Bid Kit for commercial cleaning owners
Would this bid still make money if the job ran 20% long?
Walk the building once. Leave with a price you've stress-tested for a job that runs long, and a proposal ready to send.
Core $67 · Complete $97 · One-time payment · 30-day refund
Actual screenshot from the kit (Excel for Mac) · Hypothetical example
Works in Excel. Buy on your phone, open on your computer.
A bid can miss in two ways
Both misses start the same way: a guess at the hours, or at what an hour really costs you. Every number after that guess carries the mistake. A careful margin on the wrong number of hours is still the wrong price.
Too low. The work takes longer than you planned. The monthly price can't move, so every extra minute comes out of your margin.
Too high. You priced from a per-square-foot number, or from a generic production rate that's slower than your crew, and the client takes a lower bid.
A per-square-foot price hides the number that drives the bid: how many times a month you clean the building. Your crew's real speed matters too. In the kit's hypothetical office, timing the crew at 4,000 sq ft an hour in general office space, instead of the calculator's starting rate of 3,000, drops the price from $3,180 to $2,895 a month.
The kit prices each bid from the building's hours and your real cost per hour, then tests the price before you send it.
How it works
Set up the calculator once with your business details, labor costs, overhead and margin. Then save a copy for each bid and follow four steps.
Step 1 · Walk the building
Take the Walkthrough Checklist on paper or fill in the PDF on a tablet. Measure cleanable square feet, count toilets, urinals, restroom sinks and trash containers, and ask the 12 questions on the back page. The order matches the calculator line for line.
Files: Walkthrough Checklist, print and fillable PDF
Step 2 · Price it in the calculator
Copy your walkthrough into the blue cells. The calculator turns square feet and fixture counts into crew hours, builds your cost per hour one line at a time (paid time off, payroll taxes, workers' comp and your own costs), adds supplies, overhead and margin, and gives you a monthly price and a price per visit. Then it shows what happens if the job runs long.
Hypothetical example A: a $17.71 base wage costs $20.89 per hour worked once paid time off, payroll taxes and workers' comp are added (17.98% on top of the wage). Wage example: BLS median for janitors and building cleaners, May 2025. Figures are current as of 2026.
Files: Bid Calculator (Excel), blank and filled with a hypothetical example
Step 3 · Send the proposal
The Client Price Summary tab lists every number the proposal needs, matched to its [placeholder]. Paste them into the Word proposal, attach the scope of work and send it. The client sees a scope and a price. No hours, wages or margins appear anywhere in it.
Files: Proposal template (Word), filled example proposal, scope of work, "What's included in your price" one-pager
Step 4 · Follow up
Eight short emails and texts take you from the walkthrough thank-you to a polite last check-in on day 30, with a one-page timeline. Two are for the hard moments: "Your price is higher than we expected" and "We went with another company."
Files: 8 follow-up scripts and a timeline (18 scripts in Complete)
The Bid Playbook walks through every step with a worked example, and a 2-page Start Here shows you where to begin.
Who it's for
Good fit
- You own or run a commercial cleaning company and price your own bids.
- You walk buildings before you bid: offices with Core, and medical offices, schools or public contracts with Complete.
- You price from a per-square-foot number or a gut feel today, and want hours and costs behind your price.
- You want a proposal that shows the client a scope and a price, and nothing about your costs.
- You use Microsoft Excel, on Windows or Mac.
Not a fit
- You clean homes, not commercial buildings.
- You want a price list or the going rate in your area. The kit prices from your hours and your costs; it doesn't tell you what other companies charge.
- You use Apple Numbers. Numbers isn't supported.
- You want software that does the bid for you. There are no macros, no app and no CRM: it's spreadsheets, documents and a guide.
- You need legal, tax or insurance answers. Confirm your state's rates with your state agencies, your insurance agent or your accountant.
Before you send the price
Test the price against a job that runs long
The building is busier at night than it looked at 2 p.m. The crew is new to it. A room got missed on the walkthrough. Jobs run long, and a fixed monthly price doesn't move.
