A cleaning checklist for a business, by area and frequency
Generic cleaning lists miss the things your space actually needs, and staff skip what isn't written down. Tell your agent what kind of business you run and its rooms, and it builds a cleaning checklist for your business by area and frequency, with sign-off boxes for each shift, a printable version for the wall and an Excel tracker.
The prompt
- Create a cleaning checklist for my [TYPE OF BUSINESS]. Areas: [AREAS]. Open [OPENING HOURS], with [STAFF] doing the cleaning. Special needs: [SPECIAL NEEDS]. Organise tasks by area and frequency: before opening, during the day, closing, weekly, monthly and quarterly. Be specific ("wipe door handles and card machine", not "clean surfaces"), say which product type to use (all-purpose cleaner, disinfectant, glass cleaner, degreaser) and remind staff to follow the label's contact time. Add a sign-off column with initials and time for each day of the week. Make a one-page printable PDF per area, an Excel tracker with a tab per week, and a short list of supplies to keep in stock. Note any tasks that local health rules may require and tell me to check them with my local authority.
What to change
- [TYPE OF BUSINESS]: E.g. "small café", "dental office", "gym", "retail shop", "coworking space".
- [AREAS]: Rooms and zones, e.g. "front counter, seating, kitchen, 2 restrooms, storeroom".
- [OPENING HOURS]: E.g. "7 am to 6 pm, 6 days". Helps place mid-day tasks.
- [STAFF]: Who cleans, e.g. "2 baristas on shift", "an outside cleaner twice a week".
- [SPECIAL NEEDS]: E.g. "food prep area", "carpets", "shared gym equipment", "high foot traffic", or "none".
Example result
- Bean There Café: cleaning checklist
- Front counter
- Before opening
- • Wipe counter, card machine and till screen with disinfectant, leave for the label's contact time
- • Clean and refill napkin, straw and sugar stations
- • Check display glass for fingerprints, glass cleaner and microfibre cloth
- During the day (every 2 hours)
- • Wipe door handles, card machine and counter edge
- • Empty bins when two-thirds full
- Closing
- • Clean espresso machine group heads and steam wands, backflush per the machine guide
- • Empty and wash milk jugs, knock box and drip trays
- • Sweep and mop behind the counter
- Seating area
- • Daily: wipe tables and chair backs after each guest, sweep floor at close, mop with neutral cleaner
- • Weekly: wipe chair and table legs, clean window sills, dust light fittings you can reach
- • Monthly: deep-clean upholstery, wash inside windows
- Restrooms
- • Every 2 hours: check and log: toilet, sink, soap, paper, bin, floor
- • Closing: disinfect toilet, seat, flush handle, taps, door handles. Mop floor
- • Weekly: descale taps and toilet, clean walls around the toilet
- Kitchen
- • Daily: clean and sanitise prep surfaces before and after use, degrease the hob, empty the fridge of out-of-date items and log fridge temperatures
- • Weekly: clean inside fridges, wipe shelves, clean the dishwasher filter
- • Quarterly: pull out equipment and clean behind it, deep-clean extractor filters
- Sign-off sheet (per area)
- Task | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat, each box for initials and time.
- Supplies to keep in stock
- All-purpose cleaner, food-safe sanitiser, disinfectant, glass cleaner, degreaser, colour-coded cloths (red for toilets, blue for general, green for food areas), mop heads, gloves, bin bags.
- Check locally
- Food businesses usually have extra rules (sanitising, temperature logs, pest checks). Confirm the requirements with your local health authority.
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt and list your business type, areas, hours and who cleans.
- Send it in todo.is or to your agent on WhatsApp or Slack.
- You get a printable PDF per area, an Excel tracker and a supplies list.
- Print the sheets for the wall. Ask your agent to remind you every Friday to review the tracker or reorder supplies.
Tips for a better result
- Write tasks as actions on objects: "wipe card machine" gets done, "clean counter area" gets skipped.
- Use colour-coded cloths so toilet cloths never touch food areas.
- Disinfectants need time to work. Spraying and wiping straight away often isn't enough, so follow the label.
- Keep signed sheets for a few months. They help with inspections and staff handovers.
cleaning checklist for a business: FAQ
- What should a commercial cleaning checklist include? Tasks grouped by area and frequency (daily, weekly, monthly), the product or method for each, and a sign-off column so you can see who did what and when.
- How often should a business restroom be cleaned? Busy public restrooms are often checked every one to two hours and fully cleaned at least daily. Adjust it to your foot traffic.
- What is the difference between cleaning and disinfecting? Cleaning removes dirt and germs from surfaces. Disinfecting uses a product to kill germs, and it works best on a surface that's already been cleaned.
- Can I edit the checklist later? Yes. The Excel file is fully editable, and you can ask your agent to add areas or tasks and regenerate the PDFs.
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