Bidding on janitorial contracts comes down to accurate pricing, a professional proposal, and proof that your business can deliver. Whether you’re pursuing a private office building or a government facility, the process follows a similar pattern: find the opportunity, walk the site, calculate your costs, build in profit, and submit a polished bid packet. Here’s how to do each step well.
Where to Find Contract Opportunities
Janitorial contracts come from two main channels: government agencies and private businesses. Each requires a slightly different approach to finding open bids.
For federal contracts, SAM.gov is the central portal. You can search contract opportunities there without even creating an account. Listings include pre-solicitation notices (early heads-up that a contract is coming), formal solicitations (the actual request for bids), and award notices. Search for terms like “janitorial,” “custodial,” or “building maintenance” and filter by your region. State and local governments typically post opportunities on their own procurement websites or through centralized purchasing portals.
Private-sector contracts are less centralized. Property management companies, real estate firms, schools, medical offices, and retail chains all hire cleaning services, but they don’t always post public solicitations. Build relationships with facility managers by cold-calling, attending local business networking events, and joining your chamber of commerce. Many private contracts start with an invitation to bid after a facility manager has already vetted a short list of companies.
Walk the Site Before You Price Anything
Never bid blind. A site walkthrough lets you see the actual square footage, flooring types, restroom count, window coverage, and traffic patterns that determine how long the job will take. Bring a measuring wheel or laser measure, a camera (with the client’s permission), and a checklist of questions.
During the walkthrough, ask about cleaning frequency (nightly, three times per week, weekly), any specialized tasks like floor stripping or medical-grade disinfection, supply expectations (do they want you to provide restroom paper products and soap, or just labor?), security protocols, and hours when your crew can access the building. Every detail you miss at this stage becomes a cost you didn’t account for in your bid.
How to Calculate Your Bid Price
Pricing a janitorial contract starts with the square footage of the space and the type of facility. Industry rates from ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association, provide useful benchmarks for per-square-foot pricing:
- General office cleaning: $0.09 to $0.17 per square foot
- Medical and healthcare facilities: $0.14 to $0.29 per square foot
- Industrial or manufacturing spaces: $0.08 to $0.20 per square foot
- Retail spaces: $0.07 to $0.15 per square foot
- Schools and educational facilities: $0.07 to $0.14 per square foot
Specialized services cost more. Carpet cleaning runs $0.08 to $0.25 per square foot. Hard floor stripping and refinishing ranges from $0.30 to $0.60 per square foot. Scrubbing and recoating falls between $0.20 and $0.40. Electrostatic disinfection, common in healthcare and post-pandemic office settings, runs $0.10 to $0.30 per square foot.
These ranges give you a starting point, but your actual bid should be built from the bottom up. Start with labor: estimate how many worker-hours the job requires per visit, multiply by your loaded labor cost (hourly wage plus payroll taxes, workers’ comp insurance, and any benefits), then multiply by the number of visits per month. Add your supply costs, equipment depreciation, transportation, and overhead. The industry average shows wages consuming about 43% of revenue, so if your labor cost for a contract is $4,300 per month, your total monthly bid would be roughly $10,000 before profit margin.
Build in profit on top of your costs. The janitorial industry averages an 11.9% profit margin. New companies sometimes bid lower to win early contracts, but pricing too aggressively leads to cutting corners or losing money. A bid that doesn’t cover your real costs isn’t a win.
What Goes in Your Bid Packet
A professional bid packet separates serious contenders from amateurs. Facility managers often review several bids side by side, and presentation matters. Your packet should include these components:
- Cover page: Your company logo, contact information, and a heading identifying the proposal (for example, “Cleaning Proposal for Riverside Medical Center”).
- Table of contents: A full bid packet can run 10 to 20 pages. An index helps the reviewer find what they need.
- Company overview: A brief profile of your business that focuses on why you’re the right fit for this particular facility. Highlight relevant experience, such as healthcare cleaning certifications if you’re bidding on a clinic, or green cleaning capabilities if the client has mentioned sustainability.
- Cover letter: A concise summary of your proposed service, including days and times of service, pricing, and whether you’re providing restroom supplies. Thank the client for the opportunity to bid.
- Scope of work and specifications: If the client provided a spec list, restate it in your proposal to confirm you understand the requirements. If they didn’t, provide your own detailed list of tasks organized by frequency (nightly, weekly, monthly, quarterly).
- Pricing: Present your price clearly. Monthly pricing is standard for recurring contracts. Break it down if the client requested itemized pricing for base services versus add-ons like floor care or window cleaning.
- References: Three to five current or recent clients the prospect can contact, with company name, contact person, and phone number.
- Proof of insurance: A certificate of insurance showing your current coverage.
Print the packet and place it in a presentation binder with a clear cover so your cover page is visible. If submitting electronically, use a clean PDF with your branding consistent throughout.
Insurance You Need Before Bidding
Most commercial clients and virtually all government agencies require proof of insurance before they’ll consider your bid. At minimum, you need general liability insurance, which covers claims of bodily injury (a cleaning chemical causes a reaction), property damage (your crew breaks a window or damages flooring), and personal injury.
A business owner’s policy, or BOP, bundles general liability with commercial property coverage for your own equipment and business income protection if a covered event forces you to pause operations. It’s typically cheaper than buying each policy separately.
If you have employees, most states require workers’ compensation insurance, which pays for medical bills and lost wages when a worker is injured on the job. You’ll also want commercial auto insurance if your crew drives company vehicles to job sites. For larger contracts, clients sometimes require umbrella insurance, which extends your liability limits beyond what your base policies cover.
Clients will ask for a certificate of insurance, a document your insurer provides that proves your coverage types and limits. Have your insurance agent ready to issue certificates quickly when you’re actively bidding, because some solicitations have tight deadlines.
Pricing Strategy for Competitive Bids
Winning a contract isn’t always about being the cheapest bid. Facility managers who pick the lowest price often end up rehiring within a year when the service falls short. Position your bid on value by emphasizing quality control systems, employee training, supervisor inspections, and responsiveness.
That said, you still need to be competitive. If you’re new and don’t have a track record, consider bidding on smaller contracts first, such as single-office buildings under 10,000 square feet, to build references and refine your processes. A strong reference list from smaller clients gives you credibility when you pursue larger opportunities.
For government contracts, pricing is often weighted heavily in the evaluation, but it’s rarely the only factor. Federal solicitations typically use a “best value” framework that considers your technical approach, past performance, and price together. Read the evaluation criteria in the solicitation carefully and tailor your proposal to score well on every factor, not just cost.
After You Submit the Bid
Follow up within a few days of submitting your proposal to confirm receipt and ask about the decision timeline. Some clients make decisions within a week or two. Government contracts can take months. Don’t assume silence means rejection.
If you don’t win, ask for feedback. Many facility managers will tell you why another company was selected, whether it was price, experience, or something in your proposal. That information is invaluable for improving your next bid. Government agencies are often required to provide a debriefing if you request one.
When you do win, get everything in writing before you start. A signed contract should spell out the scope of work, pricing, payment terms, contract duration, termination clauses, and insurance requirements. Review it carefully to make sure it matches what you proposed, especially if the client negotiated any changes after your initial bid.