There are many benefits to using house cleaning business software. You can track your cleaning services, automate the email system and improve customer satisfaction by asking for feedback in an online survey. You can also schedule appointments, meetings and events on a calendar and evaluate the performance of house cleaners with a scorecard.
In this guide, we review the House Cleaning Business Software, best accounting software for cleaning business, cleaning management app, and how to start a house cleaning business.
House Cleaning Business Software
If you are reading this, chances are you have a busy life. You have a business that needs managing, but you also have many other things to do in your personal life as well. As such, it may be difficult for you to keep track of everything at once. Fortunately, there are several house cleaning software options available today that can help streamline the process of running your business and make it easier for you to manage all of your tasks at once. Here’s how:
Utilize a calendar to schedule appointments, meetings, and events
- Use a calendar to schedule your appointments, meetings and events. You can use a calendar to schedule your work day in order to keep track of the different tasks you need to complete and what is due when.
- Keep track of customers and their needs with a calendar. A customer management system will allow you to keep track of customers’ preferences and schedules so that you can better serve them when they hire you for house cleaning services. This way, if they have certain days off or other important dates coming up (such as birthdays), then they will tell you when they schedule an appointment so that there are no surprises later on down the line.
- Use a calendar to keep track of your own tasks and goals as well as those related directly related with running your business (such as marketing). It’s important because it helps ensure none get overlooked or forgotten about during busy periods where everything seems urgent but nothing actually is urgent yet costly mistakes could occur for failing at something simple like scheduling ahead instead opting for procrastination tactics instead which often leads nowhere fast especially when dealing with deadlines which require careful planning ahead rather than last minute panics trying desperately not miss any deadlines! You need strategies in place beforehand so things don’t fall apart later down road because if one thing goes wrong another will follow suit quickly making everything worse overall rather than better!
Ask your customers for feedback in an online survey
- Ask your customers for feedback in an online survey.
- Use an online survey tool like SurveyMonkey to collect your customer’s thoughts and opinions about your business, the services you provide, and how you could improve. This is a great way for you to learn more about their needs so that you can continue improving your service offerings.
- The questions that are asked are important! Make sure the language is clear, concise, and easy-to-understand. If there’s any question that might cause confusion or be misinterpreted by some users, then reword it so it makes sense to everyone (and don’t worry too much if some people still don’t understand).
- Be sure to set up the survey correctly according to best practices as well; this includes making sure all fields contain required information such as names or emails before submitting (or else those surveys will not go through).
Automate your emails to customers
Use a CRM. A customer relationship management system is an essential tool for any business, but it’s especially important for house cleaning businesses. You need to have a way of keeping track of customer information and communication, which can be difficult when you have dozens or even hundreds of clients. A CRM will help you stay organized and make sure that every client has everything they need in order to use your services.
We also recommend setting up email campaigns so that you can remind customers about upcoming appointments or send invoices after each visit. This will help streamline the process and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks at any point in time during the business day!
Use a scorecard to evaluate the performance of house cleaners.
Use a scorecard to evaluate the performance of house cleaners.
To ensure you get the most out of your house cleaning business, you need to be able to evaluate your employees’ performances. This can be done by using a scoring system that gives each cleaner an overall rating based on their performance in several different areas of cleaning. The best way to understand this process is through an example: let’s say you have three parts of a room that need cleaning: floors, walls/ceilings and furniture/bedding. In each case there are five criteria listed below them (1-5 with 5 being excellent). The scores range from 1-20 points per area depending on how well they perform their duties according to these criteria:
- Floors – 1) Quality 2) Quantity 3) Time taken 4) Overall Rating 5) Extra Credit (Extra effort put into flooring e.g., mopping over carpeted floors)
best accounting software for cleaning business
Running a cleaning business is demanding and requires excellent management skills. You need to choose a cleaning business software solution that will help you schedule more efficiently.
As commercial and residential construction increase year by year, cleaning services continue to be in high demand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the industry will grow by 7% between now and 2028, which is faster than most other industries. Chances are, if you run a cleaning business, you’re just going to get busier and busier.
