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| Thursday, June 20, 2013 |
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| [Sunday, June 16, 2013] |
| I have a 12,000 sq.ft. building that the owner wants me to clean. The tenant just moved out and he is going to rent it again. He said it is used for ballrooms, banquet parties, and that it is nothing but floor, no carpet.
I haven't seen it yet. I am going to go on Saturday, but want to be able to take the job right there and then, because it is far about 30 miles away from where I live. I don't want to go and just look, so I want a suggestion on how many people I should take with me to finish the job that same day, and how much I should charge him. I believe it has a bar, a men's and women's restroom.
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| Bidding & Estimating - Kasandra Henriquez |
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| [Friday, May 17, 2013] |
| I am bidding on a cleaning contract with a movie theater that is 16,000 sq. ft. I will be cleaning the tile floors, vacuum carpet, 4 restrooms, (two men/two women) 1 lobby, 4 glass entrance doors, 12 movie theater showrooms, (6 at each end of the hall with the movie theater lobby in the middle) cleaning all the movie theater seats with cup holders and armrest, empty trash disposal, and I am providing all cleaning equipment and cleaning supplies. I will make sure that all their paper towel dispensers, soap dispensers and bathroom tissue holders are filled (they supply those items). I will be working with 5 workers including me. Will try to be finished in 6 hours. How much should I bid on a movie theater contract? |
| Bidding & Estimating - Darden Jones |
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| [Thursday, April 25, 2013] |
| How much can you charge for a detail dusting in a dental office one time per week? The building has mostly wood trim and is a little over 17,000 sq.ft. They also want once a week regular service cleaning with 16 operatories,13 offices, kitchen, training room, carpet throughout, ceramic tile, stairways w/carpet, few restrooms. |
| Bidding & Estimating - Marty B Williams |
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| [Monday, February 18, 2013] |
| I’m new to bidding and estimating. I have to bid on an office that has 16,000 sq.ft. It has 35 employees, 2 restrooms, office/conference room, 71 cubicles, 13 offices, 3 conference rooms, 1 training room. All carpeted. 7x14 mopping area plus restrooms and I supply all hand towels, toilet paper, small trash bags, large bags, hand soap, and neutral cleaner. My travel time is about 40 min. each way and I need employees. Could you please help me with a breakdown and price? |
| Bidding & Estimating - fred ellis |
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| [Sunday, December 16, 2012] |
| My family owns a residential cleaning company and we were offered an 10,800 sq. ft. office building (lawyers’ offices). We have never cleaned offices before so I am clueless as to what to charge.
The initial cleaning is post construction, but the contractors left it in really good condition. They painted, replaced all panels for the drop ceiling, installed new carpets, a few cabinets in their two small kitchens, and three new bathrooms with a few stalls and urinals.
Here is our task list for the initial cleaning: Small windows (inside only), 3rd floor: 9000 sf., 95% carpet, 21 offices (all carpet), 1 kitchen (tile floors), 2 restrooms, 2 conference rooms (carpet), 3 small computer rooms (vinyl floors), 2nd floor 1800 sf. (all carpet), 1 reception area (common area), 4 conference rooms, 1 kitchen (tile floors), 1 restroom.
We employ 9 women. I'm thinking the initial cleaning would take about 4 hours with about 4 or 5 employees. Am I off base here with that estimation?
The place is empty so there are no obstacles to get in our way. After the initial cleaning, he would like us to clean 3x per week: Empty trash, vacuum, disinfect restrooms. Clean the 3 small kitchens, light dusting.
How should I charge for the initial cleaning and for the 3x per week?. I've done some research and I've seen anything from .15 - .30 per sf weekly. Does that sound correct? I really want this job and I don't want to bid too high, but I don't want to be in the hole either. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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| Bidding & Estimating - Leo Granata |
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| [Tuesday, December 04, 2012] |
| I need some assistance in pricing commercial cleaning services for a car dealership with 5 buildings. We just started cleaning the smaller 3 buildings which equal almost 6800 square feet. We are currently charging $.25/sq. ft. for cleaning 3x/wk (this takes us about 2 1/2-3 hrs each time). We are about to bid on the remaining 2 larger buildings, and I need some help for quoting a price!
The 2 larger buildings total around 20,000 sq. ft. and will need to be cleaned 6x/wk.
Cleaning includes trash removal (we supply the bags), sweeping, mopping (90% is ceramic tile), cleaning multiple stall restrooms in each building, weekly dusting of desks, cleaning breakrooms including appliances (weekly), reception areas (daily), cleaning windows (weekly), and high/low dust monthly. We supply all cleaning products.
