Hi, I was wondering if anyone could help me figure something out. I have a cleaning business. We are fairly new and do both residential and commercial cleanings. We just found out that an office has accepted our bid and I was wondering what paperwork I would need to give them. I know I have to give them the written contract/agreement that they can accept and that we both need to sign. But do I need to give them any W forms or anything like that. We are also giving them the proof of insurance and workman's comp papers. But what else is need, all help in the cleaning business would be appreciated.

If anyone could point this out to Stringer as he has helped me before, it would be a great.

Hi Talan,

If you give them two copies of the agreement and have them sign one/return to you and have given them a certificate of insurance then in most cases this is sufficient. Any thing else that they may require from you should be easy to give them such as, copies of your training training program/s, hazardous prep/containment, etc.

Congratulations my friend!

Stringer

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Stringer

Hi Talan,

If you give them two copies of the agreement and have them sign one/return to you and have given them a certificate of insurance then in most cases this is sufficient. Any thing else that they may require from you should be easy to give them such as, copies of your training training program/s, hazardous prep/containment, etc.

Congratulations my friend!

Stringer

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Thank You stringer, and thank you for all the help in the past.

I also wanted to ask you about how I priced it. They want basically the floors cleaned and a few things wiped down(No wax/buff). Carpet vacuumed/trash replaced weekly. We think it will take about 5 hours. Its once a week and its 6000 sq. ft. I priced it at about 150 dollars/wk. About 600 a month. I know that many people might say that this is low, at like 9-10 cents a sq. ft. But what do you think.

Also we priced a 5000 sq ft. office that had a lot more work that needed to be done(about 12 hours per week).. with the regular types of cleanings. We priced that one at 180 per week and as of right now we don't think we got it. What do you think about that price.. at approximately .145 cents/sq ft.

Once again I thank you for taking the time to read this and help us out.

Hey Talan,

Your area is always unique in pricing, competition dictates some of this along with a lot of other factors.

In Chicago we get $0.15 to $0.22 sq ft for non medical for 5 day/week service.

You have to learn your lessons and do your due diligence from experience when you bid... lose or win for the next time.

Pricing is important obviously however selling the value of who your company is and what you do better is the icing in closing most contract. They have to trust and believe in you to perform and that rapport is invaluable in getting jobs instead of throwing out a price and hoping.

You will do fine bud.

Stringer

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Stringer

Hey Talan,

Your area is always unique in pricing, competition dictates some of this along with a lot of other factors.

In Chicago we get $0.15 to $0.22 sq ft for non medical for 5 day/week service.

You have to learn your lessons and do your due diligence from experience when you bid...lose or win for the next time.

Pricing is important obviously however selling the value of who your company is and what you do better is the icing in closing most contract. They have to trust and believe in you to perform and that rapport is invaluable in getting jobs instead of throwing out a price and hoping.

You will do fine bud.

Stringer

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Thank You for all the help and encouragement so far Stringer. Would not have been able to do it without you.

I have the meeting this week and since it is our first contract, I was wondering:

1. How long should the contract run to/from
2. When should the first start date be
3. When should payment be.. Net 30? And when do I send them the payment and how long do they have to pay it..

I know these may be easy questions but I was second guessing myself over the weekend.. thanks in advance

Glad to help where I can Talan.

The meeting should not run past 20 minutes at best. Be precise and answer any questions they have. At the end ask them is there anything that I forgot to ask that may be important?

I generally try to get a two weeks start date after the contract is signed. This allows planning, additional training, getting equipment ready, etc.

Net 30 is the industry standard.

Go getum!

Stringer

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Stringer

Glad to help where I can Talan.

The meeting should not run past 20 minutes at best. Be precise and answer any questions they have. At the end ask them is there anything that I forgot to ask that may be important?

I generally try to get a two weeks start date after the contract is signed. This allows planning, additional training, getting equipment ready, etc.

Net 30 is the industry standard.

Go getum!

Stringer

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Thank you and can't wait to get this going. How long should the contract be signed for, for 1 year? 6 months? etc.. when can they opt out

I generally try to get an open end contract which has a termination clause. Something like "Although it is the intention for this agreement to stay in affect in the best interest of both parties, either party, after an official (certified letter) notice, may cancel this contract after a 30 day notice and all monies are due at this point."

Hope this helps,

Stringer