01Move
DNA dimensions
Cleaner retention, jobs per cleaner-day, contract vs ad-hoc mix, complaint rate, key-management compliance and review velocity.
All playbooksServices
Home cleaning playbook.
London domestic cleaning agencies and direct-employed crews serving weekly + fortnightly residential clients. The win is direct-employment retention, route density and lifting average jobs-per-cleaner-day.
Overview
A London home-cleaning firm with 6–18 cleaners typically turns over £180k–£620k. Margin is made on two numbers: cleaner retention (replacing a cleaner costs £450–£900 in recruitment + lost route days) and route density. This playbook covers launching a direct-employed (not introductory-agency) London cleaning firm — entity, employment, scheduling and a credible 12-month plan.
74%
Cleaner 12-mo retention
3.2
Jobs / cleaner-day
86%
Client retention
№ 01 / What you'll need
Equipment list with real 2026 UK prices.
Sized for a 2–4 chair shop. Buy mid-range on chairs and clippers; cheap kit fails inside 12 months and walks away with your barbers.
01
Per cleaner
Vacuum (commercial bagged + battery upright)
£140–£420
Mop bucket + microfibre system
£60–£180
Caddy + colour-coded cloths + brushes
£40–£90
Eco / green cleaning chemicals starter kit
£40–£140
Uniform + ID badge
£40–£90
Smartphone (if not BYO) + app for check-in/out
£140–£280
02
Back-office
Booking + scheduling software (BookingKoala / Launch27 / Maidily)
£80–£280 / month
GoCardless direct debit
1% per txn (capped £2)
Payroll software (Pento / Onfolk / Sage Payroll)
£8–£25 / employee / month
Storage lock-up (small)
£140–£420 / month
Key management system (electronic key safe + log)
£280–£900
03
Specialist add-ons
Carpet + upholstery cleaner (Karcher / Prochem)
£600–£2,400
End-of-tenancy / deep-clean steam set
£280–£900
Window kit (interior only)
£90–£280
№ 02 / Where to set up
Location is half the business.
Catchment density
≥ 6,000 ABC1 households within 25 min cleaner-travel
Density makes the route; spread crews lose 2+ hours/day to transit.
Transport links
Catchment well-served by bus + Tube
Most cleaners commute by public transport, not van.
Lock-up
Small lock-up with key cabinet + electricity
Equipment storage + secure key management; required for any direct-employed model.
Cleaner labour pool
Reasonable wage rates + housing within 45 min
Cleaner retention in inner-London is the operational make-or-break.
Area tier
Rent / month
Notes
Inner London (Islington, Hackney, Battersea, Notting Hill)
Lock-up £400–£900
Plan £85–£140 / visit. Compact flats, 3.5+ jobs / cleaner-day.
Outer London (Wimbledon, Ealing, Bromley, Highgate)
Lock-up £280–£700
Sweet spot. Plan £95–£180 / visit, 3.0–3.5 jobs/day.
Commuter belt (Surrey, Herts)
Lock-up £200–£500
Larger homes, plan £140–£280 / visit, 2.5–3.0 jobs/day, very high retention.
№ 03 / Licences & registrations
Get the paperwork done before you sign a lease.
UK figures for 2026. Lead times assume you submit complete applications — councils will pause the clock if you miss documents.
Requirement
Who issues
Cost
Lead time
ReqRegister company + HMRC + PAYE scheme
Companies House / HMRC
£50
1–4 weeks
ReqRight-to-work checks (every employee)
Internal — Home Office IDVT
£0–£12 per check
Per hire
ReqAuto-enrolment pension scheme (NEST / Smart / Aviva)
Pension provider
Employer ~3% of qualifying earnings
8 weeks before staging
ReqPublic liability (£5m+) + employer's liability (£10m)
Specialist broker
£480–£1,800 / yr
1 week
ReqCash-in-keys + key-loss insurance
Same broker
£90–£280 / yr
1 week
OptDBS check (cleaners working with vulnerable / child homes)
DBS
£40 each
2–6 weeks
ReqCOSHH risk assessment + chemical training
Internal + HSE guidance
Time only
Pre-trading
ReqFirst Aid at Work (1 per 10 staff)
St John / Red Cross
£180–£320
3 days
OptVAT registration (if turnover > £90k)
HMRC
Free
30 days
ReqICO data protection registration
ICO
£40–£60 / yr
Same day
№ 04 / Build-out timeline
From decision to open in 12 weeks.
