Guide for commercial janitorial contractors · checked 3 November 2026
Commercial janitorial, bid by the square foot, judged by the inspection
A janitorial contract is a list of rooms, each with a floor type, a frequency and a cleanliness level, turned into nightly hours by production rates. Then it is judged every month by an inspection score and, on public contracts, a deduction schedule. This guide covers APPA's five levels, ISSA cleaning times, square feet per cleaner, deduction clauses, worker-retention laws when you take over a building, California registration, and what public buyers actually paid.
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Short answer
Commercial janitorial contractors use software that holds each building as a list of areas with cleanable square feet, floor type, task frequencies and a target cleanliness level (APPA Levels 1 to 5 are the common yardstick), turns those into nightly labor hours with production rates like ISSA 612, checks that cleaners clocked in at the right building, and records inspection scores that clients and contracts audit. Swept, Janitorial Manager, WinTeam, OrangeQC and CleanGuru are common choices. Fieldproxy is set up around your own area lists, bid hours and inspection forms.
7,200 sq ft
Cleanable classroom space per custodian for APPA Level 1 (orderly spotlessness); Level 5 is 24,500
$2,000 to $10,000
California fine for hiring a janitorial contractor that is not registered with the Labor Commissioner (first violation)
60 days
A new contractor in California must keep the previous contractor's janitors on site for a 60-day transition (90 days in NYC)
$250
NCDOT deduction per empty toilet paper, towel or soap dispenser, per incident, on a 2024 rest-area contract
How a job runs
One commercial janitorial job, from first call to paid
The order the work really happens in, and what has to be written down at each step so nothing is argued about later.
- 1
Walk the building and measure it
The bid starts with an area list: every office, restroom, corridor, classroom, break room and lobby, its cleanable square feet, floor type (carpet, VCT, sealed concrete, ceramic) and fixture counts. Buyers often state the area for you: Mifflin Township's 2026 RFP gives about 21,000 cleanable square feet; Arkansas State Beebe lists its Heber Springs campus at 76,850 sq ft and the Latimer Building at 24,700.
- 2
Set the frequency and the level
Each area gets daily, weekly, monthly and periodic tasks. Mifflin's spec, for example: restrooms daily (refill dispensers, disinfect fixtures, sweep and wet mop), floor drains flushed weekly, offices emptied and vacuumed daily with desks dusted weekly, hard floors stripped and waxed once a year and shower floors four times. Schools and campuses often name an APPA level instead: Level 2 'ordinary tidiness' is the usual target, Level 1 is for lobbies and executive areas.
- 3
Turn tasks into hours
Production rates convert each task into minutes. ISSA's formula is square feet divided by the hourly rate, times 60: a 14-inch flat mop at 5,355 sq ft an hour takes 11.2 minutes per 1,000 sq ft, and restroom cleaning is timed per fixture (3 minutes each, so 10 fixtures is 30 minutes). Sum it per night and you have the hours, the headcount and the shift length.
- 4
Price it the way the buyer asks
Some buyers want a monthly price (Arkansas State Beebe divides it by 21 for the daily rate), some an annual lump sum per building, some a daily total at stated hours (the Washtenaw County Road Commission tab asks for hours per day and a daily total for each of 2024, 2025 and 2026). Periodic work is priced separately per square foot: strip and wax, carpet extraction, windows.
- 5
Take over the building
Winning a building often means inheriting its crew. In California the successor contractor must offer the previous contractor's janitors (4 months or more on site) a 60-day transition period, in writing with at least 10 days to accept, then evaluate them in writing at day 60. In New York City the transition is 90 days. Keys, alarm codes and badge access are handed over and logged per person.
- 6
Run the nightly shift
Cleaners clock in at the building, work an area route, and log supplies used. Day porters work separately in daytime hours: the Santa Cruz courts' 2026 RFP requires one janitorial staff on site from 8 am to 1 pm at the Santa Cruz courthouse and 2 to 5 pm at Watsonville. Trade guidance has porters checking restrooms every one to three hours depending on traffic.
