The quote, already started
⚠️ These are starting numbers, not market rates. Put your own in.
What the job actually is
- Get the agent's or lessor's exit checklist if there is one, and quote against it rather than against a guess.
- Inspect, or at minimum ask about the four that always bite: the oven, the carpets, the windows and the yard.
- Confirm whether the property will be empty and the power and water still on.
- Write the scope room by room, and the exclusions in the same breath.
- Clean top down and back to front, so nothing already done gets walked through.
- Do the kitchen properly — oven, range hood, cupboards inside and out, splashback.
- Do the wet areas — shower screens, grout, tracks, exhaust fans.
- Do the detail everyone forgets: skirtings, tracks, light fittings, switch plates, door tops.
- Windows, tracks and flyscreens, inside and out where quoted.
- Walk the checklist yourself before you leave, and photograph the finished rooms.
Materials
- Degreaser and oven cleaner, which on a neglected oven is most of the chemistry.
- Bathroom and lime-scale products, plus grout brushes.
- Glass cleaner and squeegees, and something for tracks.
- General-purpose concentrate — the dilution ratio calculator gets the concentrate and water right without the off-by-one that either wastes product or leaves a film.
- Microfibre, pads, scrapers and extension poles.
- Vacuum with attachments, and a mop and buckets.
- Gloves, eye protection and ventilation, because oven and lime-scale products are not mild.
Dilution is where cleaning product money quietly disappears. Mixing by eye means either paying for concentrate you are pouring down a drain or running a solution too weak to work, then doing the surface twice. The dilution calculator handles the ratio properly — a 1:20 mix in a 5 L bucket is not 250 ml of concentrate plus 5 L of water.
What the price assumes
- The property is empty of furniture and belongings.
- Power and water are on.
- The property has been reasonably maintained and is dirty rather than damaged.
- Carpets, external windows and the yard are either in the price or excluded — never assumed.
- No mould beyond ordinary bathroom surface mould.
- No rubbish removal, and nothing left behind by the tenant.
- You have access for the whole day you have quoted, and parking near enough to carry gear.
Extras that come up
- Carpet steam cleaning, which many agents require and which is usually a separate trade or a separate line.
- A badly neglected oven, which can be hours on its own.
- External windows, above ground floor especially.
- The yard — mowing, weeding, and the bins nobody emptied.
- Rubbish removal, when the tenant left things behind.
- Mould treatment, which is a property condition rather than a cleaning problem.
- Walls — spot cleaning is normal, washing every wall is not.
- A re-clean visit after the agent inspects, which is the one to price up front.
Things nobody charges for, and should
- Travel and loading the van, on a job that is a full day at one address.
- Product, which on a bond clean is a real cost rather than a rounding error.
- The final walk-through against the checklist, which is the difference between passing and returning.
- Photographs of every finished room, which is your evidence if the clean is disputed.
- Disposal of packaging, used pads and anything you took out.
- The re-clean visit, if nobody priced it.
- Waiting for access, when the agent is late with the key.
A worked example
A vacated two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit of about 80 m², empty, power and water on, reasonably maintained. Full interior including oven, wet areas and internal windows. Carpets and external windows excluded and named as such. One return visit for checklist items included. Cleaner registered for GST.
| Line | Qty | Rate | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchen — oven, range hood, cupboards, splashback | 1 job | $240.00 | $240.00 |
| Bathroom and laundry — screens, grout, tracks, fans | 1 job | $190.00 | $190.00 |
| Bedrooms and living — full detail clean | 3 rooms | $85.00 | $255.00 |
| Skirtings, tracks, switch plates and light fittings | 1 job | $140.00 | $140.00 |
| Internal windows, tracks and flyscreens | 1 job | $160.00 | $160.00 |
| Floors — vacuum and mop throughout | 80 m² | $1.60 | $128.00 |
| Final checklist walk-through and photographs | 1 job | $95.00 | $95.00 |
| Subtotal | $1,208.00 | ||
| GST (10%) | $120.80 | ||
| Total inc GST | $1,328.80 | ||
| Deposit (0%) | $0.00 | ||
| Balance on completion | $1,328.80 |
These are starting numbers, not market rates. Put your own in. Every figure above comes from the line items in the builder at the top of this page.
Start this quote in Yamate — the lines, not the prices →The app fills in the same line descriptions and leaves every amount blank for you. Your prices, not ours.
Yamate keeps your rates and your standard lines, so the next one of these is a few taps rather than a blank page — then turns the accepted quote into the invoice without retyping it.
FAQ
What should a bond clean quote include?
The scope room by room, written against the agent's exit checklist where there is one, and the exclusions named in the same breath — carpets, external windows, the yard and rubbish removal are the four that cause disputes. Plus whether a return visit is included and on what terms.
Should I promise the bond back?
No, and you should not offer to. The bond is decided by the lessor or agent against the condition report and the tenancy law of that state, and it turns on damage, wear and rent as well as cleanliness. Stand behind your work instead — name what you cleaned and offer a return visit for anything on the original checklist that was missed.
Should carpet cleaning be included?
Only if you are doing it and the quote says so. Many agents require a professional steam clean with a receipt, which is usually a separate trade — so name it either as an included line or as an exclusion, and never leave the customer to assume.
How do I price a bond clean — hourly or fixed?
Fixed against a written scope is easier for a customer to accept and safer for you, provided the scope and exclusions are specific. Hourly protects you on an unknown property but is a harder sell. What causes trouble is a fixed price against a vague scope.
Work out the materials first
More like this
General information for Australian tradies and cleaners, not legal or financial advice. The rates on this page are starting points rather than market prices, and every figure is an estimate based on what you type in. Bond and tenancy rules — including what a lessor may require and how a bond dispute is decided — are set by each state and territory. Nothing on this page promises any bond outcome.