Every business owner loves to hear that, but it does bring challenges you can’t overlook: specifically, how do you manage a business that is getting increasingly complex?
Whether you’re looking for commercial or home cleaning software, you need something that will keep you organized and operating with maximum efficiency, moving from one property to the next. But how do you choose one that works for you? We’ve done the research for you.
Here are the top cleaning business software options for your small business:
What to look for in a great cleaning business software
The cleaning business is, at its heart, a field service operation, and as such you will have many of the same needs as other field service industries. But the cleaning business has a few unique needs, so look for work order software with three characteristics in particular.
1. Efficient scheduling
Cleaning businesses need software that does a good job of scheduling jobs. To be successful in this industry, you really need to pack your schedule as much as possible, so you’ll need a software with good technician scheduling that allows you to fit as many jobs into a day as possible — and provides you with a good top-down view of what all your cleaners are doing so you can easily figure out who’s available and who’s not.
2. Administrative tools
It’s important that your business be clean and well-kept — not just your customer’s houses and businesses. You need software that can help you keep everything in order, from taxes to insurance to day-to-day operations. Look for options that make it easy to run the administrative side of the house.
3. Ease of use
Your business involves constantly rushing from job to job, so the last thing you want is a complex system that is difficult to use. You’re going to want a simple interface that puts everything in front of you.
Also, since most cleaning jobs are fairly straightforward and there isn’t a huge amount of variation, you often won’t need the expensive, feature-laden versions that are out there. A maid service software program that will receive calls, track customer information, handle administrative tasks, schedule cleanings, and dispatch your cleaners is probably all you’ll need.
Our 5 top picks for the best cleaning business software options
Most field service management software options should meet your needs, but we chose the following five options based on how well they were likely to meet the needs of a typical cleaning business.
1. mHelpDesk
The reason mHelpDesk tops this list is because while they are a bit on the pricey side, we found this software option to be the easiest to use in all of field service management.
It organizes all of your invoices by jobs, and it has a bar of icons at the top of the screen that lets you easily access your invoices and see how many have been sent and which are overdue. They are further organized by date of issue, customer, balance, and if payment is due.
The software also has a mobile app that will help your cleaners on the road see exactly what their workload schedule is from their phones. You can easily switch to the next job when you’re done, and it even provides a Google Maps image of the destination.
mHelpDesk’s dashboard provides a good top-down overview of your business. Image source: Author
From a home office standpoint, the desktop version of the software has a dashboard that provides a good overview of what all of your cleaners are scheduled to be doing today.
Pricing: At $374/month, it’s certainly on the pricey side. But the good thing is that, for a small operation, that will cover all of your employees if you have 10 or less. After that, you’ll need to pay $35 per person, and you’ll need custom pricing past 15 users, which may mean you can get a better per-user deal.
2. Jobber
Jobber is perfect for a business that just wants something easy to use and inexpensive for managing their cleaners. Their desktop version is good for the ones managing the operation at the home office, while their mobile app helps cleaners keep on top of their jobs.
We like how this cleaning management software option organizes invoices, showing clearly what’s been paid and what hasn’t. You can sort invoices by “Awaiting Payment-Past Due,” and there’s a search bar so you can dial up the person you’re thinking of quickly. You can bill a job through the app, and can choose to invoice now or later via text message or email.
Jobber’s invoicing tool helps you organize invoices. Image source: Author
Jobber provides a great top-down view of your work orders, showing which jobs are active, as well as if there are invoices that need to be sent out. The app allows the cleaner to see the day’s schedule, and there are also handy functions for time sheets and clients.
The customer database is thorough, and displays clients in a simple list with their name, phone, properties, and status. Clicking on an individual customer will bring up other details.
Pricing: In terms of pricing, you’re not likely to do much better than Jobber. Ranging from $69/month for a single user in their core plan to $169 month for up to 5 users in their connect plan and topping out at $349/month for up to 15 users in their Grow plan. All plans also offer annual subscriptions discounts.
3. Housecall Pro
Housecall Pro is really well-suited for the cleaning business, although it’s slightly expensive. You get a powerful cloud-based field service software option that is also simple to use — two important attributes for anyone in your line of work.
