What is the difference between commercial and office cleaning?

Office cleaning is one type of commercial cleaning. 'Commercial' is the broader category and covers warehouses, clinics, gyms, retail, strata common areas and industrial sites as well. If your site is only offices, ask for an office cleaning scope; if it is mixed, you want a commercial contract that prices each area separately.

How is a commercial cleaning contract usually priced?

Most operators estimate the hours needed per visit, apply an hourly rate that covers wages, on-costs, supervision, equipment and margin, then convert it to a fixed monthly figure. Periodic work is quoted separately. Ask for both the estimated hours and the rate so you can compare quotes properly.

Should the contract include consumables?

It can go either way. Included is simpler to budget; on-charged at cost can be cheaper if your usage is low. Whichever you choose, get it written down along with who monitors stock levels.

Commercial cleaning

Commercial cleaning: what to specify and who to ask

If your site is a mix — an office at the front, a warehouse at the back, a clinic upstairs, or several small tenancies under one manager — you are buying general commercial cleaning rather than a single specialist service. The scope is built from the areas you actually need serviced and the frequency each one needs, which is why two quotes for the 'same' building can differ by thousands a year. Ask for the schedule of works split by area, not a single lump-sum price.

Get matched quotes How pricing works

What a proper scope covers

Offices, reception and meeting areas on a set weekly schedule
Amenities, kitchens and bathrooms with consumables restocking
Hard-floor and carpet care matched to the surface
Common areas, entries, lifts, stairwells and bin rooms
Warehouse, dock and back-of-house sweeping or scrubbing
Periodic work: carpet extraction, internal glass, high dusting, strip and seal

Before you sign anything

1Get the schedule of works split by area and frequency, so you can see what you are paying for.
2Confirm the hourly rate behind the fixed monthly price — that is the only comparable number between quotes.
3Ask who supervises, how often, and what happens when the regular cleaner is away.
4Request current public liability and workers compensation certificates of currency.
5Agree how additional or periodic work is approved before it is invoiced.

Commercial cleaning by city

Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Perth Adelaide Canberra Hobart Darwin

Sydney suburbs:Chatswood North Sydney Parramatta

Providers offering commercial cleaning

Questions people ask

What is the difference between commercial and office cleaning?: Office cleaning is one type of commercial cleaning. 'Commercial' is the broader category and covers warehouses, clinics, gyms, retail, strata common areas and industrial sites as well. If your site is only offices, ask for an office cleaning scope; if it is mixed, you want a commercial contract that prices each area separately.
How is a commercial cleaning contract usually priced?: Most operators estimate the hours needed per visit, apply an hourly rate that covers wages, on-costs, supervision, equipment and margin, then convert it to a fixed monthly figure. Periodic work is quoted separately. Ask for both the estimated hours and the rate so you can compare quotes properly.
Should the contract include consumables?: It can go either way. Included is simpler to budget; on-charged at cost can be cheaper if your usage is low. Whichever you choose, get it written down along with who monitors stock levels.

What to do next

Send one enquiryDescribe your site once; matching commercial cleaning companies respond directly.Continue Compare other servicesMixed sites often need a combined scope rather than a single service.Continue Read the cost guidesIndependent methodology you can check, not vague price ranges.Continue