Janitorial bid estimator

A transparent starting point for pricing a cleaning contract. Every step of the math is shown below the results.

Estimates only. This is not legal, financial or accounting advice. Results depend entirely on the numbers you enter. Always check your bid against the solicitation's requirements (scope, frequencies, square footage, staffing) and the wage determination that applies to the contract.

The building

Cleanable square feet

From the solicitation's building list or floor plans.

Cleanings per week

e.g. 5 for weekdays. Use the solicitation's frequency schedule.

Weeks per year

Subtract weeks with no service, if any.

Production rate (square feet per labor hour)

How many square feet one worker cleans in an hour. This varies a lot by building type, floor type and task list, so use your own crew's numbers.

Labor (from the wage determination)

Federal service contracts usually set minimum wages and fringe benefits through a Service Contract Act wage determination (WD), which is named in the solicitation. We don't fill these in for you. Look up the WD for the contract's location and job classification (for example, Janitor) on SAM.gov wage determinations (opens in a new tab) and enter the rates here.

Hourly wage ($ per hour)

The rate for the job classification, or higher if you pay more.

Health & welfare fringe ($ per hour)

The WD's health and welfare (H&W) rate per hour.

Payroll taxes & insurance (% of wages)

Employer payroll taxes, unemployment and workers' comp insurance. Vacation, holiday and sick-leave pay required by the WD also costs money: add them here as a percentage or raise the wage.

Markups

Supplies (% of labor)

Overhead (% of direct cost)

Profit (% of total cost)

The numbers filled in above are placeholders to show how the math works. They are not industry benchmarks or recommendations. Replace them with your own.

Estimated annual price

Enter the wage rates

Per month: —
Per cleaning: —
Per square foot per year: —
Labor hours per year: —
Full-time equivalents: —

How it's calculated

Calculation steps
#	Step	Formula	Your numbers	Result
1	Cleanings per year	cleanings per week × weeks per year	—	—
2	Hours per cleaning	square feet ÷ production rate	—	—
3	Labor hours per year	step 1 × step 2	—	—
4	Wages	step 3 × hourly wage	—	—
5	Health & welfare fringe	step 3 × H&W rate	—	—
6	Payroll taxes & insurance	step 4 × burden %	—	—
7	Total labor	step 4 + step 5 + step 6	—	—
8	Supplies	step 7 × supplies %	—	—
9	Direct cost	step 7 + step 8	—	—
10	Overhead	step 9 × overhead %	—	—
11	Total cost	step 9 + step 10	—	—
12	Profit	step 11 × profit %	—	—
13	Annual price	step 11 + step 12	—	—

Per month = annual ÷ 12. Per cleaning = annual ÷ cleanings per year. Per square foot = annual ÷ square feet. Full-time equivalents = labor hours ÷ 2,080 (40 hours × 52 weeks). Payroll taxes are applied to wages only. Supplies are a percentage of total labor, overhead a percentage of direct cost, and profit a percentage of total cost. This simple model leaves out items many bids need, such as equipment, supervision, travel, bonding, and periodic work like floor refinishing or carpet extraction; add them to overhead or price them separately.