How to choose an office cleaning company: questions to ask and red flags

Updated 6 November 2026 · By the Commercial Office Cleaners team

Short answer: Choose an office cleaning company that visits the site before quoting, gives a written specification with the hours behind the price, explains how cleaners are trained, supervised and covered during holidays, and shows how COSHH, access and complaints are handled. Compare quotes on hours and scope rather than the monthly total, and be wary of very low prices, no site visit, vague scopes and long tie-in contracts.

How to choose an office cleaning company: questions to ask and red flags

Start with your own brief

Before contacting anyone, write a short brief so every company quotes for the same thing. It saves time and makes quotes comparable.

Approximate floor area and number of floors
Number of toilets, urinals, washrooms and kitchens
Floor types, such as carpet tiles, vinyl or LVT
Headcount and which days the office is busiest
Preferred cleaning times and whether daytime presence is wanted
Access arrangements, such as keys, fobs and alarm codes
Who supplies consumables like toilet roll and soap
Any periodic tasks you want included, such as carpet cleaning

Insist on a site survey

A reliable price for regular cleaning needs someone to walk round the building. Floor area alone does not show how long a clean takes: two offices of the same size can need very different hours depending on furniture density, washroom numbers, kitchen use and how much glass there is. A company that quotes a monthly figure over the phone without seeing the site is guessing, and guesses tend to be corrected later through reduced standards or price rises.

During the survey, a good surveyor asks how the office is used, notes problem areas and asks what went wrong with any previous cleaner.

Compare quotes like for like

Quotes that look very different on price often reflect different hours. Ask each company to show the hours per visit and the tasks they include, then compare.

What to compare	Why it matters
Hours per visit and visits per week	The main driver of standard; too few hours means rushed cleaning
Written specification	Shows exactly what is done daily, weekly and monthly
What is included in the price	Chemicals, equipment, consumables and periodic tasks vary
Supervision and quality checks	Shows how standards are monitored, not just promised
Holiday and sickness cover	Determines whether the clean still happens when the regular cleaner is off
Contract length and notice period	Affects how easily you can leave if standards drop
How price changes are handled	Wage rises each April often feed into price reviews

Questions to ask before you choose

Who will clean our site, and will it be the same person each visit?
How are cleaners recruited, vetted and given right-to-work checks?
What training do cleaners have on the products and equipment they use?
How do you meet COSHH, and will you give us safety data sheets for products used on site?
How often does a supervisor inspect the work, and will we see the results?
What happens if a clean is missed or not up to standard?
How are keys, fobs and alarm codes stored and recorded?
How do you handle lone working for cleaners on site out of hours?
Do you pay at least the National Living Wage, and how do wage rises affect our price?

Red flags

A price given without a site visit or any questions about the building
No written specification, or a one-line scope such as general cleaning
Hours per visit that seem far too low for the size of the office
Long fixed terms with automatic renewal and short windows to cancel
No clear answer on holiday cover or supervision
Unwillingness to provide COSHH information or safety data sheets
Prices so low that they could not cover legal minimum wages plus products and travel

Since April 2026 the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour, and employers also pay holiday pay, employer National Insurance and pension contributions. Once supervision, products, equipment and travel are added, a genuine contract rate well below about £18 an hour outside London is hard to sustain.

Making the final decision

Shortlist two or three companies whose specifications match your brief and whose hours look realistic. Ask how the first month will be handled, including induction, a possible initial deep clean and an early review meeting. A provider that agrees a review after the first few weeks, and adjusts hours or tasks based on what it finds, is usually a better long-term bet than the cheapest headline price.

Running a fair tender for a larger office

For larger or multi-floor offices, a simple written tender makes comparison much easier and protects you from scope creep later. Send every bidder the same pack, give them the same access for a site visit, and ask them to price in the same format.

A floor plan with areas marked as office, washroom, kitchen, meeting room and circulation
Your draft specification of daily, weekly and monthly tasks
Occupancy pattern by day of the week
Required visit times and any security or access restrictions
A pricing schedule asking for hours per visit, hourly rate and periodic task prices separately
A request for their proposed supervision, cover and quality checking arrangements
The date by which they must raise TUPE questions

Score the responses on hours, method and approach to quality as well as price. A bid that offers noticeably fewer hours for the same specification is not cheaper; it is a lower standard.