Pricing Realism Checker
Sense-check whether a school cleaning tender price is operationally realistic by comparing it against indicative labour, on-costs, management, equipment and margin.
For: School business managers, trust procurement teams and local authority buyers evaluating tender submissions and pricing.
Education relevance: Built around school cleaning cost drivers — labour, on-costs, supervision, equipment, consumables and a sustainable margin.
What this tool does
The problem it addresses: An unusually low bid may look attractive but can be operationally unrealistic, leading to under-staffing, high turnover and service failure.
What you enter: The tender price or hourly rate, contract hours, and assumptions about wage costs, on-costs, management, equipment, consumables and margin.
The result it produces: An indicative realism assessment showing whether the price appears to cover realistic delivery costs, with the main cost drivers.
How it may support planning or review: It helps buyers challenge or probe an unrealistic bid before award, rather than discovering the problem during mobilisation.
How it works
- 1
Enter the tender price or hourly rate and contract hours.
- 2
Adjust assumptions for wage costs, on-costs, management, equipment, consumables and margin.
- 3
Review the indicative realism assessment and main cost drivers.
- 4
Use the result to probe the bid during evaluation — not as a standalone award decision.
Use the tool below, then read how to interpret the result and its limitations.
Pricing Realism Checker
Sense-check whether a cleaning bid, pricing model or staffing proposal appears realistic and well-supported for your school or trust.
When you receive a cleaning bid or proposal, it's not always obvious whether the price is realistic, whether the staffing model is sustainable, or whether key services (supervision, absence cover, periodic cleaning, pensions, TUPE) have been properly considered and costed.
This tool helps you sense-check a bid or pricing model against indicative labour-led benchmarks and practical experience from school cleaning contracts. It's designed as a challenge tool — to help you ask better questions of suppliers and understand whether their assumptions are credible.
It takes about 5 minutes and requires you to share some basic school details and the bid information you'd like to review.
What this tool does
Compares to a baseline model
Uses a labour-led cost model to show where a quoted price sits relative to typical market assumptions
Flags potential gaps
Highlights what appears to be missing or unclear from a bid (supervision, cover, periodic items, pensions, TUPE)
Asks clarification questions
Suggests practical questions schools should ask suppliers to stress-test assumptions
Offers neutral perspective
Draws on operational experience to highlight what appears realistic, lean or potentially risky
What it is not
- A definitive pricing calculator
- Financial or legal advice
- A guarantee of what you should pay
- A quoting engine
- A substitute for professional procurement advice
How it works
You'll share your school profile and the key numbers from the bid (annual price, hours, staff count, what's included). The tool then compares these against a labour-led baseline and flags what appears realistic, what might need closer review, and what questions to ask.
This tool provides practical guidance to help you challenge and review cleaning bids. It is not financial advice, legal advice or a definitive pricing calculator. Always seek professional guidance for procurement decisions.
How to interpret the result
A price that appears low against indicative costs is a reason to probe, not a determination that the bid is unsustainable. A low bid may still be deliverable through genuine efficiencies, so it requires detailed commercial evaluation. The indicative costs are based on typical regional school cleaning economics, not your specific contract.
Limitations
- Not a binding quotation or contractual commitment.
- Not formal procurement or financial advice.
- Not a determination that a bid is unsustainable or fraudulent.
- Indicative costs are typical regional economics, not your specific contract.