Guide · Commercial cleaning
How to Get Commercial Cleaning Contracts
Most cleaning companies grow their commercial accounts the slow way: referrals, a few bids, and whatever buildings they happen to drive past. This guide shows a steadier way. Find every account worth cleaning in your area, reach the person who signs, and win the contract before it ever goes out to bid.
Updated October 4, 2026
Step 1
Pick the buildings you want to clean
Not every commercial building makes a good contract. Start with buildings that need cleaning often, sign with one local decision maker, and fit the size of your crew.
| Building | Who usually signs | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Offices | Office manager | Nightly or weekly cleaning with a steady scope. The easiest place to start. |
| Medical offices | Practice administrator | Higher standards for disinfection, and they pay for consistency. |
| Banks | Branch manager | Small footprint. Larger banks often buy for several branches at once. |
| Gyms | General manager | High traffic, so cleaning is frequent. |
| Churches | Church administrator | Weekly cleaning scheduled around services. |
| Retail centers | Property manager | One manager can control several buildings. |
| Schools, warehouses, government | Facilities or operations manager | Bigger contracts, usually formal bids with insurance and bonding requirements. Easier once you have references. |
Step 2
List every one of them in your service area
The accounts you already know are a small part of your market. Build the full list before you reach out to anyone.
- Search Google Maps by category (office building, dental office, bank, gym) in each part of your area, and note the name, address and phone.
- Walk the lobby directory of office parks and multi-tenant buildings. Every name on it is a possible account.
- Check your chamber of commerce and local business association directories.
- Use county property records to find who owns or manages the larger buildings.
Done by hand, this takes days for a 25-mile radius, and the list starts going out of date the moment you finish.
RouteHero's free map does this step for you. Pick commercial cleaning and your area to see how many matching accounts are around you, where they are, and how they rank.
Map your market freeStep 3
Rank the list
Score every account on four things, then work from the top.
- Fit
- How closely the building type matches the work you do best.
- Size
- Bigger buildings mean bigger monthly invoices for the same sales effort.
- Distance
- Cleaning runs on a nightly route. Accounts close to the ones you already clean cut drive time and make every crew shift more profitable.
- Multiple locations
- A company with five offices can sign five contracts in one conversation.
Ten great-fit accounts near your current route are worth more than a hundred scattered across the county.
Step 4
Find the person who signs
Cleaning contracts are signed by managers, usually not by the business owner. Calling the front desk and asking for “whoever handles cleaning” rarely gets through.
- Use the titles in step 1 to know who you are looking for.
- Find the name on the company's team page or LinkedIn, or ask the receptionist for the office or facilities manager by title.
- In multi-tenant buildings, the property manager usually controls common areas, while each tenant may hire its own cleaner for its suite. Treat them as separate accounts.
Step 5
Reach out before the contract goes to bid
Most commercial buildings already have a cleaner. You win the account when that cleaner slips and the manager already has your name.
- Keep the first message short: who you are, which buildings you clean nearby, and an offer of a free walkthrough and quote.
- Mention something specific to their building or their type of business.
- Use more than one channel: a call, an email, and a card with a one-page capability sheet dropped at the front desk.
- Follow up on a schedule. A “not right now” today often turns into a yes the month their current cleaner misses a night.
- Track every account and every contact so nobody falls through the cracks.
RouteHero can run steps 2 to 5 for you. It finds and verifies the decision makers at your best accounts, contacts them every month, and routes every response to your team.
Map your market freeSee how it works for cleaning companies: commercial cleaning leads from your own territory.
Step 6
Walk the building and send a clear proposal
- Walk the space with the manager. Note the square footage, floor types, restrooms, break rooms and any special requests.
- Ask what their current cleaner gets wrong. The answer is the opening of your proposal.
- Put the scope in writing: tasks, frequency, days and hours, who supplies what, and how they report a problem.
- Price from the labor hours the job takes, not from a square-foot rate alone.
- Attach proof of insurance and bonding, and references if you have them.
Step 7
Use bids as a second channel, not the first
Public bid listings are real work, but every cleaning company in your area sees the same posting, so they usually come down to price. Bid when a contract fits your crew and you can price it profitably. Build your main pipeline from accounts you reach before they ever post a bid.
Step 8
Keep the accounts you win
- Inspect your own work on a schedule and fix problems before the manager finds them.
- Give each manager one person to call, and answer the same day.
- Ask satisfied managers for introductions. Property managers often run several buildings.
Common questions
How long does it take to get a commercial cleaning contract?
It depends on how many accounts you reach and how steadily you follow up. Most accounts already have a cleaner, so expect the majority of wins to come from the second or third conversation, when the current cleaner has slipped and the manager remembers your name.
Do I need insurance and a bond?
Most commercial clients will ask for proof of general liability insurance, and many also ask for a janitorial bond. Workers' compensation is required in most states once you have employees. Check your state's rules before you start bidding.
Should I buy commercial cleaning leads?
Bought leads and lists are usually sold to several cleaning companies at once, so you compete on price from the first call. A list of every account in your own territory, ranked for your service, lets you reach the best ones first and on your own schedule.
Where can I find commercial cleaning bids?
Federal contracts are posted on SAM.gov. State, county and city governments post on their own procurement portals, and school districts post through their purchasing departments. Bid aggregator sites collect many of these in one place.
See every commercial cleaning account in your area
Pick your service and your area. RouteHero maps the offices, medical practices, banks and other buildings that fit, ranked for your business. Your territory is sold to one cleaning company only.