North Star Consulting — Managed FacilitiesDoc. NSC-SITE · Rev. 2026
FAQ / Reference

Answers to what clients actually ask us.

If your question isn't covered here, it's worth a direct conversation — every engagement starts with specifics about your property, not a standard package.

General
What does North Star actually do?+

We manage the physical operations of buildings — maintenance, HVAC, janitorial, grounds, and compliance documentation — under a single contract, so property owners and facility managers deal with one vendor instead of five.

What areas do you serve?+

We're headquartered in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, with a specialist network built to mobilize into new markets nationwide as portfolios require it.

Do you work with single buildings or only large portfolios?+

Both. We scope engagements from a single building to a multi-site portfolio — the delivery model is the same either way.

Delivery & Specialist Network Model
Do you use your own maintenance crews, or subcontractors?+

We manage a vetted network of insured, credentialed trade specialists — HVAC, electrical, janitorial, grounds — matched to each property. North Star owns scheduling, quality control, and emergency response centrally, so the client relationship is with us, not with individual subcontractors.

How do you vet the specialists in your network?+

Every specialist is verified for licensing and insurance coverage before their first dispatch, and we maintain more than one qualified vendor per trade per market so a single no-show or scheduling conflict never becomes the client's problem.

Who's liable if a subcontractor makes a mistake on-site?+

North Star carries general liability coverage as the prime contractor, and every specialist in our network carries their own insurance with North Star named as additionally insured. Our contracts are structured so liability doesn't fall back on the client.

Will I always have the same crew servicing my property?+

We aim for consistency and will assign a primary specialist per trade per property, but our redundancy model means a backup is always available if that specialist is unavailable — so service continuity doesn't depend on one individual.

Government Contracting
Is North Star registered to hold federal contracts?+

Yes. North Star is an active SAM.gov registrant and a certified Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), and holds current federal facility management contracts delivered to full FAR-compliance standards.

Does working with North Star help meet WOSB set-aside requirements?+

For federal buyers with WOSB set-aside requirements, yes — our certification is verified, not self-reported. We're glad to provide documentation during a procurement process.

Can you support state or local government facilities, not just federal?+

Yes. We work with state, local, and municipal facilities as well as federal agencies, adapting our reporting and compliance documentation to whatever procurement framework applies.

Commercial Onboarding & Pricing
How does onboarding work for a new commercial property?+

Every engagement starts with a walkthrough and facility assessment. From there we build an operations plan — schedules, reporting cadence, and trade assignments specific to your building — before mobilizing specialists on-site.

How is pricing structured?+

Depending on scope, engagements are priced as a monthly retainer, a per-square-foot annual rate, or itemized by service line. We price to a specific building and service scope after the initial walkthrough, not from a fixed package.

What's a typical contract length?+

Most facility management agreements run multi-year, which is part of what makes the model work — consistent service without a re-bid every year. Shorter or project-based engagements are also available for specific service lines.

What's your response time for urgent issues?+

Emergency mechanical and safety issues are covered 24/7. Response time commitments are documented in every service agreement and vary by service line and property class.

Billing & Contracts
How does billing work across multiple service lines?+

Clients receive a single consolidated invoice covering every service line under contract, regardless of how many specialists were dispatched behind the scenes — that consolidation is part of what the single-point-of-contact model is for.

Can I start with one service line and add others later?+

Yes. Many clients start with a single service — maintenance or janitorial, most often — and expand into the full bundle once we've established a track record on their property.

Do you provide documentation for audits or lender diligence?+

Yes. Facility condition assessments, inspection records, and compliance documentation are maintained in an audit-ready format as a standard part of our reporting, not an add-on.

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