Facilities and Service Vendors Cost Control

Facilities and service vendors are a classic value chain leakage zone:

• operations needs fast response
• invoices arrive messy and late
• scope expands through “urgent” work
• overtime, trip charges, markups, and add-ons quietly compound

This collection installs an operating system that is beginner-safe and bottom-line focused:

• make service quality enforceable (SLA and scope)
• prevent surprise work (work order not-to-exceed controls)
• make invoices auditable (field service invoice standards)
• quantify the opportunity (leakage estimator)

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Who this collection is for

• Operations and facilities teams managing recurring service work
• Finance and AP teams dealing with disputed or unclear invoices
• Procurement teams renegotiating service vendor terms and renewals
• Anyone who wants cost reduction without breaking service delivery

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What you will install

By the end of this collection, you should have:

• an SLA and scope baseline that eliminates ambiguity
• a work order approval system with clear thresholds and emergency rules
• an invoice format that AP can enforce consistently
• a quantified savings estimate and memo to align stakeholders

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How to use this collection

Install in this order:

1. Service quality and scope controls
2. Work order not-to-exceed controls
3. Field service invoice standards
4. Leakage estimate and 30 / 60 / 90 plan

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Beginner-safe definitions

Service vendor: any vendor delivering recurring physical or on-site services (janitorial, security, landscaping, HVAC maintenance, elevators, fire life safety, general repairs).

SLA: service level agreement that defines measurable service expectations.

Not-to-exceed: an approved cost cap for a work order or job.

Trip charge: a fixed fee for dispatching a technician.

Materials markup: a percentage added on top of parts or materials.

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What good looks like

• Most work is approved before it happens (not after the invoice).
• Emergency and after-hours work is defined and controlled.
• Invoices are consistently formatted and variance review is fast.
• Savings show up in billing trend, not just spreadsheets.