Commercial Cleaning Scope of Work: Tasks and Frequencies

A tenant emails the property manager for the third time this month: the fourth-floor restroom ran out of paper towels before lunch. The manager opens the commercial cleaning scope of work to see what the vendor owes. It is one page. It says restrooms are cleaned nightly and supplies restocked “as needed.” It does not say who buys the paper, whether anyone checks restrooms during the day, or how fast a complaint gets fixed. The vendor is doing what the contract says. The contract just says very little.

Most scope templates online are written by cleaning companies to win and price a bid. This guide is the buyer-side version, for owners and property and facility managers who write or review the scope and then live with it. It covers specification types, APPA cleanliness levels, an area-by-area frequency matrix, periodic work, supplies, day porters, green cleaning, inspections, staffing, transitions, DC and Maryland rules and price, and ends with an RFP checklist. It follows the structure we use to set up commercial janitorial services. It is not legal advice.

What is a commercial cleaning scope of work?

A commercial cleaning scope of work is the contract exhibit that defines what gets cleaned, how often, to what standard, and who supplies what. The master agreement covers price, term and insurance. The scope covers the work, and every inspection and dispute comes back to it.

A complete scope has eight parts:

1. Premises. Cleanable square footage, floors, restroom fixture counts, floor types, and excluded spaces.
2. Schedule. Night service window, porter hours, holidays.
3. Specification. Tasks and frequencies by area, appearance standards, or both.
4. Periodic work. Floor, carpet and glass projects with a calendar and unit prices.
5. Supplies. Who furnishes chemicals, equipment, paper, soap and liners.
6. People. Staffing plan, supervision, training, background checks, key control.
7. Quality. Inspections, scoring, response times, remedies.
8. Change control. Written changes, each with a price.

Janitorial is a soft service that touches the hard-services side every night. Have the scope say what cleaners report (a leak, a dead light, a broken dispenser) and where the report goes.

Should the specification be frequency-based or performance-based?

Use a frequency-based specification when you need bids that are easy to compare and work that is easy to audit. Use a performance-based one when you want the contractor to decide how to reach a defined result. Most buildings do best with a hybrid.

A frequency-based specification lists each task and its interval: “clean and disinfect toilets, urinals and sinks each service night.” It is easy to price and check, but it buys activity, not results.

A performance-based specification describes the required condition: “entrance floors free of tracked soil and streaks at the start of business.” FAR 37.602 tells federal agencies to describe work “in terms of the required results rather than either ‘how’ the work is to be accomplished or the number of hours to be provided.” The risk: a vague outcome cannot be enforced, and bids can hide different labor assumptions.

Aspect	Frequency-based	Performance-based
Describes	Tasks and intervals	Required condition
Proof of work	Task logs, tickets	Inspection scores
Bid comparison	Easy	Needs staffing disclosure
Main risk	Pays for activity	Vague, hard to enforce

The hybrid: set minimum frequencies for work that must happen on schedule (restroom disinfection, trash, periodic floor care), then an appearance standard per area. The frequency is the floor, not the ceiling; if an area fails its standard, the contractor adds effort without a change order.

What are APPA’s five levels of clean?

APPA, the professional association for educational facilities, defines five custodial appearance levels that give owners and contractors a shared answer to “how clean.” According to APPA’s cleaning operations guidance, the levels first appeared in its Custodial Staffing Guidelines in 1992 and now sit in its Operational Guidelines for Educational Facilities: Custodial.

Level	APPA name	What an inspector sees (summary)
1	Orderly Spotlessness	Bright floors, no buildup, fixtures gleam
2	Ordinary Tidiness	Bright floors; up to two days’ dust or marks
3	Casual Inattention	Stains, corner buildup, obvious dust
4	Moderate Dinginess	Dull floors, matted carpet lanes, lamps out
5	Unkempt Neglect	Dirty floors, heavy buildup, overflowing trash

The levels were built for campuses, but they transfer because they describe results, not activity. Use them three ways:

• Set a target per area. A Class A lobby and its restrooms may need Level 1 or 2; a back corridor may be fine at Level 3.
• Price to the target. APPA’s staffing guidelines link appearance levels and room types to custodial productivity, so a higher level means more labor.
• Inspect against it. A restroom scored Level 3 against a Level 2 target is a documented deficiency, not an opinion.

