Every strata council has been here: three or four cleaning bids on the table, prices all over the map, and no obvious way to tell which one is actually the best value. The cheapest bid is tempting — until you find out six months later what it left out.
Comparing bids isn’t about finding the lowest number. It’s about finding the bid you can actually compare. Here’s how.
Compare Scope Line by Line
The number one reason bids look so different is that they’re not bidding on the same work. One company quotes the lobby, parkade, and garbage rooms. Another quotes the lobby and calls it a day. Of course the second one is cheaper.
Before you compare prices, normalize the scope. Every bid should break down, at minimum:
- Which areas — lobby, hallways, elevators, parkade, garbage/recycling rooms, amenity rooms, exterior entrances, stairwells
- What tasks in each area — not just “clean lobby” but floors, glass, dusting, garbage, detail work
- How often — daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly — per area, per task
- What’s excluded — window exteriors above ground floor? Carpet extraction? Pressure washing? If it’s not listed, assume it’s not included.
If a bid doesn’t break scope down this way, send it back and ask for it. A vendor who can’t itemize their scope can’t be held to it later — and you’ll have no basis for comparing them against anyone else.
For a deeper walkthrough of writing the RFP itself, see our guide: How to Write a Cleaning RFP That Gets Honest Bids.
Why the Cheapest Bid Usually Misses Scope
In strata cleaning, the low bid is almost never the complete bid. The math is straightforward: labour is the main cost, and the main way to cut labour is to cut hours or cut tasks. A bid that comes in 30 percent below the others didn’t find a secret efficiency — it scoped less work.
Common things the cheapest bid quietly leaves out:
- Parkade cleaning beyond a quick sweep
- Garbage room detailing (bins, walls, floors, odour)
- Elevator tracks and interior detailing
- Glass beyond the front doors
- Periodic work — carpet cleaning, floor refinishing, pressure washing
None of these show up as problems in month one. They show up in month six, when the parkade looks grey, the garbage room smells, and residents start emailing council. Then you’re either paying extras or switching vendors — both more expensive than hiring the right scope in the first place.
Questions to Ask Every Bidder
Ask all of them the same questions. The differences in their answers will tell you more than the prices will.
- Did you walk the building before bidding? Every bidder should have toured your property. Bids written from a floor plan and a phone call are guesses.
- Who is our point of contact? You want one person who knows your building — not a dispatch line. Ask for a name.
- What does your quality control look like? Written checklists? Regular inspections? What happens when something gets missed?
- How do you handle extras? Pressure washing, carpet extraction, move-in/move-out cleans — are these quoted separately, and at what rates?
- What are your hours? Will the crew work around residents — early mornings, avoiding quiet hours — or whenever it’s convenient for them?
- Can we see a sample checklist? A vendor with a real quality process can show you the actual checklist their crews follow. A vendor without one will change the subject.
Watch the Fine Print
Two contract details deserve your attention before anyone signs:
Price increases. How and when can the vendor raise the price? An annual increase tied to something specific is normal. A vague “rates subject to change” is not.
Termination terms. You want a reasonable exit — typically 30 days’ notice. If a vendor demands a long lock-in with no performance clause, ask yourself why they need it.
And one practical note: keep the winning bid’s scope as an attachment to the contract. When the new council takes over next year and asks “what are we paying for?”, that document is the answer.
Start With Bids You Can Actually Compare
The councils that get the best cleaning outcomes aren’t the ones that pick the cheapest bid or the most expensive one. They’re the ones that make every bidder quote the same scope — and then pick the vendor they’d actually want to call when something goes wrong.
If you’re putting together an RFP, our RFP guide walks through the whole process. And if you’d like a vendor to walk your building before you finalize the scope, book a free facility walkthrough or call (778) 794-1111. We’ll tour the property and give you a clear, itemized quote you can put straight into your comparison.
