How to bid a cleaning job
/ 10 min read
Every cleaning bid, residential or commercial, is the same four numbers: how long it takes, what the hour costs you, what you add for running a business, and what you keep. Everything else is presentation.
Before you quote
- Walk the site — a phone quote is a guess
- Take the measurements yourself
- Ask what the current arrangement costs and why it is changing
Before you leave
- Send it within 24 hours
- Show the basis, not just the total
- Follow up once, by phone
The walkthrough is the bid
You are looking for four things: the area you will actually clean, the obstructions that slow it down, the surfaces that need something special, and the access constraints. Everything a bid gets wrong is visible on a walkthrough and invisible on a phone call.
Write down what you exclude while you are standing in front of it. Exclusions written later always sound like excuses.
Number one: how long it takes
For commercial work this is a production rate — square feet per cleaner-hour at the stated standard. For residential it is task minutes. Either way it is a number you should have measured yourself on at least three real jobs.
Our working production rates sit around 3,400 sq ft an hour for general office and 5,200 for warehouse, with medical suites nearer 2,200 because of the standard rather than the dirt. Use them to start, then replace them with your own.
Number two: what an hour costs you
A cleaner's wage is not the cost of an hour. Add payroll taxes, workers' compensation, paid time off, and the supervision and training hours nobody bills. A burden of around a quarter on top of wage is a common working figure.
The BLS mean hourly wage for janitors and cleaners was $18.64 in 2025. Loaded at 26 per cent that is about $23.49 before a single supply is bought.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, via the BLS public API, read 2026-09-04
Numbers three and four: overhead and profit
Overhead is insurance, vehicles, phone, software, advertising and your own unbilled hours, expressed as a percentage of direct cost. Profit is what is left, and it should be a decision rather than a residue.
| Layer | Typical working range | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Supplies | 3–6% of labour | Chemicals, cloths, liners, machine wear |
| Overhead | 15–25% | Insurance, vehicle, admin, marketing |
| Profit | 15–25% | What the business keeps |
Those ranges are working figures, not a standard. What matters is that all four layers exist in your number rather than being absorbed silently.
Presenting a bid that wins
Show the basis. A commercial client comparing three bids at similar prices will choose the one that shows the production rate, the hours and the scope, because it is the one they can defend internally.
Never lead on price. Lead on scope, frequency and who will actually be in the building, then put the number at the bottom where it belongs.