Companies use "janitorial" and "commercial cleaning" in different ways, so two quotes with the same label can describe different work. For a small office, janitorial service usually means the recurring visit that keeps desks, floors, washrooms and the kitchen in shape. Commercial cleaning is the wider term for cleaning any workplace, including one-time jobs. What you actually get is decided by the written scope: which rooms, which tasks, how often, at what hours, and who brings the paper towels.
The words in an office cleaning quote, and what to ask about each
When a quote uses one of these terms, ask what it includes in your space. A short answer in writing saves an argument three months later.
- Janitorial service
- Routine upkeep on a set schedule: garbage out, washrooms cleaned, floors vacuumed and washed, surfaces wiped. Ask how often each of those happens and whether the washrooms are restocked on every visit.
- Commercial cleaning
- Cleaning for offices, shops and professional spaces in general. It can be recurring or one-time, for example before an event or after a move into new premises. Ask whether the price is for a routine or for a single visit.
- Day porter
- Someone on site during business hours to refill supplies, deal with spills and keep washrooms and the lunch room presentable while people are working. Most small offices do not need one, but a busy clinic waiting room or a shared floor sometimes does.
- Periodic or project work
- Tasks done less often than the routine, such as the inside of the staff fridge or the microwave, high dusting or the tops of cabinets. Ask which of them are part of the routine, which are booked separately, and how you request one.
- Consumables
- Toilet paper, paper towels, hand soap, garbage liners and dish soap. Somebody has to buy them and somebody has to put them out. The quote should name who does each.
Walk the office once and write down what each room needs
A scope written at a desk misses things. Take twenty minutes, walk the space with a notepad or a phone, and go in this order.
- Start at the entrance. Note the floor type, the mat, the glass door and whether clients wait there.
- Go through the work areas. Note carpet or hard floor, how many desks, and whether desks should be wiped only when cleared.
- Stop in each washroom. Count the toilets and sinks, look at the dispensers and note which supplies run out first.
- Open the kitchen or staff room. Note the sink, the counters, the microwave, the fridge and who empties the dishwasher.
- Find the garbage and recycling: where the bins are inside, and where the bags go when they leave the office.
- List the rooms nobody else should enter, such as a server closet, a records room or a manager's office.
- Finish with access: which door the cleaner uses, the keys or fobs needed, the alarm, and the hours when cleaning will not disturb anyone.
- Take photos of the busiest washroom, the kitchen and any floor you are unsure about. They help a cleaner judge the time needed.
A one-page scope sheet for a small office
Copy this table, delete the rows you do not need and add your own. The supplies line in each row is the part most often left blank, and it is where most later disagreements come from.
| Area | What goes on the sheet |
|---|---|
| Entrance | Every visit: floor vacuumed or washed, front desk and door handles wiped, bins emptied. Less often: door glass, chair legs, baseboards. Supplies: the mat belongs to the office. |
| Desks | Every visit: bins emptied, carpet vacuumed, hard floors washed, cleared desks and switches wiped. Less often: shelf tops, under desks. Supplies: name who buys the liners. |
| Washrooms | Every visit: toilets, sinks, mirrors, counters and floor, then the dispensers refilled. Less often: walls by the toilets, stall doors, vents. Supplies: name who buys paper and soap. |
| Kitchen | Every visit: sink, counters, table, outside of the appliances, floor. Less often: inside the microwave and the fridge. Supplies: name who buys dish soap. |
| Garbage | Every visit: bags to the agreed spot, bins relined. Less often: bins washed. Pickup: the building, the City or a private hauler. |
| Access | Every visit: lock up, set the alarm, leave a note of anything broken or low. Less often: update the list of rooms not to enter. Keys and codes: the office. |
If two people at the office give the cleaner instructions, the sheet should also name the one person who decides. Changes go through that person and get written onto the sheet.
Supplies, keys and alarms belong in the scope too
Most of the friction between a small office and its cleaner comes from the parts nobody wrote down: an empty soap dispenser, a door left unlocked, a desk wiped that should not have been touched.