It scores strongest when it comes to ease of use. You’ll be able to quickly onboard your crew with minimal training required. And beyond its simple interface, there are also great features that will simplify your business such as automatic invoicing and notifications.
Housecall Pro’s invoicing feature shows you the invoice’s current status. Image source: Author
One unique feature that comes with Housecall Pro is that your customers can also get their own version of the app, which they can use to book your services directly. This reduces the amount of form-filling and data entry required of your staff.
The scheduling feature was very intuitive. You only need to click on a time slot, select “job,” choose a customer, and then provide any notes or documentation. It will then show up on your dashboard and on your cleaner’s schedule.
Pricing: Housecall Pro is not the cheapest cleaning software option out there, but it’s not unaffordable either. It’ll cost you $49/month for one user if you’re willing to sign up for a year ($65 otherwise), and $109/month ($149 month-to-month) for up to five users, with $30 for each additional user. If you want a lot more users than that, you’ll need custom pricing.
4. Service Fusion
Service Fusion really shines when it comes to support, which is important for businesses that may not be very tech-savvy and thus require a little hand-holding to get up to speed. And good support is helpful anytime, because you never know what kind of road blocks you’ll come across.
The software boasts a basic user interface that makes onboarding easy. And while the pricing structure might be better suited for larger enterprises, there’s no reason you can’t make this work for a smaller cleaning business.
The software automatically generates invoices with the click of a button, and you can then set it up to automatically fire out invoices as soon as they are created. This definitely simplifies things on the administrative side.
cleaning management app
Running a residential or commercial cleaning business can be a challenge, however, with modern technology, it is easier than ever for a residential or commercial cleaning business to run their operations.
By utilizing the best apps for your cleaning businesses, you can easily set up appointments, track your employee locations in the field and their hours spent at a client site, as well as creating employee schedules and pushing them directly to employee phones while they are on the go.
Finding the best apps for cleaning businesses can be a challenge however, so we’ve put together this list to make it easy for you to find the best apps for cleaning businesses.
Here is a list of the best apps for cleaning businesses:
Timeero – Time, GPS & Scheduling All In One Place
Time management is very important for the survival of any cleaning business, and Timeero is one of the best apps for cleaning businesses. Timeero is a GPS enabled time tracking app that records the clock in and clock out times and tracks employee location. With Timeero you can know where everyone has been, and where everyone is right in the palm of your hands.
Anyone who’s in the cleaning or janitorial business knows how important scheduling is. You can create shifts and assign them to your employees. Your employees will get notified on their smartphones about their new shift assignments.
You also don’t have to worry about creating recurring shifts because Timeero can handle that for you.
Communication is extremely important in running any business. Running a maid service business is not any different. Last minute changes come up for various reasons such as employees being absent or not showiing up for work. Timeero comes with a messaging system that enables you to communicate important items to your team members.
Many things can negatively affect the bottom line, and Timeero can help you keep an eye on the bottom line. You can hold your employees more accountable and eliminate the huge costs of time theft. You will also be able to save a lot of time, by cutting down the hours you spend communicating schedules to employees.
When it comes to time to run payroll, you can simply run a report to generate how many hours each employee worked, in addition to some more beneficial reports.
Running a cleaning or janitorial business is hard, but there’s no need to make it any harder. Visit Timeero to learn more about how you can save on payroll costs.
Jobber
Jobber is designed to help maid services and cleaning businesses improve and grow their business. Jobber allows users to create job quotes, schedule jobs and manage payments and invoicing. Jobber allows managers to push out schedules to their field employees and facilitates in-app communications and alerts.
Jobber also offers free customer service to assist clients with any issues or questions. Find out more about Jobber here:
Pricing: Starts at $49/month for a 1 user license.
Launch27
Launch27 is a cleaning services program that allows people to purchase cleaning services either from their website of their mobile apps. Cleaning businesses can customize Launch27’s software to match their existing business website and they can complete the integration in a few seconds. This gives their customers a more seamless experience.
Launch27 also offers scheduling services through their software, to allow businesses to easily schedule jobs and appointments. Find out more about Launch27 here.
