The New Online Cleaning Services Booking Platform that is Creating Jobs for Moms

The Cleaning Fix is a non-profit web application empowering cleaners to earn the full rate of their services booked online.

Developed in Cape Town, the web app is the first in South Africa to ensure zero fees are chipped off cleaners' income from their half or full day assignments. Sparked by founder Joshua Cox's drive to help mothers freelancing in domestic work, The Cleaning Fix provides a sufficient stipend without cleaners losing out on third-party commission or transfer fees.

The Cleaning Fix is the new online platform to provide mothers with job opportunities

"Our cleaners deserve a living wage where we're not taking any commission," says Cox. "All our cleaners are mothers, and we understand how additional expenses such as childcare can cost. When they receive 100 percent of their payment, we hope it can help cover these extras and free them up for more work opportunities."

The web app is a division of the Fix Forward Trust supporting grassroots entrepreneurs, contractors, and domestic workers. The Trust was started by Cox, who also established Fix Forward, a similar booking service to The Cleaning Fix focusing on independent contractors.

Before Cox started The Cleaning Fix, his team launched a Fix Forward campaign called 'Mothers in Need'. The fundraising initiative provided young mothers who were undocumented migrants and asylum seekers with monthly grocery vouchers. "We wanted to provide them with extended support and help ease the challenges of providing for a family consistently and with the bare minimum," says Cox. More than R750 000 was raised to support 300 families for a half year.

'Mothers in Need' was an interim project Cox and his team implemented before the CV-19 pandemic. For them, it was the start of a more sustainable level of support for mothers and helped shape The Cleaning Fix's model.

The Cleaning Fix Founder, Joshua Cox

Simplicity is at the crux of The Cleaning Fix's booking model. The process entails five steps:

· Entering your details

· Selecting your cleaner

· Booking and paying

· Receiving your cleaner on the specified date

· Reviewing the service

"We had the technology to create a more detailed interface but wanted to simplify it so that people who know they want someone to come in for a half or full day can easily navigate the options," says Cox. "We wanted to prioritise the cleaners' full remuneration and then further develop the platform as we secure additional funds."

On booking your cleaner - also referred to as The Cleaning Fix's 'Home Hero' - a half day rate of R250 (four hours) and R350 (eight hours) for a full day apply with an optional travel contribution. Cox reasons that they wanted to be sensible and fair in setting up the fee structure considering cleaners' travel requirements and time sensitivity. "For the cleaner, it's not just about doing the work in a half or full day," adds Cox. "It means taking up a day where they can't work anywhere else, be it in these two timeframes."

The Cleaning Fix's vetting process for onboard cleaners is efficient and transparent with criminal background checks, experience reviews, and interviews. Cleaners' preferences, such as being comfortable working around pets, and their travel distances, are considered.

The Cleaning Fix's online booking service is available in the greater Cape Town region and is set to expand nationally over the next 24 months.

As an alternative revenue to substitute The Cleaning Fix's maintenance structure, its Better Earth online shop sells environmentally friendly cleaning products delivered at no cost. The shop currently dispatches to the Western Cape. In the meantime, the team maintains funding with innovative campaigns and corporate backing.

Voluntary contributions can be made with SnapScan or EFT to help further develop The Cleaning Fix's online platform and create more job opportunities. Book details are on https://thecleaningfix.co.za/.

Watch this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gAHN_iq-PQ

For more information, call 0619 204 261 or email info@fixforward.com. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook.