What Should I Ask Before Giving a Cleaning Quote?
Ask enough to understand the work, then decide whether you can quote from the details or need to inspect the property.
Before giving a cleaning quote, ask what needs cleaning, where the property is, how large it is, its current condition, when the customer needs the work and how access will be arranged. Clarify extras and exclusions before setting the price. Niwa can help gather these details and answer questions about your published services, then hand the quote request to your team.
The aim is to understand the job well enough to price it responsibly. Room counts can help, but they do not tell you whether a home needs routine upkeep or a substantial first clean.
Establish the service and scope
Begin with what the customer wants done. Ask whether it is regular maintenance, a deep clean, move-out cleaning or work at a commercial site. Then identify the areas included.
For a home, useful questions are:
- Which rooms and bathrooms need cleaning?
- Is the property occupied, partly furnished or empty?
- Are kitchens, appliances or cupboards included?
- Do you want windows, carpets or other specialist work?
- Are there tasks you specifically do not need?
Use your own service list when explaining what is available. If you do not clean carpets, say so rather than bundling them into a vague whole-property promise. Define oven interiors and other extras separately if that is how you price them.
Ask about size and condition
Request approximate floor area or a useful description of the property. Let the customer say they do not know the measurement. For an initial conversation, the number of rooms may be enough to decide whether more information is needed.
Ask when the property was last professionally cleaned and which areas require particular attention. A recently maintained bathroom and one with extensive buildup can require different work despite having the same floor area.
Photographs can help when the customer chooses to share them through your agreed channel. Explain which surfaces you need to assess. Images are supporting information, not a guarantee that every condition is visible. Where the uncertainty affects your ability to quote, arrange a walkthrough.
Check location and access before committing
Get the town or postcode first, then the full service address when it is needed for assessment or scheduling. Check the actual property rather than assuming it is the customer's billing address.
Ask whether there are stairs or a lift, available parking and restrictions on arrival. Confirm that the team can access the areas being quoted. Access difficulty can affect the time and equipment needed even when the cleaning tasks are familiar.
At this stage, you need to know whether access can be arranged. You do not need a customer to share an alarm code in a general quote request. Use your agreed secure process for keys and entry instructions after accepting the work.
Clarify timing and frequency
Ask for the deadline and whether there is flexibility. For move-out work, confirm the date the property will be empty and when an inspection or handover is planned. For regular cleaning, ask about the desired frequency and preferred days.
A request for fortnightly cleaning does not reserve every other Tuesday. Agree the recurring arrangement and check the actual appointments separately. Likewise, a customer saying they are available Friday is not a confirmed booking.
Add questions that matter for commercial premises
For an office or other commercial site, ask about occupied hours, cleaning areas, floor types, washrooms and who approves the scope. Find out whether cleaning must happen outside working hours and who can arrange a walkthrough.
Confirm any site requirements relevant to the work you actually offer. If the request concerns a specialist environment, have the responsible person assess whether your team is equipped and qualified for it. Do not present an ordinary office-cleaning quote as covering every commercial premises type.
Confirm the summary and choose the next step
Repeat the agreed scope, extras, location and timing. Explain which facts remain unresolved. If you can price from that information, send the quote through your normal process, stating inclusions and conditions. Otherwise, arrange an assessment before quoting the cleaning job.
Niwa's service assistant can make these questions easier to complete using your business information. Niwa's booking system can reserve an assessment visit from the website or WhatsApp, using your configured availability.
Discuss your cleaning quote checklist with Niwa. Bring one routine enquiry and one request that normally needs inspection so the setup reflects both kinds of work.