Pricing: Starts at $59/month
Housecall Pro
Housecall Pro is a business management program used to automate all associated workflows and processes related to the cleaning services industry.
Cleaning businesses can utilize Housecall Pro to manage their entire operation right from their iOS or Android devices. Housecall Pro allows users to create online bookings, to schedule jobs, accept payment and create invoices, and allows service providers to contact the client right from the app.
Pricing: Starts at $65/month, for 1 user
mHelpDesk
mHelpDesk is a simple and easy to use program for any cleaning business. It allows businesses to automate their entire operation, from client bookings to scheduling, payments and invoicing.
mHelpDesk is easy to use and they provide dedicated support to clients to assist with set up as well as product related questions. Visit their website to find out more.
What is the best app for cleaning services?
The best app for cleaning services is really none. It all depends on your needs. If you are unsure of which app to go with, feel free to reach out to us on the live chat (on the bottom right) and we will be more than happy to help you!
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how to start a house cleaning business
Cleaning is something everyone has to deal with, but few people truly enjoy. For those who do enjoy it, working as a cleaner can be a lucrative way of earning a living. The benefits of cleaning for a living include the freedom to set your own hours and work with clients you like, an opportunity to escape a desk or hard labor job, and plenty of exercise. Cleaners also typically earn more than minimum wage, with excellent cleaners able to set much higher rates once they’ve built a strong reputation. Whether you’re thinking of working as a sole trader, or starting a business employing several cleaners, it’s an industry that’s always in demand.
How to start a cleaning business from scratch
Starting any business from nothing is a daunting task. How much do you need to invest? What if something goes wrong? How do you find your first customers and/or employees? At Pro Housekeepers, we’re experts in setting up successful cleaning companies, growing them from nothing to become the top-rated cleaning businesses in their areas. In this post we’re going to share the benefit of our experience so you can launch your cleaning business and make it a success.
The first thing to consider when founding any business is how big (or small) you want to start. Many cleaners start out as sole traders with a handful of clients, and build up their businesses through hard work until they’re able to expand. That doesn’t mean you can’t set up a larger cleaning enterprise immediately, although you will have more upfront costs to consider. Employee wages, advertising costs, equipment purchases and rentals, and taxes and insurance, all require consideration. Starting a solo cleaning business is cheaper in the beginning, but might be more difficult to scale as the company grows.
Before starting your cleaning business, take a look at the competition. How many cleaners are already in operation in your area? How many commercial and residential properties? Decide in advance what market you intend to target. While cleaning companies often have a combination of residential and commercial clients, specializing may give you an edge over the competition. Some industries require cleaners to use specific solutions or equipment that require training. This adds an upfront cost to starting your business, but allows you to charge a higher price for your services.
Once you have a business idea for your cleaning company, you can take steps toward becoming established. A good place to start is by gaining industry certifications that demonstrate your abilities. The American House Cleaners Association offers certification courses for cleaners. While we all know the basics of cleaning, as a Pro you (or your staff) will be expected to know how to clean a variety of surfaces and stains in the most effective way. Getting certified is a good way of improving your cleaning skills, and building trust with your clients.
Things you need to start a cleaning business
As well as getting certified as a cleaner, it’s good business practice to make sure your company starts out on the right foot in other areas. While all a sole trader really needs is a client willing to pay them to clean, it is a good idea to establish your business as a professional outfit right from the start. This can also help save you headaches later when it comes to tax time, or when expanding or changing the structure of your business.
First, your business needs a name. As a sole trader you can work under your own name, but if you ever want to grow your business it pays to give it a name that you can brand. Independent contractors can register under another name with a Doing Business As (DBA) application. Check your local regulations to find out what requirements are necessary to register. Generally a DBA is the cheapest and easiest way to establish a company name, with a small registration fee and the cost of an announcement in a local newspaper.
Choose a business name that is easy to spell and pronounce, is memorable, and isn’t too similar to other cleaners already operating in your area. Pay attention to local ordinances as well as federal requirements for naming and registering your business. Even a sole proprietor will need to register a business name if they’re not trading as themselves.
