Checking a security contract indexation means testing whether the invoiced percentage matches the index, reference date and weighting set out in the contract. The room to check sits in the contractual agreement itself, not in the indexation letter. In July and August those letters land on your desk again: cleaning, security, catering and maintenance, each supplier with its own percentage and its own justification. Without a documented mechanism, you sign off on good faith, and that is where money leaks away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to WorldCC, PwC and McKinsey, an average of 2.6 per cent of contract value leaks away each year through poor contract management. With indexation you see that mechanism play out literally. This explainer shows how to recalculate a security contract indexation, why a single inflation figure for all your services almost never fits, and what to set out in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Labour costs in labour-intensive services rise again in 2026. In the private security collective labour agreement (cao), the agreed pay rises feed through into the rates security firms pass on. In cleaning, the collective wages rise from July 2026. Always check the exact percentage against the official cao text before you approve an invoice. Percentages differ by pay grade and effective date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A labour-intensive contract responds more strongly to collective labour agreement developments than to the consumer price index (CPI). For security and cleaning, labour makes up 70 to 80 per cent of the cost price. For maintenance the balance differs, because materials and parts count towards the total. That difference determines which index fits, and this is where many contracts go wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many organisations index all their facility contracts to CPI. Administratively that is easy: one figure, one calculation. Economically it does not hold up. CPI measures the price movement of a basket of groceries, not the wage movement in a labour-intensive service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A differentiated index per service matches the actual cost development more closely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Choose, for each service, the mechanism that fits the cost structure. One general index applied to every contract produces a structural deviation for labour-intensive services. That deviation multiplies over the contract term and across several suppliers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A collective labour agreement rise of 2 per cent does not automatically mean a rate rise of 2 per cent. Labour is part of the cost price, not the whole cost price. Alongside the gross wage, the rate includes employer charges, allowances for irregular hours and an overhead margin. Only the labour part moves with the collective labour agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take a worked example for a security contract. Suppose labour is 75 per cent of the rate and the rest barely moves. A collective wage rise of 2 per cent then feeds through as 0.75 \u00d7 2% = 1.5 per cent on the total rate. A supplier that charges 2 per cent on the full rate is charging too much. The difference looks small, but on a multi-year contract worth several hundred thousand euros it adds up quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The core point: always ask for the justification behind the weighting. Which part of the rate is wage-sensitive, and which part is not? Have that conversation at contract signing, not afterwards when the first letter arrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The standard formula for contract indexation based on a CBS index figure is: new price = old price \u00d7 (new index figure \u00f7 old index figure). An example. You pay 100,000 euros a year. The index figure at the previous reference date was 128.0, at the new reference date 131.2. The result: 100,000 \u00d7 (131.2 \u00f7 128.0) = 102,500 euros. The indexation is 2.5 per cent, not a figure the supplier quotes in isolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three mistakes come up again and again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A price rise requires a contractual basis. If the mechanism is not nailed down in the contract, you have little room to negotiate once the letter arrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the heart of it. Recalculating what you receive is reactive and leaves limited room. The real gain sits in what you set out in advance. At contract signing, record the following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is exactly where it pinches. Contracts sit in Excel or a document system, the indexation clause is buried somewhere in article 14, and nobody knows the reference date. Take an organisation with 30 suppliers for cleaning, security, catering and maintenance. If recalculating each contract takes half an hour of searching, the annual indexation round quickly costs you several days. See also the difference between contract administration and contract management<\/a>: recording that you have a contract is not the same as steering on what it says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can a security firm raise the price just like that?<\/strong> No. A price rise requires a contractual basis. Without an indexation clause that names the index, reference date and weighting, there is no automatic right to a rise. Always check what the contract actually agrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Which index fits a security or cleaning contract?<\/strong> A wage or collective labour index, because labour makes up 70 to 80 per cent of the cost price. CPI under- or over-states the real cost development of labour-intensive services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Does a 2 per cent collective wage rise mean a rate 2 per cent higher?<\/strong> Not automatically. Only the wage part of the rate moves. With a wage share of 75 per cent, a collective wage rise of 2 per cent works out at roughly 1.5 per cent on the total rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How do I recalculate an indexation?<\/strong> Use: new price = old price \u00d7 (new index figure \u00f7 old index figure). Calculate on the last indexed price, not the starting price, and keep the reference period the same every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is double counting in indexation?<\/strong> It is a separate collective wage surcharge on top of the regular indexation, while the wage movement is already built into the chosen index. You then pay the wage rise twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why is one general index for all services a risk?<\/strong> Because security, cleaning, catering and maintenance each have a different cost structure. One index applied to everything produces a structural deviation for labour-intensive services that grows over the contract term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where should I record the indexation agreements?<\/strong> In the contract itself, differentiated per service, with reference date, weighting, notice period and cap. Registered centrally, so that with every letter you know straight away what to test the invoice against.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GRIP is contract management software for the supplier contracts of Dutch organisations in healthcare, education and the public sector. Instead of loose letters you work out one by one, the indexation clause, the reference date, the weighting and the notice period sit in one place per contract. That way you test the invoiced percentage against the agreement without searching. You spot deviations before you settle up. GRIP is ISO 27001 certified and processes your contract data within Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Grip on indexation across all your supplier contracts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n