How to Write a Janitorial Scope of Work (With a Template)

A janitorial scope of work is a written list of every area in your building, the cleaning tasks done in each area, and how often each task happens, plus the basics around it: square footage, service days and hours, who supplies what, and how quality gets checked. Write it area by area, give every task a frequency, and every company bidding on your building will be pricing the same job.

Most scope problems start before the first night of cleaning. One bid assumes restrooms five nights a week and carpets vacuumed twice. Another assumes vacuuming every night and leaves out floor care. The prices look far apart, but the companies were never quoting the same building. A scope you write yourself fixes that.

Start with the building facts

Before any tasks, put down the facts a cleaning company needs to price the work:

• Building address and type, such as office, clinic, warehouse, school, or mixed use.

• Cleanable square footage, broken out by floor or wing if you can.

• Floor types and roughly how much of each: carpet, VCT, sealed concrete, tile.

• Number of restrooms, breakrooms, and entrances.

• Service days and the hours crews can be in the building.

• Anything that limits access, like secured rooms, alarm codes, or areas only cleaned when staff are present.

Public bids are a good model here. Wright County's 2025 janitorial request for proposals, for example, lists each building with its cleanable square footage and sets a window of hours when cleaning can take place (Wright County RFP).

Break the building into areas

Organize the tasks by area, not as one long list. A restroom needs different work than a private office, and grouping tasks by area makes it easy to see what each space gets. Common areas to list:

• Entrances and lobbies

• Private offices and open work areas

• Conference rooms

• Restrooms

• Breakrooms and kitchens

• Hallways, stairwells, and elevators

• Warehouse, shop, or production floors

• Specialty spaces, such as exam rooms or a server room

Use the same area names your staff uses. If everyone calls it "the east lobby," the scope should too.

Give every task a frequency

A task without a frequency is the most common gap in a scope. "Dust furniture" could mean nightly or monthly, and those are very different prices. Use a short set of frequencies and apply one to every line:

• Each service visit

• Weekly or a set number of times per week

• Monthly

• Quarterly or a set number of times per year

• As needed, only for things like spot cleaning carpet

Minnesota public specs show how this reads in practice. Cass County's cleaning specification lists each area, then the tasks done two times weekly and the tasks done each month (Cass County specification). A MnDOT office solicitation sets some tasks at five times per week, others at once a month, and window blinds at four times per year (MnDOT Fort Snelling listing).

A janitorial scope of work template

Copy this structure and fill in your own areas, tasks, and frequencies. The sample lines are examples of how to phrase a task, not a recommended schedule for your building.

1. Building information

Address, building type, cleanable square feet, floor types, restroom count, service days, allowed service hours, access notes.

2. Areas and tasks

Entrances and lobby

• Empty trash and replace liners: each visit

• Clean entry door glass: each visit

• Vacuum walk-off mats: each visit

Private offices

• Empty trash and recycling: each visit

• Vacuum carpet: 2x per week

• Dust clear desk surfaces and ledges: weekly

Restrooms

• Clean and disinfect toilets, urinals, and sinks: each visit

• Refill soap, paper towels, and toilet paper: each visit

• Mop floors: each visit

• Wash partitions: weekly

Breakroom

• Wipe counters, tables, and sink: each visit

• Clean outside of appliances: weekly

Hallways and stairs

• Vacuum or dust mop floors: each visit

All areas

• High dusting of vents and ledges: monthly

3. Periodic floor care

List each floor type and how often it gets deeper work, such as carpet extraction or VCT strip and wax. For VCT, strip and wax usually runs quarterly to annually depending on traffic, with a scrub and recoat in between when the finish is still in good shape.

4. Supplies and equipment

State who provides cleaning chemicals, trash liners, and paper products, and who provides equipment. Wright County's RFP, for instance, has the county provide chemicals and paper supplies and the contractor provide equipment.

5. Exclusions

Name what is not included, such as window washing above a certain height, emptying shred bins, or cleaning inside refrigerators.

6. Communication and quality checks

Name a contact on each side, how requests and issues get reported, and how often someone reviews the work, for example a monthly check of each area against this scope.

Common gaps to watch for

A few lines get left out of most first drafts:

• Floor care. Nightly cleaning and periodic floor care are often priced separately. If the scope does not mention strip and wax or carpet extraction, the bid probably does not include it.

• Seasonal changes. Minnesota winters bring salt and slush into entrances, which can mean more frequent mopping and mat care through that season.

• Occupancy changes. If parts of the building sit empty on certain days, say so. Those areas may need a lighter schedule.

• Restocking. Spell out whether refilling dispensers is part of the job and who orders the product.

Use the scope to compare bids

Once your scope is written, send the same document to every company you ask to bid. Ask each one to price that scope as written and to call out anything they would add or change. Bids built from one scope are much easier to compare side by side.

Clear Facility Services can build a scope with you for any kind of commercial building, from offices and clinics to warehouses and schools, with cleaning done after hours. We serve businesses across Hennepin, Ramsey, Anoka, Scott, Dakota, and Carver counties from our office in Fridley. Free estimates are available: call +1 (952) 900-2215 or email info@clearfacilityservices.com.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a scope of work and a cleaning checklist?

A scope of work covers the whole service: the areas, the tasks, how often each task happens, service hours, supplies, and how quality is checked. A checklist is usually just the task list a crew works from on a given visit. The checklist should come from the scope, not the other way around.

How detailed should a janitorial scope of work be?

Detailed enough that two companies reading it would price the same work. That usually means naming each area, listing its tasks, and giving every task a frequency. You do not need to describe how each task is performed.

Should the scope include square footage?

Yes. Cleanable square footage, along with floor types and restroom count, is one of the main things a cleaning company uses to estimate labor. If you do not have exact numbers, a floor-by-floor estimate is still useful.

How often should a janitorial scope of work be updated?

Review it whenever the way you use the building changes, such as a new tenant, a remodel, or a shift to fewer in-office days, and at least once a year when the cleaning contract renews.