cleaner or building cleaner is therefore definitely recommended for founders of cleaning companies. Practical knowledge is particularly important when you are making financial decisions for your cleaning company.
What expert knowledge do you need for your cleaning company?
The better you are familiar with your field of activity, the better the services you will be able to offer. Use technical literature to continuously improve your knowledge. Associations and federations will also inform you about interesting facts about the industry. Membership also allows you to get to know other start-ups and to exchange ideas outside of the competition.
Entrepreneurial knowledge
If you start your own cleaning company, you’re your own boss. In addition to taking great responsibility for your employees and customers, you are now also responsible for accounting tasks: payroll accounting, annual financial statements and tax returns are your responsibility if you decide against outsourcing your service provider. Attend seminars on business management and talk to other business start-ups.
Learn from mistakes and measure your success
In order to avoid mistakes or to recognize big “money eaters” at an early stage, you should always keep an eye on your expenses and earnings. Make your successes visible: Cleaning activities are comparable and follow certain prescribed procedures. Develop a work structure for your employees that is comprehensible and controllable. So you can carry out a simple quality assurance. You usually profit immediately from these learning effects: If you make services measurable, you can better negotiate prices with customers, make more precise personnel planning and calculate more precisely when procuring products.
Cleaning company as GmbH, UG or sole proprietorship: Choose legal form
In order to fulfil your dream of having your own cleaning company, you must first decide which legal form is suitable for your company. Common legal forms for business start-ups in the industry are the GmbH, the UG (limited liability) or the sole proprietorship. When making your choice, also bear in mind that the individual legal forms also differ in tax terms.
Instructions: How and where can you register your cleaning company?
Entry in the Commercial Register
The Commercial Register is a public register documenting entries on registered merchants in the area of a competent register court. The forms of enterprise GmbH and UG (limited liability) as well as various other legal forms require an entry in the commercial register.
Register a trade
Regardless of the legal form you choose, you must register with the trade office responsible for your registered office. If you open your own cleaning company as a sole proprietorship, a simple business registration is sufficient. Here you have to define and describe your range of activities. After registration with the trade office, the tax office will automatically register with you for tax purposes. As soon as your documents have been inspected and checked by the tax office, you will receive your tax number and may issue invoices.
Employer’s liability insurance association
Employer’s liability insurance associations are the statutory accident insurance institutions for companies and their employees. Please register independently with the relevant employers’ liability insurance association. Even as a small entrepreneur without personnel, you are obliged to register with your relevant BG. If it is unclear to you which of the numerous BGs you have to register with, the Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung (DGUV).
Federal associations
As the owner of a cleaning company, it can make sense to become a member of an association that represents your interests and those of the industry nationwide. Depending on the type of cleaning company you open, you can join one of the many specialised associations, such as the Bundesinnungsverband für Gebäudedienstleister.
