Bookkeeping for cleaning businesses

Why cleaning businesses need a simple system

A cleaning business has many small transactions: weekly visits for dozens of clients, frequent supply runs and a lot of driving. None of them is large, so it is easy to let them pile up. By the end of the year, a missing month of receipts or mileage can cost more in lost deductions than any single job earns.

The aim is not complex accounting. It is to capture each income and expense when it happens, in one place, so the month-end check takes minutes rather than a weekend.

Track income by client and visit

Most cleaning income is recurring. Invoice regular clients on a fixed rhythm, weekly or monthly, and list each visit so missed and extra visits are visible. Record deep cleans, move-out cleans and add-ons as separate lines, because they are priced differently and are useful to see on their own when you review prices.

Mark each invoice paid when the money arrives, not when you send it. That keeps your income figures honest and shows who owes you. A client who pays late twice in a row is worth a conversation about payment by card or direct debit.

• Use the cleaning service invoice template

Expense categories that fit a cleaning business

Use a short, fixed list of categories so every month is comparable. Six or seven are enough for most cleaning businesses:

• Supplies: cleaning products, cloths, bags and refills.
• Equipment: vacuums, steam cleaners and carpet machines, and their repairs.
• Vehicle and mileage: business miles, or fuel and repairs if you use actual costs, plus parking and tolls.
• Cleaners: wages for employees, or invoices from independent contractors.
• Insurance and bonding: general liability and any bond clients ask for.
• Phone, software and advertising: booking apps, your phone plan and listings.
• Uniforms and laundry: only if the business provides them.

Mileage between clients

Driving is often a cleaning business’s largest cost after people. In the US, the IRS standard mileage rate for business driving in 2026 is 72.5 cents a mile from January to June and 76 cents a mile from 1 July. Driving from one client to the next counts as business mileage; your first trip from home to a regular workplace may not, so keep a log with the date, the client and the miles for each trip.

A phone mileage app or a simple notebook kept in the car both work. What matters is writing it down on the day: rebuilding a year of trips from memory rarely survives scrutiny.

Employees or contractors: keep the right records

How you pay cleaners decides which records you need. Employees go through payroll: you withhold tax, pay employer taxes and issue a W-2. Independent contractors invoice you, and in the US you collect a Form W-9 before the first job and may need to issue a Form 1099-NEC after year end.

Whether someone is an employee or a contractor depends on how much control you have over the work, not on what you call them. If you set the schedule, supply the equipment and train people in your methods, the IRS may treat them as employees. Ask an accountant before you start paying anyone regularly.

• Read the 1099 and CIS rules in full

Set aside tax every month

Sole proprietors in the US usually pay income tax and self-employment tax through quarterly estimated payments. Self-employment tax is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security and 2.9% Medicare) on 92.35% of net earnings, once those earnings reach $400 in a year. For 2026, the estimated tax due dates are 15 April, 15 June and 15 September 2026, and 15 January 2027.

A simple habit is to move a fixed percentage of every payment into a separate savings account the day it arrives. Your accountant can tell you what percentage suits your income and state.

Worked example: one month for a small cleaning business

A fictional owner-operator with one part-time contractor cleans 16 regular homes each week at $120 a visit and does three deep cleans at $350 in October 2026. The month’s records look like this:

What the example tells the owner

Deep cleans earned $350 each against about $120 for a regular visit, so a few more each month would raise profit faster than adding regular homes. Mileage was the second-largest cost, which is a reason to group clients by area when scheduling. Income tax comes on top of the self-employment tax estimate, so the owner sets aside a larger share than $663 for the month.

A month-end routine that takes minutes

• Check every visit in the month has an invoice, and every paid invoice is marked paid.
• Match supply and equipment receipts to your bank and card statements, so nothing is missing or counted twice.
• Total the month’s mileage from your log.
• File cleaner invoices or payroll records with the month.
• Move the tax set-aside and note what is still unpaid.

• Follow the monthly bookkeeping checklist
• Turn receipts and invoices into an Excel workbook

UK cleaning businesses

In the UK, sole-trader cleaners report profit through Self Assessment and keep records for at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline. From 6 April 2026, HMRC’s approved mileage rate for cars and vans is 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a tax year, up from 45p, and 25p after that. Once taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in any rolling 12 months, you must register for VAT.

• How long to keep business records in the UK

Common questions