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Comparing cleaning proposals for a plant or warehouse, line by line
Put every janitorial proposal through the same lines: scope and frequencies, hours, supplies, supervision, insurance and the start-up plan. A printable sheet for plants, warehouses and distribution centers.
Printable checklist
Read the proposals side by side, not one at a time
Proposals for an industrial building rarely arrive in the same shape. One company sends a two-page letter, another a task list by zone, a third a spreadsheet with periodic work broken out. Read one after another, each makes sense on its own terms. Lay them next to each other and the gaps start to show: a dock restroom that appears in one scope and not in the next, or a monthly floor scrub on one sheet that turns into a vague promise on another.
This checklist gives every proposal the same lines to answer. Print one copy per company and fill it in as you read. Which companies to invite, what to ask on the phone and how to check references are covered in our guide to choosing an industrial cleaning company. This page picks up once the proposals are on your desk.
Scope and frequencies
Scope is where proposals differ most, so line it up first. If two companies are in effect pricing different buildings, nothing else on the comparison means much.
- Every zone you listed appears: offices, restrooms, breakrooms, floor and docks
- Each task carries its own frequency: nightly, weekly, monthly or similar
- Periodic projects listed one by one, each with its interval
- Off-limits areas left out, and no requested area quietly dropped
- Any task marked only as needed given a real frequency
If your own scope of work went out with the request, check each proposal against that document rather than against each other. Periodic work such as concrete scrubbing, high dusting and strip-and-refinish belongs on its own lines, so you can see when each project happens and move one without touching the rest.
Hours, shifts and access
A plant running two shifts or a dock that never closes needs a cleaning window that fits around it. The proposal should say when the crew is in the building, not only how many nights a week.
- Days of the week and hours the crew is on site
- Where cleaning fits around shift changes, breaks and dock activity
- How keys, badges, codes and the alarm are handled
- Site safety orientation and protective equipment for the crew
- Daytime porter coverage, if any, listed apart from night cleaning
Supplies and equipment
Supplies cause more confusion after the start date than almost anything else, usually because nobody wrote down who buys the paper. Settle it on paper while you are still comparing.
- Who provides tissue, towels, hand soap, sanitizer, seat covers and liners
- Whether restocking happens on every visit, and to what fill level
- Who supplies the dispensers, and whether refills match them
- Machines named for floor work, such as auto-scrubbers or extraction units
- Safety data sheets offered for products the crew brings in
Supervision, inspections and communication
Every proposal says the work will be checked. Look for who does the checking, how often it happens and how the results reach you.
- The role that supervises the crew, and how you reach that person
- How often quality inspections happen, and whether you see the results
- How you report a missed task, and when you hear back
- How schedule or task-list changes get put in writing
- How a seasonal peak or an added shift is handled
At Denali, supervisors come back for quality inspections that compare the finished rooms with the task list in the quote, so the list you approve is the same one the work is measured against.
Insurance and the certificate of insurance
Each company on your shortlist should send a current certificate of insurance before work starts. Compare what each one shows, then pass the certificates to whoever in your company sets coverage requirements. That decision belongs to your risk or legal team, not to a checklist.
- Current certificate of insurance, with your company named as holder
- General liability and workers’ compensation shown, dates in force
- Bonding stated, if your company asks for it
- How crew members are background-checked before working on site
For your own file, Denali Industrial Cleaning is covered by insurance, bonding and workers’ compensation. Clients each get a certificate of insurance to keep with their vendor paperwork, and every cleaner we send into a plant, warehouse or office has been background-checked.
The start-up plan
The first weeks show whether a proposal was realistic. A strong one sets out the opening weeks in writing, so the crew’s first night is not also the plan.
- Start-up walkthrough with the supervisor in the first week
- Date of the first full clean and any one-time catch-up work
- Who on your side signs off on the task list
- Date set for the first service review
Once you have chosen, keep the filled-in sheet. It becomes a plain record of what was offered, which is useful at the first service review and again whenever the building changes.
A few useful answers
Common questions.
Should I choose the proposal with the most tasks listed?
No. Choose the one whose task list matches your building. A long list padded with work you do not need is no better than a short one that misses your dock restrooms, and the checklist shows which proposal fits.
What should I do when a proposal says nothing about one of these lines?
Ask the company to fill it in before you decide. A blank on supplies, hours or periodic work usually means the subject never came up, and it is easier to settle now than after the start date.
Does the checklist include pricing?
No. It lines up what each proposal covers, so the prices you compare describe the same job. Our guide to industrial cleaning costs explains what moves the price.
Will Denali walk the building before sending a proposal?
Yes. Every Denali quote follows a walkthrough of the building, and the written quote lists the work you asked for.
Can I share the printable with my purchasing team?
Yes. The download on this page is a plain PDF. Print one copy per proposal so every company is checked against the same lines.