Cleaning Client Intake Form

A good cleaning quote starts before you calculate the price. It starts with the questions you ask.

If you skip the intake, you're guessing. You miss add-ons. You underprice deep cleans. You show up to a house with two cats and a no-shoes rule when you didn't bring booties. The customer thought the inside of the oven was included. You thought it wasn't. Now somebody's unhappy.

None of this happens if you ask the right questions before quoting. A client intake form is the easiest way to make sure those questions get asked the same way every time.

Basic client information

Start with the contact basics. Boring but necessary:

• Name
• Phone number
• Email
• Service address
• Preferred contact method (some people hate phone calls)
• Requested service date
• How soon they need service

That last one matters more than people think. A customer who wants service "this week" is a different buyer than one who's "just gathering quotes."

Property details

Property questions tell you how big the job is. Get specific:

• Approximate square footage
• Number of bedrooms
• Number of bathrooms
• Number of levels
• Type of property (house, apartment, condo, townhome)
• Is the home occupied or vacant?
• Is parking available?
• Stairs, elevators, or access restrictions?

If the customer doesn't know the square footage, ask for year built and number of stories. You can ballpark from there.

Service type

This is where most quotes go wrong. The customer says "clean" and you assume standard. They were thinking deep. Or vice versa. Ask explicitly:

• Standard cleaning
• Deep cleaning
• Move-in cleaning
• Move-out cleaning
• Post-construction cleaning
• Recurring cleaning
• One-time cleaning

If the customer isn't sure which one they need, that's useful information too. A walkthrough or photos will tell you. For more on why mixing service types up costs you money, see cleaning pricing mistakes.

Frequency

Frequency changes the price and the workflow. Ask up front:

• One-time
• Weekly
• Bi-weekly
• Monthly
• Not sure yet

Recurring homes take less time after the first visit because they stay in better condition between cleans. That's the reason recurring clients usually get a discount.

Condition of the home

"Normal" varies. One person's normal is spotless, another person's normal is dishes from last weekend. Get the customer to commit to a condition tier on the intake:

• Light condition
• Average condition
• Heavy condition
• Excessive clutter
• Heavy pet hair
• Hard water buildup
• Grease buildup
• Post-renovation dust

If they pick "average" but the photos show heavy condition, you have a polite conversation before you commit to a price. Easier than having that conversation when you arrive.

Add-ons

Walk through the add-ons one by one. Make them check the boxes themselves so there's no ambiguity later about whether the inside of the oven was included:

• Inside oven
• Inside fridge
• Interior windows
• Cabinet interiors
• Laundry
• Dishes
• Bed making
• Garage
• Basement
• Extra rooms not part of the standard scope

Pets and special instructions

The "anything we should know" section. The questions that catch the things customers forget to mention until you're already there:

• Are there pets?
• How many?
• Will pets be secured during the clean?
• Any allergies or cleaning product preferences?
• Any rooms we shouldn't enter?
• Any fragile items we should know about?
• Alarm code or entry instructions?

Theft and valuables (a topic worth asking about up front)

This is the part nobody likes to bring up. Theft accusations are the single most common trust issue in residential cleaning (per Insurance Canopy claims data), and even when nothing is actually missing, a misplaced item becomes a hard conversation. The cleanest way to handle it is to surface it before the first visit, in writing.

• Are there valuables, cash, jewelry, or medications we should know about?
• Would you prefer to put those items away before each visit? (Recommended.)
• Are we bonded? (If yes, mention it; the janitorial bond is the industry-standard protection.)

Framing this as "easier for both of us" rather than accusatory works. Most clients appreciate it.

Keys, codes, and access

For recurring service, the access mechanism becomes a real ongoing question. Worth asking the second question, not the first:

• How do you want us to access the home on recurring visits? (Key, lockbox, code, in-person.)
• If we hold a key, are you OK with us labeling it by an identifier (not your address) and storing it secured?
• If you give us a code, will you change it if you stop service? (Recommended; saves us both a conversation later.)

Chemicals and surface compatibility

The single largest source of accidental damage claims in cleaning is wrong product on wrong surface. A 30-second walkthrough question catches most of it before it becomes a problem.

• Any natural stone (marble, granite, slate) we should avoid certain products on?
• Any antique furniture, lacquered finishes, or specialty surfaces that need specific care?
• Hardwood floor finish (sealed, waxed, oiled)? Different products for each.
• Any surfaces we should not touch at all? (Art, electronics, religious items, sentimental items.)

If the customer doesn't know, that's useful information too. The walkthrough catches what the intake misses.

Allergies, sensitivities, and product preferences

A real third-party bodily injury claim category, not a nice-to-have. Asking up front lets you plan the products and reduces post-clean callbacks.

• Anyone in the home with asthma, allergies, or chemical sensitivities?
• Do you prefer eco-friendly, unscented, or specific brand products?
• Pets with skin conditions or sensitivities?
• Children under 5 who'll be in the home shortly after the visit?

If the answer is "we want eco-friendly products," price the upcharge into the quote and note it for every recurring visit.

Supplies (who provides what)

An easy thing to forget. Surprise on visit day either way.

• Do you want us to bring our own supplies, or use yours?
• If yours, where will they be kept?
• Any product preferences we should plan around?
• Anything we should not use under any circumstances?

Photos or walkthrough

Ask the customer if they can send photos. Most will. For larger jobs (anything over a couple hundred dollars), offer a walkthrough. Photos help validate the things customers usually downplay:

• Actual condition vs. claimed condition
• Size of rooms
• Clutter level
• Special surfaces (marble, tile, hardwood)
• Scope you may be assuming wrong
• Add-ons they didn't think to mention

Budget and expectations

The questions everyone forgets to ask. These tell you whether you're the right cleaner for this job:

• Have you used a cleaning service before?
• What's most important to you in a clean?
• Are there problem areas the previous cleaner missed?
• Are you looking for the lowest price, or the best fit?
• What would make this service successful?

If someone is shopping purely on price and you're not the cheapest in your market, you've saved both of you a wasted quote.

A simple intake structure

If you want a template, copy this. It captures everything that affects the price:

What to do with the intake

Once you have a complete intake, turn it into a quote. Our cleaning quote template guide covers exactly what to include in the estimate: scope, deposit, expiration, and follow-up.