- 7
Inspect and score
Supervisors walk a sample of areas and score them against the spec or the APPA level. On public contracts, failures cost money: NCDOT's 2024 rest-area contract deducts $250 per empty dispenser, $125 per attendant per hour not on duty, and caps daily deductions per area, with 2 hours to correct after a notice and 24 hours for repairs.
- 8
Schedule periodic work
Strip and wax, carpet extraction, window cleaning, high dusting and restroom deep cleans run on their own calendar, often on weekends, and are usually priced per square foot. They need different crews and equipment from the nightly route, and floor finish work should leave the floor in the traction range the building expects (ANSI/NFSI B101.3 tests wet dynamic friction).
- 9
Bill and report
Monthly billing to the contract, extras at the contract hourly rate (Washington County's bidders quoted $15 to $120 per person-hour, $17 to $160 on weekends and holidays), and a monthly QA report per building with inspection scores, deficiencies and how fast each was fixed.
What to record
The fields every commercial janitorial job should capture
Each building and area
- Building, client, access hours, alarm and key procedure, security badge requirement, contract start date and incumbent contractor
- Area list: room ID, area type (office, restroom, classroom, corridor, lobby, break room, stairwell), cleanable sq ft, floor type, fixture counts
- Task list per area with frequency (daily, 3x weekly, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual) and target APPA level or spec reference
- Bid minutes per task from production rates, bid hours per night, bid headcount
- Products used per area with EPA registration number, dilution and contact time; SDS on file
Each shift and cleaner
- Clock in and out with GPS or building check, scheduled vs actual hours, no-show or late flag
- Areas completed, supplies used (liners, paper, soap, chemical by dilution), equipment issues
- Day porter rounds: restroom checks by time, restock notes
- Bloodborne pathogen incident: location, disinfectant used, waste disposal, who cleaned it
- Training on file: hazard communication, bloodborne pathogens where exposure is possible, Green Seal GS-42 hours if the contract requires it, California harassment prevention every 2 years
Each inspection and periodic job
- Inspector, date, areas sampled, score per area and per item (floors, fixtures, trash, dusting, glass), APPA level observed
- Deficiency: area, item, photo, due-by time from the contract (e.g. 2 hours), corrected time, re-inspection result
- Contract deductions: type, amount, date, disputed yes or no
- Periodic job: strip and wax or extraction, sq ft, coats of finish, product, dry time, floor reopened time, before and after photos
Rules and standards
The rules that shape the work, with their sources
| Rule | What it means on the job |
|---|---|
| APPA five levels of cleanliness | Level 1 orderly spotlessness (floors and base moldings shine, trash containers hold only daily waste), Level 2 ordinary tidiness (marks, dust and fingerprints noticeable on close look), Level 3 casual inattention (floors swept or vacuumed but may be stained), Level 4 moderate dinginess (trash containers smell and are often full), Level 5 unkempt neglect. source: Michigan Tech Facilities, Cleaning standards: the five APPA levels of cleanliness |
| APPA staffing: cleanable square feet per custodian | APPA's published table for educational facilities gives, per custodian: classrooms with hard floors 7,200 sq ft at Level 1, 17,000 at Level 2, 18,100 at Level 3, 23,600 at Level 4 and 24,500 at Level 5; carpeted offices 12,300, 24,500, 45,600, 74,000 and 116,800. The guidelines cover 33 room types. source: APPA Facilities Manager (Jan/Feb 2013), Bigger: Operational guidelines for educational facilities, custodial (cleanable sq ft per custodian by level) |
| ISSA 612 cleaning times | Time equals square feet divided by the production rate per hour, times 60. ISSA's examples: flat mopping (MFM-3, 14-inch mop) at 5,355 sq ft an hour, light-duty bundle (LDT-1) at 3.62 minutes per 1,000 sq ft, restroom cleaning (RCL-7) at 3 minutes per fixture. ISSA presents these as benchmarks for bidding, not a time study of your crew. source: ISSA, How to calculate cleaning times (Brant Insero) |
| California janitorial registration (Labor Code 1420 to 1434) | Janitorial employers must register with the Labor Commissioner, renew every year ($500 application fee, $500 renewal), give sexual harassment prevention training once every two years, and keep records for three years of each worker's name, address, daily start and end times and wage rate. source: California DIR, Labor Commissioner: Janitorial service providers and contractors (registration, training, records) |
