As a maid service owner, I must say that I love what I do. It is enjoyable witnessing happy faces after a home has been cleaned well. The business is, however, a comfort business. People can live without a house cleaning company. In spite of that, very few people enjoy cleaning their own homes, so who would pass on having a professional company in their home if possible?
Truth is, only a small segment of society has the type of disposable income necessary to hire a cleaning company on a regular basis. Because of that, many hire unregistered individuals to clean their homes and doing so is dangerous on many levels.
Facts: There are three types of entities that a person could have in their home to clean it:
- Cleaning Ladies – These are literally people from off the street. While they may have a ton on great references, truth of the matter is, they are not bonded. They are not insured. They do not pay any taxes.
The IRS views cleaning ladies as the employees of the households that hire them. And home owners are responsible for paying their unemployment taxes as well as hospitalization if they get hurt on the home owner’s property.
Cleaning ladies are generally easy and cheap to hire. They also are dangerous to hire for the reasons above but also because they leave behind no paper trail. Time and time again, I read about home owners who were robbed or even physically hurt by either the cleaning ladies or the boyfriends or husbands of these individuals. I find it fascinating that home owners would turn over their keys to these people who have no one to answer to and who are not a real company. Cheap has a price to pay. Is it worth it?
2. Uninsured cleaning companies – There are cleaning companies out there that exist but they also do not carry any type of insurance. The home owner is in an equally dangerous position if one of them gets hurt in their home because again….they would be responsible for their hospital payments or any lawsuit that may come about. Like cleaning ladies, these so-called companies can charge a cheap fee because the owners generally do all the cleaning themselves (no employees) and if they do have employees, they are paying them less than minimum wage, which is against the law by the way.
3. Insured cleaning companies – UpperCrust Maids, LLC happens to be a bonded and insured cleaning company. We are responsible for all taxes and unemployment issues surrounding our employees. We also will cover them if they get hurt in your home.
You certain do not need to choose us, but I strongly would advise you to choose a cleaning company that is bonded and insured for the reasons specified above. Is it more expensive? Absolutely it is! In society, we get what we pay for.
I would go as far as to say that if a family cannot afford a cleaning company that is insured, they should clean their own homes. The liability is too high in bringing in uninsured companies. Also, there is the tax issue at hand. The IRS is never happy to learn that someone is being paid in cash and paying no taxes on that money.
So who can afford a legitimate cleaning company? People who have disposable income can. Others cannot. It’s that simple. Those who cannot should wait until they can to make the move. If having a cleaning company on a regular basis is the goal, start off with hiring a company once per month. Then move to twice a month or even 4 times per month. Start gradually and build up.
Questions? Send me an email and I’ll respond within 24 hours!