How Spy Clean can finally digitally document working hours for clients.

Challenge

Raul Jurca founded his building cleaning service, Spy Clean, in 2014, having already worked as an independent cleaner in Germany since 2011. Originally trained as an engineer in Romania, Jurca decided to establish his own company in Germany. This led him into the cleaning industry, where he began cleaning private households. It quickly became clear that the private sector places special demands on thoroughness and the relationship between the cleaner and the client: "Thoroughness, reliability, and chemistry between the client and the employee must be right. For an office, I can send any cleaner, and it's not a problem, but in the private sector, everything just has to fit," explains Raul Jurca.

The transition from a sole proprietorship to a growing company presented him with numerous challenges. Recruiting and managing employees, in particular, proved complicated. He started with recommendations and initially worked with two other cleaners on an invoice basis. However, his tax advisor informed him that this type of collaboration was not legal. So, he hired employees – a process that was not without obstacles. "These days, it's really difficult to find good staff," explains the founder. Additionally, there were challenges in employee management, especially in cases of illness: "Always sending a different cleaner to a private household isn't easy either."

As the complexity of assignments increased and the customer base grew – by 2014, Spy Clean was already serving approximately 170 properties – the company reached its organizational limits. Work processes were largely managed manually, leading to time-consuming and error-prone procedures. The system for time tracking and documenting work performed was cumbersome and impractical: "Each cleaner always had paper timesheets with a table from us. They would note their hours with a pen, photograph them, and send them back to us." However, the manual handling of timesheets and coordination across various platforms like Microsoft Teams and Dropbox led to stress and significant time expenditure.

Solution

Raul Jurca quickly recognized the need for a digital solution that would simplify communication, deployment planning, and time tracking. After several attempts to develop his own app failed – including a project via Fiverr that was supposed to cost 10,000 Euros – he finally discovered PlanD. "Thank God I found PlanD, and already at the first presentation, I knew: Okay, yes, I want this," he recalls. PlanD offered the ideal solution for Spy Clean's challenges, as the software was specifically developed for the building cleaning industry. With PlanD, Jurca could consolidate all relevant information and work processes into a single app, leading to significant time savings and greater clarity. "With PlanD, we save a lot of time. And that's also money," he describes as the biggest advantage of the all-in-one software. Deployment planning, in particular, was significantly improved: "I can finally see if and when my employees are at their properties," Jurca summarizes regarding the automatic location tracking of his employees via the PlanD app.

Another problem that PlanD solved was time tracking. Previously, it was difficult to ascertain if and when employees were actually on-site, which led to trust issues, especially in the sensitive private sector. Thanks to PlanD's GPS-based check-in function, this can now be reliably verified: "Now I see the employees, what they have worked, and their hours." Communication with employees and customers was also significantly facilitated by the software. All orders and important information can now be recorded via a central platform, without having to resort to various tools like WhatsApp or emails.

Results

The implementation of PlanD at Spy Clean led to a significant improvement in efficiency. The founder particularly praises the time savings in deployment planning, time tracking, and payroll: "We save time on invoices, on submitting hours to our tax advisor, and on payroll. Now I immediately see the hours that go into payroll, and then I have peace of mind," laughs the CEO.

The switch to PlanD also brought structural advantages. The founder can now view all relevant information about a client or employee in one central location and no longer has to use multiple platforms: "Another important advantage is that everything is in one place and not spread across ten apps." This not only simplifies daily work but also leads to fewer errors in billing and coordination. The introduction of the software to his employees also went smoothly, even though the transition from a paper-based system to a digital platform required some adjustment: "It's a comfort zone that you initially have to leave, but as soon as employees see their own benefits, such as being able to instantly see their vacation days and worked hours on the app, it works great."

Furthermore, PlanD offers the company better traceability of work performed, which is particularly important in the private sector. Should clients have questions about employee presence, the founder can now easily prove when and for how long the cleaners were on-site. "Now I also have proof that I can send to the client," Jurca describes the advantages of digital time tracking. The transition to a comprehensive software solution has not only reduced administrative effort but also strengthened client trust and optimized internal processes. "There is no better solution for building cleaners right now," Raul Jurca is certain.