Cleaning Services

Bookkeeping for cleaning businesses that need to track true job profitability after travel time, supplies, and labor costs.

The Industry

A residential cleaning company runs 18 weekly recurring clients at $140 each. That’s $2,520 per week in revenue, which sounds like a solid business. Except the owner hasn’t tracked that her two-person crew spends nearly three hours each day driving between jobs across the Wasatch Front. That’s 15 hours of paid time every week that generates zero revenue. Add in cleaning supplies that actually cost more per job than the $6 she estimates in her head, and the math gets worse. That $140 house that takes two hours to clean is costing $78 in labor, $12 in supplies, and another $18 in vehicle costs and unbillable drive time. Her actual profit is half what she thinks it is.

Cleaning businesses come in several forms and each has different accounting needs. Residential cleaning often gets paid at time of service but involves heavy travel between locations. Commercial janitorial contracts pay monthly but often net 30 or net 60. Specialty services like carpet cleaning and pressure washing require equipment that depreciates. Post-construction cleaning works with general contractors on project-based billing with payment terms that mirror the rest of the construction industry. The common thread is that most owners don’t know their real costs per job or per client.

Who This Covers

Residential cleaning services, commercial janitorial companies, post-construction cleaning crews, window cleaners, carpet cleaners, and pressure washing businesses. Any cleaning operation in Utah that sends crews to client locations and bills for services performed.

What Makes It Complicated

Unbillable travel time between jobs that rarely gets factored into pricing. Supplies purchased in bulk but not allocated to specific clients. Residential clients paying immediately while commercial accounts take 30 to 60 days. Recurring contracts paid in advance creating revenue recognition questions. Crews working varying schedules across multiple locations. Equipment costs for specialty cleaning that need proper depreciation.

What We Handle

Job costing shows what each client actually costs after labor, travel, and supplies. Not a rough estimate but a real number based on tracked data. You can finally see which accounts make you money and which ones you’re servicing at a loss once all the costs are properly allocated. Routes get evaluated for efficiency so you know when too much driving is eating into what should be profitable work. Supply costs get tracked per job instead of dumped into a general expense category when you buy a case of floor cleaner.

Payroll gets processed for crews with varying schedules and locations. Commercial janitorial contracts need accounts receivable tracking so you know which clients are paying on time and which ones are stretching to 60 or 90 days. QuickBooks gets configured for service businesses with job costing enabled and reports that actually show profitability by client and service type. Tax prep captures vehicle expenses, equipment depreciation, and supply costs that cleaning businesses routinely underestimate or miss entirely.

Job Costing and Route Profitability

Every client tracked with labor hours, travel time, and supply usage. You see actual profitability per account not just what you bill. Routes analyzed to identify which geographic areas make money and which involve too much driving for the revenue generated. Historical data that helps you price new clients based on what similar jobs actually cost instead of guessing.

Payroll and Receivables

Payroll processed for cleaning crews with multiple locations and varying schedules. Commercial accounts tracked with aging reports so you follow up before balances go past 60 days. Tax returns prepared by someone who understands cleaning business operations and captures vehicle mileage, equipment depreciation, and supply expenses that often get missed or understated.

Common Problems

Travel time never makes it into the profitability calculation. You know how long the cleaning took but not how much getting there and back added to your labor cost. A cleaning route with six stops might include 90 minutes of unbillable driving that nobody accounts for when deciding whether to keep that route or raise prices on those clients. Supplies get purchased in bulk and expensed immediately instead of allocated across the jobs where they were used. You think margins are 35% but they’re actually 20% once you properly account for drive time, vehicle wear, and actual supply consumption per visit.

Prepaid annual janitorial contracts get recorded as revenue when the check arrives in January. The next 11 months show artificially low income even though you’re performing the same service every week. Commercial clients on net 60 terms create cash crunches during payroll weeks. You have $15,000 in outstanding invoices and $8,000 in payroll due Friday. The business is profitable on paper but you’re scrambling to cover checks because the timing doesn’t line up.

Hidden Costs Not Captured

Travel time gets ignored in pricing decisions. Supply costs hit when purchased not when used on specific jobs. Vehicle expenses get lumped together instead of allocated by route. What looks like a profitable $140 client becomes a break-even client when you properly account for the 45 minutes of driving and actual product usage required to service that account.

Revenue and Cash Timing Problems

Prepaid contracts counted as income when received creates income spikes in January and artificial lows the rest of the year. Commercial clients paying net 60 means cash comes in long after you’ve paid the crew. Monthly financials show wild swings that don’t reflect actual business performance. You can’t tell if you’re growing or shrinking because the numbers are distorted by payment timing.

What Changes

Every client shows true profitability after labor, travel, and supplies. You know which accounts make money and which ones need a price increase or need to be dropped. Routes get evaluated based on actual data so you can reorganize schedules to minimize drive time and maximize billable hours. New client pricing gets based on what similar jobs actually cost instead of hoping your estimate covers everything.

Revenue gets recognized as services are performed not when cash arrives. Monthly financials show consistent performance instead of wild swings based on prepayment timing. Commercial receivables get tracked and followed up on before accounts slip past 60 days. Tax returns capture every deduction you’re entitled to. Vehicle mileage, equipment depreciation, supply costs. The things cleaning businesses routinely leave on the table because nobody tracked them properly throughout the year.

Pricing and Route Decisions Based on Data

Job-level profitability shows which clients and areas make money after all costs. Routes get planned to maximize billable time and minimize driving across the Wasatch Front. Unprofitable accounts get repriced or dropped. New clients get quoted based on actual historical data from similar jobs not hopeful estimates that miss half the real costs.

Accurate Financials and Tax Outcomes

Revenue recognized when earned showing actual monthly performance. Commercial contracts managed with systematic follow-up on aging balances. Cash flow forecasting that accounts for the lag between service delivery and payment collection. Tax returns prepared with every legitimate deduction captured. No more leaving money on the table because nobody tracked mileage or properly depreciated equipment.

Utah's Construction Bookkeeping Specialists