| California fines, Labor Code 1432 | An unregistered janitorial employer: $100 a day up to $10,000. Anyone who contracts with one: $2,000 to $10,000 for a first violation and $10,000 to $25,000 after that. A material misrepresentation on the application: $10,000. The fine falls on the client that hired them, not only the contractor. source: California Labor Code section 1432, penalties for unregistered janitorial employers and those who contract with them (FindLaw) |
| Joint liability when contractors cut corners | In July 2025 the Labor Commissioner cited the Ritz-Carlton and three janitorial contractors more than $2 million over 155 Half Moon Bay janitors misclassified as independent contractors. None of the contractors was registered, and the hotel and its prime contractor were held jointly liable for $746,001 if the subcontractors did not pay. source: California DIR news release 2025-70 (16 July 2025): Ritz-Carlton and three janitorial contractors cited over $2 million |
| California Displaced Janitor Opportunity Act (Labor Code 1061) | A successor contractor must retain, for a 60-day transition employment period, janitors who worked at least 4 months at the site for the previous contractor, offer them employment in writing with at least 10 days to accept, keep a preferential hiring list, and at day 60 give a written evaluation and offer continued employment if performance was satisfactory. source: California Labor Code section 1061, Displaced Janitor Opportunity Act: 60-day transition employment (FindLaw) |
| NYC Displaced Building Service Workers Protection Act | A new building service contractor must keep covered workers for a 90-day transition period, ending employment only for cause or if fewer workers are needed. It covers workers assigned to the building for at least 90 days, and excludes those scheduled under 8 hours a week or paid above the wage cap ($47.93 from 1 January 2026). source: NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Displaced Building Service Workers Protection Act |
| OSHA bloodborne pathogens housekeeping, 1910.1030(d)(4) | Where employees have occupational exposure, the employer keeps an appropriate written schedule for cleaning and method of decontamination, decontaminates contaminated work surfaces with an appropriate disinfectant, and disposes of regulated waste per applicable rules, with sharps in closable, puncture-resistant, leakproof, labeled containers. source: OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030, Bloodborne pathogens (housekeeping, paragraph (d)(4)) |
| OSHA hazard communication, 1910.1200 | Safety data sheets for every chemical on site must be readily accessible to employees during each work shift (g)(8), and employees are trained at initial assignment and whenever a new chemical hazard is introduced (h)(1). For a contractor that means an SDS set per building, matching what is actually in the closet. source: OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (safety data sheets and training) |
| Disinfectant contact time (EPA) | Use disinfectants per label directions, including the contact time: the surface should stay wet for the whole time for the product to work. Check the product's EPA registration number. A spray-and-wipe in 10 seconds with a 10-minute product is not disinfection. source: US EPA, 6 steps for safe and effective disinfectant use (contact time) |
| Green Seal GS-42 (green cleaning service certification) | Requires 12 hours of training on hire plus 12 more in the first year, then 24 hours a year including supervisors, with training records kept 2 years; certified products in listed categories with purchases tracked at least quarterly; vacuums with the CRI Seal or Green Label running under 70 dBA; and disclosure of products used to the client. source: Green Seal GS-42, Standard for commercial cleaning services |
| ISSA CIMS and CIMS-GB | CIMS has five core sections: quality systems, service delivery, human resources, health safety and environmental stewardship, and management commitment. CIMS-GB adds green building criteria and helps customers earn points under LEED O+M. source: ISSA Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS and CIMS-GB) |
| Federal Service Contract Act wage determinations | Federal custodial contracts pay at least the wage determination rate for each SCA occupation (11150 Janitor) plus health and welfare: $5.55 an hour ($962 a month) from 7 July 2025, or $5.09 where Executive Order 13706 paid sick leave applies; Hawaii has its own rate. Bids opened from that date carry the new rate. source: US DOL Wage and Hour, All Agency Memorandum 250 (7 July 2025): Service Contract Act health and welfare rates |
| Floor slip resistance after floor care (ANSI/NFSI B101) | B101.1 measures wet static coefficient of friction and B101.3 wet dynamic coefficient of friction, each with traction ranges that call for action. Testing vendors give the B101.3 level-floor threshold as above 0.42. Finish and cleaning chemistry both change the result. source: Safety Direct America, ANSI floor slip resistance standards (B101.3 level-floor DCOF above 0.42) |
Rules vary by state, council and contract. Checked 3 November 2026; confirm against the source for your area before relying on it.
