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Janitorial bid comparison checklist for San Jose buildings
When cleaning bids land on your desk, this checklist puts them on equal footing. Fill out a fresh copy for each proposal, answer the same five groups every time, then compare the finished sheets.
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Printable checklist
One sheet for each bid
Our guide to choosing a San Jose cleaner deals with preparation and the walkthrough itself. The checklist here takes over when the proposals arrive. It lists what to confirm in each one before you compare totals, so the decision rests on matching plans rather than on whichever number is lowest.
Work through each proposal with its own copy of the sheet open beside it. Where a bid says nothing about a line, write that down instead of assuming an answer. Gaps are far easier to raise with a company before you sign than once service is underway.
Scope, frequencies and hours
Start with the work itself. A bid should name your rooms and tell you how often each one is cleaned. If you gave every company the same room list, this is where the real differences between proposals show up.
- Every area from your room list appears in the bid
- Tasks listed under each area rather than in one paragraph
- Visits per week stated, with a frequency beside each task
- Cleaning window stated: evening, night or weekend start time
- Entry, lock-up and alarm steps described
- Periodic work such as floor care or carpet extraction shown on separate lines
Watch the difference between a task and a result. “Restrooms cleaned” tells you little, while “toilets, sinks, mirrors and floors cleaned, dispensers restocked” says what the crew will actually do. The more specific bid is easier to hold to its word once service starts.
If one bid covers five nights and another four, or one leaves out the kitchen, mark it and ask for an adjusted version. Our scope-writing guide shows how a clear scope makes this step easier from the outset.
Supplies and restocking
Supplies cause more confusion than almost any other part of a cleaning agreement. One bid includes consumables while the next leaves them to you, and the totals look very different as a result. Settle who buys what before comparing anything else.
- Who purchases tissue, towels, soap and trash bags
- Whether hand sanitizer and seat covers are included
- Whether the crew restocks dispensers on each visit
- Where reserve stock is kept and who reorders it
- Who provides cleaning products and equipment
If you plan to keep supplying your own products, confirm that each company will use them and will tell you when the closet runs low.
Supervision and inspections
Ask how the work gets checked once service begins. The answer tells you how problems will come to light and who is responsible for putting them right.
- How often a supervisor inspects the building
- What each inspection is measured against
- How missed tasks are reported back to you
- How a new cleaner learns your building
Our own supervisors inspect finished rooms against the written plan, and each cleaner who works in your building has cleared a background check.
Insurance and screening
Put each company’s insurance paperwork in the same folder as its bid. Having the documents in hand, rather than a sentence in the proposal, makes the comparison straightforward.
- Bonding confirmed in the bid
- Proof of workers’ compensation on file
- Certificate of insurance in hand
- How cleaners are screened before placement
On our side the paperwork is simple. Every cleaner we send is bonded, insured and covered by workers’ compensation. Each client of San Jose Commercial Cleaning Co holds our certificate of insurance on file. Ask each company for matching documents so the sheets line up.
Contact, feedback and getting started
The last group on the sheet covers how you will work together. Look for a clear way to reach the company, a route for feedback and a written plan for the opening weeks.
- Name and phone number of the company’s point person
- Expected turnaround on requests and complaints
- How scope changes are handled as your space changes
- Proposed start date, with a walkthrough before the first visit
- Plan for keys, badges and alarm codes at handoff
- First-week check-in and feedback arrangement
If you are leaving a current provider, our changeover guide sets out notice, access and supplies in order.
Reading the finished sheets side by side
Spread the completed sheets out together and hunt for blanks before you look at totals. A bid with empty lines is not ready to compare yet. Return the gaps to each company as a short written list and request a revised version.
Once every sheet is complete, the choice gets simpler. You can see which bid matches your rooms, your hours and your supplies arrangement, and price becomes a fair comparison of the same work. Keep the sheets on file: they help again at renewal time, or when your building changes enough to ask for new bids.
The printable carries these groups as check boxes, plus a line for the company’s name and a notes area. Download and print it as often as you need; there is no form to get through.
A few useful answers
Common questions.
Is the lowest janitorial bid the one to pick?
Not until the plans match. Line up rooms, frequency, hours and supplies first, because two different prices often describe two different jobs.
Which insurance documents belong in a bid package?
Three items: written confirmation of bonding, evidence of workers’ compensation coverage and a certificate of insurance. We supply our certificate to each client as standard.
What if a bid leaves out supplies?
Note it as a gap and ask the company to state who buys paper products, soap and liners. Then compare totals with supplies handled the same way on every bid.
Why not track every bid on one big sheet?
Separate copies keep each proposal’s answers in one place with room for notes, and spreading them out together makes missing lines easy to spot.
Can the sheet help when our current contract comes up for renewal?
Yes. Run your current provider’s plan through the same lines to see whether the scope still fits your building before you decide to ask for new bids.