The Runs-Long Risk tab holds your price fixed and adds time: 10%, 20% and 30%, plus a scenario you choose. You see your margin in each case before the client sees your price.
| Scenario | Crew hours per visit | Profit per month | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| As estimated | 5.07 | $476.49 | 15.0% |
| Runs 10% long | 5.57 | $252.41 | 7.9% |
| Runs 20% long | 6.08 | $28.32 | 0.9% |
| Runs 30% long | 6.59 | -$195.76 | -6.2% |
At 20% over, this price earns 0.9%. At 30% over, it loses $195.76 a month. It breaks even at about 6.14 crew hours a visit, so it can absorb 21.3% more time (about 1 hour 5 minutes a visit) before it loses money.
If a 10% overrun wipes out most of your profit, re-time the building, re-scope it, or raise the price before you send it.
Hypothetical example: invented building, company and people, not a real client. Inputs show how the method works; they are not reference values. Example A uses the calculator's conservative starting rates. A crew timed at faster rates would price this building lower, and a slower crew would need more. Figures are current as of 2026.
See the files
Real pages and screenshots from the Core edition. Tap one to see it larger.
Bid Calculator: Results tab
Actual screenshot from the kit (Excel for Mac) · Hypothetical example
Bid Calculator: Runs-Long Risk tab
Actual screenshot from the kit (Excel for Mac) · Hypothetical example
Bid Playbook cover, Core edition (30 pages)
Actual page from the kit
Chapter 7: Stress-test the price
Actual page from the kit · Hypothetical example
Chapter 8: Example A, worked start to finish
Actual page from the kit · Hypothetical example
Example A's proposal, filled in
Actual page from the kit · Hypothetical example
Walkthrough Checklist, page 1 of 4
Actual page from the kit
Follow-up timeline on one page
Actual page from the kit
What you get
Two editions, the same method and the same calculator layout. Complete adds medical offices, schools and public bids. Both come as one ZIP file.
Bid calculator (Excel)
Core
Office settings
Complete
Office, medical office, school and public-bid settings
Filled hypothetical examples
Core
1: a 10,000 sq ft office
Complete
4: the office, a 5,000 sq ft medical office, a 20,000 sq ft school, and the office as a federal service contract
Runs-long test, estimated-vs-actual tracker and bid log
Core
Yes
Complete
Yes
Repricing tab for contracts you already have
Core
No
Complete
Yes
Walkthrough checklist, print and fillable PDF
Core
Yes
Complete
Yes, plus an addendum for medical offices, schools and public bids
Proposal template (Word) and a filled example
Core
Yes
Complete
Yes
Scope of work (Word): every task by area, and how often
Core
Office
Complete
Office, medical office and school
"What's included in your price" one-pager
Core
Yes
Complete
Yes
Follow-up scripts and timeline
Core
8 scripts
Complete
18 scripts: before the bid, after the walkthrough, after you win
RFP response checklist and capability statement
Core
No
Complete
Yes
Bid Playbook (PDF)
Core
30 pages, 1 worked example
Complete
40 pages, 4 worked examples
Every file in Core (13 files)
00_Start_Here.pdf: Two-page quick start.01_Bid_Calculator/Bid_Calculator_Core.xlsx: Blank calculator. Set it up once, then copy it per bid.01_Bid_Calculator/Bid_Calculator_Core_Example_A_Office.xlsx: A hypothetical office, filled in. Learn the tabs on it.02_Walkthrough_Checklist/Walkthrough_Checklist_Print.pdf: Print it and take it to the building.02_Walkthrough_Checklist/Walkthrough_Checklist_Fillable.pdf: The same checklist, to fill in on a tablet.03_Proposal_and_Scope/Proposal_Template.docx: The proposal you send to the client.03_Proposal_and_Scope/Proposal_Example_A_Office.pdf: Example A's proposal, filled in.03_Proposal_and_Scope/Scope_of_Work_Office.docx: Every task by area, with how often you do it.03_Proposal_and_Scope/Whats_Included_One_Pager.docx: What the price covers, for the client who asks.04_Follow_Up_Scripts/Follow_Up_Scripts_Core.docx: Eight emails and texts for after the walkthrough.04_Follow_Up_Scripts/Follow_Up_Timeline_Core.pdf: When to send each one, on one page.05_Bid_Playbook/Bid_Playbook_Core.pdf: The guide: method, formulas, sources and the worked example.LICENSE.txt: The license for your kit.