Right now it’s just my daughter and me cleaning the smaller buildings as a part-time job, but I will be cleaning full-time (quitting my current full-time job!) if we get the bigger buildings.
I am not sure how to quote a price for the bigger buildings. Should I keep the $.25/sq. ft.even though we will be cleaning 3 more times a week on the larger buildings? I have seen online that typically more square footage equals a lower per sq. ft. price, but if I am cleaning it more frequently, how does that make sense to lower the sq. footage price? The areas are heavy traffic, with the floors being the worst and most time consuming! We are not really in competition with anyone (the current cleaning crew is terrible), as my husband works at the dealership (my cleaning company), but I don’t want to insult the management with an outrageous quote. Any help would be great!
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| Bidding & Estimating - Anne Law |
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| [Sunday, October 21, 2012] |
| We had recently had a request to provide a construction cleaning proposal for a state court and library facility in Sacramento, CA. We have been in business for a couple years, cleaning offices and other facilities. However, we don't have any experience in getting government contracts. I need guidance and advice on putting out an accurate proposal and figuring out how to price the job. The building total sq. ft. is 188,000 sq. ft. We will only be responsible for cleaning about 170,000 sq. ft. six floors high. The project time is 3 weeks based on that information. We need to hire 13 people that are subcontractors in our network. All the cleaners need to be paid a prevailing wage. Where can I find out the prevailing wage for construction cleaning? Since I hire the subcontractors, I am not required to pay for medical and other fees. What would be an hourly rate excluding fees?
Project Details: Dusting shelves, baseboards window ledges and all horizontal surfaces, vacuuming carpet, restroom cleaning, window cleaning , elevator and stair mopping, trash removal.
I’d appreciate your help and advice.
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| Bidding & Estimating - Natalie Karaseni |
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| [Thursday, September 27, 2012] |
| I live in small town near Victoria, in south Texas ~ only about 2000 population. One of the two major employers here is taking bids for janitorial services for their 10,000 sq. ft. office building.
Services to be performed three times a week: sweep offices, hallway, and restroom floors; shake out floor mats; clean 4 restroom toilets, sinks, and stalls; remove trash and replace liners; and ensure soap and paper products are full.
Services to be performed one time a week: mop office, hallway and bathroom floors (sooner if needed); dust furniture and surface areas; make sure walls are free of debris (spiderwebs); clean inside and outside windows.
The company provides trash can liners, soap and paper products for the restrooms. The contractor is responsible for all other supplies needed.
I have cleaned residential houses for 15 years and am not quite sure how to bid on something this size. I went to look at the job and especially wanted to ask about the window cleaning. I was told if I could just get the two front entrance area doors and windows on the side of them and any windows on the inside that I could get to would be fine. So, I don't think they are expecting professional window cleanings. They want a monthly fee bid.
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| Bidding & Estimating - Stacy Berger |
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| [Thursday, September 27, 2012] |
| I just started doing sub contractor work for a contractor who has hundreds and hundreds of accounts. We made a deal that I would get 85% of the invoice, while they keep the 15%. I am new and have 2 very small accounts so far and all is well.
I was now offered 4 national park buildings in California, within same the park, estimated by contractor for 16 hrs. /day, once a week. Bid was $825 a month, and after 15%, I would get $700 a month. $700 divided by 4.3 weeks a month, since some months have 5 weekends, comes to $161 a week. Now, if I pay $9/hr. for 16 hrs., the labor comes to $144.
I brought this up to the contractor and he says, “If you work fast, you could get it done in 10-12 hrs.”
So fine, if I calculate 12 hrs. x $9/hr., that comes to $108. That leaves only $53 to cover chemicals, taxes, and so on. I declined the offer since it wouldn’t be worth it to me.
I feel that the contractor has lied about this specific account and pocketed a huge portion of original bid.
According to my research, $25 - $30/ hr. is the going rate for this part of California. Ok, so let’s just use$20/hr. If I was a bidder, which I have no experience in, I would calculate $20/hr. for 16 hrs. of work every week, which is $320 a week times 4.3 weeks a month which comes to $1,376 a month. My cut of 85% comes to $1,169 which seems more worth it.
Was it possible the contractor actually got a bid for $825, or did he really try to get me big time? Besides finding a different contractor to sub from, which I am already doing, does anyone recommend a way to approach the contractor about this, or just be thankful for the opportunity that they called me, and wait until one passes by that is beneficial for me?
