The verdict in three sentences
For 400 cleaners spread over 180 client sites, off-the-shelf janitorial software costs 19,200 to 43,200 EUR a year and is enough as long as your contracts are standard. Custom software, 40,000 to 85,000 EUR excluding VAT as a 2026 ballpark with a 4 to 6 month build, pays off once your clients demand tailored quality reports and enforce penalties. The return rarely sits in the licence line: it hides in hours clocked but not worked, forgotten extra jobs and contractual penalties.
What the software must cover across 180 sites
An operations director running 180 sites is not short of data, he is short of proof. The facilities manager of an office tower wants to know the 4th floor washrooms were done at 7:15 am, not that someone was scheduled. The area supervisor wants to know before 6 am that an absence has not been covered. Payroll wants reliable hours without retyping 400 timesheets. The software has to connect the field, the client and the back office.
| Module | What it actually does | Measurable gain |
|---|---|---|
| Geofenced clock-in | Clock-in allowed within 50 to 150 m of the site, QR or NFC tag in basements with no signal | No more remote clock-ins, 1% of hours recovered |
| Rostering and cover | Staff assigned per site, alert if a shift is empty 30 min before start | Uncovered sites cut by two thirds |
| Scored quality audits | 100-point checklist per zone, timestamped photos, action plan below 70/100 | Quality penalties down 40 to 70% |
| Automatic client reports | Monthly PDF per site: hours delivered, audit scores, incidents, photos | 6 hours of compiling saved per supervisor per month |
| Extra and one-off jobs | Client request, quote, job sheet signed on mobile | Out-of-scope work billed in full |
| Consumables | Stock per site, reorder thresholds | Overconsumption down 10 to 15% |
| Payroll export | Variables to your payroll tool, night and Sunday premiums | Payroll close in 1 day instead of 3 |
Two compliance points matter across Europe. Under GDPR, location may be captured at clock-in and clock-out, not tracked continuously during the shift, so the app should store one position per punch and nothing else. Works councils or staff representatives usually need to be consulted first, and travel time between sites must be calculated in line with your collective agreement.
Off-the-shelf or custom: three-year cost table
Specialist vendors bill per active cleaner. With 400 people, the gap between 4 and 9 EUR a month already equals 24,000 EUR a year. Custom software means an upfront investment, then a steadier running cost.
| Item | Off-the-shelf software | Custom build |
|---|---|---|
| Licence or build | 4 to 9 EUR per cleaner per month, i.e. 1,600 to 3,600 EUR/month | 40,000 to 85,000 EUR once |
| Setup and site import | 3,000 to 10,000 EUR | Included in the project |
| Hosting and maintenance | Included | 8,000 to 15,000 EUR a year |
| Client-specific reports | Usually limited to vendor templates | Exact format each client requires |
| Three-year total | 60,600 to 139,600 EUR | 64,000 to 130,000 EUR |
| Time to go live | 4 to 8 weeks | 4 to 6 months |
| Ownership of data and code | Vendor | Your company |
At three years the two options are close. The real difference: if 30% of revenue comes from three key accounts that each impose their own audit format, off-the-shelf tools push you back to manual compiling. For custom work, Kolonell uses its application grid: medium complexity 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR), complex 7,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (10,670 to 22,870+ EUR), scope set in the quote, with maintenance at 35,000, 75,000 or 120,000 FCFA a month (53, 114 or 183 EUR).
Penalties avoided: where the return really is
The business case an operations director takes to the board should not start with licence fees. It should start with today's losses, which nobody measures because the tool does not exist yet.
| Source of loss | Yearly ballpark for 400 cleaners | What the software changes |
|---|---|---|
| Hours clocked but not worked (1% of hours) | 480 h a month at 22 EUR loaded cost, i.e. 126,700 EUR | Clock-in refused outside the geofence, variance alerts |
| Contractual quality penalties | 20,000 to 60,000 EUR | Internal audit before the client's, tracked corrective action |
| Unbilled extra jobs | 15,000 to 40,000 EUR | Signed mobile job sheet sent straight to invoicing |
| Report compiling | 8 supervisors x 6 h x 12 months x 35 EUR, i.e. 20,160 EUR | PDF report generated on the 1st of the month |
| Contract lost at renewal | One site worth 150,000 EUR a year | Proof of service shown at every client review |
Even if you keep only half of these numbers, the opportunity exceeds 100,000 EUR a year. That figure justifies the project, not a licence comparison.
Mini case study
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Sarah, COO of a 400-cleaner contractor in Rotterdam, bills 14 million EUR a year across 180 sites. Her staff average 120 hours a month, 48,000 hours in total. A two-month audit shows a 1.2% gap between paper timesheets and actual presence, or 576 hours a month. At 22 EUR loaded cost, that is 12,670 EUR a month, 152,000 EUR a year. Add 38,000 EUR of quality penalties on three key accounts.
She picks a custom build at 68,000 EUR plus 12,000 EUR a year of maintenance. After rollout the gap falls to 0.3% (114,000 EUR saved a year) and penalties drop 60% (22,800 EUR saved). Yearly gain: 136,800 EUR. First-year cost: 80,000 EUR. Payback in 7 months, and the automatic monthly report helped renew a 210,000 EUR contract.
FAQ
Is geofenced clock-in legal for cleaning staff?
Yes, if it is limited to the punch itself and staff representatives were consulted. GDPR guidance rules out continuous tracking: the app records one position at clock-in and clock-out within a 50 to 150 m radius, nothing in between.
What about sites with no signal, such as underground car parks?
The app must work offline and sync when the network returns. An NFC tag or QR code fixed in the plant room replaces GPS, for 3 to 8 EUR per point.
How long to equip 400 cleaners?
Plan 4 to 6 months for a custom build, including a 4-week pilot on 10 to 15 sites. Rolling out in waves of 50 people with a 20-minute smartphone briefing keeps resistance low.
Can client reports follow each client's own audit format?
That is the main reason to go custom: each client gets its template, zones and pass mark, often 80/100. Off-the-shelf tools typically offer 2 to 5 fixed templates.
Do we need to give every cleaner a phone?
Not necessarily. 70 to 85% of staff accept a light app on their own smartphone; for the rest, a fixed tablet per site at 150 to 250 EUR solves it.
Let's scope your project. We define the priority modules, a pilot on a handful of sites and a realistic rollout schedule with you. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
