Guide for cleaning contractors

How to win cleaning bids from Florida cities and counties

Updated October 2026

Across four City of Tampa cleaning and grounds contracts awarded in 2026, the bid documents were downloaded 188 times and 44 bids came in. Many look, few finish a bid, and that is your opening.

1. Find the bids in your counties

   Florida cities, counties and school districts each post bids on their own website or on a platform like OpenGov. State agencies post on the state's Vendor Bid System, and federal offices on SAM.gov.

   Our list of Florida bid sites by county links each one to its bid page. Checking them by hand is slow, which is why we send one email instead.

2. Register as a vendor before you need to

   Most agencies want a vendor account before you can download documents, get addenda or send a bid. Register on each site you plan to bid on, plus SAM.gov if you want federal work.

   Keep your W-9, local business tax receipt and certificate of insurance in one folder. Each new registration then takes minutes, not an afternoon.

3. Read the whole bid, then every addendum

   Note the buildings, square footage, how often each task happens and the hours the work must be done. Those decide your labor, and labor is most of a cleaning price.

   Addenda change quantities and dates after the bid is posted. Most agencies ask you to acknowledge each one on the bid form, and a missed one can sink a good price.

4. Go to the pre-bid meeting

   A mandatory pre-bid meeting or site visit is a hard gate: miss it, and most agencies reject your bid. Our email marks every mandatory pre-bid the posting lists, and says so when the posting doesn't make clear whether it's mandatory.

   Even when it's optional, walking the buildings is the surest way to price the job right. You often see who else plans to bid, too.

5. Gather the forms Florida agencies ask for

   • E-Verify: contractors on public contracts must register with it and use it for new hires (section 448.095, Florida Statutes).
   • Drug-free workplace: when bids tie, a business that certifies a drug-free workplace program gets the preference (section 287.087).
   • Public entity crimes: a firm on the state's convicted vendor list can't bid on most public contracts for 36 months (section 287.133). Bid packages usually include a notice or form about it.
   • School work: crews on school grounds while students are there need fingerprint background checks (section 1012.467).
   • Insurance: usually general liability and workers' comp, with the agency named as additional insured.

6. Price from past bid results

   Bid tabulations and award memos are public records, so you can see what the last contract went for. Sealed bids become public once the agency gives notice of its intended decision, or 30 days after opening, whichever comes first (section 119.071(1)(b)2).

   Ask the purchasing office for the last bid tab on the same contract. Then price the labor hours per visit, supplies and supervision, and check your total against it.

7. Send it early, complete and signed

   Late bids are usually rejected unopened, and a missing signature or form can throw out the lowest price. Upload a day early and keep the confirmation.

   Lost one? Ask for the bid tab: it shows where your price landed, so your next bid is sharper.

Get the bids, then get help with the paperwork

BidSignal sends the janitorial bids for your counties in one email around 6 AM, with the due date and pre-bid on each. Start with the bids open now, free.

See the janitorial bids open now