Commercial cleaning bid template — San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA
San Francisco’s office-vacancy rate topped 30% in several downtown corridors by 2025, and that vacancy creates a bidding trap: fewer accounts competing for the same supply of licensed BSCs has not compressed prices as much as outsiders expect, because SEIU-USWW scale, San Francisco’s $18.67 minimum wage, and mandatory health spending requirements keep the labor floor high regardless of occupancy. A BSC pricing SF Class A on bare-wage assumptions without accounting for the health-care spending ordinance will underbid every USWW shop in the market.
Bay Area Labor Cost Inputs
BLS OEWS May 2024 (SOC 37-2011) puts the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley MSA in the $20–$24/hr band, one of the highest in the US. San Francisco’s minimum wage is $18.67/hr as of July 2025 per the SF Office of Labor Standards Enforcement. California state minimum is $16.50/hr; Oakland’s city minimum tracks above $15/hr.
Burden math on a $21/hr SF base: FICA 7.65% = $1.61; FUTA/SUTA ~2% = $0.42; California workers’ comp for janitorial approximately $3.20 per $100 payroll per the California Department of Industrial Relations; HCSO health spending ~$4.00/hr; vacation ~5%. Burden: 30–35%, loaded rate near $27–$30/hr. See the wages breakdown for the San Francisco MSA.
Sample Scope of Work: Class B Office Building
Hypothetical 50,000 sq ft Class B building in SoMa, Mission Bay, or Oakland’s Uptown district.
| Task | Frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Restroom service + restock | 5x/week | Homeless encampment proximity in some SoMa corridors adds biohazard protocol |
| Lobby and elevator service | 5x/week + midday pass | Needle/biohazard sweep for street-adjacent entries in SoMa |
| Common-area vacuuming | 5x/week | HEPA required in life-sciences buildings; seismic strapping on all carts |
| Hard-floor auto-scrub | 2x/week | Polished concrete, terrazzo, and stone tile prevalent in Mission Bay |
| Breakroom and kitchenette | 5x/week | Refrigerator monthly; tech tenants expect green product specs |
| Conference room reset | 5x/week | Whiteboard, AV equipment, glass table |
| Day-porter coverage (5 hr) | 5x/week | Street-level entry management in SoMa and Tenderloin-adjacent buildings |
| High-dusting: vents and ledges | Monthly | IAQ standards strict in LEED Platinum and WELL-certified buildings |
| Carpet extraction (full) | 2x/year | Separate bid line item; spring and fall cycles |
San Francisco Going Rates: Class B Office and Day Porter
Downtown and SoMa Class B commands $0.18–$0.28/sq ft/month for 5x/week. Mission Bay life-sciences: $0.20–$0.30 (biohazard protocol adds cost). Oakland Uptown: $0.12–$0.18. Berkeley and Emeryville biotech: $0.14–$0.20. Day-porter bill rate: $28/hr x 2.4 = approximately $67/hr; 5-hr/day porter near $1,675/month. Run the numbers with the per-clean vs. hourly calculator. Life-sciences adds +35–55%; medical +25–40%; post-construction +40–60%.
California Licensing and San Francisco Requirements
California requires no statewide janitorial license, but SF contractors must register with the SF Office of Labor Standards Enforcement and comply with the Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO) and Paid Sick Leave Ordinance. A California business license and SF business registration are required. GL minimum is $1M/$2M; life-sciences and LEED require $2M/$5M. California workers’ comp: approximately $3.20 per $100 payroll.
SEIU-USWW Presence and Prevailing Wage
SEIU United Service Workers West (USWW) covers most Class A commercial office in downtown SF and major tech campuses. USWW scale runs above the BLS MSA mean with health and pension contributions. California’s prevailing wage covers publicly funded janitorial contracts; rates at CA DIR prevailing wage portal. Federal facilities fall under the SCA; pull the California wage determination from SAM.gov. Full SCA guidance: dol.gov/agencies/whd/government-contracts/sca.
What SF Buyers Expect in a Bid
- Monthly base service: hours x loaded rate; USWW scale vs. non-union shown as separate scenarios.
- HCSO compliance line: health-care spending per employee per hour; SF buyers audit HCSO compliance at renewal.
- Green product spec: California Green Building Standards (CALGreen) product list for LEED-certified buildings.
- Equipment depreciation: 36–48 months; HEPA vacuums, seismic-strapped carts, and biohazard kits for SoMa accounts.
- Insurance and overhead: GL, workers’ comp, bond, and 14–20% indirect costs.
- Profit margin: 8–14%. Lab and biohazard scope quoted separately.
Bid Walk Checklist: San Francisco MSA
- Check street-entry conditions; SoMa and Tenderloin-adjacent buildings may require biohazard sweeps before lobby cleaning begins each morning.
- Verify seismic strapping requirements; hospital and life-sciences buildings require all rolling equipment strapped during seismic events.
- Ask about LEED or WELL certification tier; product specs and documentation requirements differ significantly by certification level.
- Confirm HCSO spending obligation per employee; failure to comply triggers back-pay liability that SF OLSE audits aggressively.
- Check whether the prior BSC was a USWW shop before pricing any downtown Class A building.
The HCSO Compliance Trap
San Francisco’s Health Care Security Ordinance requires employers with 20 or more employees to spend a set dollar amount per hour worked on employee health care. For a mid-size BSC the obligation runs roughly $3.50–$4.50/hr per covered worker. New entrants who model bare FICA + workers’ comp and skip HCSO will underbid every compliant competitor by a margin they cannot recover. The SF OLSE audits BSCs at renewal; non-compliance results in back-pay assessments.
Primary Sources
- BLS OEWS SOC 37-2011 (Janitors and Cleaners)
- SF OLSE, Minimum Wage Ordinance
- California Department of Industrial Relations, Workers’ Compensation
- SF Office of Labor Standards Enforcement
- US DOL, Service Contract Act
- SAM.gov, SCA Wage Determinations
Build HCSO-compliant bid models with the Opora bid generator. For Mission Bay life-sciences accounts, see the healthcare cleaning hub. Stress-test union vs. non-union scenarios with the bid stress-test tool. Audit account economics with the account profitability auditor.
By the Opora Editorial Team · Last updated: 2026