How to Bid a Cleaning Job

This is for office cleaning. There is a lot of money and satisfaction in owning a janitorial business. Most people will earn far more in this business and work much less than with any job they have. You can get started in this business for about $5000 and make that much and more in your first month. It changed my life. And starting this business has improved the lives of the 165 people I have gotten going in owning a janitorial business. Making an excellent income is very do-able. Here is an example:

When making a bid on an office or building use this calculation: Time/Hourly Rate/ Frequency. Time is money. How much are you charging an hour? Most cleaning businesses bid at a rate of about $50 an hour. Generally, that is enough time to clean a 1500 sq. ft. office. If you are cleaning 5 times a week, you will be cleaning about 20 times a month. 20 hours x $50= $1000 a month. – But when you get an office fully clean and “inspection ready,” it takes less time. Too, as you create a routine for cleaning the office you will also spend less time. So, within a month, the office only takes 30 minutes a night to clean. Now you are making $100 an hour. The same is true of larger offices. You make more money than your initial bid as time goes by.

There are a host of online bidding apps that you can use too. My janitors like Clean Guru. It provides a very professional 10 page bid that impresses. It is a guide to approximate what your bid should be. But ultimately, your bid should be based on your hourly rate and how much time it will take.

As an example: My approximations for bidding on buildings being cleaned 5 times a week per month generally goes like this: 1500 sq. ft. = $1000/ 2500 sq. ft. = $1500 / 5,000 sq. ft. = $2500 / 10,000 sq. ft. = $3500 / 20,000 sq. ft. = $5000. (The larger the office the more floor and carpet space there is. These areas can usually be cleaned quickly, and not always nightly.)

When I first started an office cleaning business, I was able to clean 5 offices in 5 hours, including drive time. Three offices were 2500 sq. ft., one was 1000 sq. ft, and the other 5000 sq. ft. That is $8000 a month gross. But I had no employees, my equipment was paid for, and I made my own green cleaning solutions for 50 cents a gallon. My biggest business expense was gas for my car. – Initially, it took me 7 hours. But as I developed a routine, keeping these spaces clean took less time. – It was 25 hours a week, 100 hours a month. I was earning $80 an hour.

If you are interested in starting your own cleaning business, visit the American Janitorial Cleaning Association (www. AJCSA.org).