What does an area-by-area task frequency matrix look like?

The matrix below is a typical starting point for a multi-tenant office building with five-night service. It is not a standard. Adjust it for traffic, occupancy, floor types and your target APPA level. “Daily” means each service night.

Two references help you tune it. An example housekeeping table on archived EPA indoor air quality pages, taken from a 1990 BOMA International specification, gives ranges in times per year: 150 to 250 vacuumings for office carpet, 1 to 2 strip-and-refinish cycles for lobby floors, and 26 to 52 cleanings for exterior windows below 10 feet. Green Seal’s GS-42 standard requires daily disinfection of restroom fixtures and touch points, daily sanitizing of break-room surfaces, and daily vacuuming of entry mats. The matrix stays inside those ranges.

Area	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Quarterly	Annual or semiannual
Entrances, lobby	Trash; door glass; vacuum mats; dust-mop and damp-mop; outside entry	Dust low ledges; buff floor	High dusting; wash bins; scrub and recoat	Vents, light fixtures	Strip and refinish; glass above 10 ft
Restrooms	Disinfect fixtures, counters, touch points; mirrors; refill dispensers; pull liners; wet-mop	Wash partitions	Wash walls and bins; machine-scrub floor; vents, lights	—	—
Offices	Trash and recycling; vacuum; spot-clean spills	Dust cleared surfaces and furniture; partition glass; damp-mop hard floor	High dusting; blinds; wash bins	Vents, lights; windows below 10 ft	Carpet extraction; strip and refinish
Conference rooms	Trash; wipe tables; spot-clean glass; vacuum if used	Dust chairs and ledges	High dusting	Vents, lights	Carpet extraction
Break rooms	Sanitize counters, tables, sinks, touch points; empty and sanitize food-waste bins; clean floor	—	High dusting	Vents, lights	Strip and refinish
Elevators, stairs	Cab floors, doors, panels; polish metal	Stairs: dust-mop, wipe rails; buff cab floor	Stairs: damp-mop; cab floor finish	—	Strip and refinish
Hard floors	Dust-mop; spot-mop	Damp-mop; burnish	Scrub and recoat	—	Strip and refinish
Carpet (offices)	Vacuum traffic areas; spot stains	Vacuum light-traffic rooms	—	Interim clean traffic lanes	Hot-water extraction
High dusting	—	—	Ledges, partition tops, door frames	Vents, diffusers, lights, blinds	Above 10 ft
Glass	Entry doors, both sides	Partitions; exterior below 10 ft every 1–2 weeks	—	Interior windows below 10 ft	Exterior above 10 ft
Exterior, mats	Entry; exterior bins; dock; waste area; vacuum mats	Wash exterior bins	Deep-clean mats	—	—

Also state who cleans refrigerator and microwave interiors, whether “dust desks” means cleared surfaces only, and which floor-drain traps get water on a set schedule (a GS-42 requirement).

Which periodic project work should be priced separately?

Price periodic work as separate line items with unit prices and a published calendar. If “carpet care included” has no frequency, extraction happens when someone complains.

Project	What to specify	Pricing basis
Carpet extraction	Areas, method, dry time	Per sq ft or event
Strip and refinish	Floor type, coats, cure time	Per sq ft
Scrub and recoat	Areas, coats	Per sq ft
High interior glass	Heights, lift access	Per event
Exterior windows	Elevations, access method	Per event
Pressure washing	Entries, dock, dumpster pad	Per event

Write four terms around it:

• Proof. Each project gets a dated ticket with before-and-after photos. If periodic work is built into the monthly fee, a skipped project earns a credit.
• Notice and timing. GS-42 requires notice before non-routine floor work, stripping and extraction during minimum occupancy, and carpets that dry in less than 12 hours.
• Triggers. GS-42 calls for extraction “only as needed rather than on a regular schedule.” A practical middle ground is a budgeted annual allowance, drawn down when inspections show traffic lanes failing.
• Work at height. Exterior windows above ground level need a qualified, insured specialist with a safety plan and a current certificate of insurance, not an add-on for the night crew.

