Office cleaning checklist: what to include in your quote
Use this checklist to decide what belongs in an office cleaning quote, prepare for a walkthrough and agree the work for each visit. Tick the items as you review the scope, then print a copy.
Commercial prices are estimates. A walkthrough is required to confirm the scope and final quote.
A useful office cleaning checklist names the task, frequency and person responsible. Cover workspaces, washrooms, kitchen, floors, glass and waste, then separate the included tasks from paid options. This guide is a planning aid; your written quote defines the actual service.
How do you walk an office to build a cleaning checklist?
Start at reception and follow the route staff and visitors take, room by room, writing down each surface and floor you want cleaned. Leave out the shared facilities your landlord already maintains, and keep confidential papers and personal belongings off the list.
Include meeting rooms and closed offices as well as kitchens and washrooms, and distinguish your leased floor area from shared facilities already maintained by the landlord.
Keep confidential documents and personal belongings outside the cleaning task list. Agree a clear-desk arrangement with staff so the cleaner can reach the surfaces selected for cleaning.
Which office cleaning tasks are done every visit, and which are periodic?
Desks, reception and meeting surfaces, washrooms, the kitchenette and the floors are every-visit work. Detailed glass, specialist floor care and carpet cleaning are periodic jobs that need their own agreed date and price.
A cleaning checklist is not a requirement to book daily cleaning. Consider occupancy, visitors, food use and how the workplace looks between visits. Some tasks may be handled by staff between professional visits.
| Review point | What to agree |
|---|---|
| Each scheduled visit | Identify the surfaces, floors and selected rooms that must be covered every time. |
| Weekly review | Check low-traffic rooms, meeting-room use and whether your washroom and kitchen schedule still fits occupancy. |
| Periodic work | Give detailed glass, specialist floor and carpet work its own agreed scope, date and price. |
At Heron, the Basic office price covers dusting and vacuuming. Washrooms, kitchenette, mopping, window glass and fridge interiors are paid selections. Check their prices and inclusions before assuming they belong in the starting amount.
How often should an office be cleaned?
Often enough that washrooms and the kitchenette are done every visit and desks and floors never look neglected between visits. Heron prices its office Basic for two or three visits a week; a small office with no visitors can manage on fewer, a busy one with clients and shared desks needs every weekday.
There is no rule that fits every workplace. Use these starting points, then adjust after the first month.
A small office
Under about ten people and no walk-in visitors: one or two visits a week for dusting and vacuuming, with the washroom and kitchenette on each visit. Bins and consumables can often be handled by staff in between.
A professional office with clients
Reception, meeting rooms and the client washroom are what visitors judge you by. Two or three visits a week keeps them presentable, which is the schedule Heron's starting price ($116 per visit under 2,000 sq ft) assumes.
A high-traffic office
Shared desks, food at desks, deliveries through the front door or more than a few dozen people: every weekday, with washrooms and the kitchenette as the first priority on each visit.
Washrooms and kitchens
Every visit, whatever the schedule. They are the rooms that generate complaints, and the ones a landlord or health inspector notices. At Heron each single-toilet washroom and the kitchenette are their own priced selections, so the quote shows them.
Periodic deep cleaning
Window glass, carpet cleaning, specialist floor care and fridge interiors are not every-visit work. Give each its own date and price, typically quarterly or seasonally, and keep them off the per-visit list.
What should an office cleaning quote include?
The floor area and rooms, the task list per visit, how many visits a week, the price per visit before HST and the four-week total, what supplies and consumables are included, access and the schedule, the notice terms, proof of insurance, and periodic work priced separately. Heron's quote is written after a walkthrough and fixed for the agreed tasks.
- The premises: floor area, the rooms and floors included, and which shared facilities are the landlord's.
- The task list per visit: dusting and vacuuming as the base, then washrooms, kitchenette, mopping and glass as separate lines.
- Frequency: visits per week, the days and the time window.
- Price: per visit before HST, and the four-week total, so quotes with different frequencies can be compared.
- Supplies, consumables and bins: what the price includes and what is restocked at cost.
- Access and security: keys or codes, alarm, the approved entrance, parking.
- Terms: how a missed item is raised, notice to change a date, and how the arrangement ends (Heron's is a rolling 30-day agreement).
- Insurance: a certificate of insurance on request; Heron carries $2 million commercial general liability insurance.
- Periodic work: glass, carpets, floor care and fridge interiors on their own dates and prices.
Example price for a 1,500 sq ft office
For a 1,500 sq ft office cleaned twice weekly, select Basic dusting and vacuuming, two single-toilet washrooms, one kitchenette and mopping of the other hard floors. Window glass, fridge interiors, bins and restocking are not included in this example.
| Selection | Per visit |
|---|---|
| Office Basic: dusting and vacuuming | $116 |
| Washroom: one toilet and sink, mirror and floor (2) | $26 |
| Kitchenette surfaces and floor (1) | $28 |
| Mopping outside selected washrooms and kitchenette (1) | $28 |
| Before HST | $198 |
Eight visits over four weeks start at $1,584 before HST, or $1,789.92 with HST. A calendar month can contain more visits. The walkthrough confirms the final scope and fixed quote.
How do you compare office cleaning contracts on equal terms?
Put every quote beside the same written list: the tasks, how often, tax, minimum charges, supplies, bins and any separately quoted work, plus how a missed item is raised and what notice ends the arrangement. For hourly quotes, confirm the number of cleaners and hours.