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| Bidding & Estimating - P D |
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| [Wednesday, August 29, 2012] |
| What is the going rate (square footage) in North Carolina for post construction? Clean windows, doors, closets, bathroom, class rooms, etc. All flooring, terrazzo, vct needs scrubbing. VCT needs finishing. The building size is 100,000 square feet.
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| Bidding & Estimating - William Herndon Jr |
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| [Tuesday, July 31, 2012] |
| How much should I charge for a 15,000 sq.ft. EMS facility including 1 main lobby, 15 offices, 4 class rooms, 1 break room, 1 conference room, and 3 male rest rooms and 3 female rest rooms. I must provide staff to finish weekly and detail monthly cleaning within a 4 hour’s time frame. I am responsible for supplying all cleaning agents and equipment.
Weekly cleaning-trash disposal, vacuum all carpets, dust and mop linoleum floors and baseboards including entrance, hallways, rest rooms, and gym. Wash and disinfect rest rooms and restock.
Detail monthly cleaning- main lobby, conference room, and classrooms sweep and mop entrance, clean interior and exterior glass, high dust removal from ceiling fans, clean window/glass partitions and window sills, dust blinds, disinfect door knobs, telephones, and light fixtures, sanitize phones, clean legs of all chairs and conference table, dust television, spot clean walls around light switches, door frames and glass partitions, clean all appliances and tables and chairs in break room, restock detergent, hand soap, and paper towels.
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| Bidding & Estimating - Charles Bridges |
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| [Friday, July 20, 2012] |
| I am bidding on 13,000 sq. ft. of office space, 23 offices, 4 conference rooms, 1 large meeting room, 1 lunchroom/kitchen, 4 bathrooms, 18 cubicle work stations, 1 elevator,
1 stair case, and common area. The job is 5 days a week. How many hours and how many people should I use for the basic work?
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| Bidding & Estimating - Sheila Ramsey |
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| [Thursday, May 10, 2012] |
| I am bidding a small school district with a 3 building complex, high school, elementary school, and an annex building, totaling 126,268 sq. ft. School handles all supplies and has 1 day porter. I am responsible for cleaning 5x's/wk and a day porter. Day porter pay has been figured at $10.65/hr and comes to around $22, 000/yr. Bid is by sq ft.
I have never bid on cleaning/labor only (no supplies). Previous bid was $102,026, but for a different sq. ft. amount, so not accurate for comparison.
Question...what price per sq foot is acceptable? Same district has 2nd bid for gymnasium complex of 31,000 sq ft. Again, they provide all supplies.
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| Bidding & Estimating - Jessica Sterling |
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| [Saturday, March 17, 2012] |
| I'm looking at submitting a bid for cleaning a car dealership in the central Texas area. It's 19,000 sq ft. After looking through all the comments I've notice a "labor burden charge". What is this?? And is it a standard 20-22%?? I like the price after the charge, but doubt the dealership will.
This is my first dealership and I decided to price as a per-day per clean.
It's all the standard sweep, mop, dust, polish, trash removal of all areas, all appliance and vending cleaning, quarterly buff/finish floor care and quarterly steam clean, as well as daily spot care of stains, light fixtures as needed, spot clean all interior glass and a quarterly clean of all interior windows
My estimate included,
2 people X 4 hours X $15.00 = $120.00
2 people X 4 hours X $25.00 =(2 owners) $200.00
The dealership is thinking about 6 days a week
If we just use some easy numbers, $120 X 30 days = $3600 and then you tack on the labor fee of 20% an additional $700+
This equals to $10,000+ per month is that not a lot??
I can't feasibly think to do it for much less than that though....
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| Bidding & Estimating - Rebekah Fox |
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| [Saturday, March 17, 2012] |
| Another person and I are currently cleaning a telemarketing office 3 times a week. We are paid $800.00 a month for about 5000 sq feet. 62 cubicles, but we are not required to dust. 7 single fixture restrooms and a small breakroom. 8 small management and sales offices. About 70 trash cans. All is carpet except restrooms.
The office is moving to a 10,000 sq. ft. building with 120 cubicles, 2 restrooms with 3 stalls each, etc. The operation’s manager wants to limit the increase in cleaning cost. One thought he has is to drop to 2 times a week. I, however, don't think it will save him that much due to the added soiling between cleans. I do feel it is not in my best interest to increase the cost so much that I lose the contract.
