A commercial office cleaning program divides work across three time horizons: nightly, weekly, and periodic. Nightly tasks establish the baseline every workday morning requires: trash removal, liner replacement, restroom sanitization and restocking, wipe-down of desks and common surfaces, floor vacuuming and mopping. Weekly tasks address what daily service maintains but doesn’t fully reset: conference room glass, breakroom appliance interiors, threshold and baseboard detail work. Periodic work (typically quarterly or semi-annual) covers high dusting, ceiling vents, carpet extraction, and hard-floor refinishing.

What separates a well-run program from a list of tasks is documentation. Each completed shift should be logged, and supervisory walkthroughs should verify against the written scope on a monthly basis. Facility managers who inherit a new janitorial contract without a checklist often discover that tasks assumed to be included were never in scope. Asking for a written scope tied to the ISSA 540 standard before signing gives you a measurement baseline and a reference point if quality drifts.

Nightly scope: what every shift covers

The nightly program is the backbone of office cleanliness. These tasks run five nights per week (or three, in lower-density facilities) and keep the building functional for the next business day.

Trash and waste

  • Remove trash from all waste receptacles, replace liners
  • Remove recycling from designated bins
  • Consolidate and stage waste for building disposal

Restrooms

  • Clean and disinfect toilets, urinals, sinks, countertops, and mirrors
  • Restock paper towels, toilet tissue, soap, and seat covers
  • Sweep and mop floors with a disinfectant solution
  • Wipe down door handles, flush levers, and light switches

Common areas and offices

  • Vacuum carpeted areas, including under chairs where accessible
  • Mop hard-surface floors (VCT, LVT, tile, concrete)
  • Wipe down reception desks, conference tables, and shared surfaces
  • Clean kitchen/breakroom countertops and sinks; wipe down exterior of appliances
  • Clean and wipe elevator cab walls, floors, and button panels
  • Empty and wipe down lobby trash receptacles

Glass and doors

  • Clean interior entrance glass and lobby-facing glass panels
  • Wipe down door handles throughout building

This scope takes 1–1.5 hours per 5,000 sq ft for a typical open-plan office. Buildings with higher restroom counts or food service add time.

Weekly add-ons: what rotates rather than runs nightly

These tasks appear in most mid-tier programs but on a weekly rather than nightly cycle. Some vendors include them in the nightly rate; others separate them. Know which category you’re buying.

  • Wipe down interior glass in conference rooms and offices
  • Clean breakroom appliance interiors (microwave, refrigerator door seals)
  • Detail baseboards and door thresholds
  • Clean light switch plates and outlet covers
  • Dust windowsills, blinds, and horizontal surfaces above desk height
  • Wipe down chairs (arms, backs, and bases)

What counts as add-on work

These items are standard in periodic or project-based scopes. They don’t belong in the nightly rate, and any vendor bundling them into a low monthly number is either pricing them elsewhere or skipping them.

Carpet extraction (typically 1–2x per year). Vacuuming removes surface debris; extraction removes embedded particulate that degrades carpet fibers and contributes to indoor air quality problems. Most commercial carpets need extraction once or twice per year depending on traffic volume.

Hard-floor strip and wax (typically annual for VCT). Vinyl composition tile develops scuff marks and finish buildup. Annual stripping and re-waxing restores surface integrity and extends the floor’s lifespan. This is quoted per square foot, separately from the maintenance contract.

High dusting (quarterly). Ceiling tiles, light fixtures, HVAC registers, and high shelving accumulate dust that nightly service never reaches. Quarterly high dusting addresses allergen buildup and is especially relevant in facilities with older HVAC systems.

Window washing (exterior). Exterior glass cleaning requires equipment and is always project-scoped. Most office buildings contract exterior window washing once or twice per year through a separate vendor or as a periodic add-on.

Post-construction cleaning. If a tenant finishes a buildout or a floor renovation happens, the resulting construction dust and debris requires a dedicated clean before occupancy. This is priced separately from any ongoing janitorial agreement.

Cleaning spec vs. scope of work: the practical difference

A cleaning spec describes standards: finish quality, chemical selection, frequency guidelines. The ISSA 540 commercial cleaning standard is the most common reference in the industry.

A scope of work translates those standards into a specific list of tasks, frequencies, and square footages for your building. “Restrooms cleaned and disinfected nightly” is a spec item. “Three restrooms on floors 2, 4, and 6, serviced 5x per week, with a minimum of one full cycle per visit including fixture cleaning, floor mopping, and consumable restocking” is a scope item.

When you receive a proposal from a cleaning company, you want the scope of work. A spec without a scope gives you a standard but no obligation about what they’ll actually do in your building. If a vendor provides only a pricing sheet and a general list of services, ask for the room-by-room scope document. Every serious commercial cleaning company can produce one.

How to use this checklist before signing a contract

Walk your building with the nightly and weekly lists above and note which items are explicitly in the proposal you’re reviewing. Any item not mentioned is likely not included. Pay specific attention to restroom restocking (some contracts exclude consumables), floor mopping frequency (some contracts mop only 3x/week even in a 5x program), and carpet vacuuming coverage (some contracts exclude private offices).

For a full commercial office cleaning program that covers all three tiers (nightly, weekly, and periodic), the scope document should run at least one page for any building over 5,000 sq ft.

Should I supply the cleaning products, or does the vendor?

Most commercial cleaning companies supply their own equipment and chemicals. Consumables (trash liners, paper towels, toilet tissue, hand soap) are handled one of two ways: vendor-supplied and billed separately, or facility-supplied. Get clear on this before signing. Contracts that exclude consumables often have an asterisk noting that the facility provides supplies. It’s a real cost difference.

How often should a supervisor inspect the work?

Monthly walkthroughs tied to the written scope are the minimum for a well-managed program. Buildings with more than 100 occupants or a day porter program benefit from bi-weekly inspections. The walkthrough should produce a written report, not just a verbal check-in. A vendor who resists documented inspections is a vendor without a QA process.

What is the ISSA 540 standard and do I need to reference it?

ISSA 540 is an industry standard that defines cleaning frequencies and outcomes by facility type. It gives both client and vendor a shared reference for what “cleaned” means. Referencing it in your contract gives you a benchmark to cite if quality slips. Not every company uses it by name, but the best ones can align their scope to it.

My office has a mix of carpet and hard floors. Does that change the pricing?

Floor mix affects labor time and the tools the crew needs to bring. Hard floors require mops and appropriate cleaning chemistry; carpets require vacuum equipment. Buildings with a high percentage of VCT or polished concrete also need floor care products managed separately from carpet care. A vendor who quotes carpet and hard floors at the same rate without acknowledging the difference hasn’t really looked at your space.