Winning commercial cleaning contracts isn’t just about offering the lowest price—it’s about understanding client needs, presenting a professional bid, and ensuring your services remain profitable. This guide walks you step by step through how to bid cleaning jobs effectively, with actionable tips, formulas, examples, and strategies to help you win more contracts and build long-term client relationships.
If you’ve been wondering how do you bid on commercial cleaning jobs, this is your definitive playbook.
Why Accurate Bidding Matters
A well-calculated bid is the foundation of a profitable cleaning business. It ensures that you make money, builds client trust, and positions your company as professional and reliable. Missteps in bidding can lead to:
- Financial Strain: Underestimating labor or overhead can turn profitable jobs into losses.
- Reputational Damage: If corners are cut to save costs, service quality suffers, leading to lost contracts.
- Missed Opportunities: Failing to articulate your value often results in losing bids to both cheaper and higher-priced competitors.
Tip: Most commercial clients care about reliability, safety, and health outcomes more than price alone. Highlighting these factors can make your bid more persuasive.
Step 1: Finding Commercial Cleaning Jobs to Bid On
Before submitting commercial cleaning bids, you need a steady stream of opportunities. Focus on multiple channels:
- Digital Platforms: Use industry-specific job boards, local business directories, and optimize your Google Business Profile. While platforms like Thumbtack or Bark can help, prioritize direct client relationships.
- Local Networking: Join the Chamber of Commerce, BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association), or BNI groups. Your best leads often come from property managers and facility engineers.
- Referrals: Incentivize satisfied clients to refer nearby businesses or sister properties. Even one successful referral can lead to multiple contracts.
- Government & RFPs: Monitor municipal, state, and federal procurement websites. RFPs require strict compliance, proof of operational capacity, and professionalism.
- Cold Outreach: Identify Class A office buildings, medical facilities, or specialized industries like biotech labs. Send personalized proposals that address their specific challenges.
Tip: Set up recurring Google Alerts for “RFP cleaning + [city name]” and log leads in a CRM to track deadlines and communication history.
Step 2: Understanding the Scope of Work
The Scope of Work (SOW) defines exactly what the client expects. A clear understanding eliminates assumptions and ensures your bid is accurate.
- Facility Assessment: Measure square footage, note floor layout, and identify specialized areas like high-security zones, labs, or kitchens.
- Cleaning Frequency: Determine whether cleaning is daily, weekly, biweekly, or occasional deep cleans. Frequency affects labor, supply use, and travel logistics.
- Special Requirements: Take note of green cleaning standards, disinfecting protocols (especially in healthcare), night/weekend shifts, and any specialized equipment expectations.
- Client Expectations: Understand service level agreements (SLAs), reporting requirements, and software or app compatibility.
Tip: Always conduct a site visit. Photograph unique challenges, measure high-traffic areas, and walk the space with the client to uncover pain points and priorities.
Step 3: Cost Calculation — How to Bid Cleaning Jobs Profitably
Accurate job costing is critical. Include all costs before adding your desired profit margin:
- Labor: Multiply total hours by a fully loaded wage rate (wages + payroll taxes, benefits, PTO).
- Supplies & Equipment: Calculate usage of cleaning chemicals, paper products, liners, and factor in equipment wear/depreciation.
- Overhead: Allocate a percentage of insurance, office rent, uniforms, software, administrative salaries, and marketing expenses to the job.
- Travel & Logistics: Include fuel, parking, vehicle maintenance, and non-billable drive time.
- Profit Margin: Typically 15–30%, depending on complexity and risk.
Tip: Use janitorial bidding software or spreadsheets with facility metrics to calculate time per square foot.
Sample Formula:
Bid Price = (Direct Labor + Supplies + Overhead + Travel) × (1 + Desired Profit Margin)
Example: A company bidding a 20,000 sq. ft. office calculates:
- Labor: $1,200
- Supplies: $150
- Overhead: $300
- Travel: $50
- Desired Profit: 20%
Bid Price = ($1,200 + $150 + $300 + $50) × 1.2 = $2,160
Helpful Templates to Streamline Your Bidding:
Step 4: Competitive Analysis and Establishing Value
Winning bids isn’t about being cheapest; it’s about being the best value.
Competitive Intelligence: Research market rates, identify competitor weaknesses (high turnover, poor communication), and position your bid to solve these pain points.
Differentiators: Highlight what sets you apart:
- Technology: GPS-enabled time tracking, digital inspections, and real-time reporting.
- Employee Quality: Fully trained W-2 staff with low turnover.
- Health & Wellness: Cleaning protocols improve indoor air quality and reduce absenteeism.
- Sustainability: Green-certified products and sustainability reports for CSR goals.
Tip: Use our Proposal Differentiation Matrix Template to visually show clients how your services deliver higher ROI than competitors.
Establish Credibility and Reduce Client Risk
Clients want assurance. Include in your proposal:
- Insurance & Bonding: General Liability ($2M+), Workers’ Compensation, and commercial auto. Bonding may be required for large contracts. Include a COI summary.
- Safety & Compliance: Highlight OSHA compliance, staff training, and proper handling of all chemicals (MSDS documentation).
- Background Checks: Show that all staff are screened for criminal history and drug use, mitigating client risk.
Step 5: Preparing a Professional Bid Proposal — How to Write a Cleaning Bid
Your proposal is a sales document. Keep it clear, persuasive, and easy to approve.
- Executive Summary: One-page overview of the client’s problem, your solution, and total investment.
- Company Introduction: Experience, certifications, mission, and client testimonials.
- Detailed Scope of Work: Itemized tasks, frequency, and deliverables in checklist form.
- Pricing & Investment: Show total cost and optional add-ons like window cleaning or floor polishing.
- Contract Terms: Start date, schedule, duration, and renewal/termination rules.
- Guarantees & References: Satisfaction guarantees and references from similar clients.
Tip: Use our Cleaning/Janitorial Bid Proposal Template to create professional, client-ready proposal that clearly outlines your services, pricing, and value.
Step 6: Negotiating and Closing the Contract
Negotiation protects your margins without losing the contract.
- Demonstrate Value, Don’t Just Drop Price: Offer scope adjustments instead of discounting core services.
- Anchor High: Start with a full-cost price, leaving room for negotiation.
- Offer Enhancements: Include optional add-ons like quarterly window cleaning to sweeten the deal.
Example: Instead of cutting 10% from the contract, offer carpet cleaning as an optional service, keeping base profitability intact.
Step 7: Follow-Up
Follow up 3–5 business days after submission. Ask if clients have questions, offer additional references, and reaffirm your interest. This demonstrates professionalism without being pushy.
Step 8: Delivering and Tracking Results
Winning the bid is just the start. Track performance to improve future bids:
- Refine Estimates: Compare projected vs. actual hours and costs.
- Staff Accountability: Use GPS-enabled time tracking to ensure accurate labor reporting.
- Quality Control: Digital checklists and inspection software maintain high standards and provide traceable client reporting.
Power Your Bids with Swept
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Price Accurately: Use real-time scheduling, mobile clock in/out, GPS tracking, and payroll reporting to calculate exact labor and overhead—giving you bids that are competitive yet profitable.
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Prove Reliability: Location-specific cleaning instructions, digital inspections, and customizable checklists show clients you understand their needs and can consistently deliver—boosting confidence in your proposal.
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Stand Out: Client portals, real-time updates, and multilingual support demonstrate professionalism and accountability, making your bid more compelling than competitors’.
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Optimize & Refine: Track profitability, manage supplies, and monitor work orders so you can provide evidence-backed results and continuously improve future bids, increasing your win rate.