Numbers
What public buyers asked for and paid on janitorial contracts
Each row is one agency's bid tab, RFP or deduction schedule, plus APPA's staffing table; scopes differ, so read them as the price lines and ranges a contract needs, not market rates. The hourly figure for Washtenaw is our division of daily total by hours.
| Line item | Figure | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 8 buildings, annual lump sum, 12 bidders | $232,534 to $541,500 | Washington County MD, 2023 |
| Extra work, regular hours, per person | $15 to $120 an hour | Washington County MD, 2023 |
| Extra work, weekends and holidays | $17 to $160 an hour | Washington County MD, 2023 |
| Additional carpet cleaning | $0.11 to $0.60 per sq ft | Washington County MD, 2023 |
| Admin building, nightly, 6 bidders | $87.45 (4.66 hrs) to $263 (10 hrs) a day | Washtenaw County Road Commission MI, Nov 2023 |
| Implied labor rate from those bids | About $18.77 to $31.19 an hour | Washtenaw County Road Commission MI, Nov 2023 |
| Strip and refinish tile | $0.20 to $0.95 per sq ft | Washtenaw County Road Commission MI, Nov 2023 |
| Carpet cleaning | $0.15 to $0.22 per sq ft | Washtenaw County Road Commission MI, Nov 2023 |
| Empty dispenser deduction | $250 per dispenser per incident | NCDOT rest area, 2024 |
| Attendant not on duty deduction | $125 per attendant per hour | NCDOT rest area, 2024 |
| Carpeted office per custodian, APPA Level 2 | 24,500 cleanable sq ft | APPA staffing guidelines |
| Janitors and building cleaners, US median pay | $17.71 an hour (2,432,600 jobs, 2025) | BLS |
source: Washington County, MD, PUR-1611 janitorial services bid tabulation (opened 26 April 2023)source: Washtenaw County Road Commission (wcroads.org), janitorial services bid tab (opened 20 Nov 2023)source: NCDOT proposal 54-MKB-07-12117220, Alamance County rest area janitorial (deductions and correction times, April 2024)source: APPA Facilities Manager (Jan/Feb 2013), Bigger: Operational guidelines for educational facilities, custodial (cleanable sq ft per custodian by level)source: US BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Janitors and building cleaners
Where it breaks
Where spreadsheets and generic software fall over
The building is one job called 'nightly clean'. Nobody can say which floors were skipped, so a complaint about the third-floor restroom turns into a he-said-she-said.
Each building is a list of areas with its own tasks and frequencies; the shift is a route of areas, and each area is marked done, skipped (with a reason) or not reached.
The bid assumed 6 hours a night. A year later the crew logs 8, the account loses money, and nobody noticed because payroll and the contract live in different systems.
Bid hours per night sit on the contract; actual hours come from clock-ins at that building, and the gap is shown per building per week so you reprice or re-route before renewal.
