How to Bid for Government Janitorial Contracts
Janitorial companies provide a variety of cleaning services for commercial businesses. They may change the trash, clean restrooms, vacuum floors, or perform any number of other tasks involved in keeping a building clean. Many businesses and organizations contract this work out to cleaning companies through a process known as bidding. As part of this process, cleaning companies submit a price to perform the work, and the lowest qualified bidder is awarded the job. For many janitorial firms, government agencies are a great opportunity to obtain large-scale, consistent work. Fortunately, bidding on government janitorial contracts is fairly easy, and requires only a bit of searching, along with proper bid preparation.
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Instructions
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Search for bid opportunities with the federal government. Every federal government agency posts projects that are currently bidding on the Federal Biz Ops website, which can be found in the Resources section of this article. At this site, you can search for bids by location, agency, time frame, and field, making it easy to locate any available janitorial work. Access to the site is free, though registration is required.
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Look for contracts with the state governments. Each state has its own Office of Procurement which is responsible for securing bids on state projects. In the Resources section of this article, you'll find a link listing websites with bidding opportunities for each state. Generally, state government work is open to a larger number of companies, which means that even new janitorial firms will find work to bid on.
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Review the bid requirements on jobs you're interested in. Bidding on government projects is carefully regulated, so it is important to follow instructions carefully, or risk disqualifying your bid. Pay particular attention to how the bid should be formatted and when and how it should be submitted.
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Understand the scope of the work. Janitorial services can vary wildly, so be sure you understand what tasks are required when bidding. If the scope is clear, you will be more likely to provide an accurate bid that will improve your chances of winning the contract and making a fair profit. If you find you have questions about the scope, make an attempt to get answers before bidding. Most projects under bid will have specific instructions for posing questions. If you don't get a satisfactory answer, be sure to clarify the issue in your bid so you don't get stuck with work you didn't plan for.
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Generate your bid. Janitorial services may be bid based on square footage, but this is best left to those with some experience in the industry. For new companies, it is often better to bid based on the number of hours the work is expected to take. Multiply this number by the hourly wage of your employees, then by the length of days or months that the contract is expected to cover. Add in the costs of vehicles, supplies, tools, overhead, and profit. According to a 2008 publication from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average cleaner makes $11.30 an hour.
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Prepare your bid. You can use one of the bid templates provided in the Resources section, or create your own on company letterhead. Include the date, the name of the project, and the contact information for both your company and the agency requesting the bid. Next, list all tasks that are included in your price, as well as any items that are excluded. Finally, list your total price, making sure to note whether taxes, bonds, or other premiums are included. Submit the bid in accordance with the bidding instructions.
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References
Resources
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