The short answer
Start with one service line you can staff reliably, usually housekeeping, for one type of client such as offices, hospitals or residential societies, and grow from there. Facility management is a people and compliance business: clients sign because you take staffing, attendance, wages and statutory filings off their hands. Get contract labour, EPF, ESI and minimum wage compliance right before the first site goes live, because the client's auditor will check.
As a ballpark, a first site with around 20–30 housekeeping staff in a tier-2 city needs about ₹6–13 lakh, most of it working capital to pay wages before the client pays you. A metro operation running several sites with technical services often needs ₹35–70 lakh. This guide covers the models, compliance, costs, a step plan, operations, winning contracts and tech.
Is a facility management company right for you?
Offices, malls, hospitals, schools, factories, warehouses and gated communities outsource cleaning, maintenance, pantry and front-desk work so they can focus on their own operations. Contracts are usually annual, renewed when service is steady, and billed monthly. Demand grows with every new office tower and apartment complex, and clients more often switch vendors over poor supervision than over price.
It suits people who have managed staff at scale, perhaps in hospitality, the armed forces, a large housekeeping department or another facility firm. You need patience for compliance paperwork, comfort with tenders and negotiation, and the willingness to take a client's call at 7 am because two cleaners have not turned up.
The hard parts are thin margins on manpower, slow client payments while wages fall due on a fixed date, attrition, and the liability you carry for every worker on a site. Growing too fast is a common way to fail, because each new site needs working capital long before it earns anything.
Business models to choose from
| Model | How it works | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Soft services | Housekeeping, pantry, gardening, front desk and coordination of pest control | New firms; little equipment, many people |
| Technical services | Electrical, plumbing, HVAC upkeep, lift coordination and building maintenance | Firms with qualified electricians and engineers; better margins |
| Integrated facility management | One contract covering soft, technical and often security services | Established firms bidding for large campuses |
| Residential society management | Housekeeping, maintenance, gardening and a helpdesk for gated communities | Firms close to clusters of apartment complexes |
| Specialised cleaning | Hospital, cleanroom or post-event cleaning by specially trained crews | Firms that want a niche with stricter standards |
Most new firms begin with housekeeping and add technical services once they have dependable supervisors. Guarding is a separately regulated activity: if a client wants security in the same contract, partner with a licensed agency or read how to start a security agency first. For one-off cleans between contracts, the deep cleaning playbook covers the equipment side.
Licences and registrations
| Registration | Why you need it | Where you get it |
|---|---|---|
| Company or LLP registration | Most corporate clients prefer one, and many tenders insist on it | Ministry of Corporate Affairs |
| GST registration | Clients need GST invoices to claim credit, so register before the first contract | GST portal |
| Shop & Establishment registration | Covers your office and the people who work from it | State labour department or municipal body |
| Contract labour licence | Supplying workers to a client's premises brings you under contract labour rules, now consolidated into the labour codes | The labour department or the portal your state uses; confirm the current form with a CA |
| EPF and ESI registration | Mandatory once your workforce brings you under them, which happens quickly in this business | EPFO and ESIC |
| Professional tax | Deducted from salaries in states that levy it | State professional tax or commercial tax department |
| Minimum wage compliance | Every worker must be paid at least the notified wage for their skill category and area | Rates notified by the state and central governments |
| Electrical contractor licence | Only if you take on electrical work, where your state requires it | State electrical inspectorate |
Clients will ask for proof every month: wage registers, attendance records, EPF and ESI challans and payslips. Build the habit of producing these on time from the first month. It is often what wins the renewal.
The old contract labour law has been folded into the labour codes, and states are moving their registrations and forms to match. Confirm the current licence, forms and portal with a CA or labour consultant before you bid. This is not legal advice.
What it costs to start
| Item | Small start | Larger setup |
|---|---|---|
| Company registration, compliance setup and CA | ₹30,000–80,000 | ₹1–2 lakh |
| Office with a store room (deposit and setup) | ₹50,000–1.5 lakh | ₹4–8 lakh |
| Housekeeping machines, trolleys and tools | ₹50,000–1.5 lakh | ₹5–12 lakh |
| Uniforms, ID cards and PPE | ₹20,000–60,000 | ₹1.5–4 lakh |
| Consumables for the first sites | ₹30,000–80,000 | ₹2–5 lakh |
| Working capital for two to three months of wages | ₹4–7 lakh | ₹20–35 lakh |
| Attendance, payroll and billing software | ₹10,000–40,000 | ₹1–3 lakh |
| Tender documents, sales and marketing | ₹10,000–30,000 | ₹1–2 lakh |
| Rough total | ₹6–13 lakh | ₹35–70 lakh |
Working capital is the line that sinks most new firms. Clients commonly pay only after the month-end invoice is approved, while wages, EPF and ESI fall due on fixed dates. Negotiate payment terms before signing, invoice on the first working day of the month, and hold off on a second large site until the first one pays on time.