Supplies
- Decide whether the office buys consumables and the cleaner puts them out, or the cleaner reports what is low and the office orders it.
- Keep refills in one marked shelf or cupboard so they are found in the dark.
- Say if anyone in the office reacts to scented products, and name any surface that needs a particular cleaner.
Access and security
- Give the cleaner a key or fob for their own use, not a borrowed one, so it can be turned off if needed.
- Write down the alarm steps and test them together once.
- Mark restricted rooms on the door and on the scope sheet.
- Tell the building's property manager or security desk who is coming and when, if the building asks for it.
- Agree how the cleaner leaves notes: a book at reception, a text or an email.
In Toronto, where the office garbage goes depends on who collects it
A cleaner can only take bags to the right place if the office knows who picks them up. Many offices are in buildings where the landlord or a private hauler collects. Some small businesses use the City's own collection program, and the City of Toronto's page on its collection program for businesses sets out how that works.
- Eligible buildings have a ground floor area under 500 square metres and fewer than four storeys, or are at least one-third residential and under four storeys. Industrial properties are not eligible.
- A business in the program subscribes to Garbage Bin collection or buys Garbage Tags for its bags, and takes part in the Green Bin program.
- From January 1, 2026, the City no longer takes on new business customers for recycling. New applicants have to show that a private company collects their recycling; businesses that were customers before that date keep City recycling.
- The business arranges disposal of large furniture, appliances, electronic waste, yard waste and hazardous waste itself.
Write the answer on the scope sheet: tagged bags at the curb on collection day, a bin in the building's garbage room, or a separate recycling hauler with its own pickup spot. Old monitors, chairs and printer cartridges need their own plan; they do not go out with the regular bags.
Cleaning products used at work come with labels and safety data sheets
An office is a workplace, so the province's rules on hazardous products apply to it. Ontario's page on the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) says the legislation covers all workplaces except farms and that information about hazardous products reaches people in three ways:
labels on the containers of hazardous products; safety data sheets, in addition to the label, with detailed hazard and precautionary information; worker education programs
The same page says suppliers must label their products and provide safety data sheets, and employers must pass that information on to their workers and train them before they use the products. For an office, the practical part is simple: keep products in their labelled containers, keep any you buy yourself away from the coffee and food, and ask for the safety data sheet of a product you have questions about.
How a commercial cleaning quote with PavMa starts
PavMa's commercial cleaning for offices, retail and professional spaces covers work areas and common spaces, washroom cleaning and restocking, kitchen or staff-room care, reception and customer areas, vacuuming and floor washing, touchpoints and a garbage and recycling reset, on a custom recurring checklist or as a one-time visit. Priorities, access procedures and restricted areas are documented, and a clear point of contact keeps schedule changes, supply requests and service notes organized. To decide how many visits a week the office needs, the article on how often a small office should be cleaned goes area by area. After an office renovation, the first clean is a post-construction cleaning, booked before the routine starts.
For the quote, send the approximate square footage, the type of business, the frequency you have in mind, your operating hours, parking and any security requirements, and attach your scope sheet if you made one. For larger or more complex spaces, a walkthrough or photos may be requested before the final quote; photos can go on WhatsApp. Visits are booked Monday to Saturday, 8 AM to 7 PM, through the commercial cleaning quote form or by calling 437-889-1213.
Janitorial contracts, day porters and supplies in a small office
Is janitorial service the same as commercial cleaning?
The two words overlap and companies use them differently. Janitorial usually means the recurring upkeep visit, while commercial cleaning is the wider term for cleaning any workplace, recurring or one-time. Compare quotes by their written task lists, not their labels.
Who usually buys toilet paper, paper towels and soap for an office?
It varies from one arrangement to the next. Some offices buy the consumables and the cleaner refills the dispensers; in others the cleaner reports what is running low. Whichever you choose, write it on the scope sheet so nobody assumes the other side is ordering.
Does a small office need a day porter?
Most small offices do not. A day porter is someone on site during business hours for spills, refills and washroom checks, which suits a busy shared floor or waiting room better than a quiet office of a few desks.
