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How To Estimate and Calculate a Commercial Cleaning Janitorial Service or Construction Cleaning bid. Thomas Anthony — contributing author |
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Free starting how to layouts to successfully start, operate, grow or expand an office, commercial or construction cleaning business should include sample fliers, inspection sheets, clip art, square footage and bidding calculators. The statement: I want to start my own business cleaning small offices is easy to address. Successfully bid your services competitively and still turn a profit by following these steps: 1) Although it sounds odd as a first step, one should evaluate the abilities of their service business and reflect upon past experiences. This thought process will prepare a person for the second step. 2) Bidding for a commercial cleaning contract is partially in the numbers and partially in the presentation. In step one you were asked to reflect on your past experiences. In that you learn buzz words for your presentation to your next prospect. You can repeat references in their industry that you have worked for or you can mention problems their peers may have had that you addressed positively. We learn to fight the battles we can win, so reflecting on your past positive and negative experiences will help you choose the best prospects for a presentation. 3) Assuming you have chosen a logical prospective account, you will now need to first evaluate the facility. You will need to determine the total square footage of the entire facility and then the separate individual square footage of the different types of flooring (vct tile, ceramic or quarry tile, hardwood, laminate flooring, carpet or finished cement). For the most precise bid, you should also determine the amount of traffic for each area. The traffic volume is more important that the size of the facility. A facility that has a 5000 square foot file storage room where one person works in won’t require as much maintenance as a 5000 square foot medical clinic with 25 exam rooms, 4 procedure rooms and a 500 patient count weekly. The application and traffic volume for each area should be determined. 4) Determine and review a scope of work with your prospect . 5) Now the number of weekly servicings is to be determined and the man-hours each servicing will require to provide a consistent level of uneventful service. 6) Determine if some of the “project work” (carpet/floor care, window cleaning or pressure washing) will need to be subcontracted and the expense therein. 7) Research and learn the competitive industry standard square footage pricing in your location of the country. 8) Your competitors pricing: Calculate the competition’s price by multiplying the industry standard square footage pricing for your location by the total square footage of the facility. 9) Your “down to earth, realistic pricing”: Total the man-hours you have determined the facility will require and multiply it by your hourly rate. Add that number to your expenses for subcontracted project work and your material and equipment expenses on this job. If you add fixed overhead to your bids, this is where to add it. 10) Compare your total number from step nine to your competitor’s number from step eight. This is where you can adjust your numbers for the most profit and still be competitive. Please, please don’t cut your price lower than your expenses just to come in lower than your competition. Just because they are using industry standard pricing, it doesn’t mean they’re making a profit. The commercial cleaning industry is known for underbidding contracts and having perpetually revolving accounts. Good Luck with your bids!
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