Someone looking for a cleaner usually contacts more than one company, and the first clear quote in their hand has a real head start. Most cleaning businesses are slow on quotes for one reason: the owner is cleaning when the inquiry comes in. Here is a simple system for getting a quote out the same day without leaving the job you're on.
Before you change anything, measure it. Go back through your last ten inquiries and write down two times for each: when the person first called or messaged, and when they had a price from you.
Add up the gaps and divide by ten. That is your average time to quote. Then mark which of the ten became customers. Compare the ones you answered within the hour against the ones you answered the next day. Your own list will tell you how much speed is worth in your business.
Slow quotes usually start with a missing detail. You call back to ask about pets, they don't pick up, and a day is gone. Keep one short list by the phone and get everything on the first call:
With those seven answers you can price most homes without a second conversation.
If every quote starts from a blank page, every quote takes an evening. Write your pricing down once so anyone on your team can use it.
Start with your own numbers, not someone else's. For your last twenty jobs, write down the home size, the type of cleaning, how many labor hours it really took, and what you charged. Divide the price by the labor hours for each one. Jobs where that number is low are the ones you underpriced, and you'll usually see a pattern, like deep cleans or homes with pets.
Then turn it into a sheet: a base price for each home size, an amount added for a deep or move-out clean, a discount for recurring service, and a flat price for each extra. Set a minimum job price so small jobs still cover the drive. Review the sheet every few months against your real hours.
A walkthrough is the slowest step in quoting, so save it for the jobs that need one. A standard recurring clean in an ordinary home can almost always be quoted from the phone answers. Post-construction work, very large homes, commercial spaces and homes that haven't been cleaned in a long time are worth seeing first.
For everything in between, ask for photos. A few pictures of the kitchen, the bathrooms and the worst room, sent by text, tell you most of what a visit would.
You can also quote a range and say what moves it: "Based on what you've told me it will be between this and this. I'll confirm the exact price when we arrive and before we start." That gets a number to the customer today and still protects you from surprises.
A price said over the phone is easy to forget and hard to compare. Put it in a text or email the customer can open on their phone. Keep it short:
Set yourself a rule you can keep, such as every inquiry gets a written quote before you go home that day. Send quotes from the van between jobs if you have to. A good quote today beats a perfect one on Thursday.
Many people who don't reply haven't said no. They got busy. A short check-in the next day and another a few days later is enough: ask if they have questions and mention the dates you still have open.
For first-time and move-out cleans, think about taking a deposit to hold the date. It cuts down on no-shows and tells you who is serious. Write the deposit and what happens to it if they cancel on the quote itself.
None of this works if the first call goes to voicemail while you're scrubbing a shower. CallTwin is an AI receptionist that answers every call 24/7 in English and Spanish, takes the caller's name, number, address and what they need cleaned, and texts the job to you. It never quotes prices; that stays with you.
The optional AI Estimates add-on turns those calls into draft estimates priced from your own price book. You approve each one, and the customer signs it and pays a deposit by card from their phone. CallTwin is $500 one-time setup, the first 14 days free, then $99 a month; AI Estimates is $49 a month. See how it works for cleaning businesses.
This week, time your last ten quotes, put the seven questions by your phone, and write your price sheet from your last twenty jobs. If you want every cleaning inquiry answered while your hands are full, sign up for CallTwin or call (856) 204-3643 and we'll set you up on the phone.
No contract. Pay by card, Zelle or Cash App. Not a computer person? Call and we'll sign you up on the phone.