Accounting for cleaning services — residential and commercial.
Recurring revenue tracking, crew payroll with route-time, supplies inventory, and the W-2 vs 1099 classification screening that keeps cleaning shops out of trouble.
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Cleaning services run on routes, recurring schedules, and tight labor cost. The IRS targets the cleaning industry specifically for misclassification audits — workers labeled 1099 who function as employees create back-tax exposure that can dwarf the original payroll savings.
We work with residential maid services, commercial janitorial contractors, and post-construction cleanup specialists. Each has its own revenue and labor patterns.
What we handle
- Recurring revenue tracking — weekly, biweekly, monthly contracts with churn reporting.
- Crew payroll with proper W-2 setup, route allocation, and overtime calculation.
- Supplies and equipment tracked as COGS or operating expense per type.
- 1099 screening at engagement for any contracted crews.
- Multi-location accounting for chains.
Cleaning is one of the IRS' top-five misclassification audit targets. We onboarded a residential cleaning shop with 14 "1099 contractors" who all worked 5 days/week, used company supplies, drove company cars, and had no other clients. Reclassification cost two years of back-payroll-tax. We rebuilt them as W-2 with payroll through Gusto in 30 days.
If your cleaners work only for you, on your schedule, with your supplies — they are W-2.
If you have under 5 cleaners, Gusto self-serve plus quarterly review is enough.
If you scale past 10 cleaners, monthly bookkeeping with route-level reporting becomes valuable.
Recurring revenue tracked, classifications clean, payroll on autopilot.
From $400/month for small cleaning shops.
Frequently asked questions
Can I 1099 my cleaners?
Almost never. The fact pattern (control over schedule, use of company supplies, exclusive working relationship) makes them W-2 in the IRS' eyes regardless of contract language.
How do I handle bonus structures?
Performance bonuses are W-2 wages with payroll tax. Tip pass-through (commercial clients tipping) is reported through payroll. We set up the right account structure at engagement.
Software you work with?
Jobber, ZenMaid, Launch27 for residential. Janitorial Manager, Swept for commercial. We reconcile the platform-to-QuickBooks sync monthly.
Sales tax on cleaning?
Generally not taxable in Colorado at state level. Some home-rule cities tax certain services — check city by city.