What do you feel is a fair price increase for the larger area? Of course, windows, carpet cleaning, and such will be billed separate. All paper products, waste can liners, are provided by them. I have a janitor’s closet to keep my supplies in, so no need for packing them in and out. I hope this is enough info to get your thoughts. I also telemarket for this company during the day. I got hit with $867.00 self employment tax. Should I be figuring that into the mix somewhere?
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| Bidding & Estimating - tempie davie |
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| [Thursday, March 15, 2012] |
| We are being asked to bid on a grocery store that is brand new with polished concrete floors/some vinyl wood floors. Approx. cleanable sq. ft. is 37,000.
We are also bidding against another company which is much larger then we are, but not from the area, and the store seems to like that we are local.
We are to dust mop, auto scrub and propane burnish the floor. Clean 2 restrooms. Wipe down glass once a week in frozen food areas and in the Deli, bakery, seafood department. Stock room and loading area are also to be cleaned once a week. The rest of the store is a 7 day a week cleaning.
I anticipate a 2 man crew at 8 hours a night, which is what the current cleaning crew does in the old store and what seems to be what the manager wants in the new store. Current pay on these employees will be $10/ hr. With 15% going to payroll, 30% overhead, and 10% profit, I come out at $7800 a month. Does this seem reasonable or am I missing something? Please advise.
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| Bidding & Estimating - Scott Sye |
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| [Sunday, February 19, 2012] |
| I am bidding a 31,672 sq.ft. movie theater with 10 theater rooms. There are 4 bathrooms with a total of 40 fixtures. 14 trash cans. It is to be done 7 days a week.
Lobby: Non-waxable - 5,670 sq.ft. - sweeping, mopping, clean entry glass, empty trash
Video Game Area: Non-waxable - 252sq. ft. - sweeping, mopping
Theater Rooms - Non-waxable - 19,462sq.ft. - sweeping, mopping, wipe down arm rests
Hallways- Carpet - 5,328sq.ft. - vacuum, empty trash
Estimated Man Hours/day = 16.3
2-3 Cleaning Staff
Based on my calculations at a 2% profit= $6353.16
Does this price seem fair? and are there any suggestions on how long this should take based on the total sq. ft.?
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| Bidding & Estimating - Justin Elliott |
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| [Tuesday, February 14, 2012] |
| I have to bid a 100,000 sq. ft. building for cleaning 5 days a week at night and using one full time person during the day. I have to purchase equipment and provide all the paper, soap, and liners. Workers make $9.00 per hour and a supervisor makes $12.00 per hour. Facility has 300 employees and 150 visitors a day. Fringe rate 14%, overhead 15%, profit margin 10%. There are nightly, weekly, bi weekly, monthly, and yearly tasks. How would you approach this bid and how many man-hours do you project?
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| Bidding & Estimating - Mark Johnson |
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| [Thursday, January 12, 2012] |
| We are in the process of submitting a bid against other cleaning services to clean a Public Library with an area of 11,000 sq. ft. We normally just clean homes, but when got "wind" of an opportunity this size, we, of course, welcomed the chance to submit a bid and possibly "land" the account.
The facility has 3 floors with 5 restrooms total.
The contract calls for mopping some hardwood floors, dusting, vacuuming and cleaning of restrooms. The contract would for one year and the cleaning would be done on a weekly basis.
Since this will be our first big job of such a large magnitude, we would appreciate your helping us with an estimate to clean such a facility.
We are in a small town in Pennsylvania with a population of approximately 6,000 people, and around here, are NOT used to paying a high price to outsource cleaning.
Whatever advice and help you can give us would be greatly appreciated.
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| Bidding & Estimating - Twila Kurtz |
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| [Monday, December 26, 2011] |
| I'm bidding on an office building of 20,000 sq ft. Cleaning is required 5 days a week, out of the 5, 4 just empty trash and spot check and the other day out of the 5 dust, vacuum, mop, clean bathroom, trash, little kitchen. 3 buildings adding up to 20,000 sq ft. one bldg. 2 floors and other one floor. This is our first real office building. How to bid? price? and use one, two, three workers? |
| Bidding & Estimating - Mel Newcost |
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| [Friday, December 16, 2011] |
| I will be bidding on a office building, specifically a dentist office. Once a week, 6 exam rooms, 1 bath w/2 vanity sinks, vacuuming utility closets (2), break room, and dusting picture frames, sterilization area sanitized, and vacuuming foyer/waiting area. How would you price? It's well under 10,000 sq ft. |
| Bidding & Estimating - Heather Williams |
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| [Tuesday, November 15, 2011] |
| My company has been asked to bid on a large office complex for post-construction remodeling cleaning. This is a one-time cleaning prior to new tenants moving into the building. There are 3 floors. The main floor is 25,000 sq. ft., the 2nd floor is 23,000 sq. ft., and the 3rd floor is 15,000 sq. ft. This is an old building that is in the process of being completely remodeled. They want the carpets vacuumed, walls dusted, all windows cleaned inside and outside, VCT floors washed, and there are at least 10 single restrooms per floor. I am trying to calculate how much to charge per square foot for the office cleaning (NOT including the window cleaning price). What is the best way to do this?
