Comparing cleaning bids? Here’s what to ask before you choose the lowest one.
Why the Lowest Bid Usually Costs More
Commercial cleaning is priced almost entirely on labor. When one bid comes in well below the rest, the savings come from somewhere: fewer people on site, less time per visit, or wages low enough that crews keep turning over. None of that appears on the bid sheet. It shows up months later as missed tasks, unfamiliar faces, and your staff managing a vendor instead of doing their own work.
Before you compare prices, ask every company bidding on your facility:
- Will the same crew clean our building every visit, or do crews rotate?
- Will we get a written scope of work, signed by both sides?
- Can you send a current certificate of liability insurance?
- Who checks the work, and how often?
- When something is missed, who do we call, and who fixes it?
- How long has your average cleaner been with you?
The right question isn’t which company is cheapest. It’s which one will still be doing the job right a year from now.
Read the full breakdown of what a low bid really costs • Download the one-page checklist (PDF)