CLEANERS · PAYMENT LINKS
Cleaner Case Study: Using Deposits and Balance Payments for High Risk Jobs
A real UK case study showing how a cleaner who specialises in deep cleans, end of tenancy work and high value jobs used deposits, balance payments and payment links to protect her time and income.
High value cleaning work can be rewarding, but it also carries more risk. Deep cleans, end of tenancy jobs and one off intensive visits often involve long days, travel, extra products and the pressure of clients who expect everything to be perfect. When those bookings cancel late or take weeks to pay, it hits harder than a missed regular clean.
This case study follows a UK cleaner who focuses on high risk jobs such as end of tenancy cleans, move in and move out work, deep cleans after building projects and occasional office cleans. For years she trusted that clients would do the right thing. Most did. A few did not. Over time, those few cost her hundreds of pounds and a lot of confidence.
Part of the Cleaners Payment Links Guide Series
This case study fits alongside the main pillar guide.
The Cleaner and the Type of Work She Took On
This cleaner works full time across a medium sized UK city. She built her business around high value, one off and irregular work rather than a long list of weekly domestic clients.
Typical jobs she accepted
- End of tenancy cleans for letting agents, landlords and tenants.
- Deep cleans before move in or after building work.
- Holiday let changeover cleans during busy seasons.
- Occasional small office cleans or one off commercial jobs.
Why this work felt risky
- Jobs were often booked for four to eight hours, sometimes more, with no guarantee of payment until after the work.
- Cancellations within twenty four hours meant losing a full day with very little chance of filling it.
- Some clients treated end of tenancy cleans as optional, assuming she would be flexible if they changed their plans.
- Payments relied on bank transfers, screenshots and promises to pay later in the week.
Where things started to go wrong
For a while this arrangement worked. Most clients were honest. Some letting agents paid reliably. Holiday let owners understood the value of her work. The problems appeared slowly, and at first they were easy to dismiss as bad luck.
Over a twelve month period, she had several last minute cancellations for full day jobs, a handful of clients who delayed payment for weeks and one landlord who disputed her invoice after she had already spent a day cleaning. When she added everything up, the missed and delayed payments were worth several weeks of income.
Real Situations Where Deposits Would Have Helped
These are simplified versions of genuine situations she faced. They show how easy it is for even experienced cleaners to lose money when deposits and balance payments are not properly structured.
End of tenancy clean cancelled on the morning of the job
She had blocked out a full day for an end of tenancy clean in a three bedroom house. The client confirmed twice in the week before. On the morning of the job, they messaged to say they had decided to do it themselves to save money. She had no deposit and no written cancellation terms. She lost a full day of income.
Looking back, this was a clear situation where a deposit and simple cancellation policy would have protected her time. Even a modest deposit would have either discouraged the last minute change or at least covered part of the lost day.
Deep clean where the balance took weeks to arrive
A client booked a deep clean after building work. She quoted two hundred and fifty pounds. They agreed by message and she completed the job as planned. The client then asked to pay in stages, saying their budget was tight after the renovation.
Without a clear deposit and balance structure, she felt awkward insisting on full payment. She accepted three separate transfers over several weeks. The work was finished, but the payment dragged on and she had to keep following up.
With a proper system, she could have taken a deposit upfront and agreed clearly that the remaining balance was due on the day, using a payment link rather than open ended promises.
Letting agent disputing the price after the job
A letting agent asked her to clean a flat between tenants. They had worked together before, so she trusted that payment would be fine. After the clean, the agent said the landlord was unhappy with the price and wanted a reduction, even though the work had already been completed.
Because there was no written confirmation with a deposit and clear total, she felt pressured to accept a lower amount just to avoid a conflict. This created resentment and made her less confident with similar clients in the future.
If she had followed the same structure used in the Cleaner Pricing and Rates Guide and combined it with a deposit and balance link, the agreed figures would have been clear before anyone picked up a mop.
Holiday let changeover with unclear extra work
She agreed to a regular changeover clean for a holiday let at a set price. Some changeovers were normal. Others involved extra laundry, deep cleaning the oven or dealing with heavier mess after large groups stayed. Over time, the job took longer but the price stayed the same because nothing had been written down.