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| Bidding & Estimating - George Mead |
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| [Tuesday, November 08, 2011] |
| We need help bidding on a warehouse cleaning, 44,000 sq ft. Duties include: disposal of all debris in warehouse and in dock area, clean cobwebs-10ft ceilings, dust , clean all hand rails, sweep stairwells, powerwash restroom floors, strip and refinish kitchen floor and 3 restrooms also, clean sinks, mirrors, urinals, toilets,n vacuum area carpet, spot clean no shampoo, shred all documents, remove logo conference door and entry door, and powerwash-mechanical clean warehouse floors (removing dirt, grease, black marks)
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| Bidding & Estimating - yolanda weems |
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| [Thursday, October 13, 2011] |
| My wife and I started our janitorial service in August of this year. I’ve worked janitorial jobs part time for extra income and thought, why not cut out the middle man? Since that time, we have been hitting the pavement hard with cold calling, walk-ins, flyers, etc.
When some ask about our competitive pricing, we many times freeze because we are unsure of pricing. What are the going rates in the Hampton Roads area for office/medical buildings?
Some suggest we bid by sq. ft., while others say flat rate, pending details of the services required. Either way, do we outline each service with our expected price? We have our first potential client meeting October 19th and we aren’t even sure how to go about sounding competitive.
Also, is there a website with sample business proposals? We are appreciative that we ran across this site!
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| Bidding & Estimating - Don & Carol Cuffee |
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| [Tuesday, April 26, 2011] |
| We are bidding on a 150,000 sq. ft. building that has carpet, tile cement, VCT, done 5 days a week. Conference rooms, locker rooms, model shop, elevator, office areas, road test garage, cafeteria and kitchen.. The company has 3 separate buildings; we will staff 4 people in each with a supervisor. Which bid formula should we use? It will be our largest account; we service a 90,000 sq. ft. building right now also. |
| Bidding & Estimating - David Oglesby |
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| [Saturday, January 22, 2011] |
| I am new to the business and I have to place a bid on a 13,000 sq. ft. post- construction cleanup for medical facility for military families. It has no windows, 14 multi-stall baths, 4 single baths, 20 exam rooms, 8000 sq. ft. of VCT and the rest is 5000 sq. ft. of carpet that will be installed. They want walls wiped down, and a wet mopping throughout before another company finishes the floors.
My biggest obstacle is I just viewed it on 1/18, the contractor hands over the keys on 1/31, but they still have a lot of things going on in there and I won’t be able to get in until 1/29, which limits my time because of other schedules and it’s only during night hours.
I don’t know how to charge for this. I’m in the Savannah Ga. area. I don’t know what the going rate in this area is or if I should be charging by sq. ft. or by the job.
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| Bidding & Estimating - LaTeresa Reynolds |
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| [Monday, November 22, 2010] |
| I asked this question before, but what do you guys consider a fair "profit" after all expenses have been paid?
I clean for a building that is about $1,700 per month, it takes about 5 hours daily to clean, and after paying employees, payroll taxes, overhead... I walk with about $150.00 per month "after all expenses have been paid".
The place is about 10,266 sq ft. I try to keep my profit for 5 day a week accounts about 9 to10 percent, but I don’t know if that’s fair or too low? What would you consider that a fair percentage?
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| Bidding & Estimating - Anderson Gomes |
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| [Wednesday, August 25, 2010] |
| I am being asked to bid on a 20,000 sq. ft. grocery store. The floors need to be swept, mopped and buffed nightly.
I figure that, with two people, this will take about 6 hours per night.
My question is, if I am paying my employees $14 an hour each + overhead costs (mops, buckets, solutions, buffer machine, etc.) would charging 85.00 per hour be too low?