Who supplies consumables, and how do you set par levels?

Decide who buys paper, soap, liners and sanitizer, price it as its own line, and set a par level per item so restocking can be measured. An empty dispenser is usually a supply failure, not a cleaning failure.

Model	How it works	Watch for
Owner-supplied	Owner buys; crew restocks	Owner must track and order
Pass-through	Contractor buys, bills cost or cost-plus	Usage reports; markup
Included	Fixed fee covers supplies	Cheaper paper; usage disputes

To set par levels:

1. Count dispensers by type in every restroom and break room.
2. Record which refills each accepts. Some dispensers take one brand only, and the incumbent may own them.
3. Set an on-site minimum and a reorder point per item, from actual usage.
4. Have the porter or night lead count the storeroom on a fixed day and report items below par.
5. Require that no dispenser is left empty at the end of a service.

Name the products too. EPA’s custodial model contract language, written for federal buyers, lists Green Seal GS-1 or UL Ecologo 175 for toilet tissue and paper towels, and Green Seal GS-41, UL Ecologo 2784 or Safer Choice for hand soap.

Day porter or night crew: what does each scope cover?

A night crew does production cleaning after the building empties. A day porter keeps it presentable while people use it. Buildings with heavy daytime traffic usually need both.

Aspect	Night crew	Day porter
Measured by	Tasks done to standard	Route checks, response
Core work	Trash, restrooms, floors	Restroom checks, lobby, spills
Priced by	Monthly fee from labor hours	Hours of coverage

A porter scope should state:

• Hours and days, and who covers breaks.
• A route with restroom checks at set times, logged on a sign-off sheet or a scan at each door.
• Lobby work: glass, floors, mats, elevator cabs, and restocking to par.
• Response: spills, broken glass, wet-floor signs, extra mats in rain or snow.
• Resets of conference and amenity rooms, if tenants expect them.
• Exterior policing: entry, bins, loading dock.
• Reporting: leaks, lights out and damage, sent to maintenance as work orders.
• Exclusions: furniture moves, errands and repairs, unless priced.

Day cleaning can save after-hours lighting and HVAC, but crews work slower around occupants, and noise matters.

How do you write green cleaning into the scope?

Write green cleaning as checkable requirements, using Green Seal’s GS-42 for the service and EPA’s Safer Choice for products.

GS-42, Green Seal’s standard for commercial and institutional cleaning services, covers the whole service. Among other things, it requires:

• a written cleaning plan for each building, with schedules reviewed at least twice a year;
• entry matting of 6 to 10 feet of scraper/wiper matting followed by 6 to 10 feet of wiper matting, vacuumed daily;
• only EPA-registered disinfectants, used per label directions for dilution and dwell time;
• dilution control for concentrates;
• vacuums that meet the Carpet and Rug Institute program and run below 70 dBA;
• at least 12 hours of initial training, 12 more within the first year, and 24 hours a year after that.

You can write these into your scope without requiring certification.

For products, EPA’s Safer Choice program reviews every ingredient and requires labeled products to perform comparably to conventional ones. EPA’s model contract language lists Safer Choice, Green Seal GS-37 and UL Ecologo standards for general cleaners, and Safer Choice, GS-40 or UL Ecologo 2777 for floor care.

Two cautions. A green general-purpose cleaner is not a disinfectant; disinfection needs an EPA-registered product used as labeled. And OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) requires employers with hazardous chemicals to keep labels and safety data sheets and train workers, so require an SDS binder on site.

How do you inspect, score and enforce the scope?

Inspect on a fixed schedule, score each area against the written standard, set response times by deficiency type, and tie repeated failure to a remedy. A scope without inspections is a wish list.

1. Joint walks on a cadence written into the contract, plus unannounced spot checks.
2. Sampling. Inspect a random sample of each room type, not just the lobby.
3. Scoring. Each item passes or fails; the area score is the share that passes. Weight areas by importance (APPA’s guidelines include a weighting method) and convert results to an APPA level.
4. Photos. Every failed item gets a photo, location and time.
5. Trends. A slow decline in scores often signals a staffing problem before tenants notice.

