How to Start a Commercial Cleaning Business: Contracts, Bids and Janitorial Crews

A commercial cleaning business trades the quick start of house cleaning for something steadier: contracts. An office, clinic or retail store that hires you to clean every night can keep paying for years, and a few good contracts can support a crew. The trade-off is a slower sales process, written bids, higher insurance expectations and work that mostly happens after hours.

This guide covers how to start a commercial cleaning or janitorial business, from choosing your niche to winning and staffing your first contracts.

1. Choose your niche

"Commercial cleaning" covers very different buildings, and each has its own requirements. Start where you can do excellent work and build references:

• Small offices: the most common starting point. Evening cleaning a few nights a week, predictable tasks, and contracts you can handle yourself at first.
• Medical and dental offices: steady demand and usually priced higher for the extra disinfection work, with stricter standards for disinfection and, if staff may be exposed to blood or other potentially infectious materials, OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard.
• Retail stores and restaurants: floor care and early-morning or late-night windows.
• Property management: apartment common areas, move-out units and HOA facilities, often bundled into one contract.
• Post-construction cleaning: one-time jobs for builders and general contractors, paid well but irregular.
• Specialty services: floor stripping and waxing, carpet care, window cleaning and pressure washing, which you can sell to existing clients.

2. Register the business

1. Choose a structure. Many commercial cleaners form an LLC so contract disputes or damage claims stay with the business. The SBA notes that a sole proprietor using their own name doesn't need to register, but gets no liability protection.
2. Register: if you form an LLC or corporation, register it with your state; file a DBA if you'll operate under a name other than your own.
3. Get a free EIN from the IRS, issued immediately online if approved. You'll need it to hire employees and for client vendor forms.
4. Get local licenses and tax registrations. Usually a general business license, and in some states a sales tax permit, since some states tax janitorial services to businesses.
5. Open a business bank account. Commercial clients often pay by ACH on 30-day terms, so you'll want clean books and some cash reserve.

3. Insurance and bonding

Commercial clients will ask for proof of insurance before you start, and many property managers require specific limits and to be named as an additional insured.

• General liability: covers damage to the client's property and injuries to others.
• Workers' compensation: required by state law in most states once you have employees (rules and exemptions vary by state). You'll also pay state unemployment insurance tax, and a few states require short-term disability coverage.
• Janitorial (business service) bond: pays the client if an employee steals from them. Not usually required by law, but commonly requested by commercial clients.
• Commercial auto if you transport crews and equipment.
• Care, custody and control coverage: ask your agent about it, since standard liability may exclude damage to the property you're working on.

Ask prospective clients what limits they require, then get quotes from agents who insure janitorial companies.

4. Chemical safety and OSHA rules

Once you have employees, OSHA rules apply. The ones every janitorial company deals with:

• Hazard Communication: OSHA requires employers with hazardous chemicals in the workplace to have labels and safety data sheets for exposed workers and to train them to handle the chemicals appropriately. Keep an SDS binder (or digital access) for every product, label every spray bottle you refill, and train crews before their first shift.
• Bloodborne pathogens: if your crews may be exposed to blood or other potentially infectious materials, for example in medical offices or restrooms with sharps, OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard requires an exposure control plan, protective equipment, training and an offer of hepatitis B vaccination.
• Slips, ladders and equipment: wet floor signs, safe ladder use and training on floor machines prevent most injuries.

Using fewer, well-chosen products (a neutral cleaner, a disinfectant, a glass cleaner, a degreaser, a restroom cleaner) makes training and compliance easier.

5. Equipment and supplies

Start with what your first contracts require and rent or buy floor equipment when a job needs it:

• Commercial backpack or upright vacuums
• Microfiber flat mops and a mop bucket with wringer, color-coded cloths by area
• Janitorial carts, trash liners, restroom supplies
• Dilution system for concentrated chemicals (cheaper and more consistent)
• Floor equipment (auto scrubber, burnisher, floor machine) for clients with hard floors, or a subcontractor for strip-and-wax work
• PPE: gloves, eye protection, and what your chemicals' SDSs specify

Many clients supply their own paper products and liners, and some ask you to supply them at a markup. Settle this in the contract.

6. How to bid commercial cleaning contracts

Winning contracts at a price that makes money is the core skill of the business.

1. Walk the building with the client. Note floor types, restrooms, kitchens, special areas, security and access, and when the building is empty.
2. Write the scope: every task and its frequency (nightly trash, weekly dusting, monthly high dusting, quarterly floor care).
3. Estimate labor hours from the square footage and the tasks, using production rates you've timed yourself or that you check against real jobs. Labor is the largest cost in janitorial work.
4. Add supplies and equipment, then overhead (insurance, vehicles, software, supervision, payroll taxes) and profit.
5. Present a monthly price with the written scope, schedule, what's not included, and contract terms: start date, notice period, how extra work is quoted and payment terms.

Underbidding to win the first contracts is a common mistake: low prices are hard to raise, and you'll end up cleaning for nothing. If a price only works when everything goes perfectly, it's too low. Our free contractor estimate template works for written proposals, and our contractor invoice template for monthly billing.

7. Find your first commercial clients

Commercial cleaning is sold more than marketed:

• Start with who you know: your own workplace, local business owners, your accountant's or dentist's office.
• Direct outreach: office managers, building owners and property managers in your area. A short visit, a one-page capabilities sheet and an offer to walk the building get more meetings than ads.
• Local search: a Google Business Profile and a simple website listing your services, areas and insurance help prospects check you out. Our contractor website checklist shows what to include.
• Referrals and reviews: ask satisfied clients for introductions, and ask every client for a Google review.
• Bids and vendor lists: check your city or county procurement page and school district bid lists, and ask larger local companies how to become an approved vendor. Public bids take more paperwork but can be large contracts.

Retention matters as much as sales. Inspect your crews' work, respond to complaints the same day, and check in with each client regularly.

8. Hire and manage crews

Commercial cleaning runs on reliable evening crews. Before you hire:

• Classify correctly. If you set schedules, provide supplies and train cleaners, they're generally employees, not independent contractors. Getting this wrong can mean back taxes and penalties; ask an accountant.
• Screen carefully. Clients trust you with keys and alarm codes, and many require background checks for anyone entering their building.
• Train on checklists for each building, plus chemical safety.
• Inspect regularly and track issues so the client never has to.

The BLS reports median pay for janitors and building cleaners of $36,840 a year in May 2025 ($17.71 an hour) and projects employment to grow 2 percent from 2025 to 2035. Local wages vary, so check postings in your area before you set pay and price your bids.

9. Software for scheduling and inspections

As you add buildings and crews, software helps with scheduling, checklists, inspections, time tracking and invoicing. Our comparison of cleaning business software covers Swept, built for commercial janitorial companies, alongside residential-focused tools. If you're also considering residential work, see our guide on how to start a cleaning business.

Commercial cleaning startup checklist