Most cleaning quotes lose money not because the price was wrong but because the scope was never written down. This template puts what is included, what is not, and how long the price stands, on one page the client signs.
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A quote is a fixed price offer. Where the scope is uncertain, mark this as an estimate instead.
Your business name and address
Client name and address
Site address, if different
Quote number
Date
Valid until
Prepared by
Proposed start date
What the quote must state
Whether this is a fixed quote or an estimate, in those words
The exact scope: rooms, areas, frequency and hours
What is explicitly not included
The price, and whether it includes or excludes VAT
How long the price is valid for
Payment terms and method
When the work would start and how long it takes
Who supplies materials and equipment
Access requirements: keys, alarm codes, parking
Cancellation and rescheduling terms
Exclusions worth stating explicitly
Every one of these has been assumed by a client at some point. Say so and they become chargeable extras rather than arguments.
External window cleaning
Carpet and upholstery washing
Clearance, decluttering or waste removal
Moving heavy furniture or appliances
Cleaning inside occupied wardrobes, drawers and cupboards
Work at height beyond safe reach from the floor
Biohazard, mould remediation or pest-related cleaning
Garden, garage, loft or outbuilding areas
Consumables such as toilet roll, soap and bin liners
Repeat visits caused by the property not being ready
Before you send it
The hours allowed have been sense-checked against a real estimate
Travel time and mileage are covered in the price
Materials and consumables are costed in
The margin has been checked, not assumed
A survey has been done, or the quote is marked as an estimate
The validity period is short enough to protect you against cost changes
The client knows what happens if the scope changes on the day
Quotation lines
Service
Detail / frequency
Hours
Rate
Price
Regular office clean
Mon–Fri, evenings, per week
10
£17.00
£170.00
Acceptance
Signature turns a quotation into a contract. Keep the signed copy.
Name
Signature
Date
Client
For the company
Free to print, copy and use commercially, including with your own
clients and staff. From CleanFlo, cleaning business
software for UK companies.
In CleanFlo
A quote that becomes the job
CleanFlo builds quotes from your services catalogue with a valid-until date, sends them for approval, and converts an accepted quote into a scheduled job and then an invoice, without anything being typed twice.
A quote is a fixed price offer. Once the client accepts it, both sides are bound, and if the job takes twice as long as you thought, that is your problem. An estimate is an informed indication that may change, and a client who has been given one expects the final figure to differ.
Using the words interchangeably is the root of most scope disputes in cleaning. A cleaner who says "I'd estimate around £180" and then invoices £260 has done nothing wrong if it really was an estimate, and has broken a promise if the client heard a quote.
The rule of thumb: quote what you have surveyed, estimate what you have not. If you have not seen inside the oven, do not quote the oven.
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Why exclusions are worth more than inclusions
Listing what is included is normal and does very little, because a client reads it as a description rather than a boundary. Listing what is not included is what protects the price, because it converts an assumption into a conversation before the work rather than after it.
Every exclusion on the list above exists because somebody assumed it was in scope. Internal windows are usually assumed; external almost never are, until the day they are. Cleaning inside a wardrobe full of clothes is a different job from cleaning an empty one. Waste removal is a legal obligation with paperwork attached, not a favour.
None of this makes you look unhelpful. It makes you look like somebody who has done this before, which is the impression that wins commercial work.
Putting a validity period on the price
A quote with no expiry is a price you have to honour indefinitely. Wages rise, chemicals rise, and a quote accepted eight months later at last year's rate is a contract you will resent for its whole life.
Thirty days is standard for domestic work and reasonable for most commercial quoting. For tenders with long evaluation periods, state a longer validity but say what it is contingent on, typically that wage costs and the scope have not changed.
A validity date also creates a reason to follow up, which is the more useful function in practice: "your quote expires on Friday" is a call that is welcome rather than pushy.
What to check before the price leaves
The most common way a cleaning quote loses money is that the hours were guessed. The second is that travel, materials and the true cost of employing a cleaner were not in the number at all.
Work out the hours from the specification rather than the room count, cost the labour at what it actually costs you including employer's National Insurance, pension and holiday accrual, add travel and materials, and then apply the margin. The quote calculator and the true cost of a cleaner tool do exactly this build-up, and the time estimator checks the hours are realistic before you commit to them.
Frequently asked questions
01What is the difference between a cleaning quote and an estimate?
A quote is a fixed price that becomes binding once the client accepts it. An estimate is an indication that may change as the work becomes clearer. Quote what you have surveyed and estimate what you have not, and use the correct word on the document, because the difference decides who absorbs an overrun.
02How long should a cleaning quote be valid for?
Thirty days is standard for domestic and small commercial work. Longer periods are common on tenders with extended evaluation, in which case state what the price is contingent on. An open-ended quote leaves you bound to today's costs indefinitely.
03Should a cleaning quote include VAT?
It should state clearly whether the figure includes or excludes VAT, and if you are not VAT registered it should say the price is not subject to VAT. Quoting a commercial client excluding VAT is normal, since they reclaim it; quoting a consumer should show the price they will actually pay.
04Is a cleaning quote legally binding?
Once accepted by the client, yes, a quote generally forms a binding contract at that price for that scope. That is why the scope and the exclusions matter as much as the number, and why a signed acceptance is worth keeping.
05Do I have to give consumers a cancellation right?
Where a contract is agreed at the customer's home or away from your business premises, consumers generally have a statutory right to cancel within 14 days and must be told so in writing. Failing to give that notice can extend the cancellation period substantially, so include it on the quote.
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