Every file in Complete (22 files)
00_Start_Here.pdf: Two-page quick start.01_Bid_Calculator/Bid_Calculator_Complete.xlsx: Blank calculator with medical-office, school and public-bid settings and a Repricing tab.01_Bid_Calculator/Bid_Calculator_Complete_Example_A_Office.xlsx: Example A, with sample estimated-vs-actual hours and repricing.01_Bid_Calculator/Bid_Calculator_Complete_Example_B_Medical.xlsx: A hypothetical 5,000 sq ft medical office.01_Bid_Calculator/Bid_Calculator_Complete_Example_C_School.xlsx: A hypothetical 20,000 sq ft school.01_Bid_Calculator/Bid_Calculator_Complete_Example_A-SCA_Federal.xlsx: Example A's building as a federal service contract.02_Walkthrough_Checklist/Walkthrough_Checklist_Print.pdf: Print it and take it to the building.02_Walkthrough_Checklist/Walkthrough_Checklist_Fillable.pdf: The same checklist, to fill in on a tablet.02_Walkthrough_Checklist/Walkthrough_Addendum_Medical_School_Public_Print.pdf: Extra fields for medical offices, schools and public bids.02_Walkthrough_Checklist/Walkthrough_Addendum_Medical_School_Public_Fillable.pdf: The same addendum, to fill in on a tablet.03_Proposal_and_Scope/Proposal_Template.docx: The proposal you send to the client.03_Proposal_and_Scope/Proposal_Example_A_Office.pdf: Example A's proposal, filled in.03_Proposal_and_Scope/Scope_of_Work_Office.docx: Every task by area, with how often you do it.03_Proposal_and_Scope/Scope_of_Work_Medical_Office.docx: Office tasks plus medical-office additions.03_Proposal_and_Scope/Scope_of_Work_School.docx: Office tasks plus school additions.03_Proposal_and_Scope/Whats_Included_One_Pager.docx: What the price covers, for the client who asks.04_Follow_Up_Scripts/Follow_Up_Scripts_Complete.docx: Eighteen emails and texts: before the bid, after the walkthrough, after you win.04_Follow_Up_Scripts/Follow_Up_Timeline_Complete.pdf: When to send each one, on one page.05_Bid_Playbook/Bid_Playbook_Complete.pdf: The guide, with four worked examples.06_Complete_Extras/RFP_Response_Checklist.pdf: For city, county, school district and federal bids.06_Complete_Extras/Capability_Statement_Template.docx: A one-page capability statement for public bids.LICENSE.txt: The license for your kit.
Where the numbers come from
- Every tax rate, wage figure and reference range is listed with its public source and date on the calculator's Sources tab and in the playbook.
- We opened every calculator file in Excel for Mac and checked the example prices.
- Figures are current as of 2026. We recheck them every January and email updated files free to every buyer.
- Production rates are public reference points, not standards. Your own timed rate always overrides them.
- Examples are hypothetical: invented buildings, companies and people.
- Not legal, tax or accounting advice.
Actual screenshot from the kit (Excel for Mac)
Choose your edition
Core
$67
One-time payment. No subscription.
For office buildings.
- Bid calculator (Excel) with office settings, plus a filled hypothetical office example
- Runs-long test, an estimated-vs-actual hours tracker and a bid log
- Walkthrough checklist, print and fillable PDF
- Proposal template (Word) and a filled example proposal
- Office scope of work (every task by area, and how often) and a "What's included in your price" one-pager
- 8 follow-up scripts and a one-page timeline
- 30-page Bid Playbook with one worked example
Complete
$97
One-time payment. No subscription.
For offices, medical offices, schools and public bids.
- Everything in Core, with the Complete calculator: medical-office, school and public-bid settings and a Repricing tab
- 3 more filled examples: a 5,000 sq ft medical office, a 20,000 sq ft school, and the office as a federal service contract
- Walkthrough addendum for medical offices, schools and public bids
- Scopes of work for medical offices and schools
- 18 follow-up scripts (10 more), including scripts for getting on bid lists and for after you win
- RFP response checklist and capability statement template
- 40-page Bid Playbook with chapters on medical offices, schools and public bids
30-day refund: if the kit isn't useful for your work, email us within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.
