COVER STORY
Your software just got a serious upgrade
SmartTask has been acquired by an experienced management team. If you run a cleaning business, here is what it means for you, what is already underway and why the next chapter could be the most exciting yet.
If you own a cleaning company, you know the pressure points. Tight margins. Staff turnover. Sites that need covering at short notice. Clients who want proof that the work was done. Payroll and invoices that have to be right, every time.
You also know that software only earns its place if it makes those problems smaller. That is why the news from SmartTask matters to you.
On 4 September 2026, SmartTask was acquired by a management buy-in team of experienced software leaders from the cleaning, security and facilities management sector. The new team bring investment and experience to SmartTask, and they are already putting it to work for the roughly 200 organisations which use SmartTask.
Nothing you rely on is going away
Since its inception, SmartTask has grown organically by focusing on cleaning, security and facilities management, and nothing else. Its software supports the whole chain of running a cleaning business, from pre-employment checks and scheduling through to service delivery, invoicing and payroll.
The platform stays, and so do the SmartTask colleagues who support it. Founder and CEO Paul Ridden is working with the new team, and he describes this as the right time to ‘hand over the baton’. For your business, that means continuity with more investment behind it.
Built on what customers already think of SmartTask
SmartTask customers rate it an average of 9.18 out of 10 when asked how likely they are to recommend it. For a
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software supplier, that number matters most, because it comes from the people who use the product every day and decide whether to put their name behind it.
The new team sees that score as something to protect and build on. Every decision about the product starts from the same question: will this make life better for the people who already trust SmartTask?
A team that has built this before
The new leadership team is led by Mike Taylor, who founded Innovise, a market leader in software for cleaning, security and facilities management, and Graeme Hughes, its former Managing Director. Together, they led Innovise’s growth over almost two decades.
They are joined by two leaders with equally deep software backgrounds. Jenny Young joins as Chief Financial Officer, bringing extensive software industry experience and recent senior leadership in the international business of WorkWave, parent of TEAM Software. Peter Simmonds joins as Chief Operating Officer, bringing the same depth of experience and recent senior leadership experience in WorkWave’s international business.
What they share is an understanding of your world. They know what a missed shift costs, why a late timesheet delays payroll and how an invoice sent a week late hurts cash flow.
Mike Taylor said: "We see a great opportunity to grow with existing and new clients by acting as a long-term technology partner, investing in the product and helping customers achieve success.”
x.com/TomoCleaning
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