Certain businesses frequently soil linens and other fabrics. Restaurant employees, for example, often make a mess of aprons, dish rags, and uniforms. Other businesses have hallway "runners" that customers walk on; these become dirty over the course a few days. Often, a business owner does not have the time to gather up every piece of laundry and run it to the cleaners. Laundry contract companies offer to pick up soiled laundry and drop off clean laundry to your business. This saves the owner time; it can also be written off as a business expense.

Speak to your peers and colleagues in your line of business and ask which laundry service they use.

Contact the laundry service companies in your area. Obtain price quotes from each company. Discuss service options. For example, a laundry services contract between the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Aramark Uniform Services contains a clause that allows the University of Wisconsin-Madison to accept or reject shipments based on quality satisfaction. Discuss other options such as frequency of delivery and laundry methods.

Ask each prospective laundry service about a "right of first refusal." According to The Cooperator, many laundry services contracts contain a right of first refusal. This requires you to allow the laundry service company to match competitor bids after the contract expires. If the company does meet competitor bids, the clause obligates you to rehire them. This could cause problems in the future if you are not happy with the services.

Set up interviews with at least two or three of the companies that meet your business needs based on price and other features. According to The Cooperator, laundry services contracts need to be tailored to each business; during the interview, the prospective companies can give you a more detailed idea about cost and services that relate directly to your business.