ALTURA Two quotes for "commercial cleaning" can differ by 40% and both be fair — because scope, not price, is where quotes actually differ. Here's what belongs in each layer, so you can compare apples to apples.
The Core Recurring Scope
Nearly every janitorial contract includes: trash and recycling collection, restroom cleaning and restocking, kitchen and break room service, vacuuming of carpeted areas, sweeping and damp-mopping hard floors, touchpoint disinfection (handles, switches, rails), and entrance glass. This is the layer that happens every visit and drives most of the monthly cost.
The Weekly-to-Monthly Layer
Detail work that doesn't need doing every night: full dusting including ledges and blinds, interior glass beyond entrances, spot-cleaning walls and doors, buffing hard floors, and detail vacuuming of edges and under furniture. Good scopes state the rotation explicitly — "dusting weekly" — instead of leaving it to interpretation.
Periodic and Add-On Services
Quoted separately or scheduled quarterly: carpet extraction, strip-and-wax on VCT, high dusting of vents and fixtures, upholstery cleaning, full window cleaning, and exterior pressure washing. Day porter service — someone on site during business hours — is its own line for buildings with heavy daytime traffic.
How to Compare Quotes
Ask every bidder the same three questions: what happens every visit, what's on a rotation and how often, and what costs extra. A cheap quote that excludes restroom consumables and quarterly floor care isn't cheap — it's incomplete. Our commercial cleaning scopes are itemized in writing after a free walkthrough, so nothing is left to assumption.