A walkthrough checklist for a quote you can explain.

The six questions to settle before pricing

A walkthrough connects the customer's expectations to the work your crew will actually perform. A building's total area is useful, but it does not describe its tasks, access restrictions or service schedule.

1. Scope: Which areas and tasks belong in the recurring service, and which need a separate initial clean?
2. Frequency: Which tasks happen every visit, weekly or periodically? What changes on holidays?
3. Access: When can the crew work? Who provides entry, and what happens if the building is locked?
4. Supplies: Who supplies liners, paper products and soap? Where can the crew store equipment?
5. Exclusions: Which desks, electronics, rooms or personal items must remain untouched?
6. Approval: Who confirms the scope, and who should receive questions or service feedback?

Industry reference: OrangeQC's bid walkthrough guide also emphasizes documenting site conditions and passing the agreed expectations from sales to the team doing the work. The workflow and fictional example below are Vibeita's own practical illustrations.

1. Prepare a notes sheet with three statuses

Mark each important detail as observed, confirmed by the client or still unknown. This makes it harder for a guess to become an accidental promise. For example, seeing a supply cupboard does not confirm that you may store equipment there.

Before the meeting, record the site address, contact, facility type, proposed start date and requested service window. Bring a way to take notes and measurements. Ask permission before photographing the property, and avoid capturing confidential documents or personal information.

2. Walk the job in the order your crew would work

Start at the entrance your team would use. Follow the route to equipment storage, work areas, water access and waste disposal. Note repeated trips or restricted areas that could affect your time estimate.

Use one entry per area. For each, record the surface or floor type, the requested task, its frequency, the current condition and your time assumption. Keep measurements separate from estimates when you have not verified them.

• Reception and meeting rooms: distinguish clear surfaces from occupied desks or equipment that cannot be moved.
• Restrooms: record the fixtures and whether replenishing consumables is included.
• Break rooms: clarify the difference between cleaning exterior surfaces and washing dishes or cleaning inside appliances.
• Floors: distinguish routine cleaning from periodic work requiring different equipment or skills.

If a condition falls outside your experience or agreed services, document it as unresolved. Do not silently include specialist work in the ordinary visit.

3. Separate the first clean from the ongoing service

An initial visit may include work that will not recur at the same intensity. Write two scopes when necessary: the initial service and the recurring service. If both are bundled into one price, make that choice explicit in your internal calculation.

A useful closing question is: “What would you want completed on the first visit that you would not expect us to repeat every visit?” Confirm the answer before treating it as included work.

4. Convert crew time into paid worker-hours

Two people working for an hour represent two worker-hours. Do not multiply your entire estimate by crew size if you already estimated each task in worker-hours; that would count the same labor twice.

A fictional office example

Suppose two cleaners each spend 1.5 hours on site. Both are also paid for 0.25 hours of setup and 0.5 hours of travel. These figures are invented to explain the calculation, not productivity standards or recommended staffing.

• On-site work: 2 × 1.5 = 3 worker-hours.
• Setup: 2 × 0.25 = 0.5 worker-hours.
• Paid travel: 2 × 0.5 = 1 worker-hour.
• Total: 4.5 paid worker-hours per visit.

At an assumed loaded labor cost of $24 per worker-hour, modeled labor would be $108. That is not the selling price: supplies, vehicle costs, equipment, overhead and your chosen margin still need consideration. Use your own applicable employment arrangements and verified costs.

Continue with our cost-based cleaning pricing guide once the scope and time assumptions are clear.

5. Copy this short walkthrough record

Copy the following fields into your own notes and repeat the area entry for each part of the site. This is a free starting structure, not a completed quote.

6. Close the unknowns before sending the proposal

Read the proposed scope back to the customer. Identify the unanswered questions that could change the price, and agree who will confirm them. If you must send an estimate before that happens, make those assumptions visible.

Compare the notes with the final proposal before sending it. The task names, frequency, exclusions and service window should match. Use our proposal checklist for the next step.

Common walkthrough questions

Adapt this operational guide to your services and site. It does not supply market rates or guarantee a winning or profitable bid.