Taking cleaning bookings online: regular, deep and end-of-tenancy cleans with the price up front

This guide is for the owner of a UK domestic cleaning firm with a few cleaners, who takes bookings by phone and WhatsApp and wants customers to book a clean, a day and a start time online and pay there. It covers pricing a stranger can buy, who pays for an end of tenancy clean, the law on services booked online, the insurance and checks customers look for, and how a booking works on Orbit. We build Orbit Commerce, so weigh those parts with that in mind. Every legal fact was checked against gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk or the deposit schemes’ own pages on 8 November 2026.

How do you price cleaning for a website?

On the phone you price by the hour and confirm once you have seen the house. A web page cannot do that estimating, and a visitor who reads “£20 an hour, minimum three hours” has to guess how long their home takes and rings you anyway. The law leans the same way: since 6 April 2025 a price shown to a consumer must be the total, including any charge they will necessarily incur, or say how it will be calculated, as prominently as the price (Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, section 230, checked 8 November 2026).

The Competition and Markets Authority treats prices added as the customer proceeds as drip pricing (CMA209, 18 November 2025, checked 8 November 2026). So sell a menu: clean type by property size. On Orbit each clean type is one product and each size a variant; variants share the product’s length and places, so group sizes that take a similar time.

Build each price from cost: cleaner hours including travel, products, a share of insurance and fuel, then margin, in whole pounds. Most firms already charge hourly for the weekly visit and a fixed price for the move-out; online, fix the weekly visit too. If you are VAT registered, or will be once taxable turnover passes £90,000 (gov.uk, checked 8 November 2026), the price a household sees must include VAT; our guide to registering a business to sell online covers the earlier thresholds.

What an end of tenancy clean has to include

The standard is the check-in inventory: as clean as at the start, and no cleaner. The mydeposits description of a professional clean is a ready checklist: inside the appliances, carpets, windows inside and out, grout and tiles including mould, and a full dust and polish down to the skirting boards (mydeposits, checked 8 November 2026). Add inside cupboards, extractor fans, limescale and behind appliances. Say what is not included, usually carpet shampooing, exterior windows and rubbish removal, and sell those as extras. Finish with photos the tenant can send to the agent. Do not promise the deposit back; that is the adjudicator’s call.

Who pays for an end of tenancy clean, and why does that matter?

In England, the tenant chooses. Section 1 of the Tenant Fees Act 2019, in force since 1 June 2019, says a landlord must not require a tenant to enter into a contract with a third party for the provision of a service (legislation.gov.uk, checked 8 November 2026). Gov.uk lists the only payments a landlord can ask for: rent, deposits, changes the tenant requests, leaving without the correct notice, utilities, late rent and lost keys (gov.uk, updated 7 July 2026, and its guidance for tenants, both checked 8 November 2026). The clause making tenants pay for a professional clean is gone. The standard is not: the deposit schemes say a landlord cannot force a tenant to hire a professional cleaner, but the tenant must leave the property as clean as it was at the start.

Tenants still fall short. The Deposit Protection Service reported on 11 June 2026 that cleaning was the top reason for deposit claims in 2025 for the fifth year running, at 29% of claims, ahead of damage at 18% and rent arrears at 16% (DPS, checked 8 November 2026). So your customer is a tenant with a check-out date and a deposit at stake, who wants a fixed price, a slot before the inventory clerk, a receipt and a checklist worded like the inventory; landlords and agents are the second customer, for the turnaround clean.

Since 1 May 2026 assured tenancies in England have no end date and tenants leave on two months’ notice (gov.uk, Renters’ Rights Act, checked 8 November 2026), so move-outs spread through the year. Wales (gov.wales) and Scotland (mygov.scot, both checked 8 November 2026) have their own bans on tenant fees: the tenant pays for the clean in all three nations.

How does a clean become a bookable service on Orbit?

Every clean is a product with the Service type, which adds a Service details section to the editor. Seven settings make it bookable:

1. Length. The hours the clean takes, set to the longest size in the product.
2. Places per slot. The teams out at one start time: three teams, three places. Each clean type counts its own places, so split your teams between them.
3. Notice. The minimum hours between booking and start.
4. Gap between bookings. Your travel time, in minutes.
5. Cancellation fee and policy. 0 to 100% and the policy in plain words, both shown on the product page.
6. Sizes as variants, each with its price.
7. Service hours. Open and close times per weekday and a time zone, once for the whole shop.