Set response tiers, with a specific time for each in the contract:

Tier	Examples	Expected response
Safety	Spills, broken glass, body fluids	Immediately on notice
Public area	Lobby floor, empty dispenser	Same day, by porter
Routine miss	Trash missed, dusting skipped	Next service night
Periodic work	Extraction not done	Rescheduled or credited

Body-fluid cleanup needs trained staff; GS-42 lists bloodborne pathogens among OSHA training topics that may apply.

Then write remedies: re-performance at no charge; credits for periodic work not done and porter hours not staffed; and a cure notice for patterns, then termination rights. Federal buyers call this package a quality assurance surveillance plan, and FAR 37.604 lets the government ask bidders to propose one. Asking for a draft shows how each bidder manages quality.

On Levaru janitorial accounts, QA inspections use a checklist built from the written scope, deficiencies become work orders with a correction deadline, and owners see the pass/fail results, photos and open items in the client portal.

How should the scope handle staffing, turnover and a change of contractor?

Require a staffing plan, not just a price, because labor hours are what you buy. Ask for:

• weekly labor hours by shift, crew size and supervisor hours;
• a named site supervisor, account manager and backup;
• training records, and site orientation before a new cleaner works alone;
• background checks and badge rules matching building and tenant security;
• key, card and code control, with a log and return on departure;
• turnover reporting at each review meeting, and any subcontracting disclosed.

Site knowledge leaves with each departing cleaner, so put suite instructions and storeroom locations in a site-specific section a new cleaner can follow on night one.

When you change contractors:

1. Give written notice under the incumbent’s agreement.
2. Inventory who owns equipment, dispensers, chemicals and stock.
3. Plan the workforce. In DC and Montgomery County the new contractor may have to retain incumbent workers (next section).
4. Collect keys, cards and codes; deactivate and reissue.
5. Walk the building jointly before day one, with photos and an APPA level per area. If it starts below target, price a one-time catch-up clean; routine service does not reverse years of buildup.
6. Swap SDS binders and remove the incumbent’s chemicals.
7. Tell tenants the start date and how to request service, then inspect more often in the first weeks.

What is different in DC, Maryland and Virginia?

Local and federal labor laws can shape a contractor change here. This is a summary as of October 2026; confirm details with counsel.

DC Displaced Workers Protection Act. Under D.C. Code § 32-102, when a janitorial or building maintenance contract at an office building, institution or similar establishment changes hands, the outgoing contractor must give prospective contractors its site employees’ names, hire dates and job classifications within 10 days after the award. The new contractor must retain, for a 90-day transition period, covered employees who worked at the site for the preceding 8 months or longer, may not discharge them without cause, and must give each a written evaluation at the end. Section 32-101 limits coverage to contractors with 25 or more employees and excludes people working under 15 hours a week.

Montgomery County Displaced Service Workers Protection Act. County Code Chapter 27, Article X covers janitorial, security and building maintenance contracts at, among other facilities, commercial or office buildings over 75,000 square feet, for contractors with more than 20 service employees. It puts duties on the owner as “awarding authority”: at least 15 days before a service contract ends, the owner must get the employee list to the successor, notify any union, and ensure a notice is posted for affected workers. The successor must offer each affected employee 90 days of employment, allow at least 10 days to accept, and not discharge without just cause.

Service Contract Act. The McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act requires contractors on federal prime service contracts over $2,500 to pay service employees at least the prevailing wages and fringe benefits in a Department of Labor wage determination, or a predecessor’s collective bargaining rates. Under a federal contract, that floor drives the price.

DC Living Wage Act. Recipients of DC government contracts or assistance of $100,000 or more must pay affiliated employees at least the living wage, which DOES adjusts yearly (D.C. Code § 2-220.03).

Virginia. Neither local law reaches Northern Virginia, so for private buildings there, write the transition terms you want (notice, employee lists, interview rights) into the contract.

How does the scope drive the price?

Price follows labor hours, and labor hours follow the scope. Every task, frequency, area and porter hour becomes time on a timesheet; supplies, supervision, insurance and margin sit on top.

