When to run a tender
A competitive tender process is worth running when:
- The contract value is significant enough to justify the time investment — typically above £15,000 to £20,000 per year, though this varies by organisation
- Your organisation has a procurement policy that requires competitive tendering above a certain value
- You are a public-sector or publicly funded body with formal procurement obligations
- You have had persistent problems with a current contractor and want to test the market properly before switching
- You are taking on new premises and want to establish the right contract from the outset
For smaller contracts — a single office or a modest commercial space — a tender process may be disproportionate. Getting two or three detailed quotes from contractors who have visited the premises is sufficient. The principles in this guide apply to both approaches: what differs is the formality and documentation involved.
What to include in a cleaning tender document
A cleaning tender document should give prospective contractors enough information to produce a realistic and comparable response. A useful tender document includes:
- Background information. A description of your organisation, the premises being cleaned (location, size, number of floors, number of occupants), and the current cleaning arrangement if there is one.
- Scope of work. A detailed description of the areas to be cleaned, the tasks required in each area, and the expected frequency. This is the most important section of any tender document. The more specific it is, the more comparable the responses will be.
- Service requirements. When cleaning can take place, access arrangements, any security or compliance requirements, and whether the contractor will be required to provide consumables.
- Documentation requirements. Any RAMS, COSHH information or other documentation required before work starts.
- Contract term. The intended length of the contract, notice period, and any renewal terms.
- Evaluation criteria. How responses will be scored and the weighting given to each criterion. Publishing evaluation criteria is good practice and allows contractors to understand what you are looking for.
- Submission requirements. What you want contractors to submit, in what format and by what deadline.
Site visits are an important part of the tender process. Prospective contractors should visit the premises before submitting — either via an organised tender day or by arranging individual visits. A contractor who submits without visiting the premises is quoting blind, and their price will not reflect reality.
Key questions to ask prospective contractors
Alongside the pricing information, your tender should ask contractors to respond to a set of standard questions. These allow you to assess capability and approach, not just price:
- How will you staff this contract? How many cleaning operatives, what hours, and how is holiday and sickness cover arranged?
- What training do your cleaning operatives receive? Induction, COSHH awareness, specific task training.
- How do you quality-assure the work? What oversight is in place, how often are supervisory visits conducted, and how are issues recorded and tracked?
- How do you manage sub-contractors? Do you use sub-contracted labour for any part of the contract, and if so, how is that managed?
- What is your approach to mobilisation? How will you brief the team before the first visit, and what is your process for the opening weeks of the contract?
- Can you provide references from comparable contracts? Not testimonials — actual referees you can contact.
How to evaluate tender responses fairly
Evaluation is most reliable when it is structured and documented. A scoring matrix — where each criterion is scored numerically against a defined standard and weighted by importance — reduces the influence of personal preference and makes the decision easier to justify internally.
A typical weighting for a commercial cleaning tender might look like this:
- Price — 40 to 60 per cent, depending on budget constraints
- Service delivery methodology — 20 to 30 per cent (staffing, cover, quality assurance)
- Experience and references — 10 to 20 per cent
- Compliance and documentation — 10 per cent (insurance, RAMS capability, training records)
These weightings are illustrative. Adjust them to reflect what matters most for your premises — in a healthcare setting, for example, you might weight compliance and methodology more heavily than price.
After scoring written responses, shortlist two or three contractors for a follow-up meeting, particularly for larger contracts. This gives you the opportunity to ask clarifying questions, meet the people who will manage the contract, and assess whether the relationship is likely to work in practice.
What to look for beyond the price
Price is an important criterion but not the only one. A cleaning contract that performs poorly costs more in the long run — through management time, staff dissatisfaction, and the disruptive process of switching again in twelve months.
When comparing responses, pay attention to:
- Specificity of the method statement. Does the contractor's response actually address your premises and your requirements, or is it a generic document with your name inserted? Specific, considered responses indicate a contractor who has understood the tender and thought carefully about how to deliver it.
- Assumptions made about scope. If a response is based on assumptions about visit duration or task lists that differ from what you specified, the price comparison is not like-for-like. Ask contractors to flag any assumptions they have made.
- Clarity on escalation and account management. Who will manage the contract on the contractor's side, and how available are they? Contracts where the sales team is accessible but the account manager is not are a common source of frustration.
- Realism of the price. A significantly lower price than other responses is worth examining carefully. It may reflect a different interpretation of scope, lower staffing costs or an intention to revise the price after mobilisation.
Taking up references before making a final decision is strongly recommended. A brief conversation with a current client about reliability, communication and how the contractor handles problems will tell you more than any written submission.