A better approach would have combined a clear base price with an extras list and a simple way to add those extras to a balance payment link. That way, busy hosts would know exactly what they were paying for each time.
The Deposit and Balance System She Switched To
After several difficult months, she decided that trusting people on a handshake was no longer enough. She wanted a simple system that would work the same way for every high risk job, without needing a lawyer or a complicated contract. These five steps formed the core of her new approach.
Group jobs into risk levels
First, she sat down and grouped her work into three simple bands. Regular domestic visits stayed on her normal system. High value and high risk jobs such as end of tenancy, deep cleans after building work and large one off jobs all moved into a new category. Anything in this category would now follow the deposit and balance structure by default. This helped her avoid making exceptions every time someone asked nicely.
Set realistic deposit ranges for each type of job
Next, she decided on typical deposit amounts. Smaller deep cleans or shorter jobs used deposits around twenty to forty pounds. Larger end of tenancy cleans and full day jobs often used deposits of fifty to one hundred pounds, depending on the total price. These figures were consistent with the ranges discussed in the How Cleaners Can Request a Deposit Professionally guide. She wrote these ranges down so she did not have to decide from scratch each time.
Create a simple message explaining deposits and balances
She then wrote a short, clear explanation she could send to anyone booking higher risk work. This message covered the total price, the deposit amount, when the balance would be due and how payment would be taken using payment links. By using similar wording each time, she became more confident and clients understood that this was a standard part of how she worked, not something she was making up on the spot.
Use separate payment links for deposit and balance
For each job, she created one payment link for the deposit and another for the balance. The deposit link was sent when the booking was agreed. The balance link was scheduled to be sent on the day of the job, or immediately after for longer work. This followed the practical structure in the Deposit and Balance Payments for Cleaners guide, turning it into a repeatable routine rather than a theory.
Connect balance links with reminders and late payment follow up
Finally, she connected her balance payment links with simple reminder rules. If payment was not made by the agreed time, a friendly reminder message went out automatically. For the few clients who still did not pay on time, she used the tone and examples from the How Cleaners Can Chase Late Payments guide. This meant she always had a clear next step rather than avoiding the conversation.
The whole system fitted on one side of a single sheet of paper. It was not complicated. The power came from using it consistently for every high value job, instead of treating each booking as a special case.
Example Messages and Deposit Structures She Used
These are adapted versions of the messages she now uses for clients. They sit alongside the wording in the main deposit and pricing guides and show how everything connects in day to day conversations.
Example deposit and balance structure for high risk jobs
| Job type | Typical total | Typical deposit | Balance timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small end of tenancy clean (flat) | £180 – £260 | £40 – £60 | Balance due on the day of the clean, using a payment link sent that morning. |
| Large end of tenancy clean (house) | £260 – £400+ | £60 – £100 | Balance due on completion, payment link sent once the job is finished and checked. |
| Deep clean after building work | £200 – £320 | £40 – £80 | Balance due on the day, with clear scope agreed beforehand as suggested in the Reduce Cancellations guide. |
| Holiday let deep reset clean | £150 – £240 | £30 – £50 | Balance due on the day, separate from smaller regular changeovers that follow a simpler structure. |
These figures are examples only. Every cleaner should set deposit amounts that match their own prices, local market and risk level.
Template 1: Confirming an end of tenancy booking with deposit and balance
I will send a payment link for the deposit now to secure the date, and a separate link for the balance on the day. This helps protect the time booked for your clean and keeps everything clear for both of us.
Template 2: Explaining a simple cancellation policy for high value work
This is because these longer cleans take up most of a day, so it is difficult to refill the slot at short notice. I hope that sounds fair and clear.
Template 3: Sending the balance payment link after a job
[Payment link]
If you have any questions about what was included today, just let me know and I will be happy to clarify.
Template 4: Gentle follow up if a balance is a day late
[Payment link]
If you have already paid and I have missed it, please ignore this message and accept my apologies.
