How to start a cleaning business in Australia

Set up the first cleaning client and job in AxiomBlue

1. Add the first customer and property in Sales → Customers. Create a quote for the two-bedroom clean with separate tasks, exclusions, service frequency and access assumptions in Introduction and line descriptions.
2. Convert the accepted clean to a job; put room-by-room work in Tasks and instructions in Description. Enter Estimated Duration and Site Address, then review its assignment in Calendar & Schedule.
3. Record actual time and consumables on the first job and review the draft invoice. Use a Professional Job Series for the fortnightly pattern only after the customer agrees it; uploads start on Basic.

Choose one service before buying a full kit

A regular house clean, an office after hours and an end-of-lease clean need different estimates, access arrangements and equipment. Write a service sheet naming the rooms or areas, tasks, frequency and exclusions. Avoid promising bond recovery or a fixed outcome you do not control.

Make the business setup match the work you will sell

Use the Australian Government startup guide to work through structure, registrations, tax and insurance with the advisers you need. Check licences by activity and location through ABLIS and the relevant regulator. A business registration does not itself authorise regulated trade work.

Sources: Australian Government business startup guide · Find licences by activity and location

Cost the time around the clean as well as the time inside it

Walk through a suitable sample property. Include travel, unpacking, cleaning, checking the work and packing up. Allow for consumables, equipment upkeep and administration. Your own cleaning hours still have a cost when you are the only person working. Build a budget from supplier and insurer quotes rather than a universal startup figure.

Agree entry, keys and the finish standard

Record who can authorise work, how entry will happen and who receives the invoice. Keep key and alarm information restricted. Define how an inaccessible property, extra room or heavy-soil task changes the booking and price. A checklist should describe the promised tasks rather than simply say “clean completed”.

Run a first visit before offering a full recurring round

Illustrative first-job test: quote a fortnightly two-bedroom clean, record its actual labour and supplies, then compare them with your estimate. Check whether the repeat scope and duration still fit. Agree the next visit and cancellation process explicitly; completing one clean does not create consent to every future booking.

Set up records that can follow the next cleaner

Keep the accepted scope, visit instructions, completion notes and billing reference together. AxiomBlue supports individual jobs and scheduling on Free within its limits; uploads need Basic or Professional, and recurring job series and crew management need Professional. Start with the process, then test the relevant plan.