By the Templateez Team · July 2026

Cleaning Services Intake Forms: Protect Your Crew and Your Clients

You send a two-person crew to a new client's house. They pull out the all-purpose cleaner and start wiping down the kitchen counters. Twenty minutes later, the homeowner calls you in a panic: those counters were honed Carrara marble, and now there are dull etch marks across the surface. The cleaner was too acidic. Nobody told the crew, because nobody asked.

That's a $3,000 mistake that a one-page intake form would have prevented.

Why Cleaning Businesses Need More Than a Phone Booking

Most small cleaning companies start the same way. A customer calls or texts, you schedule a date, and your crew shows up. For a while, that works. But as you grow past a handful of clients, the gaps in that process start showing up as real problems. You forget that one client has a cat who bolts for the door. You use bleach in a house where someone has severe asthma. You deep-clean the guest room that the client specifically said to skip because their teenager was sleeping in there.

An intake form isn't about being bureaucratic. It's about knowing what you're walking into so your crew can do good work without causing problems.

Property Details: Know the Space Before You Quote

Your intake form should capture the physical details of the property: approximate square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, number of floors, and property type (house, apartment, condo, townhome, commercial office). This information directly affects your pricing and your staffing. An 800-square-foot apartment is a one-person job. A 4,000-square-foot house with three floors is a three-person job with different equipment.

You should also ask about flooring types throughout the home. Hardwood, tile, laminate, carpet, and natural stone all require different cleaning methods and products. A crew that shows up expecting wall-to-wall carpet and finds unsealed slate floors is going to have a bad day. The same goes for countertop materials — granite, quartz, marble, butcher block, and laminate each have their own do's and don'ts.

Service Type and Frequency

Not every cleaning job is the same, and your intake form needs to establish what kind of job this is. A standard recurring cleaning is different from a deep clean, which is different from a move-in/move-out clean, which is different from a post-construction clean. Each one takes a different amount of time, requires different products and equipment, and carries different pricing.

For recurring clients, capture the frequency: weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or a custom schedule. This affects your route planning and staffing. You should also ask about specific areas of focus — some clients want extra attention on the kitchen and bathrooms and don't care much about the bedrooms. Others want every baseboard wiped every visit. And just as important: are there areas the crew should skip? A home office with sensitive documents, a nursery where the baby is napping during cleaning hours, a room being renovated — these are things you need to know before your crew walks in.

Access and Security: Getting In and Out

For recurring clients especially, you need to document how your crew will access the property. Does the client leave a key? Is there a lockbox with a code? Is there an alarm system, and if so, what's the code and the procedure for accidental trips? Does the client have a doorbell camera? (Most do, and your crew should know they're on camera — it changes nothing about how they work, but surprises aren't great for anyone.)

If the property is in a gated community or a building with a front desk, document the entry procedure. Gate codes change. Front desk staff rotate. Having it written down means your crew doesn't waste twenty minutes trying to get into a building while the client is at work and not answering their phone.

Pets, Allergies, and Chemical Restrictions

This section prevents the biggest headaches in residential cleaning. Ask about pets: type, number, temperament, and whether they'll be home during cleaning. A friendly Labrador is one thing. A territorial German Shepherd that hasn't met your crew is another. Cats that dart for open doors need to be noted so your crew knows to keep exterior doors closed.

Chemical and allergy restrictions are non-negotiable on an intake form. Some clients can't have bleach in the house. Some are allergic to specific fragrances. Some have chemical sensitivities that make standard cleaning products a health issue. You need this in writing before the first visit, not discovered when someone has a reaction. Ask specifically: are there any chemicals or products that should NOT be used in the home? Does anyone in the household have asthma, allergies, or chemical sensitivities?

Supplies: Who Brings What

Some cleaning companies bring all their own supplies and equipment. Some use the client's vacuum and cleaning products. Most fall somewhere in between. Your intake form should establish this clearly: does your company supply all products and equipment, does the client provide them, or is it a mix? If the client provides products, are they available and stocked before each visit?

This matters for scheduling and for liability. If your crew uses their own products and damages something, the responsibility is clearer than if they used a product the client told them to use. Get it documented.

Pricing, Cancellation, and Breakage

Your intake form should state your pricing model — flat rate per visit, hourly rate, or variable based on service type. It should note your cancellation policy. Most cleaning companies require 24 to 48 hours notice for cancellations, with a fee for last-minute cancellations or lockouts (when the crew arrives and can't get in). Your crew drove there, blocked out the time, and turned away other work. A cancellation fee is reasonable, but it only holds up if the client agreed to it in writing.

Breakage and damage policies belong on the intake form too. Accidents happen — a vase gets knocked off a shelf, a vacuum scratches a floor. How does your company handle that? Do you carry liability insurance? Is there a claims process? Putting this on the intake form sets expectations before anything goes wrong, which is always easier than setting expectations after something breaks.

The Intake Form as a Business Tool

Beyond preventing disasters, a thorough intake form helps you run a better business. It gives your crew a reference sheet for every property they walk into. It standardizes your quoting process so you're not guessing at square footage over the phone. And it creates a paper trail that protects you if a client disputes a charge, claims damage that was pre-existing, or says your crew did something you have no record of.

If you're running a cleaning business with more than a few clients and you're still relying on text messages and memory, you're leaving yourself exposed. A good intake form takes five minutes for the client to fill out and saves you from problems that take days to sort out.

Our Cleaning Services intake set covers all of this in a fillable PDF. For more on how to set up your cleaning business paperwork, check out our cleaning services forms page or browse our full trade services catalog.