She saved these as message snippets so she did not have to rewrite them each time. Combined with clear pricing and consistent deposits, they turned awkward money conversations into simple, routine admin.
What Changed After Six Months of Using Deposits and Balance Links
The impact of the new system showed up in her calendar, her bank account and how she felt about her business. The work itself was the same. The difference was how every high value job was booked, confirmed and paid for.
Financial wins
- Fewer last minute cancellations for full day jobs once deposits were required to confirm bookings.
- Better protection when cancellations did happen, because the deposit covered at least part of the lost time.
- Faster balance payments, as clients were used to paying through links instead of open ended transfers.
- Less unpaid extra work, because extras were priced and added to balances rather than quietly absorbed.
Emotional and practical wins
- More confidence when quoting, because she knew her structure was fair and the same for everyone.
- Less anxiety the night before big jobs, as the deposit confirmed that clients were committed.
- Clearer boundaries with agents and landlords, because prices and payment terms were agreed in advance.
- A general feeling that she was running her business on purpose, rather than reacting to whatever clients decided.
The most important change was not a single big win. It was the combined effect of many small improvements. A deposit and balance system joined up with pricing, cancellations, payment links and reminders gave her cleaning business a strong backbone instead of loose agreements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need deposits for every type of cleaning job?
Most cleaners do not use deposits for short regular domestic visits, especially when there is a long standing relationship. Deposits are most useful for high value, high risk jobs that take up large parts of a day, such as end of tenancy cleans, deep cleans and one off commercial work. The key is to decide which jobs feel risky to you and apply a clear structure to those.
How much should I charge as a deposit for end of tenancy cleans?
There is no one exact figure, but many UK cleaners find that deposits in the range of twenty to one hundred pounds work well, depending on the total price and the size of the property. The amount should be enough to discourage casual cancellations and cover some of your time if someone cancels late, without feeling unreasonable to genuine clients.
Should the balance be due before, on the day or after the clean?
This depends on your comfort level and the type of client. Some cleaners ask for full payment in advance for very high risk work. Others prefer a deposit beforehand and the balance on the day once the clean is completed. The important part is that the timing is clear in your messages and matches the payment links you send.
How do payment links make deposits and balances easier to manage?
Payment links allow you to send a clear amount for both the deposit and the balance without sharing bank details or chasing for references. Each link is tied to a specific job and price. When combined with automatic reminders, they reduce the need to manually follow up and keep your records tidy.
What if a client refuses to pay a deposit for a high value job?
If someone is unwilling to pay a reasonable deposit for a high value or full day job, it can be a warning sign. You always have the choice to politely decline the booking. Many cleaners find that holding this boundary leads to better clients in the long term and fewer stressful situations.
Can I introduce deposits and new terms to existing clients?
Yes, but it usually works best when you explain what is changing and why. You can start by applying deposits to new high value jobs only, such as end of tenancy cleans or deep resets, and keep regular domestic visits as they are. Over time, as clients see the system in action, it becomes a normal part of how you work.
Related Guides
Continue learning with these related guides:
Payment Links for Cleaners — Complete UK Guide
The complete UK guide to payment links for cleaners. Learn how to take deposits securely, reduce cancellations, and get paid faster.
Read guideDeposit and Balance Payments for Cleaners
How to take deposits upfront and collect balances professionally as a cleaner.
Read guideCleaner Pricing and Rates Guide
A practical pricing guide for UK cleaners.
Read guideHow to Send Payment Links as a Cleaner
A simple guide for UK cleaners on how to send payment links by text, WhatsApp and email.
Read guideAutomatic Payment Reminders for Cleaners
Learn how to automate payment chasing as a UK cleaner.
Read guideProtect Your High Value Cleaning Jobs With Clear Payments
High value work deserves a strong payment system. When your deposits, balances and payment links all match, clients know exactly what to expect and you know your time is protected. Simply Link helps you turn these agreements into clear payment links with optional deposits, balances and automatic reminders, so you spend less time worrying about what happens if someone cancels and more time focusing on the work you are proud of.
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