Listening to Cleaning Businesses: What We've Learned

Introduction

Over the past month, our focus has shifted from planning to discovery.

Before expanding the platform, we wanted to better understand the daily reality of running a cleaning business. Instead of making assumptions about what companies need, we spent time researching workflows, identifying operational challenges, and learning directly from the people who manage cleaning teams every day.

These conversations have become one of the most valuable parts of our development process.

Learning From the Industry

Cleaning businesses may vary in size, but many of the challenges they face are remarkably similar.

Whether managing a small local team or operating across multiple locations, owners often deal with the same operational questions: coordinating schedules, assigning staff, keeping clients informed, tracking recurring jobs, managing invoices, and maintaining consistent service quality.

As businesses grow, these responsibilities become increasingly difficult to manage using disconnected tools.

What stood out most during our research wasn't the lack of software—it was the lack of software designed specifically for the cleaning industry.

The Patterns We Kept Seeing

Throughout our research, several recurring themes emerged.

Business owners told us they wanted fewer manual processes and better visibility across their operations. Many were switching between multiple applications every day just to complete routine tasks.

Some of the most common challenges included:

• Coordinating employee schedules across multiple jobs.
• Managing recurring services and last-minute schedule changes.
• Keeping customer information organised and accessible.
• Tracking completed work and quality inspections.
• Reducing administrative workload while maintaining service quality.

Although every company operates differently, the underlying needs were surprisingly consistent.

Turning Feedback Into Product Decisions

Research only becomes valuable when it leads to action.

Our team has already begun incorporating these insights into the design of Vertex Commercial. Rather than building features simply because they look impressive, we're prioritising the tools that solve everyday operational problems.

This means creating workflows that feel intuitive, reducing unnecessary clicks, and ensuring that information is always available where it's needed most.

Every design decision is guided by one question: Will this make managing a cleaning business easier? If the answer is no, we go back and improve it.

Building With the Future in Mind

The cleaning industry continues to evolve.

Customer expectations are increasing, businesses are expanding, and technology is becoming an essential part of everyday operations.

Our goal is not only to solve today's challenges but also to create a platform that will continue supporting businesses as they grow in the years ahead.

By combining practical workflows with intelligent automation, we're building software that adapts to the industry—not the other way around.

Looking Ahead

With the research phase well underway, we're now moving into product design and user experience development.

Our next Product Journal update will take you behind the scenes of the design process, where we'll share how these insights are shaping the interface, workflows, and overall experience of Vertex Commercial.

Every conversation brings us one step closer to building a platform that truly supports cleaning businesses.

What's next

In our March update, we'll share an inside look at the design process—from the first dashboard concepts to the user experience that will power Vertex Commercial.

You'll see how research is being transformed into a practical platform built for everyday business management.