How to Get Commercial Cleaning Contracts (Owner Playbook)

This is a playbook, not a promise. No approach is sure to bring in an account. What you can control is being ready, being specific, and following up. This page is general information, so check your contracts with a lawyer and your coverage with a licensed insurance agent.

Get ready first

Before you contact anyone, have these in hand. A prospect who says "send me something" should get it the same day.

• A certificate of insurance. Commercial clients may ask for one before a walkthrough. Talk to a licensed agent about what fits your business, and keep a current copy ready.
• A capability one-pager. One page: your business name, service area, the kinds of buildings you clean, your schedule options, what you carry for insurance, and how to reach you. No claims you cannot back up.
• References you actually have. Ask past or current clients if they agree to be a reference. Never list someone without asking, and never invent one.
• Proposal and contract templates. See the cleaning proposal template and the cleaning contract template. Have a local lawyer review your agreement.
• Your cost numbers. Know your loaded labor cost and overhead before you walk a building, so you can price it soon after.

Choose your target buildings

Not every building is a fit. A contract you cannot staff is a problem, not a prize. Filter your list with three questions:

• Size you can staff. Can you or your team clean it in the hours available, every visit, including when someone is out sick?
• Distance. Drive time is unpaid time unless you price it in. Clusters of buildings close together are easier to run.
• Schedule fit. Does the building's cleaning window fit around your other accounts? Five nights a week is a different commitment than once a week.

Ways to find opportunities

None of these cost much to try. Use a few at once and track what each one brings.

• Property managers. One manager may look after several buildings. Ask who handles cleaning vendors and when contracts come up for review.
• Building owners. Smaller buildings are often managed by the owner directly.
• Walk in and ask. At a small office or shop, a polite visit at a quiet time to ask who handles cleaning can get you a name and an email. Leave your one-pager.
• Referrals. Ask current clients, including residential clients, whether they know someone who runs an office or shop.
• Local business groups. Chambers of commerce and networking groups put you in a room with people who run buildings.
• Your own network. Friends and family who work in offices may know who decides on cleaning there.
• Related trades. Contractors, property maintenance companies, and other trades meet building managers every week.

Public sector bids

Government agencies buy cleaning services too, and they follow their own process. At the federal level, contract opportunities are posted on SAM.gov, the official system where businesses register to do business with the federal government and search for opportunities. The SBA's Federal contracting page explains how small businesses sell to the government.

State, county, and city agencies, school districts, and other public bodies post their own bids, often on a purchasing or procurement page. Each has its own registration, forms, and deadlines. Read every bid document closely, answer every question it asks, and price from your own costs as you would for any other building.

The walkthrough and the bid

Once a prospect agrees, walk the building. Count restrooms, break rooms, desks, and trash points. Note floor types, access, alarms, and who supplies paper and liners. Agree the frequency for each area. Then turn it into hours and write the bid. The guide on how to bid commercial cleaning jobs covers each step.

Price it so you can keep it

An account priced below your costs is hard to keep. Every visit loses money, and the pressure shows up in the work. Price from your costs: hours per visit, loaded labor, supplies, and an overhead share give you break-even per visit. Multiply by visits per month, then add the margin you choose. That is your call.

The commercial cleaning calculator lays out the monthly math, and how to price office cleaning applies it to office buildings.

Follow up and keep the account

Many bids take more than one conversation. And once you have an account, keeping it is its own work.

• Follow up on a schedule. After you send a proposal, check in on a set day. Ask if they have questions about the scope.
• Communicate early. If something breaks, runs out, or cannot be done, tell the contact before they find it.
• Run your own inspections. Walk the building on a regular schedule with your scope list in hand. Fix what you find.
• Put scope changes in writing. Added rooms, added visits, or new tasks get a written change with its price before you do the work.
• Review at renewal. Look at your hours and costs on the account before the term ends, and adjust the price if the work has changed.

Outreach tracker

Keep one row per prospect. A spreadsheet or a notebook both work. These rows are placeholders.

Outreach email template

Short, specific, and easy to answer. Replace every bracket. Leave out any line you cannot back up.

Subject: Cleaning for [Building or business name]

Hi [First name],

I run [Your business name], a cleaning business serving
[Your service area]. I clean [offices / medical offices /
retail spaces] on [evening / early morning] schedules.

I would like to learn who handles cleaning for
[Building or business name] and whether you are open to a
quote when the current arrangement comes up for review.

If it helps, I can walk the space at a time that suits you
and send a written proposal with the scope by area, the
frequency, and the price.

[Insurance line, only what you actually carry]
[References line, only references you actually have]

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Phone]
[Email]

Get the price right before you send it

Every proposal ends with a number. Binderlane organizes that math: answer a few questions, see your break-even and your price, then text the client a branded quote with your logo. It was built around house jobs, so for a recurring contract use the monthly steps with your own walkthrough. It does not find leads, send proposals, or recommend rates. First 3 quotes are free to send, no card.