The customer picks a date and a start time on the product page and pays the full price at checkout. When the payment goes through the booking lands on your Bookings calendar as Confirmed and the customer gets a confirmation email with a calendar file. From My Bookings in their account they can reschedule to any free slot in the next 30 days, or cancel, with your policy and the estimated refund shown first and the money returned to their card. Your side is a month calendar and a list: open a booking for the customer’s contact details and order, block out time you cannot cover, and mark each clean complete or a no-show. For customers who still ring, raise a draft order and send a payment link. Block the time on the calendar when that booking takes your last team, because a block closes the whole start time for that clean.

A few things to settle before you write your pages. The customer pays the full price when they book, and a deposit you agree by hand with a landlord or agent goes out as a payment link from a draft order. A booking is for the clean, so a customer who wants the same team again asks by email and you match them where you can. Regulars book each clean on its product page and move or cancel it from their account; a monthly plan runs as a subscription that takes the payment each month. Keep its visits in your diary and block a start time on the calendar when they take your last team. A slot is a start time, so write “choose a day and a start time” on the page. The confirmation email carries a calendar file, so the clean sits in the customer’s calendar with its own reminder.

What insurance and checks do customers expect from a cleaning firm?

Employers’ liability insurance is the one the law requires: as soon as you employ anyone, for at least £5 million, from an authorised insurer. The fine is £2,500 for every day you are not properly insured and £1,000 for not displaying the certificate. The one exemption that fits a small firm is employing only close family (gov.uk, checked 8 November 2026). Whether self-employed cleaners count as employees is a question for your insurer and HMRC.

Public liability insurance is not on the legally required list, which names employers’ liability and motor insurance, but government guidance says almost all businesses need it and that you need it if you visit clients or a contract requires it (business.gov.uk, checked 8 November 2026). Letting agents ask for it before they list you.

DBS checks are not required by law for domestic cleaning, but customers expect them. The check a cleaning firm can use is the basic check: unspent convictions, any position or purpose, £20. Standard and enhanced checks are only for roles listed in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act exceptions, and knowingly asking for a higher check than the law allows is unlawful (gov.uk, updated 5 October 2026, checked 8 November 2026). Put insurer, cover and checks on one page and offer the certificates on request.

What does consumer law require when a clean is booked online?

A clean bought on your website is a distance contract under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. The customer can cancel for 14 days after the day the contract is made (regulation 30, checked 8 November 2026), and you must tell them so before they buy, or the period runs for up to 12 months (regulation 31). Most cleans fall inside those 14 days, and regulation 36 covers that. You must not start unless the customer expressly asks you to. If they cancel part-way they pay for the proportion done. Once the clean is finished at their request, with their acknowledgement that the right ends, there is nothing left to cancel. If you never got the request or gave the information, they owe nothing (regulation 36). Refunds are due within 14 days, by the method they paid with (Business Companion, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute’s guidance, reviewed April 2025, checked 8 November 2026).

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 covers the clean itself. You must use reasonable care and skill (section 49). What you say about the service binds you (section 50), so your checklist is a promise. A reasonable time applies where none is fixed (section 52). If the clean falls short, the customer can ask for a repeat at your cost or a price reduction of up to the full price (sections 55 and 56). You cannot exclude any of this (legislation.gov.uk, checked 8 November 2026). An unfair term, one that creates a significant imbalance against the customer, does not bind them (section 62). A re-clean window on the page meets the repeat right on your own terms; our guide to selling services online in the UK has the same rules for other service firms.

Setting Orbit’s cancellation fee so it stays within the law

Orbit’s fee is one percentage applied to every customer cancellation, whenever it happens, while the law gives a customer who cancels within 14 days of booking, before you start, everything back. If most bookings come inside 14 days, set the fee to 0% and bill genuine late cancellations by hand with a draft order and a payment link, only where your policy allows it and the booking was made more than 14 days ahead. Otherwise set a fee you can justify and refund the difference from the order when a cancellation falls inside the 14 days. Have a solicitor or Trading Standards read the policy; this is general information, not legal advice.

