FAQ
Questions we get before a contract is opened.
Do you change our prices or contact our customers?
No. You approve every number and every notice in writing. Nothing is sent to your customer without that approval. The draft can sit in the file forever if you decide not to enforce a clause.
What if a customer pushes back?
We separate accounts before anything is sent, so a sensitive relationship is not in the first batch. KPMG has described fear of straining the relationship as one reason companies fail to implement escalations they already signed. The point of the audit is to replace an oversight with a decision you make on purpose. Some increases get sent. Some get held. Holding one is a choice. Never having looked is not.
Can we collect increases we missed in past years?
Sometimes, and often not. Many clauses allow the new rate going forward and say nothing about reopening old invoices. Some require notice first, which means a missed window is gone and the next window is what matters. We cite the wording and mark each dollar as recoverable, prospective, or already lost. We do not add those piles into one number.
How do you calculate a CPI clause?
With the series, the base month, and the comparison month named in the contract, using Bureau of Labor Statistics index levels, not the headline percent in the news. Floors and caps are applied to that raw change. The calculator on this site uses the same method and the same published levels. A clause that says only 'CPI' is flagged as ambiguous instead of being filled in with a guess.
Our billing system already has the rates.
It has the rates someone typed in. QuickBooks, Aspire, Jobber, ServiceTitan, CleanGuru, and Swept store a price and repeat it. They do not read the escalator, the cap, or the notice date. That gap is the work.
We are not large enough for a contract-management platform.
Enterprise contract-lifecycle systems are built for organizations with a legal-operations staff. RateClause is a done-for-you audit and implementation service for commercial service operators, first in the roughly $3 million to $15 million range. The free audit is ten contracts. The pilot is $1,500, credited to the first month. After that, $1,000 a month for up to 150 contracts, or 20% of the recovered incremental revenue for twelve months.
Is this legal advice?
No. RateClause is not a law firm. We quote the clause and show the arithmetic. You, or your counsel, decide what to enforce. Waiver, back-billing, and notice disputes are legal questions. We flag them. We do not decide them.
Who is this for?
Commercial cleaning companies first. The same clauses show up in landscaping, HVAC maintenance, security, and pest control, and in elevator maintenance, waste hauling, facilities management, fire-protection inspection, and snow removal. If you bill the same customers every month under a multi-year contract, the audit applies.
What do you need from us to start?
A name, a work email, and the company. Then up to ten contracts, PDF or text, and twelve months of invoices as a CSV with customer, date, and amount. You can upload on the secure link we issue after the request. Redact anything you do not want us to see. The limit is 25 MB a file.
How is a contract file handled?
Files are stored in a private, access-restricted location and used only to produce your audit. Contract text sent to the language-model provider goes through an API, under zero-retention terms where the provider offers them. We do not use your contracts to train models. A person reviews every finding before you see it. We delete the files within 30 days of the audit ending, or sooner if you ask. See the security page for the full handling rules.
What is the difference between the pilot and the monthly?
The free audit proves the dollars on a sample of ten. The $1,500 pilot is the full book: findings, notice drafts, and help getting approved increases onto invoices. The fee is credited to the first month if you continue. The monthly keeps the book current as anniversaries, index releases, and notice windows arrive, up to 150 contracts. The contingency alternative is 20% of recovered incremental revenue for twelve months, agreed in writing.
Why offer a contingency at all?
Recovery-audit work is often priced as a share of what is recovered, commonly in the 20% to 35% range. Ours is 20% of the recovered incremental revenue for twelve months, and if nothing is recovered the contingency is nothing. The flat $1,000 a month is the better arrangement when you want the book watched after the first recovery. You choose.