Commercial cleaning has a scheduling structure that most other industries do not face. A single cleaner might work at three different client sites in one day, each with different access requirements, different contracted hours, and a different supervisor on-site.
The specific problems
A typical shift pattern looks like this: office block from 07:00 to 09:00, retail space from 10:00 to 12:00, medical facility from 14:00 to 17:00. Eight hours of active work fills a 10-hour window. Travel time between sites is unpaid but takes 30-60 minutes per transition and must fit within that window without compressing the contracted cleaning hours.
Client contracts specify exact time windows and minimum hours. If the contract requires 3 hours of cleaning and the crew leaves at 2.5 hours, the client can invoke a penalty clause. Most cleaning company disputes start here - a client claims the contracted hours were not met, the cleaning company has no records to prove otherwise.
Supervisors compound the problem. One supervisor often covers 3-5 teams across separate sites. They cannot be present at every location and rely on reports from team leaders who may not document arrival and departure times with precision.
Four scheduling practices that work
Schedule by site, not by person. Rather than building "Alice works 07:00-17:00," build "Site A: 07:00-09:00, Site B: 10:00-12:00, Site C: 14:00-17:00." Include explicit travel buffer between each site. This makes it obvious whether the day is feasible before it starts - and surfaces impossible schedules before staff encounter them.
GPS check-in at each client site. The cleaner clocks in via GPS on arrival at the client location. The timestamp and coordinates go into the system. In any invoice dispute, the cleaning company has records showing exact arrival time, departure time, and total hours at that specific address. This protects the company from "you only cleaned for 90 minutes" claims.
Display client contract hours in the schedule. If the contract requires 3 hours at a site, the schedule shows 3 hours as the minimum. A supervisor scheduling 2.5 hours sees the contract requirement and must override it to underschedule. This catches errors before they become penalties.
Supervisor confirmation for teams without smartphones. Some cleaning crews do not use personal devices on site. A supervisor check-in confirmation - the supervisor marks the team as arrived and departed via their own device - provides the attendance record without requiring every employee to carry a smartphone.
The compliance argument
Missed client visits and short hours are the main contract liability in commercial cleaning. Penalty clauses in client contracts can run to hundreds of euros per incident. Accurate per-site attendance records are the primary protection when a client raises a dispute - not just for resolving the claim but for deciding whether to contest it.
Rezano supports site-level GPS check-in, contract-hour display in the schedule, and per-site time reports exportable for client billing or dispute resolution.