The Commercial Cleaning Walkthrough: What to Check Before You Quote

The walkthrough is where commercial cleaning bids are won or lost. Walk a building too quickly and you'll miss the details that double your labor time. Walk it carefully and you'll write a quote that's accurate, profitable, and more convincing than a competitor's guess. This checklist covers what to look at, what to ask, and how to turn your notes into a number.

Before you arrive

• Ask for the building's square footage and a floor plan if they have one.
• Ask how often they want service and whether they have a current scope of work from their existing vendor.
• Find out who makes the decision and who will be on the walkthrough with you.
• Bring a notepad or a tablet, a measuring tool, and your phone for photos (ask permission before you take any).

Questions to ask the decision-maker

The best walkthroughs are part inspection and part interview. Ask:

• What do you like and dislike about your current cleaning service?
• Which areas get the most complaints from employees or tenants?
• What hours can the cleaning crew access the building, and how does entry and alarm access work?
• How many people use the space each day, and are there busy periods?
• Who supplies consumables like paper towels, toilet paper, soap, and trash liners?
• Are there any special areas, such as medical rooms, labs, kitchens, or secure offices?
• When do you want the new service to start, and what's your budget or current spend?

The first question is the most valuable. Whatever they're frustrated with is exactly what your proposal should promise to fix.

What to check, room by room

Restrooms. Count toilets, urinals, sinks, and dispensers. Restrooms take the most time per square foot, so an accurate fixture count matters more than almost anything else in the bid.

Break rooms and kitchens. Note appliances, dishes, counter space, and whether the client expects you to clean inside the refrigerator or microwave.

Offices and open work areas. Count desks and note clutter. Clear desks are fast to dust. Desks covered in papers are not, and most crews don't move personal items anyway, so agree on that up front.

Floors. Note every floor type: carpet, VCT, sealed concrete, tile, wood, or LVT. Each type needs a different method and schedule. Ask about periodic work like carpet extraction or strip and wax, and quote it separately.

Entrances and lobbies. These are what visitors see first. Note glass doors, mats, and how much dirt gets tracked in, especially in winter.

Trash and recycling. Count bins, and find out where the dumpster is and how far your crew has to walk to reach it.

Access and logistics. Find the janitor's closet, the water source, elevators, and storage space for your supplies and equipment. A building with no storage means carrying equipment in and out every night.

Details that change your labor time

• Stairwells and multiple floors without elevators
• A lot of interior glass or partitions that show fingerprints
• High dusting, vents, and light fixtures
• Security procedures that slow down entry
• Tight time windows, such as a building that only allows cleaning from 6pm to 9pm

Write each of these down. They're the difference between a bid that works and one that loses money every month.

Turn your notes into a quote

1. Break the building into areas and estimate how long each one takes per visit, using production rates you trust from your own jobs.
2. Add the areas together to get total labor hours per visit, then multiply by visits per month.
3. Multiply those hours by your fully loaded labor cost, meaning wages plus payroll taxes, workers' comp, and insurance.
4. Add supplies, consumables (if you're providing them), equipment wear, and travel.
5. Add overhead and profit to reach your monthly price.
6. Quote periodic services like floor care and window cleaning as separate line items.

Then sanity-check the result. If the price seems far above or below what similar buildings pay, go back through your notes and see what's driving the difference before you send it.

Follow up fast

Send your proposal within a day or two while the walkthrough is fresh in the client's mind. Reference what they told you, such as "Your team mentioned the second-floor restrooms are a constant problem, so we've scheduled them for a detailed clean every visit." That shows you listened, and it sets you apart from bids that look copied and pasted.

A careful walkthrough takes a little longer, but it gives you an accurate price, a stronger proposal, and fewer surprises after you win the account.

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