Place each quote beside the same checklist. Compare tasks, frequency, tax, minimum charges, supplies and separately quoted work. For hourly work, confirm the number of cleaners and hours. For fixed per-visit work, confirm how changes to the task list affect the price.
Ask how to raise a missed item, change a date, handle holiday closures and end the arrangement. Heron uses a rolling 30-day commercial agreement, with the written scope and final price confirmed after a walkthrough. An online estimate does not start that agreement.
Ask the provider for the insurance or other documentation your organisation requires (Heron sends a certificate of insurance on request; see insurance and trust questions). If your workplace has clinical areas, unusual waste or specialist surface requirements, explain them before deciding whether the proposed service is suitable. For a home rather than a workplace, the same method is in our guide to comparing cleaning quotes.
How do you agree access and review the first visit?
Confirm who opens and locks up, the approved entrance, parking and a contact if access fails. After the first clean, walk the same route and record any missed item by room and surface, and keep later scope and price changes together.
Share keys or alarm instructions directly with the team through the agreed arrangement, and keep restricted rooms and equipment clearly identified.
After the first clean, use the same route to review the agreed tasks. Record the room and surface when an item needs attention. Keep subsequent scope changes and price changes together so your staff and cleaners have the same expectations.
For several premises, use a separate checklist for each. Similar floor areas can still have different washroom counts, visitor levels and opening hours.
Commercial cleaning questions
Do different workplaces cost different amounts?
Yes. Every workplace has its own base per visit for what a visit of that kind always includes: offices $116, dental and medical offices $138, daycares and schools $149, gyms and studios $138, retail stores $121, warehouse offices $116, a condo lobby $116 and restaurant front-of-house $149 a visit, before HST, under 2,000 sq ft at two or three visits a week. A restaurant dining room with the chairs up is more work than an office, so its base is higher; the rooms and tasks on top are the same published lines. Four or more visits a week is a nightly contract by the hour, $35 a cleaner-hour with a 3-hour minimum, for any workplace. Restaurant kitchen surfaces, floors and degreasing are quoted separately after a walkthrough in Oakville, Burlington, Milton, Mississauga and Halton Hills only; the restaurant base and calculator total cover front-of-house work.
What is included in the office starting price?
The office Basic price covers reachable dusting and vacuuming of accessible floors. It starts at $116 per visit for an office under 2,000 sq ft on a 2–3-times-weekly schedule, or $193 for 2,000–5,000 sq ft, before add-ons and HST. Washrooms, kitchenette cleaning and mopping are paid selections.
Can I book commercial cleaning online?
You can build an estimate online. Call 289-813-7484 to arrange a walkthrough, agree the written scope and final quote, and confirm availability. The calculator does not reserve a visit.
Do you offer after-hours commercial cleaning?
Evening, early-morning and weekend visits can be arranged in Halton, Mississauga, Brampton and Hamilton. Confirm the schedule and access at the walkthrough. The booking line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
How are ongoing commercial cleaning contracts arranged?
Heron’s published commercial arrangement is a rolling 30-day agreement. The written scope identifies tasks, visit frequency, access and price. Confirm the notice requirements and start date before service begins.
Are you insured, and can you provide a certificate of insurance?
Heron Cleaning carries $2 million commercial general liability per occurrence ($5 million aggregate).
What about hourly work or a one-time office clean?
Hourly commercial work is $39 per cleaner-hour with a 3-hour minimum per cleaner: $117 before HST for one cleaner. That is a separate pricing route; it is not added to a fixed per-visit quote. Commercial post-construction cleaning is priced separately, at $50 per cleaner-hour, because construction dust needs HEPA filtration and repeated passes. Call to agree the scope.
Are bins and consumable supplies included?
No. Waste collection, liners and consumable restocking must be discussed and priced at the walkthrough. Do not assume these tasks are included in Basic or in the calculator total.
How do you arrange office cleaning?
Build an estimate on the office calculator, then call 289-813-7484 for a walkthrough. The written scope and the fixed quote follow the walkthrough; an online estimate does not start the agreement.
Commercial cleaning in Oakville · Commercial cleaning in Burlington · Commercial cleaning in Milton · Commercial cleaning in Mississauga · Commercial cleaning in Halton Hills · Commercial cleaning in Brampton · Commercial cleaning in Hamilton · Commercial cleaning in Waterdown · Commercial cleaning in Dundas · Commercial cleaning in Carlisle · Commercial cleaning in Kilbride · Commercial cleaning in Campbellville
For each workplace, call with your site details. Explore the office cleaning service or use the office budget calculator to prepare for your call.
Request a Commercial Cleaning QuoteCall for a walkthrough
For office and commercial cleaning in Georgetown, prepare a task list for the walkthrough. If the premises are in the centre, the Downtown Georgetown home and business guidance explains why a shop or office needs its own scope rather than a residential quote.
How do you plan workplace cleaning in Brampton or Hamilton?
For an office in Brampton or Hamilton, record the workspace floor area, washrooms, kitchen or break room, occupied hours and preferred visit frequency. Identify confidential work areas and agree how the cleaners will enter and secure the building.
For a workplace in Waterdown, Dundas or Campbellville, describe the actual premises when asking about availability. Use the commercial cleaning calculator and confirm the workplace scope with Heron. Residential city-page examples do not price an office contract.
Sources
Updated September 26, 2026. This page carries no outside figures; the office prices it refers to come from the sources below.
- Heron Cleaning, rate card 2026-11-11: every Heron price on this page, before HST, generated by the same engine as the calculator.
- Heron Cleaning, office cleaning prices: the office Basic price per visit and the optional tasks referred to above.