Also consider the structure of your business. While setting up as a sole contractor is the fastest and cheapest way of beginning a cleaning business, it can also leave you exposed to legal trouble if something goes wrong. Forming a limited liability company (LLC) can protect your assets in case of a cleaning disaster. It’s worth consulting with the SBA or an attorney to get advice on what business structure is best for your company model.
Common types of business structure
Getting a cleaning business license — Do you need a license to clean houses?
Once you’ve established your business, you need to become licensed. Any business regulated by a federal agency needs their approval, for example the ATF regulates stores selling alcohol and tobacco. While cleaning businesses generally don’t require federal agency approval, if you clean in a niche industry or use restricted cleaning solutions, it’s worth making sure.
Even if you don’t need a business license approved by a federal agency, you still need to register your business for income tax purposes. You’ll also need a vendor’s license in order to calculate and pay sales tax. You can apply for a vendor’s license with your city clerk or local administrator.
Before starting your business, speak to your city clerk about all the local ordinances in order to ensure you’re fully compliant. Some cities or counties require that cleaning services are bonded, and even if it isn’t mandatory, many large businesses won’t hire a company that isn’t bonded.
Bonding requires you to pay a surety company a sum of money to insure your business against claims from your clients. Unlike standard insurance, the business pays the full amount of the bond upfront and has to reimburse the surety company for any claims that are paid out. As a business owner, being bonded is a way of protecting your clients and shows that you’re a reliable, trustworthy company. Some places require that cleaning services be bonded, so make sure to check if you have any such requirement before setting up your business to avoid any large unexpected expenses.
Sole proprietorships generally have a lower barrier to entry than other businesses, but don’t assume this means you don’t need to be licensed and bonded. Always check with your city clerk or state business office to be sure.
How much money do you need to start a cleaning business?
What entrepreneurs really want to know is how much it will cost to get their cleaning business started. Unfortunately there’s no simple answer to that question, although starting a sole proprietorship working as a residential cleaner is significantly cheaper and easier than setting up an LLC with multiple employees working in a niche industrial field.
Even though starting cheap is one of the big advantages to founding a cleaning company, it’s worth spending a little extra on insurance, even if it isn’t a legal requirement. This is especially true for sole traders, because there’s no separation of business and personal liability, meaning if you accidentally drop a family heirloom onto a marble floor, you could be on the hook for thousands of dollars in damages.
Starting a cleaning business checklist
Although each business will have its own expenses and requirements to get started, here’s a basic cleaning business starter kit of factors you should consider.
How much to charge when starting a cleaning business
An important factor to consider when starting your business is how much to charge clients. If you’re working as a sole proprietor, you might make the mistake of thinking your hourly rate is the only important calculation. However there are more expenses associated with running even the smallest business than just your wages to consider. Your overheads will soon add up, and there are additional taxes to pay if you’re self-employed that can quickly reduce your overall profits.
Start your calculation with your hourly rate. According to Freshbooks, the standard rate most cleaners charge is $25-$90 per hour, depending on area and expertise. Check out the local cleaners in your area to see what the competition is charging. Your rate should be competitive, but if you want to price yourself higher than other cleaners, consider the value-added extras you can include in your service to make it worth the additional cost. Including some chores as standard, such as making or changing beds, sweeping external spaces, and washing windows, could give you an edge over companies that tack on additional fees for those services.
Next, consider your tax liabilities. The federal self-employment tax rate is 15.3 percent. This is in addition to other income taxes you may have to pay, and is twice the rate of employee taxes. That means a self-employed cleaner earning $25/hour owes an extra $1.90 per hour in taxes, compared with an employee earning the same hourly rate.
Generally speaking, small business owners should reserve 30 percent of their income to cover taxes. Adding that to the rate you want to take home increases your prices from $25/hour to $32.50/hour. Paying taxes out of your hourly rate instead reduces your profit to $17.50/hour.
Cleaning businesses also have other overheads to consider. There’s the cost of bookkeeping and accounting, transportation costs to and from clients’ houses, the time spent traveling between jobs, advertising, and the cost of purchasing cleaning materials and equipment. Cleaners rarely work a full eight hours per day in a single property, and you need to account for that extra time in order to make enough profit each day for your business to be viable.
