Commercial cleaning proposals are hard to compare because providers make different assumptions and rarely spell them out. Understanding how the number is built is the fastest way to read a proposal properly.
The inputs, in order of impact
- Frequency
- The single biggest factor. Five visits a week is not five times one visit — the route becomes efficient, which is why savings scale with frequency.
- Restroom count and usage
- Restrooms are the slowest fixed work in any office, and shared restrooms in a multi-tenant building take more.
- Headcount
- People generate trash, break room use and restroom use. Square footage without headcount tells you almost nothing.
- Scope
- What happens every visit versus what rotates. A proposal without a rotation schedule is incomplete.
- Access and hours
- Security check-in, badge access, freight elevator scheduling and after-hours windows all consume time.
- Floor types
- Hard floor, carpet or a mix. Hard floor edges are slow; carpet is faster per square foot but needs full passes.
Square footage is the least useful number
A 4,000 square foot professional suite with eight people and one restroom, and a 4,000 square foot open-plan office with forty people and four restrooms, are completely different jobs. Any provider quoting from square footage alone is either padding for the worst case or underquoting and planning to revisit.
How savings work
Qualifying businesses requiring frequent recurring cleaning may save up to 35%. It is a ceiling rather than a standard rate, and the actual figure depends on frequency, scope, facility size, facility type and the number of visits per week. Daily and five-day schedules sit at the top of the range; two-day schedules attract a smaller saving; weekly service is priced at standard commercial rates. Recurring commercial cleaning sets out what qualifies.
Comparing two proposals
- 1Line up the frequency first. Two proposals at different frequencies are not comparable at any price.
- 2Compare restroom scope specifically. It is the item most likely to differ and the one that fails first when it is under-scoped.
- 3Find the rotation schedule. If it does not exist, ask what happens to full-floor vacuuming, interior glass and detail work.
- 4Check consumables. Restocking from your supplies and supplying the paper are very different commitments.
- 5Check exclusions. Carpet extraction, floor stripping, exterior windows and day porter service are commonly assumed and rarely included.
- 6Check the correction process. What happens when something is missed, and how quickly.
Hybrid schedules change the answer
A lot of Dallas offices are now heavily used Tuesday through Thursday and near-empty Monday and Friday. Quoting them as a uniform week is wasteful. Say so up front and the proposal should reflect it — heavier midweek, lighter at the ends.