A cleaner does not show up at a 22,000 sq ft office. The supervisor finds out when the tenant emails at 8 am.
Each shift has an expected clock-in by building. If nobody has clocked in within e.g. 15 minutes of start, the supervisor gets an alert while there is still time to send cover.
Inspections are on paper. When a public client deducts $250 for an empty dispenser, there is no record of the 2-hour correction or the re-check.
Inspections are scored in the app with photos; each deficiency carries the contract's correction time, the time it was fixed and the re-inspection result, so disputes are about evidence, not memory.
A new account in California is taken over and the incumbent's janitors are let go on day one. The 60-day transition, written offers and day-60 evaluations were never done.
A takeover checklist per building: incumbent roster, written offers with the 10-day acceptance date, the 60-day (or NYC 90-day) end date, and the written evaluation due before it.
The SDS binder in the janitor closet is from three product changes ago, and the new disinfectant's 10-minute contact time is not in anyone's training.
Products are set per area with EPA registration number, dilution and contact time; changing a product updates the building's SDS list and adds a training item for every cleaner on that building.
Checklist
The commercial janitorial operations checklist
Print it, or hand it to whoever runs the office side.
- Every building has an area list with cleanable sq ft, floor type and fixture counts
- Each area has tasks, frequencies and a target APPA level or spec reference
- Bid minutes per task from production rates; bid hours per night on the contract
- Clock-ins checked against the building and the shift start, every night
- Bid vs actual hours reviewed per building every week
- Supervisor inspections scored per area with photos, on a set sample each month
- Deficiencies carry the contract's correction time and a re-inspection
- Periodic work (strip and wax, extraction, windows) on its own calendar with sq ft and before and after photos
- Products per area with EPA number, dilution and contact time; SDS set per building matches the closet
- Hazard communication and, where exposure exists, bloodborne pathogen training on file per cleaner
- Takeover checklist for retention laws (California 60 days, NYC 90 days)
- California: registration renewal date and harassment prevention training every 2 years tracked
- Federal work: wage determination and health and welfare rate on the contract
- Keys, alarm codes and badges issued and returned per person
Software options
What software commercial janitorial contractors actually use
Judge each one on whether it fits the way your jobs run, not on the feature list. Bring a real job to every demo.
Swept
Commercial cleaning companies running recurring building contracts
Built for recurring commercial cleaning: GPS and geofenced clock-in with no-show and late alerts, photo inspections, supply management and messaging with cleaners and clients.
Janitorial Manager
Building service contractors, in-house cleaning departments and healthcare facilities
Quality inspections, work orders with cost and profitability, clock-in with geo-tracking, and supply requests through a client portal.
WinTeam (TEAM Software)
Larger janitorial and security contractors that want scheduling, payroll and job costing in one ERP
Workforce scheduling, automated time and attendance, job costing, and its Lighthouse digital forms and checklists for quality assurance.
OrangeQC
Contractors and in-house teams whose main need is inspections and client reporting
Offline, GPS-stamped inspections with APPA and CIMS templates, deficiencies that open tickets, ATP test logging and branded PDF reports for clients. Pairs with a separate scheduling or payroll system.
CleanGuru
Janitorial companies that bid a lot of buildings
Bidding software: area and room measurements, workloading, price recommendations, a consumables calculator and proposals, with invoicing, scheduling and timekeeping added.
Questions to ask any vendor
- Can each building hold an area list with cleanable square feet, floor type, tasks, frequencies and an APPA level per area?
- Can I store bid hours per building and see actual clocked hours against them every week?
- Will a supervisor get an alert when nobody has clocked in at a building by shift start?
- Can an inspection deficiency carry the contract's correction time, the fix photo and a re-inspection score?
- Can products be set per area with EPA number, dilution and contact time, and does the SDS list follow?
- Can a takeover track incumbent workers, written offers and the 60-day or 90-day transition dates?