Scope decision	Effect on price
Nights per week	Fewer nights cost less, not proportionally
Target APPA level	Higher level, more labor
Restroom fixture count	Restrooms are labor-heavy
Porter coverage	Priced by the hour
Consumables model	Adds or removes a supply line
Periodic work	Unit price times events
Access rules	Escorts and badging slow crews

For comparable bids, send one matrix, one target level per area and one consumables model. Require weekly labor and supervisor hours, unit prices for periodic work, and priced alternates such as five nights versus three nights plus a porter. The commercial janitorial cost per square foot guide covers published price ranges and how to normalize bids.

In multi-tenant buildings, split common areas from tenant premises. Many office leases attach a cleaning specification, and leases decide how costs pass through, so check lease exhibits and CAM charges before cutting suite frequencies.

Commercial cleaning scope of work checklist

Copy these tables into your RFP or contract exhibit. They pair with our facility management RFP template and the guide to writing a facility management RFP.

Scope document checklist

Section	Must state	Done
Premises	Cleanable sq ft, floors, fixtures	☐
Exclusions	Spaces and tasks not covered	☐
Schedule	Night window, porter hours, holidays	☐
Specification	Task matrix and APPA target by area	☐
Periodic work	Calendar, unit prices, proof	☐
Supplies	Who buys, par levels, products	☐
Green cleaning	Certified products, matting, SDS	☐
Staffing	Weekly hours, supervisor, training	☐
Access	Keys, cards, codes, restricted areas	☐
Reporting	Maintenance issues as work orders	☐
Quality	Inspection cadence, scoring, tiers	☐
Remedies	Re-performance, credits, cure	☐
Change control	Written changes with a price	☐
Transition	Employee lists, inventory, baseline walk	☐

Bid review checklist

Question	Red flag
Same matrix priced by all?	Bidder rewrote frequencies
Weekly labor hours stated?	Price only
Supervision priced?	No supervisor line
Periodic work unit-priced?	“Included as needed”
Consumables assigned?	Silent or vague
Quality method shown?	No sample report
Escalator stated?	Low year one, open increases

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a janitorial scope of work and janitorial specifications?

The scope of work is the whole contract exhibit: premises, schedule, supplies, staffing, quality and change control. The janitorial specifications are its technical core, meaning the task lists, frequencies and appearance standards for each area. Specifications can be frequency-based, performance-based or a hybrid. When a lease or contract mentions “cleaning specifications,” read it closely to see which parts it actually includes.

How often should commercial restrooms be cleaned?

At least daily. Green Seal’s GS-42 standard requires restroom fixtures and hand-touched surfaces to be cleaned and disinfected daily, more often under heavy traffic, with liners pulled at least once a day. Busy buildings add day porter checks on a timed route, so restrooms are restocked and spot-cleaned during business hours, not only at night.

Is carpet extraction included in a standard cleaning contract?

Do not assume it is. Extraction, strip-and-refinish, high glass and exterior windows are usually periodic projects with their own schedule and price. If a bid says “carpet care included,” ask how many extractions a year, in which areas, and how completion is proven. Because GS-42 favors extraction as needed, a budgeted allowance triggered by inspections is a practical option.

What does a day porter do in an office building?

A day porter keeps the building presentable while it is occupied: timed restroom checks and restocking, lobby glass and floor touch-ups, elevator cab spot cleaning, spill response, room resets, exterior and loading dock policing, and reporting maintenance problems. The night crew does the production cleaning. Write the porter’s hours, route and duties into the scope and price coverage by the hour.

Who should write the cleaning scope, the owner or the contractor?

The owner should own it. Contractors should comment during walkthroughs, because they spot under-scoped and over-scoped areas, but a scope written by each bidder makes bids impossible to compare and tends to favor the writer. Write one scope, let bidders propose priced alternates, and fold the accepted changes into the final contract exhibit.

How often should a cleaning scope be reviewed?

At least once a year, and whenever occupancy, tenants or floor plans change. GS-42 requires certified cleaning services to review cleaning schedules at least twice a year and building cleaning plans at least once a year, a reasonable benchmark for owners too. Use inspection trends and tenant requests to decide what to add, cut or move to the porter.