A Time‑Based, Partner‑Focused Guide
For Facility Managers
If you manage a Florida office, you need pricing you can explain to your CFO and trust month after month. You simply need to know: “How To Price Office Cleaning?”. You also need a partner who builds the estimate around your actual site, not a generic square footage chart. This guide shows you how Crystal Purity prices office cleaning by time, tailored to your layout, standards, and schedule. You will see what truly drives cleaning hours, how to compare proposals fairly, and what a realistic monthly program looks like for a 6,000 sq ft office with nightly service and periodic floor care. We will also cover Florida specific factors like humidity, hurricane season contingencies, and after hours access.
“Crystal Purity listened to our exact standards and priced the job by time. The quote matched the work,” Facilities Director, Tampa
“Their time study helped us compare bids apples to apples. We finally felt confident,” Operations Manager, Miami
The core question: what are you really buying?
You are buying a defined number of professional labor hours to deliver your scope to your standard, at the right frequency. Every cost rolls up from that. Supplies, equipment, supervision, insurance, and fair wages all support those hours. When pricing is clear on time, you get predictable results and honest comparisons.
That is why we price by time. We perform an on site time study, translate scope into nightly and periodic task minutes, then present an hourly rate that rolls into a flat monthly program. Square footage is useful context, not the driver.
The true time drivers in Florida offices
Here are the variables that most affect how long your office takes to clean each visit:
- Layout and square footage: Wide open plans clean faster per sq ft than dense suites with many offices and conference rooms.
- Traffic and occupancy: More people and visitors mean more trash, more touchpoints, and more restroom load.
- Frequency: Nightly service spreads work across the week and reduces each visit time; two days per week concentrates soil and extends each visit.
- Scope and detail level: Standard tasks versus enhanced disinfection, inside glass, chair bases, and high dusting cadence.
- Floor types and finish: LVT and tile require different care; VCT may need periodic scrub and recoat; carpeted areas change vacuuming time.
- Compliance and security: Medical, financial, or lab areas require added protocols and sign in time.
- After hours access: Elevator waits, dock rules, and alarm walkthroughs add minutes.
- Seasonality: Florida humidity affects dry times and floor care cycles; hurricane season can create surge cleanups or access planning.
Hourly rates, flat monthly programs, and why per sq ft is only a reference
You will encounter three common structures:
- Time based hourly rate: We estimate required hours and apply a labor rate that includes wages, taxes, insurance, supplies, and overhead. Transparent and accurate.
- Flat monthly program: The time based estimate is rolled into one monthly number that covers agreed frequency and periodic tasks. Easy for budgeting.
- Per sq ft benchmarks: Use these only as directional checks. They do not reflect your layout, floor types, or security protocols, so they can mislead if used alone.
Average costs vary by market conditions and scope. In Florida, nightly general office cleaning commonly ranges from 0.10 to 0.20 per sq ft per month for standard maintenance in typical offices, which roughly aligns with 25 to 45 per labor hour built into a program depending on site complexity and scope. Densely partitioned suites, heavy restroom loads, or enhanced disinfection will sit above those numbers.
Simple worksheet example, 6,000 sq ft office, nightly service
Assume a mixed floor layout: lobby and corridors on LVT, open office with carpet, four conference rooms, two break areas, and two restrooms.
Nightly tasks, estimated minutes:
- Arrival, security, supply staging: 10
- Trash and recycling pull, replace liners: 30
- Dusting, spot wipe horizontal surfaces and touchpoints: 25
- Vacuum carpeted areas: 30
- Damp mop hard floors: 25
- Restroom clean and restock, two rooms: 30
- Kitchenettes, sinks, counters, appliance fronts: 20
- Final check, alarm, lockup: 10
Nightly time total: about 3 hours, 40 minutes.
Weekly and periodic tasks:
- Weekly high dusting and interior glass touch up: 30 minutes once per week
- Monthly machine scrub of LVT lobby, 1.5 hours
- Quarterly carpet extraction in traffic lanes, 4 hours
- Semi annual VCT scrub and recoat, if applicable, 6 hours
Roll up to a monthly program:
- Nightly service, 5 nights per week: about 18.3 labor hours per week, 79.3 hours per month
- Add periodic averages: roughly 6 to 8 hours per month across the year
- Total monthly labor hours: about 85 to 88
Apply a fully loaded hourly rate based on your scope and compliance needs. For illustration, at 32 per hour fully loaded, monthly would land near 2,720 to 2,816. At 38 per hour for higher complexity or extended compliance, 3,230 to 3,344.
These numbers are examples, not a quote. Your building may require more or less time based on traffic, floor finish, and detail standards.
Quick answers to the most asked pricing questions
Q: What is the average cost to clean a commercial building?
A: In Florida office environments, many programs fall around 0.10 to 0.20 per sq ft per month for standard maintenance, but complex sites or enhanced scopes can exceed that. Time based estimates are more reliable.
Q: How to price office cleaning jobs and how do you calculate office cleaning cost?
A: Start with a site walk, define scope and frequency, time each task category, sum nightly and periodic hours, then apply a fully loaded hourly rate. Present the rolled up flat monthly.
Q: How much do cleaning companies charge to clean an office?
A: Rates vary by region and scope. In Florida, fully loaded hourly rates often range from the high 20s to low 40s. The total depends on the hours your site needs.
Q: How much is commercial cleaning per sq ft?
A: Use per sq ft only as a reference. Expect 0.10 to 0.20 per sq ft per month for typical office maintenance in Florida, with adjustments for density, restrooms, and compliance.
Q: How do I quote a commercial cleaning and how much to clean a 3,000 sq ft office?
A: Apply the same time based method. Many 3,000 sq ft offices with nightly service land around 1.7 to 2.5 labor hours per visit depending on density and restrooms. Multiply by visits per month and your hourly rate to get the flat monthly.
Florida specific factors you should bake into your RFP
- Humidity management: Longer dry times on hard floors and more frequent entry mat maintenance keep floors safe and glossy.
- Hurricane season contingencies: Define expectations for storm prep, post storm debris entryways, and rapid response windows.
- Pest prevention and waste: Warm weather and high occupancy increase vigilance around food areas and nightly trash pulls.
- After hours building rules: Elevator schedules and security checks affect run time; document them in the scope.
Your apples to apples RFP checklist
Give every bidder the same data so you receive comparable proposals:
- Total usable square footage, floor types by area, and finish details
- Occupancy, daily headcount, and peak traffic zones
- Number of restrooms and fixtures, supply expectations, and consumables responsibility
- Frequency by task category, including enhanced disinfection if required
- Security and access steps, loading dock rules, alarm and lock procedures
- Periodic floor care expectations and desired cadence
- Compliance needs, certifications, background checks, and insurance requirements
- Holiday schedule, storm response expectations, and communication SLAs
- Clear quality standards and escalation path
When these are defined, time estimates tighten, service becomes consistent, and pricing aligns with your goals.
Why Crystal Purity’s partner model protects your time
We build programs around your operations so your team can focus on growth. You get flexible scheduling, scalable support for multi site portfolios, and a one hour reply guarantee on every inquiry. Missed response, the next cleaning is free. Start with a tailored time study, then choose the monthly program that matches your standards and seasonality.
If you are near Lake County and want a local view, explore our Tavares scalable cleaning solutions or our Mount Dora office cleaning services for regional expertise that still scales to multi site needs.
Let’s design your plan, built on time and trust
Enjoy 20% off your first month with a one year program. Request your tailored quote today, and we will reply within an hour. We will map your space, measure the time your exact scope requires, and present a clear, flat monthly program that keeps your workplace reliable and shining.