In my area, the average per hour rate is very difficult to find.
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| Bidding & Estimating - Garret Belisl |
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| [Monday, March 22, 2010] |
| We are going to bid on a church that is 13,000 sq. ft. Clean once a week. As of now they haven’t moved in. When they do, there will be 2 restrooms; one has 5 stalls, the second has 2 stalls and a urinal. 3 offices, plus 1 youth room, 2 child care rooms, kitchen with stove, ovens, cabinets, walk-in refrigerator, cafe area with tables and chairs, 3 entrances with tile areas to be mopped and cleaned. We are to vacuum all other rooms, mop bathrooms, dust in video room, entrance area carpet, stage area with podium, etc. Estimate cost and time, and how many workers. |
| Bidding & Estimating - joyce Robertson |
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| [Monday, February 15, 2010] |
| I have a bid for a theatre with 8 show rooms, the area where popcorn and candy gets sold, 1 arcade area, 1 men's bathroom with about 8 toilets plus the sinks, 1 women's bathroom with about 12 toilets plus the sinks. We must vacuum the whole theatre area. I would say the whole place is about 20,000 sq. ft.
I am thinking about charging $2,688.00 per month, but I honestly have no idea if I am charging a reasonable amount. I don't know if I am undercharging or overcharging. With this rate I will pay for 2 employees at a pay rate of $8.25 an hour. The job is to be done 7 days a week, for 3 hours a day. Please give me your thoughts!
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| Bidding & Estimating - Milton Pozuelos |
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| [Wednesday, January 20, 2010] |
| For some time, I have been conducting time studies on the amount of square footage that can be stripped and refinished by our team members. I have seen several articles on benchmarking, but no one comes out and says, "On average, you should be able to complete xxxx square feet per eight hour shift." Is there an industry standard that would provide that? Granted, there are a number of variables (well, a lot), but on average, with average equipment and ample materials, what can be expected from a team of floor care techs?
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| Bidding & Estimating - Gregg Collison |
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| [Thursday, December 31, 2009] |
| For a year now, I’ve cleaned a 2,600 sq. ft. office space once a week. I charge $250.00 per month. Even though this office is small, it has desks all over the place, carpet, vinyl plank, and 5 bathrooms. I spend around 2.5 hours cleaning it.
I tried to figure out how much I charge per sq ft, so here is what I did:
$250.00 / 2,600 sq ft = The result is $.096 per sq. ft.
$250.00 x 12 month = $3,000 per year
3,000 / 52 weeks = $57.69 per week
57.69 x 5 days a week = $288.00 per week
288.00 x 52 = $14,999 per year
14,999 / 12 month = $1,249 per month
1,249 / 2,600 sq ft = $.48 per sq. ft.
I know it is complicated, but can someone help me? I don't know what I’m doing wrong. Which one is it? $.09 or $.48? The 0.09 is way too low, the 0.48 is way too high.
I already have this account, and I’m doing fine. I have been in business for over 2 years, and know I really want to stop guessing prices, and start really making them work for me.
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| Bidding & Estimating - Anderson Gomes |
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| [Wednesday, December 30, 2009] |
| I want to start a strip-refinish and maintenance company for a local grocery store. I have been working in janitorial for two years.
Many store managers have suggested I put in a bid to the corporate headquarters of the company I work for.
There are two shifts to do the strip-refinish maintenance: Day porter shift (one employee) and night shift- (two employees to strip and refinish, scrub, buff floors, take trash out, clean restrooms, change buckets of dirty water).
These shifts are seven days a week working with the store contract schedule.
I researched how local companies do similar work for local retail business. They act like subcontractors of a national company; however, they don't put enough effort to do the right work. That is why store managers tell me I need to place a bid. I know the prices for machinery I need to use, the labor, the insurance, and all related details.
My worry is how to place the bid. I don't know how to do it. I think I should go to the main office and tell them I want to start my company and want to place a bid, but I'm not sure that is the correct way to do it.
Do you have a template with the formal way to introduce my bid? And a template to make a portfolio of the company? I want everything to look professional and to maximize the chances of getting the bid awarded to me. I really appreciate your help.
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| Bidding & Estimating - Cristian Marin |
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| [Wednesday, September 23, 2009] |
| We are located in Goshen, Ohio. We've been in business for 4 months. We have done a lot of cold calling to locate clients and to secure cleaning contracts. We have done several bids and have been told by at least four potential clients that we are 'WAY TOO HIGH'.