What else should a cleaning firm’s website sell?

• Gift cards. A product with the amounts as variants: the buyer adds the recipient’s email and a message, the card is emailed on payment, redeemed at checkout, and any unspent balance stays on it. Issue one by hand as goodwill.
• A small kit shop. The cloths, caddies and sprays your team uses, as physical products with stock, shipping rates and courier labels. It earns a little and builds trust.
• Google reviews. Ask each customer for a Google review after the clean. Show the rating with Orbit’s Google Reviews element, a paid add-on that connects to your Google Business Profile, shows a badge, carousel or grid with up to five reviews as Google returns them, and refreshes nightly. Product reviews sit on product pages; the Google element puts your rating on the booking page and the home page too.
• Live chat and WhatsApp. The Live Chat add-on puts a chat button on every page and an inbox in your dashboard with opening hours; outside them a message becomes a ticket and emails you. Keep a WhatsApp button for those who prefer it.
• Areas covered. A page per town or postcode area, built in the page builder with a map, the cleans offered there and a Book button: pages that can rank for “end of tenancy cleaning Headingley”.
• A FAQ page. The questions you answer by phone every day, in the FAQ element.

Where Orbit fits

Service bookings are built into every Orbit plan. Solo is £25 a month, or £19 a month billed yearly, ex VAT, with one staff account; Team is £85 with ten. Every plan has unlimited products, the page builder, gift cards, discount codes, one abandoned-basket reminder, customer emails in your branding, a blog on your own domain, hosting in London with SSL and a 14-day free trial with no card. A booking is paid like any order, at one published card rate per plan with nothing added on top: 2% + 25p for a UK personal Visa or Mastercard on Solo, and no fee per booking.

The detail is on the bookings, gift cards, reviews and live chat pages and on pricing; Live Chat has a free plan and paid plans, and Google Reviews is priced on its plugin store listing. The theme store lists free and premium themes by industry; pick one for a services business and change its colours, fonts and logo in the dashboard. Cleaning is one of the businesses in our hub on selling services online in the UK, and number 10 in our 50 small business ideas.

Read next: booking tools compared for a service business, taking phone orders and deposits with a payment link and live chat for a one-person shop.

Questions people ask about taking cleaning bookings online

Should a cleaning company charge by the hour or a fixed price online?

Fixed. Nobody can buy “about three hours”, and since 6 April 2025 a price shown to a consumer must be the total, or say how it is calculated (Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, section 230, checked 8 November 2026). Price by clean type and property size, with extras as separate products.

Can a landlord make a tenant pay for a professional end of tenancy clean?

Not in England. The Tenant Fees Act 2019 stops a landlord requiring a tenant to enter into a contract with a third party for a service, and gov.uk lists the only payments a landlord can charge (checked 8 November 2026). The tenant must still hand the property back as clean as at check-in, so tenants book and pay themselves.

Can customers cancel a clean they booked online?

Yes. Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 they can cancel for 14 days after the day they booked, with everything back if they cancel before you start. If they asked for the clean inside those 14 days they pay for any part done, and once it is finished at their request and with their acknowledgement, the right ends (legislation.gov.uk, checked 8 November 2026).

Do domestic cleaners need a DBS check?

Not by law, but customers expect one. A cleaning firm can request the basic check, which shows unspent convictions, suits any role and costs £20. Standard and enhanced checks are only for roles listed in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act exceptions, and asking for one you are not entitled to is unlawful (gov.uk, checked 8 November 2026).

How do regular customers book a weekly clean on Orbit?

One visit at a time. A regular customer books each clean on its product page and moves or cancels it from My Bookings, and every confirmation email carries a calendar file so the visit sits in their diary. A monthly plan runs as a subscription that takes the payment each month. Keep its visits in your diary and block a start time on the calendar when they take your last team. The customer pays the full price when they book, and a deposit you agree by hand goes out as a payment link.

Build the menu first: three clean types, four sizes, one honest checklist each. Set up the Service products, your hours and your teams as places, and send the link to five regulars. Orbit’s 14-day free trial, no card required, is long enough to find out whether they book.