Let’s say your hourly rate is $25/hour. How many hours will each cleaning job take? In order to make that calculation, you need to visit the property. As a general rule, it takes approximately 1.5 hours to clean 1000 square feet. However it’s much faster to clean a minimalist apartment than a cluttered home with small children who leave toys and sticky messes wherever they go. Establish your own baseline for how quickly you can clean an area based on the floor plan, and then adjust for variables such as kids, pets, delicate and expensive ornaments that need extra time and care, and additional tasks you might offer such as vent or window cleaning. Your hourly rate multiplied by the number of hours the job will take is your labor cost, and the basis of your overall estimate.
If we assume an estimate of 4 hours to clean a two-story family home at a labor cost of $25/hr, your base rate is $100. Next, add on your taxes. Self-employed individuals will have to pay 15.3 percent tax. Employers have to pay FICA (payroll) taxes at 50 percent of this rate, or 7.65 percent. There are also state and federal taxes to consider. Sole proprietors should withhold 30 percent of their income to cover tax liabilities. Larger businesses share some of the FICA tax burden with their employees, and might only need to withhold 20 percent of their income for taxes.
Adding 30 percent for taxes onto the $100 labor cost brings the total to $130. This will cover labor and taxes, but there are still other expenses to consider. If you supply your own cleaning equipment, materials, or personal protective equipment (gloves, booties, work shoes, eye shields, etc.), these costs should be added to your calculation. For general domestic cleaning, 5 percent overhead is usually sufficient to cover these costs, bringing the running total to $136.50.
If your cleaning business will be working in a niche industry using specialist equipment or solutions, it’s advisable to calculate the exact cost of each job, as it could be several factors higher. If you’re using $50 worth of cleaning solution for each client, that will eat into your profit and significantly reduce your hourly rate.
Next comes your overheads. These are the everyday costs of running your business. That could include office rent and administrative employees, business licences and fees, advertising fees, website hosting and maintenance, traveling time and more. Any costs your company incurs that are not a direct result of being in a property cleaning also need to be covered by the rate you charge for the work you do.
If you’re working from a home office for a couple of hours a week keeping your books in order, your admin costs might be comparatively low. However a large scale cleaning operation with a number of employees could see administrative costs soar as high as 50 percent or more. If we assume administrative costs of 25 percent for this calculation, that brings the cost of a 4-hour cleaning to $170.63.
Finally, add in your markup. This is your business profit and a buffer in case of unexpected costs. A good rate is 33 percent. This means a third of your fee goes toward profit and covering the cost if the estimate was short or another expense runs over. The final cost of cleaning the property over 4 hours comes to $226.94 — a long way away from the $100 hourly rate you started with.
How to pay employees for a cleaning business
As we’ve just seen, the factors that go into determining the price for your cleaning estimates include far more than simple labor costs. If you intend to start a business with several employees, or expand your sole proprietorship to take on additional staff, you need to consider how you’ll handle payroll.
Payroll services take care of distributing wages on your behalf, and usually charge reasonable fees. For a small to medium sized business, expect to pay around $50-$100 per month base fee, plus a per-worker charge of $5-$15. That means for a company with five employees, payroll expenses will cost about $150 per month. That’s a price worth paying to ensure your employees’ paychecks and earnings calculations are in order. For small additional fees, most payroll services will also provide direct deposits and generate and file tax forms on your behalf.
Even if you only have one employee, it’s important to keep your payroll accounting in order and separate from the rest of your income. This not only makes it easier during audits to demonstrate that your business accounts are in order, but helps you understand the impact of wages on your overall profit and loss.
Hiring cleaners to undertake work on behalf of your business may also have an effect on your rates if you intend to take a step back from carrying out the work, as your personal income becomes an overhead rather than a labor charge. The more staff and work you have, the smaller overall percentage of your income your wages become, but a sole proprietor expecting to rely on the profit generated by one or two employees might have to rethink their rates in order to maintain their personal income.