01
Phase 1 · Plan + register
Week −8 to −5- Pick 2 adjacent postcodes.
- Register company + PAYE + pension scheme + insurance.
- Decide employment vs introductory-agency model (employment scales, agency does not).
02
Phase 2 · Hire + setup
Week −5 to −1- Hire first 3–4 cleaners (right-to-work + reference + paid trial clean).
- Set up BookingKoala + GoCardless + Pento payroll.
- Build website with postcode landing + instant-quote calculator.
03
Phase 3 · Soft launch
Week −1 to 0- First 10 friends-and-family + neighbour cleans with full review request flow.
- Sign every paying client onto direct debit at booking.
04
Phase 4 · Compound
Month 1–12- Month 1: NAVIZIX day-before SMS + check-in/out automation live.
- Month 3: First DNA scan + cleaner retention metric.
- Month 6: Launch end-of-tenancy / deep-clean tier (high-AOV).
- Month 12: First peer benchmark on retention + jobs/day.
№ 05 / Budget
Realistic startup and monthly cost ranges.
One-off · Startup
Setting up the shop
Equipment (6 cleaner kits + 1 carpet/EOT set)
£1,800 → £5,500
Lock-up deposit + first 3 months rent
£900 → £3,200
Booking + payroll + DD software setup
£400 → £1,400
Insurance + DBS + training year 1
£900 → £3,200
Brand + website + photography + flyers
£2,400 → £9,500
Working capital (3 months — payroll-heavy)
£18,000 → £60,000
Typical total
£35k → £85k
Recurring · Monthly
Keeping the lights on
Lock-up + storage
£140 → £700
Cleaner wages (6–18 PAYE incl. NIC + pension)
£12,000 → £40,000
Office / scheduler wages (0.5–1 FTE)
£900 → £3,200
Booking + payroll software
£140 → £500
Consumables + chemicals
£280 → £900
Insurance + DBS (monthly equiv.)
£90 → £280
Marketing (Google + Facebook + Checkatrade)
£480 → £2,400
Card fees + GoCardless
£140 → £700
Typical total
£5.8k → £23k
№ 06 / Numbers that compound
How a home cleaning actually looks on a chart.
Interactive projections rebuilt from real UK operating data — toggle the views to see ramp, mix and weekly load.
12-month revenue ramp
Low vs high scenario (£ monthly)
High Low
Source · NAVIZIX cohort · 6–18 cleaner London direct-employed home-cleaning firms · 2025–2026
№ 07 / First 90 days
Dates that actually matter after opening.
01Day 0
First clients booked. GoCardless mandates + cleaner geofence check-in active.
02Day 14
First DNA scan — flags cleaner retention + day-before reminder gaps.
03Day 30
Direct-debit conversion + complaint-rate baselines measured.
04Day 60
First peer benchmark on retention + jobs / cleaner-day.
05Day 90
End-of-tenancy / deep-clean tier launched; second postcode round opens.
№ 08 / What's inside
DNA, route, automations, integrations, benchmarks, advisors — tuned for a home cleaning.
02Move
Suggested route
Switch from agency to direct-employed cleaners on small core, automate scheduling + DD, then build a verified review engine that lifts Google rank above national franchises.
03Move
Automations
Day-before client SMS, cleaner check-in/out geofence, photo handover, DD payment reminders, lapsed-client win-back and post-clean review request.
04Move
Integrations
GoCardless, Xero, BookingKoala / Launch27 / Maidily, Google Business Profile, Checkatrade, Stripe.
05Move
Benchmarks
Cleaner retention, jobs / cleaner-day and contract mix vs London cleaning firms in the same employment model.
06Move
Advisors
Encore advisors from multi-crew London cleaning firms paired with NAVIZIX AI for daily route + retention nudges.
№ 09 / Stack
Modules used in this playbook.
01DNA Engine02Route Map03Launch Twin04Automation05Verified06Encore
Related playbooks
Owners of a home cleaning often run — or cross-sell with — these adjacent operations.
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