Our last bid was a child care facility in Goshen, Ohio. The facility has 3,655 sq ft of carpet and 3,644 of VCT flooring. For two nights a week at $35.00/hr was $280/wk for general janitorial cleaning. For three nights a week at $30.00/hr was $360/wk. Monthly billing for two nights a week totaled $1,213/mo and three nights a week the monthly billing was $1,560/mo. General cleaning included vacuuming and edge all carpets, sweep & mop hard floors, trash removal, feather dust and damp wipe all office furnishings, dust window sills & ledges, clean & sanitize restroom and kitchens, clean overhead light fixtures once a month. Facility supplies paper products and trash bags.
On a separate quote we bid the carpet shampooing and extraction at .25/sq ft. for 3,655 sq ft. which added up to $914. For smaller target areas we quoted .30/sq ft.
For hard floor cleaning for complete strip & wax for 3,644 sq. ft. we quoted .40/sq ft. which adds up to $1,458 and we supply the chemicals.
For a complete neutral scrub and spray buff for same sq footage we charged .25/sq. ft. which adds up to $911. For smaller target areas we quoted .30/sq ft. Quote included wiping down all base boards.
These bids include only the two owners working the entire jobs.
What do you think we are doing wrong? Are these bids way too high in your opinion? |
| Bidding & Estimating - Chuck Morris |
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| [Tuesday, September 08, 2009] |
| We recently submitted and lost a bid on a 30,000 sq. ft. office building. 72 work cubicles, 15 management offices, 3 gigantic conference rooms (one which seats 80 people at 20 tables). Restrooms: 11 urinals and 23 toilets, 22 sinks, 2 shower stalls. Breakrooms: 3 rooms with combined seating for 100, 5 refrigerators, 5 microwaves. Combination Floors of marble, tile, hardwood, and carpet. Glass doors with fanlights everywhere and lots of granite or wood horizontal surfaces. 6 days per week service with an estimated 15 labor hrs. per service. We bid $5700.00 per month. Where did we go wrong? |
| Bidding & Estimating - Bobbi Taylor |
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| [Monday, March 23, 2009] |
| We recently submitted and lost a bid on a 30,000 sq. ft. office building. 72 work cubicles, 15 management offices, 3 gigantic conference rooms (one which seats 80 people at 20 tables). Restrooms: 11 urinals and 23 toilets, 22 sinks, 2 shower stalls. Breakrooms: 3 rooms with combined seating for 100, 5 refrigerators, 5 microwaves. Combination Floors of marble, tile, hardwood, and carpet. Glass doors with fanlights everywhere and lots of granite or wood horizontal surfaces. 6 days per week service with an estimated 15 labor hrs. per service. We bid $5700.00 per month. Where did we go wrong?
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| Bidding & Estimating - Regina Byrd |
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| [Saturday, August 23, 2008] |
| I have been asked to put in a bid in a government building. It is 12,250 square feet. 4400 is tile, 800 is concrete and the rest is carpet. They only want it cleaned one time for now. Just a good, thorough general cleaning. Mopping, dusting, vacuuming, restroom cleaning, window cleaning, etc.
I have never charged by the square foot, so I am wondering what the typical price is to charge per square foot in WV?
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| Bidding & Estimating - Jeff Robinette |
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| [Tuesday, August 05, 2008] |
| How much should I charge for cleaning a 20,000 sq. ft. office building that has 2-3 stall restrooms, 2-unisex restrooms, some offices (4-6 total), not sure how many cubicles.
We would just be vacuuming, mopping, and getting trash in these areas, maybe 1-2 days a week. I’m not sure how much to bid it at or what my proposal should contain.
If you can help me figure this out it would be great; this is our first time doing this big of a job. We usually clean houses, so we’re a little lost on how to approach this or what to charge.
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| Bidding & Estimating - Amber Meyer |
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| [Wednesday, June 25, 2008] |
| I have a car dealership for bidding. There is a total of 4,367 sq. ft. of ceramic tile, 2,416 sq. ft. of carpet, 3 restrooms with 16 fixtures total, 1 lunch area with 2 microwaves and one sink, 2 entry doors, and a 2,336 sq. ft. concrete service area to be swept and mopped twice a week. They need 6 days a week cleaning. How long should it take and what should I charge?
