First visit checklist for cleaning, garden and pest control jobs, as a PDF and an Excel sheet.
The first job at a new property sets the standard every later visit is judged against. This checklist covers arrival, the walk-through, a scope check table, and what to do before you leave. Free, no email required.
What should happen on the first visit to a new property maintenance client?
Arrive inside the window you gave, confirm what today covers, walk the property and photograph every area before starting, note existing damage and hazards, write down the client’s priorities in their order, check the quoted scope line by line, photograph the finished areas from the same angles, leave access exactly as found, and tell the client what was done and what was not before you drive off. Punctuality is the most-praised trait in NZ cleaning, garden and pest control reviews (30.8 to 39.1% of positive reviews). A follow-up after the visit is mentioned in 1.4 to 5.5%, so the checklist builds it in.
The job this document is doing.
- —The team arrives, the lockbox code is wrong, and the first forty minutes are phone calls
- —A scratch that was already there becomes a dispute because nobody photographed it on day one
- —The thing the client cared about most was done last, or not at all, because nobody asked
- —The job is done well and the client hears nothing, so they assume the worst about what was skipped
Open it and use it today.
- 01Arrival: punctuality, access, confirming the scope, parking
- 02Walk-through: before photos, existing damage, hazards, priorities, products and allergies, waste
- 03Scope check table: each quoted task, done or not and why, extra work found (quote before doing)
- 04Before leaving: after photos, locking up, keys, telling the client, next visit confirmed, extras logged
- 05Notes and sign-off; the Excel version adds a Yes/No/N/A dropdown and a completed-items count
Free to use and adapt for your own business. Not legal advice: check contract terms against your own terms of trade and, where it matters, with a lawyer.
Why this document, and not another one.
| Category | Punctuality praised | Aftercare or follow-up praised |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning services | 39.1% of positive reviews | 2.9% |
| Garden and outdoor | 36.2% of positive reviews | 1.4% |
| Pest control | 30.8% of positive reviews | 5.5% |
From 12,570 publicly posted reviews of 186 NZ cleaning, garden and outdoor, and pest control businesses, collected August 2026. Positive reviews score 80 or more out of 100. Full corpus, method and thresholds: the property maintenance methodology page. Full findings: the property maintenance research study.
Use it alongside
Client intake form for cleaning services
A two-page intake form covering contact and property details, access and alarm, service and frequency, areas and priorities, products and health, billing and consent.
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