These ranges are rough planning numbers, not quotes, and the wage rates in your state set most of the total.
Step by step: from idea to first customer
- Pick a niche: offices, hospitals, residential societies and factories each want different skills and documents.
- Register a company or LLP and open a current account, since most clients and tenders expect one.
- Set up statutory compliance with a CA or labour consultant: GST, Shop & Establishment, EPF, ESI, professional tax and the contract labour licence.
- Hire a site supervisor first, someone who has run housekeeping teams. They matter more than any machine.
- Write standard operating procedures for each area, such as washrooms, pantry, lobby and work floors, with cleaning frequencies.
- Build a costing sheet that adds wages, statutory contributions, uniforms, consumables, supervision and margin per head.
- Approach smaller clients first, such as clinics, coaching centres and mid-sized offices, where the decision maker is easy to reach.
- Sign a clear contract covering scope, staffing, replacements, payment terms and price revision when wages rise.
- Recruit and verify workers with ID, address and police verification, then train them on site.
- Go live with daily supervision and hold a monthly review with the client using attendance and complaint data.
Running it day to day
The day begins with attendance at every site before the morning shift, and with relievers sent wherever someone is absent. Supervisors walk their areas with a checklist, respond to complaints from the client's admin team, and track consumables so washrooms never run out of soap or tissue. At month-end the office prepares the wage sheet, the statutory challans and then the client invoice, in that order.
- Attendance: use geotagged or biometric attendance so the invoice matches the people actually present.
- Relievers: keep a small pool of trained relievers, because an uncovered post is the fastest way to lose a contract.
- Complaints: log each complaint with a time and closure note, and share the summary with the client monthly.
- Wage revisions: minimum wages are revised from time to time, so put a price revision clause in every contract rather than absorbing the increase.
- Audits: keep compliance documents ready to share, since principal employers are expected to check their contractors.
Getting your first customers
Facility contracts are won through relationships and proof. Admin managers, procurement teams and residents' associations buy from someone they trust to show up, so your first job is to look organised. A clear business website listing your services, compliance documents available on request and a contact form makes you credible when they look you up after a meeting.
- Walk-ins with a costing: visit offices in one business area and leave a one-page proposal with a per-head cost breakdown.
- Residents' associations: attend the monthly meeting with a trial offer for common areas.
- Public tenders: register on government procurement portals once you have the documents and track record they ask for.
- Subcontracting: larger integrated firms hand smaller or specialised sites to subcontractors, which builds your references.
- Builders: new buildings need housekeeping from handover day, before residents form an association.
The tech you need
At the start you need attendance that clients can trust, payroll that calculates statutory deductions correctly, and GST invoicing; our GST billing software guide explains the invoicing side. As you grow, add a supervisor app with site checklists, photo proof of cleaned areas, complaint tickets the client raises by scanning a QR code, and a dashboard of attendance and response times per site.
Our concept build TidyBee handles household help booked by the half-hour, so it is not a facility platform. What carries over is the worker side: verified profiles, scheduled shifts, check-in at the location and ratings after each shift. Site checklists, client tickets and wage reports would be built on top. See how a home services app is structured, read about how we work, or send us a brief for a fixed quote.
See the app a facility management company runs on
We designed and built this concept end to end, every side of it, so you can open it and try it before you plan your own. Our home services app page covers the features, timeline and what moves the cost.
Questions people ask
What licences does a facility management company need in India?
Typically company or LLP registration, GST, Shop & Establishment, a contract labour licence, EPF and ESI registration, professional tax where the state levies it, and minimum wage compliance. Electrical work may need a state contractor licence, and guarding needs a security agency licence. Labour rules now sit in the labour codes, so confirm the current forms with a CA.
How much money do I need to start?
A first site with 20–30 housekeeping staff in a tier-2 city typically needs ₹6–13 lakh, and most of that is working capital to pay wages before the client pays you. A multi-site metro operation with technical services often needs ₹35–70 lakh. These are planning ballparks, not quotes.
How do facility management companies price contracts?
Most price per head per month. The rate adds the worker's wage, employer EPF and ESI contributions, bonus and leave provisions, uniforms, consumables, supervision, overheads and a margin. Some contracts are priced per square foot or as a lump sum for a defined scope. Always include a clause that revises the price when minimum wages change.
How do I get my first facility management contract?
Start with smaller clients where you can meet the decision maker in person: clinics, coaching centres, mid-sized offices and residential societies. Offer a clear costing, a trial period and a named supervisor. Taking a subcontract from a larger firm is another route, because it gives you a reference and shows clients you can handle compliance.
Can I offer security guards as part of facility management?
Only if you hold a licence under the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act in each state where you supply guards, or you partner with an agency that does. Many integrated contracts include security, so firms either get their own licence later or subcontract guarding to a licensed agency while managing the client relationship themselves.
