TL;DR
A scope of work exists for one reason: to make three bids comparable. That requires counts rather than square footage, a task list organized by area, a frequency next to every task, and an explicit exclusions section. Most scopes that produce disappointing results are missing the frequency column, the exclusions, or both.
Why square footage is not a scope
The most common opening line in a cleaning enquiry is a square footage number, and it is close to useless on its own.
Two 12,000 square foot floors can differ by a wide margin in labor because one has six rooms and the other has sixty. Doors, bins, restroom fixtures, and floor type changes all add fixed handling time that area does not capture. A bidder given only square footage is guessing, and three bidders given only square footage are each guessing differently, which is why their numbers do not line up.
Counts fix this. A scope that says 12,000 square feet, 22 offices, 3 conference rooms, 2 restrooms with 6 fixtures each, 1 kitchen, 60 desks, and 40 waste bins gives every bidder the same picture. The difference between their prices then reflects their business rather than their assumptions.
Published production-rate references all work from counts and area types rather than gross area for exactly this reason.
Source: ISSA cleaning production rate benchmarks
What does a janitorial scope of work include?
A complete scope typically has seven parts: a building profile with counts, an area-by-area task list, a frequency for every task, an exclusions section, a supplies and equipment section stating who provides what, access and hours, and a quality section covering inspections and communication.
Anything missing from that list becomes an assumption, and assumptions are where disputes start. Write it before you invite bids, not after: a scope written in response to a proposal inherits that bidder framing.
The frequency column is the whole document
If a scope has one strong feature, make it the frequency column. Every task gets a frequency next to it, and the frequencies are stated plainly: daily, five times weekly, three times weekly, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semiannually, annually.
Without it, a task list is a wish. Wipe baseboards means nothing until it says wipe baseboards, monthly. Clean interior glass could be a daily task on a partition run and an annual task on a stairwell window, and the same three words cover both.
Two conventions save trouble. State whether daily means calendar days or service days, because a five-day-week building using daily creates immediate confusion. And separate the periodic list visually from the daily list, so nobody has to hunt for what happens once a quarter. Daily versus periodic cleaning tasks covers how that split is usually decided, and cleaning frequency by traffic level covers how to set the frequencies themselves.
Exclusions are as important as inclusions
The exclusions section is the one most scopes skip and the one that prevents the most arguments.
Commonly excluded, and worth naming explicitly: kitchen exhaust hood and duct cleaning, grease trap service, pest control, window cleaning above ground level or requiring access equipment, floor restoration if it is contracted separately, biohazard or regulated waste, appliance interiors, personal items and paperwork, anything requiring a licensed trade, and anything the client staff retain.
Also worth stating: what a crew should do when it encounters something outside its scope. The correct instruction in almost every setting is stop, do not touch it, notify a named contact. A crew improvising is worse than a task that waits.
The sections most scopes leave out
Four sections are missing from a large share of the scopes in circulation, and each one causes a predictable problem later.
Supplies and consumables. Who buys restroom paper, soap, and liners? Who buys cleaning chemicals? Are specific products required for particular surfaces? Stone, wood, and coated screens all have product constraints, and a scope that does not state them invites damage.
Access and hours. Service windows, who holds keys or codes, whether credentials are individually assigned, alarm contacts, escort requirements, and how access is revoked when a person leaves the crew. Shared codes are the most common weakness in any building.
Quality and communication. How performance is checked, who inspects, how often, what evidence is recorded, and how an issue gets reported and closed out. How cleaning inspections are scored covers the mechanics.
Change management. Buildings change. A scope should say how a task is added or removed, how a frequency is adjusted, and how that affects the price, so a reasonable adjustment does not require renegotiating everything.
Build it from a walkthrough
Walk it with a floor plan and count as you go: rooms by type, fixtures, bins, floor types by area, glass runs, entrances, and anything with a special product requirement. Photograph anything unusual. What a cleaning walkthrough should cover covers the full list.
Then send the same document to every bidder and ask them to price it as written. If a bidder proposes changes, that is useful information -- but you want the comparable number first and the alternative second. Choosing between the responses is covered in who to hire for commercial cleaning.
A starting point scope outline
Adapt this to your building; it is a reader tool, not a service definition.
- Building profile: address type, total area, hours of operation, occupancy
- Counts: rooms by type, restroom fixtures, desks, bins, entrances, floor types by area
- Task list by area, each task on its own line
- Frequency next to every task, with a separate periodic section
- Exclusions, listed explicitly, including specialist trades and staff-retained duties
- Supplies and equipment: who provides what, and any required or prohibited products
- Access and hours: service windows, credentials, logging, alarm contacts, escorts
- Quality: inspection method, frequency, evidence, and issue reporting
- Change management: how tasks, frequencies, and pricing are adjusted
- Special conditions: anything unique to the site
FAQ
What should a janitorial scope of work include?
A building profile with counts, an area-by-area task list, a frequency next to every task, an explicit exclusions section, supplies and equipment responsibility, access and hours, quality and inspection provisions, and a change management clause. Missing any of these turns into an assumption later.
Why is square footage not enough to get a cleaning quote?
Because area does not capture the fixed handling time in each room. Two identical floor areas can differ widely in labor when one has sixty rooms and the other has six, since doors, bins, fixtures, and floor changes all add time. Counts make bids comparable.
How do you write the frequency column in a cleaning specification?
Put a plain frequency next to every task: daily, five times weekly, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually. State whether daily means calendar days or service days, and separate the periodic list visually from the daily list so nobody has to hunt for quarterly tasks.
What should be excluded from a janitorial contract?
Usually hood and duct cleaning, grease trap service, pest control, window work needing access equipment, biohazard or regulated waste, appliance interiors, personal items and paperwork, anything requiring a licensed trade, and anything staff retain. Name the gray zones individually rather than by general principle.
Who supplies restroom paper and cleaning chemicals?
Whatever the scope says, and it must say. Consumables such as paper, soap, and liners are often a separate line from cleaning chemicals, and some buildings require specific products for stone, wood, or coated screens. Leaving it unstated causes a dispute in the first month.
How do you compare cleaning bids fairly?
Send every bidder the same written scope and ask them to price it exactly as written. Take alternative proposals separately, after you have the comparable numbers. Bids priced against three different assumptions cannot be compared, no matter how detailed each one looks.
For the whole-home version of this work, see house cleaning services.
Every building has a different set of counts, exclusions, and access rules, and the scope is only as good as the walkthrough behind it. Get a quote and we will walk the building and help you write the list.