In today’s contract cleaning industry, efficiency isn’t just about the tools used on-site, it’s about the systems behind the scenes, too. Technology is transforming how frontline teams clock in, communicate and manage their work, while accurate labor allocation ensures profitability and transparency.
We caught up with Gerald Fong, CEO and owner of BrightGo, as a follow-up to his session at the BSCAI Virtual Finance Summit earlier this year. Here, we explore both sides of the equation: how cleaners adapt to mobile-first solutions and how companies can better track and differentiate labor costs to stay competitive.
What has been your experience with cleaners adapting to using technology?
Most cleaners use smartphones as their primary device — many don't own laptops and some don't have email addresses — so adoption depends on providing the ease and accessibility of the consumer apps they already use.
Modern systems prioritize this simplicity. One-tap clock-ins replace complex multi-step processes, and text messaging provides more reliable, familiar communication than in-app notifications.
When you remove barriers and make technology feel familiar, adoption follows naturally. This is especially important for older employees and those with reading or language barriers.
How do you deal with mobile devices for field staff? Do they use their own or do you provide company devices?
BYOD (bring your own device) works best. Providing company devices creates friction: employees carry an extra device, manage separate authentication, and deal with additional setup.
The main employee concerns are data usage and privacy. Choose software that uses minimal data and doesn't track location constantly. Some companies offer a small monthly stipend to offset data usage.
Have fallback options for secure facilities that don't allow phones. Parking lot kiosks or landline call-in systems work well. Finally, make mobile device usage a hiring requirement so it's established upfront and you avoid pushback later.
Technology is just one part of the equation. How do you differentiate between direct labor and management labor?
This is a practice that most companies don't execute well, but it's critical for accurate job costing and P&L reporting.
Salaried Supervisors/Managers
Prorate their salaries across jobs based on their portfolio. For example, if a regional manager oversees $2 million in contracts and a specific site represents $100K, allocate 5% of their salary to that job. This labor should flow through cost of goods sold (COGS), not general and administrative expenses (G&A), because it scales with your account base. Only your head of operations should be in G&A as general overhead.
Hourly Supervisors
Treat these like elevated frontline workers. They clock in and out like regular employees but receive a higher pay rate. Track their time to specific jobs, but you can generally include this in your direct labor line rather than creating a separate supervisory category. The key is tracking their actual hours worked per site, not prorating based on portfolio.
The goal is understanding true job profitability by accurately allocating all labor, both frontline and supervisory, to each contract.
BSCAI Virtual Summits are one-day virtual events that cover the core areas of managing a successful contract cleaning company. View the schedule online and mark your calendars for summits focused on human resources, operations, technology, sales, and finance.