Buying guide
Janitorial RFP checklist: what to send cleaning bidders
A janitorial request for proposal needs eight sections: building facts, scope by task and frequency, schedule, supplies, staffing, insurance, quality control, and price format. Send the same document to every bidder and their proposals become comparable line by line. This page gives you each section and a task table to adapt.
Reviewed September 30, 2026
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When you need an RFP and when a quote is enough
A single small office can get by with a walk-through and a one-page quote. Write an RFP when any of these is true: more than one bidder, more than one building, a managed tower with access rules, a clinical or food space, or a contract you expect to run for a year or longer. The document costs you an hour and saves the argument about what was included.
The eight sections
Building facts
Address, property type, cleanable square feet by floor type, number of restrooms and fixtures, number of occupants, and the hours the building is in use.
Scope by task and frequency
Every task with how often it is done. Use the table below as a starting point and change the frequencies to fit your building.
Schedule and access
Days and hours crews may work, how they get in, alarm and key procedures, elevator rules, and any rooms that are off limits.
Supplies and equipment
Who buys paper products, soap and liners. Whether the bidder stores equipment on site and where.
Staffing
Whether cleaners are employees or subcontractors, how they are screened, who supervises the account, and how absences are covered.
Insurance
Ask for certificates of general liability and workers' compensation insurance naming your entity, sent by the insurer rather than forwarded by the bidder.
Quality control
Inspection frequency, the inspection form, how you report a missed task, and how fast it must be corrected.
Price format
Require a monthly price, the labor hours per visit behind it, a separate line for each periodic task, an hourly rate for extra work, and a statement of whether sales tax is included.
A task and frequency table to adapt
This is a template, not a standard. The right frequency depends on how your building is used. Its job is to make sure no task is left without one.
| Area | Task | Starting frequency |
|---|---|---|
| All areas | Empty trash and replace liners | Every visit |
| Restrooms | Clean and disinfect fixtures, restock, mop floors | Every visit |
| Break rooms | Wipe counters, tables and sinks; mop floor | Every visit |
| Offices and open areas | Vacuum traffic lanes | Every visit |
| Offices and open areas | Vacuum wall to wall | Weekly |
| Offices and open areas | Dust desks and ledges that are clear | Weekly |
| Entrances and lobby | Clean glass doors; dust mop and damp mop hard floors | Every visit |
| All areas | High dusting: vents, door frames, tops of partitions | Monthly |
| Hard floors | Scrub and recoat, or strip and refinish | Priced separately, quarterly to annually |
| Carpet | Hot water extraction | Priced separately, one to two times a year |
| Windows | Interior glass | Priced separately, as requested |
Hold one site walk for all bidders
Walk every bidder through the building at the same time, or on the same terms. Answer questions in writing to all of them. A bidder that prices from a floor plan without seeing the restrooms, the floor condition and the loading area is guessing, and you will pay for the guess later.
Compare bids on hours, not on the monthly number
- Put every bid's labor hours per visit side by side. The spread tells you who priced your scope and who priced a lighter one.
- Divide each monthly price by its monthly labor hours. A figure close to the local wage floor leaves nothing for payroll taxes, insurance, supplies or supervision.
- Check that periodic work (floors, carpet, windows) is priced separately in every bid, so one bidder is not hiding it inside the monthly figure and another leaving it out.
- Confirm every bid states the same thing about sales tax and about who buys consumables.
The cleaning scope calculator gives you an independent estimate of labor hours to hold the bids against.
Four mistakes that cost money
- Gross square feet instead of cleanable square feet. Bidders who know the difference will price lower, and you will think they are cheaper.
- Tasks without frequencies. "Dusting" with no frequency means never.
- No hours in the bid. Without them you cannot tell a lean operator from an underbid.
- No termination clause. If the only exit is the end of the term, you have no leverage when quality slips.
Questions and answers
- How many bidders should I invite?
- Three is enough to see the range and few enough to walk properly. More bidders mostly add reading time.
- Should the RFP state my current price?
- No. State the scope and let each bidder price it. Your current price anchors every bid to it and tells you nothing about what the work should cost.
- What should I ask about cleaning staff?
- Whether they are the bidder's employees or a subcontractor's, how they are screened, whether the same crew is assigned each visit, and who covers when someone is out.