How to Bid Medical Office Cleaning: A Simple Guide for Cleaning Business Owners
Medical offices can be great accounts for a cleaning company. They usually need regular service, they care about consistency, and they tend to stay with a cleaner who does the job well. But they are also easy to underbid. Exam rooms, restrooms, waiting areas, and stricter expectations take more time than a standard office of the same size.
This guide walks you through how to bid a medical office cleaning job, from the first walkthrough to the proposal you send. You'll learn what to look at, what affects your price, and how to present a bid that's clear and professional.
Why medical office bids are different
A general office might need vacuuming, trash removal, and a quick restroom clean. A medical office often adds more surfaces to disinfect, more restrooms per square foot, hard floors that need careful attention, and areas staff expect cleaned a specific way.
The client also has more at stake. Patients judge a practice by how clean the waiting room and exam rooms look. That means the office manager will look closely at your scope and your reliability, not just your price.
Know what you are and aren't cleaning
Before you price anything, clarify the scope. Many cleaning companies clean the general areas of a medical office, such as the lobby, offices, break rooms, restrooms, and exam rooms, but do not handle regulated medical waste or sharps. Ask the client how they handle those, and put it in writing so there's no confusion later.
Step 1: Do a real walkthrough
Never price a medical office from square footage alone. Walk the building and take notes.
What to record during the walkthrough
- Room counts: exam rooms, procedure rooms, restrooms, offices, break rooms, and waiting areas
- Floor types: carpet, vinyl, tile, or sealed concrete, and roughly how much of each
- High-touch surfaces: door handles, counters, check-in desks, chairs, and light switches
- Frequency: how many nights per week the client wants service
- Access: alarm codes, keys, and the hours you can be in the building
- Special requests: glass, interior windows, floor care, or supply restocking
Ask the office manager the right questions
Ask what the current cleaner does well and what they miss. Ask which areas patients see first. Ask whether they want a set schedule for deeper tasks like floor care. These answers help you write a scope that fixes the real problem, and that is often what wins the account.
Step 2: Estimate your labor time
Labor is usually the biggest cost in a cleaning bid. Estimate how long each visit will take based on the rooms and tasks you recorded, not a guess based on the building's total size.
Break the job into areas
Estimate time for each type of space: so many minutes per exam room, per restroom, for the lobby, and so on. Add them up for a per-visit time. Your own past jobs are the best guide to how long each area takes your crew.
Multiply by frequency
Multiply your per-visit time by the number of visits per month. That gives you monthly labor hours, which is the base of your price.
Step 3: Add your costs and margin
Once you have labor hours, build the rest of your price.
Costs to include
- Labor: hours times your pay rate, plus payroll taxes and workers' comp if you have employees
- Supplies: disinfectants, liners, microfiber, and any products the client asks for
- Equipment: wear on vacuums, floor machines, and other tools
- Travel: time and fuel to get to the site
- Overhead: insurance, software, phone, and admin time
Set your margin
After your costs, add the profit margin your business needs. Don't drop your price below your costs just to win the job. A medical office that's underpriced becomes an account you dread cleaning.
Step 4: Write a clear proposal
Your proposal is often the first thing the decision-maker sees from your company. Make it easy to read and easy to approve.
What a strong proposal includes
- Your company name, logo, and contact information
- A summary of the scope, room by room or area by area
- Service frequency and schedule
- Optional add-ons, such as floor care or window cleaning, priced separately
- Your monthly price and payment terms
- A simple way for the client to accept
Make it easy to say yes
Many deals stall after the proposal goes out because accepting is a hassle. If the client can review, sign, and pay from their phone, you remove a step between "looks good" and "you're hired."
Step 5: Follow up
Follow up a few days after you send the proposal. Ask whether they have questions about the scope. Offer to adjust frequency or add-ons to fit their budget, rather than cutting your rate.
How Bid Pricer helps
Bid Pricer is a bid pricing app built for cleaning business owners. You can use it at the walkthrough to price office, medical, and home cleaning jobs, then send a branded proposal your client can e-sign and pay from their phone. Your company name, logo, rates, and terms live in Settings, so every bid looks like yours. The Pro plan ($29/month) includes Lead Finder to help you find businesses to bid on, and it's free to start.
Frequently asked questions
How do I price a medical office cleaning job?
Do a walkthrough, estimate labor time by area, multiply by visits per month, then add supplies, equipment, travel, overhead, and your margin. Avoid pricing from square footage alone.
Should I clean medical waste or sharps?
Many general cleaning companies don't handle regulated medical waste or sharps. Ask the client how they handle it, and state clearly in your proposal what is and isn't included.
How often do medical offices need cleaning?
It depends on the office's hours and patient volume. Ask the client during the walkthrough and price each frequency option if they're undecided.
What should I include in a cleaning proposal?
Include scope, frequency, add-ons, price, payment terms, and an easy way to accept. A clear proposal makes it easier for the client to compare and approve.
Is Bid Pricer free?
Bid Pricer is free to start. The Pro plan is $29/month and includes Lead Finder.
Start your next bid with Bid Pricer
Stop pricing jobs on scratch paper. Download Bid Pricer free and send your next medical office proposal from your phone.
Get it: bidpricer.app · Google Play