Cleaning Services
Bookkeeping for cleaning companies that tracks true job profitability including travel time, supplies, and route efficiency.
The Industry
A residential cleaning company charges $180 for a house. The crew spends two hours on site. Labor costs $50. Supplies cost $15. That looks like $115 profit. But nobody counted the 25 minutes driving to the house, the 20 minutes driving to the next job, and the crew on the clock the whole time. Factor in vehicle costs and the actual margin drops to $75. Now do that calculation across 20 clients and you find some routes are profitable while others barely break even. Without tracking it properly, you have no idea which is which.
Commercial janitorial operates on contracts paid net 30 or net 60. Residential cleaning often gets prepaid monthly. Pressure washing is project-based with equipment that depreciates fast. Each revenue model has different cash flow timing and accounting needs. A cleaning business might have all three happening at once, and most bookkeepers treat the whole thing like a simple service business when it isn’t.
Who This Covers
Who This Covers
Commercial janitorial, residential house cleaning, office cleaning, pressure washing, window cleaning, carpet cleaning, post-construction cleaning. Any cleaning business on Long Island managing recurring accounts, crews, and equipment.
What Complicates It
What Complicates It
Unbillable travel time between jobs that still costs you money. Supplies used per visit that should be allocated to jobs instead of expensed in bulk. Commercial contracts with delayed payment terms. Equipment depreciation for pressure washing rigs and carpet machines. Payroll for crews working across multiple locations in a single day.
What We Handle
Job costing tracks labor, travel time, and supply costs per client. You need to see which accounts make money after accounting for drive time and actual product usage. Commercial contracts need receivables tracking with follow-up before accounts age past 60 days. Prepaid residential contracts need revenue recognized monthly as services are performed, not recorded all at once when the check arrives in January.
QuickBooks needs to be configured to handle job costing and track profitability by client or route. Generic chart of accounts and default settings won’t give you the reports you need. Payroll has to account for crews working at different locations with varying hours. Tax prep should capture vehicle expenses, equipment depreciation, and supply costs that cleaning businesses consistently undercount.
Job Costing and Client Profitability
Job Costing and Client Profitability
Every expense coded to the client or route. Labor hours, estimated travel time, supplies used, vehicle costs. You see actual profitability per account instead of guessing based on the hourly rate. QuickBooks set up to track recurring contracts and job-level costs. Historical data that supports pricing decisions when you need to raise rates or evaluate new work.
Receivables and Cash Flow
Receivables and Cash Flow
Commercial accounts tracked with systematic follow-up on aging balances before they go stale. Prepaid contracts recognized as revenue when services are performed so your monthly financials reflect actual performance. Payroll processed for crews with varying schedules and locations. Tax returns that capture vehicle depreciation, equipment costs, and supply expenses cleaning businesses often miss.
Common Problems
Travel time disappears from profitability calculations. The crew is on the clock from when they leave one job until they arrive at the next, but that time doesn’t show up anywhere when you look at what each client costs. Supplies get purchased in bulk and expensed immediately instead of allocated per job. A client paying $200 monthly looks profitable until you account for the 40-minute round trip drive and the actual cleaning solution used each visit. Multiply that across your client list and some accounts are losing you money every month.
Prepaid annual or quarterly contracts get recorded as income when the payment arrives. January shows a huge income spike from contract renewals while the rest of the year looks flat even though you’re providing the same service every month. You can’t tell if the business is growing or declining because the numbers are distorted by payment timing. Commercial accounts go past 60 days because nobody is watching receivables. By the time you notice, you’re chasing payments while still cleaning their building every night.
Costs Not Tracked Properly
Costs Not Tracked Properly
Travel time between jobs never gets counted even though it costs you real money in labor and vehicle expenses. Supplies get expensed when purchased instead of when used. What looks like a 45% margin client becomes a 25% margin client when you properly allocate all costs including unbillable time and actual product consumption per visit.
Cash Flow Confusion
Cash Flow Confusion
Commercial clients paying late creates cash gaps during payroll weeks. Prepaid contracts counted as income when received create spikes that hide actual performance trends. Nobody watches receivables until the account is 90 days past due and harder to collect. You end up surprised by cash shortfalls that could have been predicted with proper tracking.
What Changes
Every client shows true profitability after labor, travel, and supplies. Routes get evaluated for efficiency based on actual data rather than guesswork. Clients using more supplies or requiring longer drives than your pricing accounts for get flagged. You can raise rates on unprofitable accounts, restructure routes to reduce drive time, or make informed decisions about which work is worth keeping and which isn’t.
Commercial receivables get tracked and followed up on before accounts age past 60 days. Prepaid contracts show revenue when earned so monthly financials reflect actual performance instead of payment timing. Tax returns prepared by someone who understands cleaning business operations capture vehicle expenses, equipment depreciation, and supply costs that often get missed or understated when the books are disorganized.
Pricing and Route Decisions Based on Data
Pricing and Route Decisions Based on Data
Job-level profitability shows which clients and geographic areas actually make money. Routes get planned around maximizing billable hours and minimizing drive time. Unprofitable accounts get repriced or reconsidered. Supply usage tracked so jobs are priced based on what they actually cost, not what you assumed two years ago when you first quoted the work.
Clean Financials and Captured Deductions
Clean Financials and Captured Deductions
Revenue recognized when earned showing real monthly performance. Receivables managed with follow-up before accounts go stale. Tax prep that captures vehicle depreciation, equipment costs, and supply expenses. Financial statements that show what the business actually makes so you can plan, borrow, or grow with confidence in the numbers.
Long Island's Small Business Bookkeeper
The Next Step:
A Quick Conversation
Tell us about your business and what you need. We'll ask a few questions and give you a straightforward quote.
