Cleaning and facility services for property management portfolios

Yes, and for multi-site portfolios it is usually the point. A single vendor agreement across markets consolidates invoicing, gives you one point of contact, and applies one written specification to every address, which is what makes site-to-site performance comparable. The practical requirement is that the vendor can actually staff each market with insured, vetted crews rather than subcontracting blindly to whoever is available locally. Ask how coverage is verified in each market and whether the certificate of insurance requirements are enforced identically everywhere. Wexley Facility Solutions operates this way across its active markets in Texas and Washington.

A COI, or certificate of insurance, is a one-page document issued by a vendor's insurance broker that summarizes the policies in force: carrier, policy numbers, coverage types, limits, effective and expiration dates, and any endorsements. It is most often issued on an ACORD form. Facility managers require it because if an uninsured or underinsured vendor's worker is injured on the property, or damages the building, the claim can land on the property owner's policy instead. Requesting a COI that names the owner and manager as additional insured moves that exposure to the vendor's carrier. A COI is a snapshot, not a guarantee, which is why coverage should be re-verified when policies renew rather than filed once and forgotten.

Request the certificate of insurance directly from the vendor's insurance broker rather than accepting a PDF forwarded by the vendor, because a forwarded document can be out of date or altered. Confirm four things on the certificate: that the named insured matches the legal entity signing your contract, that the policy effective and expiration dates cover your entire service period, that limits meet your requirements, and that the additional insured and waiver of subrogation endorsements are actually attached rather than just referenced. Then set a calendar reminder for the expiration date. Coverage lapses are common, and a certificate collected at onboarding says nothing about whether the policy is still active eighteen months later.

A janitorial contract should include a written scope of work that lists tasks by area and frequency rather than a general description of cleaning, the service schedule and hours of access, and a defined process for adding or removing work. It should specify insurance requirements with limits and required endorsements, name who supplies consumables such as paper and liners, and set out a quality process with inspection frequency and a defined window to correct deficiencies. Term, renewal, and termination notice should be explicit, including whether the agreement auto-renews. For occupied buildings, add background check requirements, key and access control procedures, and a named account contact with escalation. The scope is the part that most disputes turn on, so vague scopes are the most expensive thing to accept.