Cleaning Business Client Intake Form

A two-page intake form for new residential cleaning clients. Most "the first clean didn't go well" stories trace back to a missed intake question — the lockbox code that was never written down, the German Shepherd nobody mentioned, the bathroom the client assumed was out of scope. This form is the cheapest insurance policy a residential operator has.

What this template covers

Page 1 — the facts.

• Client contact. Name, phone, email, preferred contact method, billing address if different from service address.
• Property info. Service address, square footage, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, number of occupants, pets (number and type).
• Access details. Lockbox, key, code, alarm code, parking instructions, anything specific about getting in and out of the building.
• Scope. Rooms in scope, rooms explicitly out of scope, special requests, surfaces that need particular care (marble, hardwood, antiques).
• Frequency. One-time, weekly, biweekly, monthly. Preferred day and time window.
• Supplies. We bring everything / client provides everything / mixed (list).
• Payment. Card on file, ACH, check after each visit, prepaid recurring.

Page 2 — the protective questions.

• Special conditions checklist. Mold, hoarding situation, biohazard, smoking household, recent renovation. These are the conditions that turn a standard clean into a referral situation; capture them before the first visit.
• Allergies and sensitivities. Specific products to avoid, scents the client can't tolerate, eco-only requests.
• Entry consent. Signature line authorizing entry while the client is away, on the days agreed.
• Signature and date. Client signature, your countersignature.

Who it's for

Residential operators booking new recurring or one-time clients, and especially useful for solo operators who haven't yet adopted a CRM. Once you're on a residential scheduling platform, the built-in client profile captures most of these fields — at that point the printable form becomes a tool for first phone calls and on-site walkthroughs, not the system of record.

How to use it well

• Fill it WITH the client, not after. A phone call with the form in front of you reaches questions a free-form conversation never gets to.
• Photograph the access info separately. Keys, codes, and lockbox combos shouldn't sit on the same page as the rest of the file — file them in a password manager or secure note, not in the client folder.
• Re-confirm the special conditions on the first visit. Some clients underplay pets or mess on the call; the first visit is when you find out.
• File the signed copy in /clients/<name>/. The entry-consent signature is the document you reach for the one time a client claims you entered without permission.

Common mistakes

• Skipping the pet question and losing 20 minutes on the first clean to a surprise.
• No allergy capture, then using a scented product on a chemically sensitive client.
• No entry-consent signature, then having no answer when a client questions an unaccompanied entry.
• Letting the form get stale — re-run it annually on recurring clients; pets and conditions change.

Related tools and next steps

Use the cleaning business quote template alongside intake so the client sees price and scope on the same day. Once you're booking more than five new clients a month, a real CRM — usually as part of a scheduling tool like Jobber — captures all of this digitally and links it to the job record. The broader playbook on customer relationship workflow lives in the CRM guide.