How to Bid a Commercial Cleaning Job

Commercial cleaning can be one of the most lucrative businesses if you get your pricing model right. But figuring out how to bid a commercial cleaning job can be tricky since every job looks a little different. Our hope is this guide helps you standardize your bidding process so you can earn more projects and make higher profits.

From site assessment to cost calculation, and even tips on maximizing efficiency so you can serve more clients in the same amount of time, we’ll set you up for success. After all, SweepScrub is your one-stop shop for commercial cleaning equipment online! 

Key Takeaways

• Walk the site before quoting. Square footage doesn’t tell you enough about what a job involves.
• Calculate true costs (labor, supplies, equipment, overhead), then apply a margin. Never work backwards from price.
• Standardizing your pricing model allows you to bid more consistently and scale your business without rethinking every job from scratch.
• Investing in good equipment saves you labor hours so you can be more competitive in bidding without sacrificing margin.
• Not every contract is worth winning. Know when to walk away.

How Do You Bid a Commercial Cleaning Job?

Bidding on commercial cleaning contracts gets easier and easier as you hone in on your process. We’ve put together a detailed step-by-step guide on how to bid a commercial cleaning job. You can rinse and repeat with every job you bid on.

Step 1) Site Assessment

Walking the facility before you send over a quote will save you from underbidding on a job and getting stuck performing a service for less than you should. Don’t just trust what the client tells you. Even if they have the best of intentions, they may be misinformed about what a job takes.

Walk every room, hallway, restroom, and common area. You’re looking to get a sense of flooring types (carpet, tile, VCT, concrete, etc.) and the messes you’re up against. Count windows, add up restroom fixtures, and see if there are any glaring issues that will require deeper cleaning. It’s worth taking photos so you can refer back to these in your quote later on. 

Step 2) Client Research

You have to know exactly who you’re bidding for before you quote. A medical office is obviously going to have stricter compliance requirements than a retail storefront. A factory floor will have different messes than a warehouse floor. 

See if you can find out if the client has used a cleaning service before - and if so, what prompted them to switch. Get on the same page with them about expectations for quality and frequency. 

Step 3) Get Specific About Scope

Start piecing together your proposal and list out every little nuanced thing you’re going to do:

• Floor sweeping and scrubbing
• Floor buffing 
• Window cleaning
• Restroom sanitation
• Carpet care
• Trash removal

Be so specific. Any vague scope is going to lead to a disagreement down the road. Simply bidding a project and saying you’ll “clean the floor” isn’t good enough. Explicitly state what that entails in the proposal. 

Step 4) Calculating Costs

Your costs will get broken into four distinct categories:

• Labor: Your biggest line item, unless you’re a solopreneur doing all the cleaning yourself. It usually makes up 50-60% of your total costs. Calculate how many labor hours you’ll spend on the job. Multiply that by your fully loaded hourly cost (taking into account benefits, taxes, and insurance, if applicable.
• Supplies: Consumables like cleaning chemicals, PPE, paper products, trash liners, etc. 
• Equipment: These are one-time costs that are worth every penny - an industrial floor sweeper and an industrial floor scrubber cover more ground in less time than manual mopping, all while achieving better results for you. 
• Overhead: Everything else. Vehicle costs, insurance, admin time, etc.

Knowing how much each job actually costs you allows you to then build in a comfortable profit margin. It’s up to you to decide what that is, but you want to make sure you stay competitive with other commercial cleaners in your area. You’re not the only person trying to learn how to bid a commercial cleaning job, after all!

Step 5) Standardizing Your Pricing Model

You’ll be able to bid jobs faster and faster as you send out more quotes. You’ll start to get better at assessing the number of labor hours a job will take. That’s really the biggest variable involved in bidding on commercial cleaning contracts.

You might even be able to come up with a standard per-square-foot-rate for different types of facilities that you frequently clean:

• Offices
• Warehouses
• Gyms
• Schools

A lot of cleaning companies land somewhere between $0.05 and $0.20 per square foot depending on the facility type and service frequency. 

At the very least, having a rate you can work from will prevent you from having to rebuild from zero every time you send out a quote. You can still adjust up or down based on scope. But having a baseline is great.

Step 6) Proposal Submittal

You need to make sure you’re using a legit proposal template so whoever the decision-maker is can see why you’re charging what you are. Outline:

• Scope of work
• Frequency
• Pricing
• Payment terms
• Contract length
• Cancellation terms

Keep it professional, but don’t overload it with information. You can simply provide a phone number to contact you with any other questions the reader may have. 

Step 7) Objection Handling

Price is by far the most common objection you’ll face. Go figure. Everyone wants the job done cheaper, but they’re not willing to compromise on quality. Lean into that when someone says you’re too expensive. 

You can ask questions like, what part of the service could we cut out to get you to the right price? If you’re being told that they found a cheaper bid elsewhere, ask them if the lower bid has the same scope or track record. 

You don’t want to get into a race to the bottom. Nobody wins that. You may just have to thank them for their time, and accept that not every bid is worth winning!

Step 8) Service Delivery and Building Relationships

The real work begins after you’ve won the contract. Now you have to perform an exceptional service to hopefully:

1. Earn repeat business
2. Get positive reviews
3. Secure referral business

Show up when you said you would. Do the job right, and exceed expectations. A strong relationship with a single client is worth a handful of one-time services! 

Understanding When an Opportunity Isn’t Worth Bidding On 

We’ve touched on this throughout our guide on how to bid a commercial cleaning job. But not every RFP (request for proposal) is worth your time. Walk away if the client looks to be shopping purely based on price. You’ll find that the cheapest clients give you the most headaches.

You should also skip bids with unreasonably short timelines. Rushing a proposal to meet a deadline can mean you miss something in the estimate, and you’ll feel that miss when you actually go to do the work and earn less than you should.

Trust your gut. If in the proposal process it starts to feel as if a client is going to be a headache, they probably will be. 

Final Words on How to Bid a Commercial Cleaning Job

Whether you’re offering commercial residential carpet tile cleaning services or trying to figure out how to set your commercial window cleaning prices, we hope this guide on how to bid a commercial cleaning job has left you with a clear understanding of the process. 

Frequently asked questions

How to find clients for commercial cleaning?

You can connect with property management companies, real estate brokers, and facility managers. Join local business associations and ask current clients for referrals. Your first few contracts are more than likely going to come from cold outreach. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. It only takes a handful of clients to start the snowball effect for your business! 

How do you quote a commercial cleaning job?

Take the time to visit the site and get not only the square footage but the layout and messes the property is up against. You want to get as specific as you can in quoting a job so you don’t leave money on the table.  

What are common commercial cleaning costs?

Most commercial cleaning services charge between $0.05 and $0.20 per square foot. It all depends on facility type, scope, and frequency. Cleaning a 10,000 sq ft office once a week could cost $200-$750 per month. You’ll want to quote separate services, such as carpet extraction or floor refinishing, separately. 

When do I increase my pricing for commercial cleaning?

Anytime you’re at your capacity. You can raise prices slightly, and this will justify hiring extra labor for the job. You can also raise prices if your costs go up, when the client adds scope without renegotiating, or at contract renewal.

Is it ever worth lowering my price for a long-term relationship? 

It certainly can be. There’s real value in a multi-year contract with a stable client. You have a predictable source of revenue and you can get in a really good repeatable process every time you deliver the service. Only you can decide what sort of discount you’re comfortable offering, though.