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| Bidding & Estimating - Marin Marinov |
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| [Monday, May 05, 2008] |
| I live in Florida and would like to know the charge to clean a 43,000 sq. ft. country club. It has 5 dining rooms, 8 bathrooms with showers, rugs, wood floor, many windows (250 window ledges), desks, tile and rugs, tables to be dusted, an employee area, bars, 3 elevators, and 4 stair cases.
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| Bidding & Estimating - jeanie colberg |
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| [Wednesday, July 18, 2007] |
| I have an invitation to bid on three buildings in Houston, Texas. They are 10,000, 12,000, and 20,000 sq. ft. respectively, all done five nights a week. What is the charge per sq. ft. for nightly cleaning in this area, and what
would we charge for a three times a week service?
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| Bidding & Estimating - debra franklin |
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| [Wednesday, May 09, 2007] |
| This is a request for advice on how to develop an independent government cost estimate for cleaning the restrooms on this air base. The labor cost is not a problem. We will use the wage for a janitor in the wage determination for our area from the Department of Labor.
My first question is about estimating time. Is there a standard time per sink, a standard time per square foot of mirror, a standard time per stall, a standard time per urinal, and a standard time per square foot of tile floor, so that I just plug in my numbers to get a time for cleaning a specific restroom?
My second question is how about how to estimate supplies. We want the contractor to supply the toilet paper, paper toilet seat covers, the paper towels, and the soap.
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| Bidding & Estimating - Peter Henneberry |
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| [Wednesday, September 06, 2006] |
| I live in Dallas, Texas and the job is in Florida. The new VCT (200,000 sq. ft.) and SLV (35,000 sq.ft.) needs 4 coats of finish...2 coats, cover floor, then come back to do 2 more. Also, 40,000 sq. ft. of rubber floor needs cleaning only.
I have man power availability. I understand travel expenses. I have to drive to Florida twice. Maybe pay a crew of 6, $100-$150 per day. What is a fair, yet profitable price for this job?
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| Bidding & Estimating - jeremy redig |
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| [Monday, August 28, 2006] |
| I own a small commercial company that I started about two years ago and have about thirty of my own accounts cleaning buildings and doing floor care. I am trying to find out what the deal is with sub-contracting six national chain pharmacy stores from another cleaning company. A typical store is around 7,000 sq.ft. and requires dustmop / autoscrub/ propane burnish once weekly.
The travel to a couple of these stores is about 45-to 50 miles. I have a helper with me making $14.50 per hr. and the work takes us about one hour for which they pay us $150.
We strip the floors one time yearly, and scrub and recoat them three times yearly. The strips pay $850 and the scrubs pay about $230 - $260. It takes us about 9 hours to strip and then three more to apply five coats of finish for a total of 12 man-hours. I usually have two workers with me when we strip, and just one to finish, or I stay and apply finish myself.
They supply the stripper and finish. I supply everything else, including paying all relevant taxes, insurances, etc.
I am unsure if I could be getting more money from this national contracting company. I know I can't get from them what I would charge on my own. I have had their accounts almost two years without any complaints or problems. Their customers are very happy with the service my company provides.
Last week, out of the blue, they called to say they were replacing us with new contractors at two of our stores. The reason was they couldn’t find subs for stores in a certain area and another contractor in my area that also subs for this company made a deal with them for more work close to home and in turn he would take care of stores that are 2-4 hours away. I am sure this is common practice throughout the industry and hopefully they will call me in time to take the stores back. I am just not sure if it is worth it. What is your opinion? I think I can make more money on my own, but these accounts have been pretty easy and profitable for us. |
| Bidding & Estimating - Lisa Rivera |
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| [Wednesday, June 28, 2006] |
| I provide bi-monthly office floor care for a large grocery warehouse. I have been scrubbing/recoating the VCT portion for about three years. This weekend, I stripped two areas for the first time, using a 17 inch floor machine and it was a very slow process. As I will be asked in the near future to strip other, larger areas, I need to know an appropriate amount to charge for the work. The floors are in good condition, but have been burnished regularly, and have many coats of finish. To strip two rooms, approximately 1500 sq. ft., required eight gallons of commercial stripper, and three strippings of each floor. Labor was 18 man hours, much on hands and knees with putty knives. The outcome was beautiful, and I charged .40 sq.ft. Is this enough? It is far less profit than I receive from the scrub/finish, which usually provides $.16 /sq.ft. for 15,000 sq. ft., in the same general amount of time. Also, what range is reasonable and customary for commercial strippers who use the propane machines? Perhaps I could hire the stripping out while retaining the contract.
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| Bidding & Estimating - Burt Forney |
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