How We Scope Your Cleaning Contract

A quote tells you the price. A scope of work tells you exactly what that price includes — and just as importantly, what it doesn't. We provide both, because a contract without a clear scope is where misunderstandings start.

Think of it as the reference document both sides can point back to. If a question comes up three months into the contract about whether something was supposed to be included, the scope is the answer — not memory, not a verbal conversation from the initial walkthrough.

From the walkthrough, not a template.: The areas, floor types and tasks we recorded on-site become the basis of your scope — it reflects your actual space, not a generic list.

Routine and periodic work, kept separate.: Daily and weekly tasks sit in one section; periodic work like carpet extraction or high-level cleaning sits in its own, on its own cycle. Mixing the two is one of the most common causes of confusion in a cleaning contract.

Clear exclusions.: What isn't included matters as much as what is. We name exclusions explicitly rather than leaving them as an unstated assumption.

Structured, not ad hoc.: We use the free Scope Builder at Service Margin Lab to turn walkthrough notes into a consistent, professional scope document for every contract, whether it's a childcare centre or a corporate office.

Centres are often subject to audits and need to demonstrate what's actually being maintained. A documented scope gives you something concrete to point to, rather than relying on an informal understanding of what your cleaner does each visit.

A scope of work isn't paperwork for its own sake — it's what keeps your expectations and our delivery aligned, visit after visit. Every MT Cleaning Group contract comes with one.