Janitorial RFP Template for Multi-Location Businesses
Why a multi-location RFP needs its own template
A single-site cleaning RFP is mostly a scope-and-price document. A multi-location RFP has to also answer questions a single-site request never touches: how pricing is structured across dozens of different-sized locations, how the vendor phases onboarding across markets, and how billing consolidates into one invoice instead of one per site. Skip those sections and you'll get back proposals that are impossible to compare apples-to-apples.
The template below is built to send as-is. Copy it, fill in your location detail, and send it to every vendor you're evaluating so every response comes back in the same format.
The template
Copy the block below into your own document. Section 3 assumes you'll attach a separate location spreadsheet rather than listing every address inline — that keeps the RFP itself readable while still giving vendors the granular detail they need to price accurately.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: MULTI-LOCATION JANITORIAL SERVICES
1. COMPANY OVERVIEW
Company name:
Number of locations:
States/metros with locations:
Total approximate square footage:
Current vendor structure (single vendor / per-location / mixed):
2. SCOPE OF SERVICE REQUESTED
Service frequency required (nightly / 5x week / 3x week / other):
Areas to be serviced (list all that apply):
- Restrooms
- Common areas / lobbies
- Office space
- Break rooms / kitchens
- Warehouse or back-of-house
- Exterior entrances
Special requirements (medical-grade, after-hours access, badged crews):
3. LOCATION DETAIL (attach as spreadsheet)
For each location: address, square footage, current frequency,
current monthly cost, current vendor, contract end date.
4. PRICING FORMAT REQUESTED
Provide pricing as:
a. Per-location monthly rate
b. Blended national/regional rate
c. Per-square-foot rate with labor-hour assumption shown
Escalation methodology for years 2 and 3 of the contract:
5. VENDOR QUALIFICATION
General liability insurance minimum ($1M / $2M per occurrence):
Workers' compensation coverage confirmation:
Number of years operating multi-location commercial contracts:
References from 3 current multi-location accounts (name, contact,
number of locations serviced):
Background-check policy for personnel (if applicable to your sites):
6. SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT
Inspection frequency proposed (monthly / quarterly):
Inspection scoring method (checklist, photo documentation, other):
Remedy for missed service (credit, re-clean, crew replacement):
Response time for reported issues:
7. TRANSITION PLAN
Proposed onboarding timeline from signed contract to full coverage:
Approach to phasing locations (by region / by contract end date):
Key handoff and equipment transition process:
8. INVOICING
Billing structure requested (single consolidated invoice):
Preferred invoice format (PDF, EDI, portal):
Payment terms requested (net 15 / net 30):
9. CONTRACT TERMS
Initial term length requested (1 / 2 / 3 years):
Termination-for-convenience notice period requested:
Transition-assistance clause required (yes/no):
10. RESPONSE DEADLINE AND CONTACT
Proposal due date:
Primary contact name, email, phone:
Anticipated award date:How to score the responses you get back
Before scoring pricing, ground your expectations in real labor cost — the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median hourly wage for janitors and cleaners at roughly $16–17 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics), which varies by metro. A quote well below what that labor cost would support in your markets is a signal to ask harder questions about staffing before scoring it as the winning bid.
Score every proposal against the same five categories: pricing transparency (did they show the per-visit labor assumption behind the rate?), qualification depth (references from accounts your size, not their biggest single-site client), SLA specificity (checklist-based scoring, not vague language), transition realism (a phased timeline, not a same-day cutover promise), and responsiveness during the RFP process itself, which usually predicts responsiveness after the contract is signed.
Banks and credit unions evaluating vendors for branch networks should weight the qualification and background-check sections heavily given the security requirements involved — see our branch cleaning page for the specific vetting language that matters for financial institutions.
What a strong response looks like versus a weak one
A weak response answers every section with one paragraph of marketing language and a single blended rate with no supporting math. A strong response fills in the pricing section with the actual per-visit labor-hour assumption, names real multi-location references you can call, and proposes a phased transition timeline tied to your specific contract end dates rather than a generic "30–60 days" answer.
If your footprint includes a metro like Houston, a strong proposal should also speak to how the vendor sources crews in that specific market rather than treating it as interchangeable with every other metro on your list.
Common mistakes that produce unusable responses
The most common mistake is sending an RFP without the location spreadsheet attached, which forces every vendor to guess at square footage and frequency rather than price against real numbers — responses come back inconsistent because each vendor filled the gap with a different assumption. Attach the spreadsheet every time, even for a first-round exploratory RFP.
The second common mistake is an unrealistic response deadline. Vendors quoting a genuine multi-location contract need time to check labor availability in every market on your list; a one-week deadline filters for whoever responds fastest, not whoever can actually deliver. Give at least two to three weeks for a portfolio of any real size.
How many vendors to invite
Invite enough vendors to get real price and quality competition without creating so many responses that scoring them consistently becomes its own burden — four to six respondents is typically the useful range for a multi-location RFP. Include at least one regional specialist, one national or consolidator option, and one incumbent (if you have a reasonable relationship with your current vendor) so the comparison spans structures, not just price.
Sending the RFP to a dozen vendors rarely produces better results than sending it to five well-chosen ones — it mostly produces more scoring work and more inconsistent responses to reconcile.
Skipping the RFP process entirely
Running a full RFP process takes weeks — assembling the location list, sending it out, scoring responses, checking references. If you'd rather skip straight to a proposal built around your actual footprint, request a quote and you'll get pricing and a transition plan back without running the process yourself.