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Commercial janitorial on Fieldproxy: built around how you already work
A Fieldproxy setup for a commercial janitorial contractor is built around the building's area list: every room has its square feet, floor type, tasks, frequency and target level, which turn into bid hours, a nightly route and an inspection form. Clock-ins are checked against the building, inspections and deductions carry their contract clocks, and each client gets a monthly QA report from the same records.
Module 1
Building and area register
The contract, the bid, the route and the inspection all hang off the area list, not the address.
- Records: Client > Building > Floor > Area; area types office, restroom, classroom, corridor, lobby, break room, stairwell, lab, locker room
- Fields: cleanable sq ft, floor type (carpet, VCT, sealed concrete, ceramic, terrazzo), fixture counts (toilets, urinals, sinks, dispensers), target APPA level, access hours, badge and key rules
- Products per area: name, EPA registration number, dilution, contact time; building SDS list generated from it
- QR code per area or floor opens its tasks and history
Module 2
Bid and workloading
Hours are the price; a bid built on guessed hours loses money for the whole contract term.
- Production rates table per task and floor type (ISSA 612 values or your own time studies), e.g. flat mop 5,355 sq ft an hour, restroom 3 minutes per fixture
- Task x frequency x sq ft gives minutes per night, hours per week, headcount and shift length
- Price lines in the buyer's format: monthly, annual lump sum per building, daily total at stated hours, plus periodic per sq ft and extra-work hourly
- Wage inputs: local wage, SCA wage determination and health and welfare ($5.55 or $5.09 an hour) on federal work
- Status: Walkthrough, Measured, Priced, Submitted, Won, Lost (with winning price if public)
Module 3
Contract and takeover
A new building comes with a start date, an incumbent crew, keys and legal clocks.
- Contract record: scope by area, bid hours per night, billing terms, deduction schedule, correction times (e.g. 2 hours after notice, 24 hours for repairs)
- Takeover checklist: incumbent roster, written offers with acceptance deadline (10 days in California), transition end date (60 days California, 90 days NYC), evaluations due
- Keys, alarm codes and badges issued per person with return dates
- Status: Awarded, Takeover, Active, Renewal due, Ended
Module 4
Nightly shifts and day porters
The client pays for the building to be cleaned every night; a missed shift is found by the tenant at 8 am.
- Recurring shifts per building with expected clock-in time and bid hours; day porter shifts with set hours (e.g. 8 am to 1 pm) and restroom round times
- Clock-in and out checked by GPS at the building; late or missing flagged
- Cover pool: cleaners cleared for that building (badge, background check) by distance
- Supervisor route of buildings per night
Module 5
Cleaner app
Cleaners need their route and nothing else, in their language, offline in basements and stairwells.
- Tonight's areas in route order; each marked done, skipped (reason) or not reached
- Supplies used per area: liners, paper, soap, chemicals
- Report a problem: leak, broken fixture, pest sighting, biohazard, with photo
- Bloodborne pathogen spill form: location, disinfectant, contact time kept, waste disposal
- Spanish and other languages per cleaner
Module 6
Inspections and deductions
The score is how the client judges the contract, and on public work it is money.
- Inspection form per area type, scored per item (floors, fixtures, trash, dusting, glass, odor) and as an APPA level
- Required photos on any failed item; deficiency opens with the contract's correction time
- Fix logged with time and photo; re-inspection score
- Deduction log: type, amount, notice time, corrected time, disputed yes or no
Module 7
Periodic and extra work
Strip and wax, extraction and windows are separate crews, separate prices and the most common upsell.
- Periodic calendar per building from the contract: e.g. floors stripped and waxed once a year, shower floors 4 times
- Job record: sq ft, product, coats, dry time, area closed and reopened times, before and after photos
- Extra work requests priced at the contract hourly or per sq ft rate; client approval before scheduling
Module 8
Supplies and stock
Consumables are part of the price on many contracts and a deduction when a dispenser runs out.
