An office cleaning bid is the cost of one visit, divided by one minus the margin you want, then multiplied by the number of visits in a month. The work is in getting the cost right: how long the building takes, what you pay the people who clean it, the supplies, the drive and your overhead. This guide walks through each step and the three ways commercial cleaners usually quote. It does not hand you a going rate per square foot, because a rate built from someone else's costs is a guess about your business. Our free cleaning price calculator does the per-visit math as you read.
How office cleaning differs from house cleaning
Office work is sold as a contract, not a visit. The client wants the same scope on set nights, a fixed monthly invoice, a certificate of insurance and often a key or alarm code. You usually clean when nobody is there, so there is no one to ask what "the kitchen" means. That makes the written scope more important than in a home, and it makes a price that is too low hurt for longer, because you are locked into it until the contract ends.
If you are still setting up the business, start with how to start a cleaning business, which covers licenses, insurance and bonds. Residential pricing is in that guide too, and the house-cleaning version of this math is in how much to charge for house cleaning.
Three ways to quote
- Per visit. One price for each cleaning. It is simple and suits a small office cleaned once or twice a week.
- Per square foot. You price the cleanable area at a rate you worked out from your own production speed. It scales well across buildings of different sizes and is how many property managers compare bids. It only works if the rate comes from your crew's real speed.
- Monthly contract. One fixed amount each month for a set scope and schedule. It is what most offices want, because it makes their budget predictable. Underneath, it is still the per-visit price times the visits in a month.
Most small cleaning companies work out a per-visit price from their costs, then present it to the client as a monthly contract.
Step 1: walk the building and write the scope
Never bid from a phone call. Walk the space and write down:
- the cleanable square feet, and what is not included, such as a warehouse floor or a locked server room
- restrooms, kitchens and break rooms, counted separately, because they take far longer than open office
- floor types: carpet to vacuum, hard floors to mop, anything that needs scrubbing or finish
- trash and recycling points, and where it goes
- how often each task happens: nightly, weekly or monthly
- access: keys, alarm codes, elevators, parking, and the hours you are allowed in
- who supplies paper towels, toilet paper, soap and liners
That list becomes the scope page of your contract. Anything not on it is extra work, priced separately.
Step 2: time per visit
Time is the biggest cost. There are two ways to get it.
- Time it. Clean a similar space, or the first few visits of a new account, and time every task from unlocking the door to setting the alarm.
- Work it out from production rate. Divide the square feet by your crew's own speed in square feet per hour, then add separate time for each restroom and kitchen. Time yourself on spaces you have measured to get that speed. Published production rates exist, but they assume someone else's crew, equipment and building.
Do a first visit at a slower pace, because a new building always takes longer until the crew knows it.
Step 3: labor cost
Multiply cleaners by hours per visit, plus travel time, by each cleaner's hourly pay. If you have employees, add payroll taxes and workers' compensation to the wage; our labor rate calculator works out that fully loaded rate. For a reference point only, the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median wage for janitors and building cleaners at $17.71 an hour for May 2025 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). That is what cleaners are paid, not what you charge a client.
Step 4: supplies and equipment
Add what each visit uses in chemicals, liners and microfiber, plus a share of your vacuums, mops and carts. If the contract says you supply paper goods and soap, price those separately from your labor and keep them on their own line, because usage changes with the number of people in the office.
Step 5: drive time and overhead
Count the drive from your last stop as paid time. Then add overhead: insurance, the bond, phone, software, your website, vehicle costs and the hours you spend bidding and invoicing. Total it for a year, divide by the hours you expect to bill, and add that per hour to each visit, or add it as a percent of labor if that is how you track it.
Step 6: margin and the monthly price
Add labor, supplies, drive time and overhead to get the cost of one visit. Then:
- Price per visit = cost per visit ÷ (1 − margin)
- Visits per month = visits per week × 52 ÷ 12
- Monthly contract = price per visit × visits per month
A 20% margin means dividing by 0.8. Margin is not markup: a 20% margin is a 25% markup, and confusing the two is an easy way to underbid. The free markup calculator converts between them. Using 52 weeks divided by 12, rather than four weeks a month, matters on a contract, because four weeks leaves you cleaning about four extra visits a year for free.
To quote per square foot, divide the monthly price by the cleanable square feet. That gives you your own rate for that building, which you can check against the next similar bid.
Put the terms in writing
A short contract protects both sides. Include the scope page, the schedule, what happens on holidays, who supplies what, how either side ends the agreement and with how much notice, and when you can review the price. A clause that lets you requote if the scope or the occupied space changes saves an argument later.
When to raise the price
- The building takes longer than you bid for several visits in a row. Time it and requote.
- The scope grows. A new floor, more staff or a new kitchen is new work.
- Your costs rise. Wages, insurance and supplies go up. Review every contract at least once a year.
Where your website fits
Commercial clients check you out before they call. A website that shows the services you offer, the area you cover, proof of insurance on request and a way to book a walkthrough makes the first conversation easier. Our guide to cleaning business scheduling software covers the tools that keep recurring visits on time once you win the contract.
Fasite is $199 a month, or $1,990 a year, for a done-for-you website, a 24/7 AI receptionist on its own new number that books free visits, online booking, recurring jobs, estimates, invoices and scheduling. The receptionist does not quote prices, so your bid stays yours. The first subscription starts with a 30-day free trial, and no card is needed to start.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I charge to clean an office?
Enough to cover each visit's cost and keep the margin you want: cost per visit divided by one minus your margin, times the visits in a month. The cost depends on your cleaners' pay, your speed, the restrooms and kitchens, supplies, drive time and overhead. Our cleaning price calculator works out the per-visit price from your numbers.
Should I price commercial cleaning by the square foot?
You can, if the rate comes from your own production speed. Work out the monthly price from your costs first, then divide by the cleanable square feet to get your rate. A rate copied from somewhere else ignores how your crew works and how the building is laid out.
How many visits are in a month?
Multiply visits per week by 52, then divide by 12. Five nights a week is about 21.7 visits a month, not 20.
What should an office cleaning contract include?
The written scope, the schedule, holidays, who supplies paper goods and soap, the notice either side needs to end it, and when the price can be reviewed.
What is the difference between margin and markup?
Margin is profit as a share of the price. Markup is profit as a share of the cost. A price with a 20% margin has a 25% markup.