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Comparing cleaning proposals: a line-by-line checklist for janitorial bids
Weigh janitorial bids fairly using a printable sheet that walks through the task list, visit hours, supplies, inspections, insurance paperwork and how each company plans its first weeks. One copy per bid.
Printable checklist
Read every proposal against the same sheet
No two cleaning proposals look alike. The first might open with a cover letter, the next with a grid of tasks, and the last might be a single page with a monthly figure at the bottom. Read them as they come and it is easy to end up judging presentation instead of substance. A fixed checklist turns that around: each bid answers the same questions in the same order, and anything missing shows up as an empty line.
Print one copy of the checklist for every bid and fill it in while you read. When the sheets are done, lay them across a table. Our guide to picking a Santa Rosa cleaning company covers the earlier steps, from counting rooms to the site visit, and this sheet is for the stage after that, when the bids have landed on your desk. For what moves the monthly figure, see our Santa Rosa cleaning cost guide. The checklist itself is a plain PDF on this page.
Scope and frequencies
Begin with what each company will actually do. A proposal that names every area and the interval for each task can be checked against your building. One that says only “office cleaning, five nights” leaves you guessing what happens in each room.
- Every room type you listed appears: restrooms, kitchens, offices, meeting rooms and lobbies
- Each area carries its own task list rather than a room name alone
- Visits per week are stated, with any rooms on a lighter rhythm called out
- Weekly and monthly tasks sit on lines of their own
- Floor and carpet treatments carry a target interval and a separate price line
- Any daytime porter coverage you requested shows separately from the night visits
Bids that leave out a room, or quote fewer nights, are pricing a different service. Mark the gap on each sheet before reading further. If the bids keep drifting apart, send every company the same task list; the format is laid out in our Santa Rosa scope of work guide.
Hours and access
A night crew works in your building while nobody is there, so the proposal should say how that happens. These lines matter most in multi-tenant buildings, where a property manager also needs to know who comes in after hours.
- Arrival time and expected finish for each visit
- Which weeknights or weekend days the crew works
- Who carries keys, fobs and the alarm code, and how they are handed out
- Which entrance the crew uses and which lights stay on
- How locked rooms and off-limits areas are handled
Supplies and equipment
Supplies are where quiet differences between bids tend to sit. One proposal folds in paper and soap while another expects you to buy them, and the totals can look closer or further apart than they really are.
- Which consumables come with the service and which stay on your own order: tissue, towels, hand soap, sanitizer, can liners, seat covers
- Dispensers: new units supplied, or your current ones left in place
- Where products and machines are stored on site
- How the company keeps track of restocking between visits
Inspections, communication and paperwork
Find out who checks the work and how the results get back to you. A bid that explains who inspects, how often and what happens with the findings gives you a way to hold the service to its task list after the first month.
- Who inspects the work and on what schedule
- How inspection findings reach you
- What happens after you flag a skipped task
- The person you will call with routine requests, and how they prefer to be reached
- How scope changes are requested and confirmed in writing
Request the paperwork too. Each bidder can send proof of insurance and confirm workers’ compensation and bonding, and say whether crews are background-checked. Note on each sheet what arrived and when. For our part, Santa Rosa Janitorial sends a certificate of insurance to each client, carries workers’ compensation and bonding along with its insurance, background-checks its crews, and has supervisors run quality inspections.
The start-up plan
A proposal should describe the first weeks as well as the steady service. Look for how the company gets from signature to a settled routine, and when you will sit down together to adjust it.
- Proposed start date and the plan for the first visit
- Steps for handing over keys and alarm codes
- Supply setup before the first night
- When the first check-in takes place and who attends
- How the task list is adjusted after the opening weeks
If you are replacing a current provider, line the start-up plan up against your existing agreement’s end date. The steps for moving to a new cleaning company cover that sequence in order.
Putting the finished sheets side by side
Once every sheet is filled in, read across them one section at a time rather than one bid at a time. Blank lines come first: write to each company listing the gaps in its proposal and ask for the answers in writing. The replies show how each one communicates before any work begins.
Only then compare totals. Bids that match line for line on rooms, nights, supplies and periodic work can be weighed fairly against each other, and a gap in price that remains points to a real difference in service worth asking about.
Hold on to the sheets once the choice is made. The copy for the winning company becomes a handy reference for the start-up conversation, since every line on it is something that company put in writing. Bring it to the first check-in and walk through the start-up section together, line by line, so both sides begin from the same page.
A few useful answers
Common questions
Why fill in one sheet per bid instead of a single grid?
A separate sheet gives each proposal space for notes and follow-up questions, and it keeps the details of one bid from slipping into the next row. Lay the finished sheets out together to compare them.
Should I compare proposals on the monthly total first?
No. Confirm first that every bid covers the same rooms, tasks, nights and supplies. When every sheet lines up on scope, a difference in the totals finally tells you something.
One bid ignores a line on the sheet. What should I do?
Write to that company and ask for the missing answer in writing before you choose. How fast and how clearly it replies is useful information in itself.
Can I send my checklist to each bidder ahead of time?
Yes. Sharing the same list before the walkthrough lets each company answer the same questions in its proposal, which makes the sheets far easier to fill in.
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