- Stock per building closet: paper, liners, soap, chemicals; reorder levels
- Usage per night from the cleaner app vs the bid allowance
- Delivery runs to buildings bundled with supervisor visits
Module 9
Compliance and training
Registration, training hours and SDS sets are checked by states, auditors and certification bodies.
- Per cleaner: hazard communication, bloodborne pathogens (where exposure exists), GS-42 hours (12 on hire, 12 in year one, 24 a year), California harassment prevention every 2 years
- Company: California registration renewal date; CIMS or GS-42 certification dates
- Three-year record of each worker's daily start and end times and wage rate (California)
Module 10
Client portal and reporting
Facility managers renew contracts on evidence: scores, fix times and whether the crew showed up.
- Portal per client: buildings, last inspection scores, open deficiencies, periodic work done, requests
- Monthly QA report PDF per building: scores by area, deficiencies and fix times, shifts covered
- Dashboards: bid vs actual hours per building, no-shows, inspection trend, deductions, supply cost per sq ft; QuickBooks or Xero sync
The AI agents, set up for commercial janitorial contractors
| Agent | When | What it does | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Document intelligence agent | An RFP, scope of work or price sheet PDF is uploaded for a bid | Reads the buildings, cleanable square feet, area tasks and frequencies, periodic work, deduction schedule and the price lines the buyer wants | A draft area list, task frequencies and price sheet in the bid, with the deduction schedule on the contract |
| Watcher agent | No clock-in at a building e.g. 15 minutes after shift start, actual hours run over bid hours for e.g. 2 weeks running, or a deficiency passes its correction time | Checks the shift, the contract and the deficiency clock for that building | An alert to the supervisor with the building, who was scheduled and the cover options, or the overdue deficiency and its deduction |
| Dispatch agent | A cleaner calls out or a shift is flagged as uncovered | Finds cleaners cleared for that building (badge, background check, language) by distance and hours already worked this week | A cover cleaner assigned with the building's route and access notes |
| Vision agent | A supervisor photographs a failed area during an inspection, or a cleaner photographs a new product label | Reads what is wrong (overflowing trash, empty dispenser, stained floor) or the product name and EPA registration number | A deficiency with the item filled in, or a product added to the area with its SDS to attach |
| Autopilot | An extra-work quote (strip and wax, carpet extraction) sits unapproved for e.g. 7 days | Drafts a follow-up naming the building, the floor area, the price per sq ft and the weekend it could be done | A draft email a person approves before it sends |
| Scheduler agent | The 1st of each month at 7 am | Totals each building's inspection scores, deficiencies and fix times, shifts covered and periodic work done | A monthly QA report per client and a bid vs actual hours summary for the operations manager |
Straight answers
Commercial janitorial: FAQ
What software do commercial janitorial contractors use?
Common choices are Swept and Janitorial Manager for recurring building contracts, WinTeam for larger contractors that want scheduling, payroll and job costing together, OrangeQC for inspections, and CleanGuru for bidding. What matters is an area list per building, bid hours vs clocked hours, and scored inspections clients can see. Fieldproxy is set up around your own area lists, bid hours and inspection forms.
What are the APPA levels of cleanliness?
Five levels used mainly by schools and campuses: Level 1 orderly spotlessness, Level 2 ordinary tidiness, Level 3 casual inattention, Level 4 moderate dinginess and Level 5 unkempt neglect. Each has a written description of floors, fixtures, trash and dust, which makes it usable as an inspection score.
How many square feet can one janitor clean per night?
It depends on the space and the level. APPA's table for educational facilities gives 7,200 cleanable sq ft of hard-floor classroom per custodian at Level 1 and 24,500 at Level 5, and 12,300 to 116,800 sq ft of carpeted office across the same levels. Production rates per task, like ISSA 612, are how contractors get from there to hours for their own building.
How do you calculate cleaning time for a bid?
