Cleaning Service Quote per Square Metre: How to Reply to "What's Your Price per Sqm?"

BOTrento Team10 November 20268 min read

Why a flat price per sqm misleads the buyer

Buyers ask for a rate per square metre because it is the easiest way to compare suppliers. If you answer with a bare number, one of two things happens. Either you underprice the job and absorb the extra work, or you overprice it and lose to a competitor who hasn't looked at the site either.

The area itself is often unclear too. The figure in the enquiry might be gross building area, net lettable area or only the part the buyer thinks needs cleaning. Corridors, stairwells, car parks and plant rooms may or may not be included.

So your first reply has two jobs: show you are responsive, and turn "price per sqm" into a defined scope. The buyer should leave that email feeling you understand the job better than the others do.

Five questions that turn a vague area into a scope

You rarely need a full site survey to give a first-stage answer. These five questions cover most of what changes the price:

1. What does the area include? Ask whether the figure is gross or net, and which zones are in or out (WCs, kitchens, stairwells, outdoor areas).
2. What type of space is it? Office, warehouse, retail, medical, school or production. Hygiene requirements and traffic drive effort.
3. How often, and when? Daily, several times a week or weekly. Evenings, early mornings and weekends affect staffing.
4. What are the surfaces? Carpet, hard floors, glass, and any specialist surfaces.
5. What is the start date and who decides? This tells you how urgent it is and who needs to see the quote.

If the buyer can't answer, suggest a short site visit or a walk-through by video. Keep the questions short, so replying is quick for the buyer.

For a wider routine on turning loose requests into signed proposals, see our article on turning vague B2B services requests into proposals. If the brief is very loose, the approach in scoping a loose brief before you send a proposal also applies, including when a paid site survey makes sense.

Quote three service levels: basic, standard, premium

Instead of one price, offer three clearly defined packages. This shifts the conversation from "who is cheapest?" to "which level fits us?". Define each level by tasks and frequency, not by adjectives.

What to put in each quote

• A task list per level and the visit frequency.
• The area you have assumed, and a note that the price will be adjusted if the measured area differs.
• What is excluded (for example, post-construction cleaning, or consumables unless stated).
• The price as a monthly fee, with the effective rate per sqm shown as information.
• Contract term, notice period and quote validity.

Showing the rate per sqm at the end gives the buyer the comparison they asked for, while the scope keeps the comparison honest. For a similar stage-by-stage approach, see how to send a phased quote in your first reply. Our page on B2B services shows how this works for other service firms.

A reply template for the first email

Send this the same day. Adapt the wording to your voice.

Subject: Your cleaning enquiry – a few quick questions

Hello [Name],

Thank you for your enquiry about cleaning for [site]. We can give you a fixed monthly price, but the rate per square metre depends on what the cleaning includes, so a bare figure would not be reliable.

Could you confirm five things?

– Is the [area] gross or net, and are WCs, kitchens and stairwells included?
– What type of space is it, and how many people use it?
– How often, and at what times, would you like cleaning?
– What are the main floor and glass surfaces?
– When would you like to start, and who else will review the quote?

Once we have this, we will send three options (basic, standard and premium) with a clear task list for each. If it is easier, we can also arrange a short walk-through.

Kind regards,
[Your name]

Notice that it doesn't dodge the price question. It explains why the answer needs a few details, and what the buyer gets next.

Follow up until you get a decision

Cleaning and facilities contracts are often decided by a facilities manager, an office manager and a finance contact. Quotes can sit for weeks. Decide the follow-up rhythm when you send the quote, not when you remember it.

• A short check a few working days after sending: did the quote arrive, and is the scope right?
• A second message offering to adjust the level or frequency, not to cut the price.
• A final note before the quote validity ends.

Log every promise ("I'll send the measured area on Friday") with a date. For a practical method, read our answer on how to stop forgetting quote follow-ups, and for response speed, how to reply to sales enquiries faster.

If your enquiries come in by email and live in a spreadsheet, a shared Outlook or Gmail inbox, or a CRM like Pipedrive or HubSpot, the weak point is usually the same: nobody owns the next step.

How BOTrento supports this process

BOTrento Chief of Staff is a managed process for enquiries, quotes and follow-ups. It watches enquiries in your mailbox and in uploaded data, and every working morning it shows a "Today 1+3" overview of what needs attention. It prepares draft replies, quotes and follow-ups in four languages, and it captures promises such as "I'll get back to you by Friday" and reminds you of them.

Nothing is sent without a person approving it. BOTrento doesn't send anything itself, and it doesn't replace your CRM or accounting software. It also doesn't read attachments, so it works from the text of the email. If a buyer sends the floor plan as a PDF, you still need to add the measured area yourself.

AI use is included in the plan, within a monthly usage limit. Mailboxes connect via IMAP, and Gmail, Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 work for now by forwarding or import. You can see the flow on the process demo page.

You can try it free for 14 days on your own data, with no payment card and no API key needed. The 14 days start with your first successful data upload, and our team will contact you within 24 hours on working days to help connect your mailbox. If you want to know how the data is handled, start with our GDPR checklist for AI sales tools.