help with bidding

mike powell

New Member
I'm new to the commercial cleaning business.I recently got an opportunity to put in a bid on a large office complex. After seeing it I figured my price by multiplying the time it would take one person to do the job every night by $17/hr. Before I sent the bid over to the prospect I got nervious about my figures and called the prospect to ask what he is currently paying. His price was 1/3 of what I came up with.

I need to know any helpful hints on pricing by sq. ft. or anything else that you may think may be of use.

The prospect only wanted general dusting, vacuuming, mopping, emptying trash, and restocking paper and soaps.

Ive been very sucessful at pricing small businesses and all sized homes but the large businesses have me stumped.
 

Dan S

New Member
IM NOT INTO CLEANING RESTROOMS OR FLOORS W/ A MOP>>>>>>>however bidding for that job is the same as bidding for a job w/a pressure washer..so you can take it for what it's worth. any time you have to call a business to see what they are currently paying.. i really think it's a NO-NO..you look to fickel.
and they will tell you a price that may not even be .. so they can have you meet it or beat it..been there done that ... wont do it again... it's just a thought......

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have a great day and GOD bless!!!!!
 
Mike,
Dan's right about the calling part. I spoke with someone today actually as a potential lead. I knew how much the other person is charging because I was told by one their employees the other day. The person I spoke to gave me a price half as much as she was being charged. My response was I'm sorry, but are you currently happy with the quality of work your getting? She then decided to ask me what the lowest I could go was and I told her and she started asking for it in writing. She then started bad mouthing the people who are currently doing her washing and of course I was simpathatic and it looks like I might have a new customer if everyhing works out.

I will share words of wisdom to live by if your in business for yourself.
"If you get a job, just because you need the job, but know you won't make any money from the job. Your better off staying home".

Have a nice day,
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Originally posted by mike powell:
I'm new to the commercial cleaning business.I recently got an opportunity to put in a bid on a large office complex. After seeing it I figured my price by multiplying the time it would take one person to do the job every night by $17/hr. Before I sent the bid over to the prospect I got nervious about my figures and called the prospect to ask what he is currently paying. His price was 1/3 of what I came up with.

I need to know any helpful hints on pricing by sq. ft. or anything else that you may think may be of use.

The prospect only wanted general dusting, vacuuming, mopping, emptying trash, and restocking paper and soaps.

Ive been very sucessful at pricing small businesses and all sized homes but the large businesses have me stumped.
 

Robert Kravitz

New Member
Re: Bidding

There is not one “right†way to bid for janitorial work. Bidding is not an exact science. No person, book, consultant or organization has ever come up with a perfect bidding formula. In the end, the right bid is the one that gets you the account and enough money to make having it worthwhile.

There is also no going rate for commercial cleaning. There does appear to be a range of estimates from 6-10 cents per square foot depending on several variables as mentioned below.

It is just natural when you first inspect an office or tour a building to wonder how many hours and how many people it will take to clean it. You can use this estimate as one way to figure your bid and see how it compares with other bidding methods such as the rate per square foot, costs to service the location and the variables mentioned below.

You can also base your bid on your expenses. Figure in your cost of labor, supplies, your overhead and the profit you wish to make. If you want to have a 30% markup over and above all these costs, divide this total expenses, (cost and overhead) by 70% and that will give you another way to bid on a location. If you can manage on a 20% markup, divide by 80%. This is called the margin-markup method.

There are so many variables when bidding on a new account that you must consider many issues and even figure your bid a few different ways before submitting your proposal.

Some of the issues:

1. How many people work at the location, is it crowded or sparse, this is the density of the building.

2. Is the customer expecting “Tiffany†service or more moderate, basic service.

3. Is the service five or more nights per week or two or three. An account cleaned every night tends to be easier and you can get more area cleaned faster than an office cleaned once or twice per week.

4. Is the location near or far from where you are working.

5. Will the account lead to other opportunities.

All these issues must be considered when you start to formulate your bid and there are actually several more ways to figure your estimate.

There are a variety of factors and ways to bid on a location and with a bigger account it’s often good to do two things:

1. “Sleep†on it. Don’t rush to present your bid, think about it a couple of days, and

2. Use two, three or several different ways to figure your estimate.

3. Remember “our secret†that the longer you clean a building, the easier it gets. So base your bid on how much time and expense the location will take 3-5 weeks down the road.

Robert Kravitz
Altura Solutions Janitorial Resource Center www.alturasolutions.com



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Robert Kravitz
alturasolutions.com
 

Robert Kravitz

New Member
Originally posted by mike powell:
I'm new to the commercial cleaning business.I recently got an opportunity to put in a bid on a large office complex. After seeing it I figured my price by multiplying the time it would take one person to do the job every night by $17/hr. Before I sent the bid over to the prospect I got nervious about my figures and called the prospect to ask what he is currently paying. His price was 1/3 of what I came up with.

I need to know any helpful hints on pricing by sq. ft. or anything else that you may think may be of use.

The prospect only wanted general dusting, vacuuming, mopping, emptying trash, and restocking paper and soaps.

Ive been very sucessful at pricing small businesses and all sized homes but the large businesses have me stumped.
 

Robert Kravitz

New Member
Re: Bidding

There is not one “right†way to bid for janitorial work. Bidding is not an exact science. No person, book, consultant or organization has ever come up with a perfect bidding formula. In the end, the right bid is the one that gets you the account and enough money to make having it worthwhile.

There is also no going rate for commercial cleaning. There does appear to be a range of estimates from 6-10 cents per square foot depending on several variables as mentioned below.

It is just natural when you first inspect an office or tour a building to wonder how many hours and how many people it will take to clean it. You can use this estimate as one way to figure your bid and see how it compares with other bidding methods such as the rate per square foot, costs to service the location and the variables mentioned below.

You can also base your bid on your expenses. Figure in your cost of labor, supplies, your overhead and the profit you wish to make. If you want to have a 30% markup over and above all these costs, divide this total expenses, (cost and overhead) by 70% and that will give you another way to bid on a location. If you can manage on a 20% markup, divide by 80%. This is called the margin-markup method.

There are so many variables when bidding on a new account that you must consider many issues and even figure your bid a few different ways before submitting your proposal.

Some of the issues:

1. How many people work at the location, is it crowded or sparse, this is the density of the building.

2. Is the customer expecting “Tiffany†service or more moderate, basic service.

3. Is the service five or more nights per week or two or three. An account cleaned every night tends to be easier and you can get more area cleaned faster than an office cleaned once or twice per week.

4. Is the location near or far from where you are working.

5. Will the account lead to other opportunities.

All these issues must be considered when you start to formulate your bid and there are actually several more ways to figure your estimate.

There are a variety of factors and ways to bid on a location and with a bigger account it’s often good to do three things:

1. “Sleep†on it. Don’t rush to present your bid, think about it a couple of days, and

2. Use two, three or several different ways to figure your estimate.

3. Remember “our secret†that the longer you clean a building, the easier it gets. So base your bid on how much time and expense the location will take 3-5 weeks down the road.


Robert Kravitz
Altura Solutions Janitorial Resource Center
Rjk@alturasolutions.com
 

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