Square feet divided by the production rate per hour, times 60, for each task, plus fixture-based tasks timed per fixture. With ISSA's flat mopping rate of 5,355 sq ft an hour, 1,000 sq ft takes 11.2 minutes; at 3 minutes per fixture, a restroom with 10 fixtures takes 30. Add every task and frequency to get nightly hours.
Do janitorial companies need to register in California?
Yes. Janitorial employers register with the Labor Commissioner and renew every year ($500 application, $500 renewal), give sexual harassment prevention training every two years and keep three years of time and wage records. Anyone who contracts with an unregistered janitorial employer can be fined $2,000 to $10,000 for a first violation.
Do I have to keep the old contractor's janitors when I take over a building?
In California, for janitors with at least 4 months at the site, yes: a 60-day transition period, a written offer with at least 10 days to accept, and a written evaluation at day 60. In New York City the transition period is 90 days for covered building service workers. Other places may have no such rule; check local law.
What do public janitorial contracts cost?
Bid tabs vary widely. Washington County, Maryland received $232,534 to $541,500 a year for 8 buildings in 2023, with extra-work labor at $15 to $120 an hour. The Washtenaw County Road Commission's 2023 bids for its administration building ran from $87.45 to $263 a day, and strip and refinish tile from $0.20 to $0.95 per sq ft.
What is a day porter?
A cleaner on site during business hours who checks and restocks restrooms, handles spills and keeps lobbies tidy, separate from the night crew. The Santa Cruz County courts' 2026 RFP requires one on site from 8 am to 1 pm at the Santa Cruz courthouse, and trade guidance has porters checking restrooms every one to three hours.
What training do janitors need under OSHA?
Hazard communication training on the chemicals they use, at initial assignment and when a new hazard is introduced, with safety data sheets accessible on every shift. Where cleaners have occupational exposure to blood, the bloodborne pathogens standard requires a written cleaning schedule and decontamination with an appropriate disinfectant.
What is Green Seal GS-42?
A certification standard for commercial cleaning services. It requires 12 hours of training on hire plus 12 more in the first year, then 24 hours a year, certified products with purchases tracked at least quarterly, quiet vacuums with the CRI Seal or Green Label, and disclosure of products used to the client.
Related guides
All sources on this page (24)
- source: APPA Facilities Manager (Jan/Feb 2013), Bigger: Operational guidelines for educational facilities, custodial (cleanable sq ft per custodian by level)
- source: California Labor Code section 1432, penalties for unregistered janitorial employers and those who contract with them (FindLaw)
- source: California Labor Code section 1061, Displaced Janitor Opportunity Act: 60-day transition employment (FindLaw)
- source: NCDOT proposal 54-MKB-07-12117220, Alamance County rest area janitorial (deductions and correction times, April 2024)
- source: Michigan Tech Facilities, Cleaning standards: the five APPA levels of cleanliness
- source: ISSA, How to calculate cleaning times (Brant Insero)
- source: California DIR, Labor Commissioner: Janitorial service providers and contractors (registration, training, records)
- source: California DIR news release 2025-70 (16 July 2025): Ritz-Carlton and three janitorial contractors cited over $2 million
- source: NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Displaced Building Service Workers Protection Act
- source: OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030, Bloodborne pathogens (housekeeping, paragraph (d)(4))
- source: OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (safety data sheets and training)
- source: US EPA, 6 steps for safe and effective disinfectant use (contact time)
- source: Green Seal GS-42, Standard for commercial cleaning services
- source: ISSA Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS and CIMS-GB)
- source: US DOL Wage and Hour, All Agency Memorandum 250 (7 July 2025): Service Contract Act health and welfare rates
- source: Safety Direct America, ANSI floor slip resistance standards (B101.3 level-floor DCOF above 0.42)
- source: Washington County, MD, PUR-1611 janitorial services bid tabulation (opened 26 April 2023)
- source: Washtenaw County Road Commission (wcroads.org), janitorial services bid tab (opened 20 Nov 2023)
- source: US BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Janitors and building cleaners
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