How to Write a Cleaning Bid That Wins Commercial Contracts [2026]

Commercial cleaning is one of the easiest trades to get into — and one of the hardest to make profitable. The barrier to entry is low, which means every bid is competitive. The difference between landing a contract and losing it usually comes down to your proposal. A detailed, professional cleaning bid shows the property manager you're organized, thorough, and reliable — before you've cleaned a single floor.

Most cleaning companies lose bids not because their price is wrong, but because their proposal is weak. A one-page quote that says "office cleaning — $1,200/month" gets beat by a three-page proposal that breaks down exactly what's cleaned, how often, and what's included. Here's how to write that winning bid.

What Every Cleaning Bid Should Include

1. Site Assessment Summary

Walk the property before you bid. Then document what you found. This shows the client you took the time to understand their space.

Example: "Facility assessment conducted on February 15, 2026. The office space occupies approximately 8,500 square feet across one floor, including 12 private offices, an open workspace for 30 employees, 2 conference rooms, a break room with kitchenette, 4 restrooms (2 men's, 2 women's), and a lobby/reception area. Flooring is a mix of commercial carpet (approximately 6,000 sq ft) and vinyl tile (approximately 2,500 sq ft). Current cleaning frequency appears to be 3x/week."

2. Cleaning Schedule and Frequency

Be specific about what happens on each visit and how often:

Nightly Service (5x/week, Monday-Friday):

Weekly:

Monthly:

Quarterly:

3. Supplies and Equipment

Specify what you provide vs. what the client provides:

Typically provided by cleaning company:

Typically provided by client:

Clarify this upfront to avoid disputes. Some contracts include restroom supplies in the price — if so, add it to your materials cost.

4. Staffing Plan

Property managers want to know who's in their building:

5. Pricing Structure

Commercial cleaning can be priced several ways:

Per square foot (most common for commercial):

Monthly flat rate:

Per visit:

Always itemize your pricing so the client can see what they're paying for.

How to Price Cleaning Work

The Square Footage Method

This is the industry standard for commercial bids:

1. Measure the space (or get the square footage from the property manager)

2. Determine your rate per square foot based on facility type, cleaning frequency, and your market

3. Multiply: Square footage × rate per square foot × visits per month = monthly price

4. Add specialty services (floor care, carpet cleaning) as separate line items

Example: 8,500 sq ft office × $0.10/sq ft × 22 visits/month = $18,700/month? No — that's per-visit pricing. The $0.10/sq ft is typically a monthly rate, so: 8,500 × $0.10 = $850/month for a basic 3x/week service.

The confusion around per-square-foot pricing is common. Always clarify whether your rate is per visit, per week, or per month.

Production Rate Method

Calculate based on how long the job actually takes:

1. Walk the property and estimate cleaning time per area

2. Calculate total hours per visit

3. Multiply by your hourly rate ($25-$50/hour per cleaner depending on market)

4. Add supply costs (typically $0.01 - $0.03/sq ft)

5. Add overhead and profit (20-35%)

Example: 8,500 sq ft office with 2 cleaners × 3 hours each = 6 man-hours × $30/hour = $180 per visit + $25 supplies = $205 per visit × 22 visits/month = $4,510/month

Which Method Is Better?

Use both and compare. If they're close, your pricing is probably right. If there's a big gap, you may be over- or under-estimating the time needed.

Sample Commercial Cleaning Bid

Client: Meridian Professional Group

Location: 234 Commerce Drive, Suite 100

Facility: 8,500 sq ft single-floor office space

Service: 5x/week nightly cleaning

Monthly Service Pricing:

Nightly Cleaning (5x/week):

Monthly Base Service: $2,400

Weekly Add-Ons (included in base):

Monthly Deep Clean (included in base):

Quarterly Services (billed separately):

Supplies provided by our company: All cleaning chemicals, equipment, and tools

Supplies provided by client: Trash liners, paper products, hand soap

Annual Contract Value: $28,800 base + $4,420 quarterly services = $33,220

Contract term: 12 months with 30-day cancellation clause

Payment: Monthly, net 15

5 Cleaning Bid Mistakes to Avoid

1. Not walking the property. Bidding from a floor plan or description is a recipe for underpricing. Always walk the space and count fixtures, trash cans, and restrooms.

2. Forgetting about frequency creep. "5x/week cleaning" sounds simple until the client expects you to handle their Saturday events too. Define exactly which days and times you'll be there.

3. Not accounting for restrooms. Restrooms take disproportionately more time and supplies than any other area. A building with 8 restrooms costs significantly more to clean than one with 2. Price them separately.

4. Ignoring floor care. Strip-and-wax and carpet extraction are expensive, time-consuming services. If you include them in your monthly rate without pricing them separately, you'll lose money.

5. No cancellation clause. Commercial cleaning contracts should have a minimum term (typically 12 months) with a 30-day cancellation notice. Without this, you can lose a contract you invested heavily in winning.

Generate Your Cleaning Bid in 60 Seconds

BidSnap's free cleaning bid generator creates professional proposals with detailed service descriptions, itemized pricing, and contract terms. Describe the property and service level, and download your bid as a PDF.

Try the free cleaning bid generator — no signup required.