Cleaning production rates: set your own
A production rate is square feet one cleaner covers per labour hour. It is the most important number in a cleaning bid.
Why it matters
Hours drive labour cost, and labour is usually the biggest cost in a cleaning contract. A rate that is 20% too optimistic makes the whole bid 20% short on hours.
Starting points (edit these)
These are the defaults in our spreadsheet. They are assumptions for routine nightly cleaning, not industry guarantees:
| Area type | Sq ft / labour hr |
|---|---|
| Hallways / corridors | 5,000 |
| Open office / cubicles | 3,500 |
| Private offices | 3,000 |
| Conference rooms | 3,000 |
| Lobby / reception | 2,500 |
| Break room / kitchen | 1,500 |
| Medical exam room | 1,500 |
| Warehouse (sweep only) | 8,000 |
Restrooms are better priced per fixture (toilet, urinal, sink): the default is 4 minutes per fixture.
Time your crew
On 2-3 real sites, record start and finish times per area and the square footage. Divide. Replace the defaults with your numbers. Clutter, floor type and building condition all slow crews down, so note them.
Plug your rates into the free calculator or the room-by-room Bid Kit spreadsheet.