We recheck the figures every January and email updated files free.
Checkout by Shopify. Payment through PayPal.
FAQ
Which edition should I choose?
Core if you bid office buildings. Complete if you also bid medical offices, schools or public contracts, or you want the 10 extra scripts, the Repricing tab for contracts you already have, and the RFP checklist and capability statement. Both use the same method and the same calculator layout.
Does it work in Excel or Google Sheets?
Microsoft Excel, on Windows or Mac. The calculator uses only basic functions and no macros, and every formula recalculates when the file opens. Downloaded files open in Protected View: click Enable Editing or the numbers stay blank. We haven't tested Google Sheets yet. The numbers won't calculate in a phone or email preview.
Will it work on a Mac?
Yes, in Microsoft Excel for Mac. We opened every calculator file in Excel for Mac and checked the example prices. Apple Numbers isn't supported. The proposal, scope of work and scripts are Word files (.docx): open them in Microsoft Word.
How do I get the files? Can I buy on my phone?
Checkout runs on Shopify, and you pay through PayPal. After payment, your download link appears on the confirmation page and arrives by email. It's one ZIP file. You can buy on your phone; download and unzip the kit on a computer and open 00_Start_Here.pdf first.
Will I win more bids?
No one can promise that, and we don't. The kit puts every assumption in plain view, shows your margin if the job runs long, and gives you a clear proposal and follow-ups to send. Whether you win depends on your market, your price and your work.
Where do the numbers come from?
Public sources: federal and state agency pages, a school district's published custodial formulas, a federal guide to school facilities, and trade press. Every figure is listed with its link and date on the Sources tab and in the playbook, so you can check it yourself. Figures are current as of 2026. Production rates are public reference points, not standards; your own timed rate always overrides them.
Does it cover my state?
The payroll tax figures are federal. For state unemployment and workers' comp, the kit shows examples from a few states and you enter your own rates. Your state mails your unemployment rate each year, and your insurance agent can give you your workers' comp rate.
Is this legal or tax advice?
No. The kit is a set of planning tools and templates. Payroll taxes, workers' comp, unemployment insurance, contract rules and safety rules vary by state and change often. Confirm your numbers with your state agencies, your insurance agent, your accountant or an attorney. The proposal's terms are a starting point; have an attorney review them before you use them. Not legal, tax or accounting advice.
Do I get updates?
Yes. Tax rates, wage bases and minimum wages change every year. We recheck the figures every January and email updated files free to every buyer. If you find an error or a broken link, email support@plainworkkits.com and we'll fix it in the next update.
Can I use the proposal with my clients?
Yes, that's what it's for. The proposal, scope of work and one-pager carry only your company's details, with no Plainwork branding. You may use and edit these files for your own cleaning business. Please don't resell or share them. Read the license.
Does it handle public bids and federal contracts?
The Complete edition does. It adds public-bid settings, a playbook chapter on public bids and the Service Contract Act, a federal version of the office example, an RFP response checklist and a capability statement template. The solicitation and its wage determination always override the kit. Not legal advice.
What if it isn't useful for me?
30-day refund: if the kit isn't useful for your work, email us within 30 days of purchase for a full refund. Email support@plainworkkits.com with your order number. Refund policy
P.S.
The short version
Walk the building with the checklist. Price it from hours and your real cost per hour. Test the price at 10%, 20% and 30% long. Then send a proposal that shows a scope and a price.
In the kit's hypothetical office, the same $3,180 price earns 15.0% as estimated. If the job runs 30% long, it loses $195.76 a month.
Core $67 · Complete $97 · One-time payment
30-day refund: if the kit isn't useful for your work, email us within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.
Start with the free checklist
Walkthrough Checklist (Lite) is one printable page: the basics, six area lines, fixture and trash counts, and five questions to ask before you leave. It's the short version of the checklist in the kit.
Actual page from the kit
Free PDF. No checkout needed.
Not a cleaning company. Built from public sources with AI; every number is linked.
Questions or a broken link: support@plainworkkits.com · About Plainwork Kits