---
title: "Remote Bookkeeping for Cleaning Businesses, Any State | MCC"
description: "Online monthly bookkeeping for house cleaning, janitorial and move-out cleaning businesses anywhere in the US: recurring clients, supplies, mileage, crews…"
url: "https://mcc-solutionsnj.com/bookkeeping/for/remote-cleaning-businesses"
---

House cleaning, janitorial and move-out cleaning

# Remote monthly bookkeeping for cleaning businesses

Recurring clients, one-off move-outs, supply runs and miles between houses add up to a business that is easy to underprice. Monthly books show what each kind of job really earns.

Done online for businesses in any US state. From $450 a month.

[Get a written quote](/bookkeeping/#interest)

[![Intuit ProAdvisor Gold tier badge](/img/credentials/intuit-proadvisor-gold.png)](https://proadvisor.intuit.com/app/accountant/search?searchId=matthew-coleman77)Gold tier in Intuit's ProAdvisor program. [See my Intuit listing](https://proadvisor.intuit.com/app/accountant/search?searchId=matthew-coleman77)

![Matthew Coleman, founder of MCC Solutions](/img/matthew-coleman.jpg)

**Matthew Coleman**, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, accounting and finance degree. Cranford, NJ. Start with a free health check of your books. You get a quote after we review your books, before any work starts.

## Where cleaning businesses books go wrong

Clients pay by app, check, cash or card, and recurring clients sometimes prepay for a month. If payments are not matched to visits, unpaid cleanings slip through.

Supplies are bought at big-box stores with the same card used for the household, and miles between jobs go unrecorded.

Commercial contracts are invoiced net 30 while residential clients pay at the door, so cash and revenue move on different clocks.

## Accounts we set up for cleaning businesses

Your chart of accounts is reviewed during onboarding. These are the lines that usually matter most in this kind of business:

| Account | Why it is separate |
| --- | --- |
| **Residential recurring cleaning** | weekly, biweekly and monthly clients |
| **One-time and move-out cleaning** | priced differently, so tracked separately |
| **Commercial and janitorial contracts** | invoiced work with its own receivables list |
| **Cleaning supplies and equipment** | chemicals, vacuums, linens |
| **Vehicle expenses and mileage** | the business share of driving between jobs |
| **Crew pay or contractor payments** | split by how each person is paid |
| **Insurance and bonding** | often required by commercial clients |

## Records the IRS describes

The IRS points to Publication 463 for what you need to substantiate car and transportation expenses. For a cleaning business that usually means a mileage record of trips between client sites. Source: [IRS Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463).

Invoices and deposit information support gross receipts, and canceled checks, card statements and invoices support expenses, according to the IRS list of business records. Source: [IRS: What kind of records should I keep](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/what-kind-of-records-should-i-keep).

The IRS says you must report all income, even if you don't receive a Form 1099 from the people who pay you. Most homeowners will not send one, so the books are the record of what was earned. Source: [IRS: Manage taxes for your gig work](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/manage-taxes-for-your-gig-work).

How long to keep them: the IRS says three years in most cases, longer in some situations, and at least four years for employment tax records ([IRS: How long should I keep records?](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/how-long-should-i-keep-records)).

## Cash through the year

Move-out work tends to spike at the end of each month and in summer moving season. Residential recurring work can thin out over the holidays when clients travel. Commercial contracts are steadier but pay later.

Monthly books list who is behind on payment, which matters more in this business than most because visits continue while invoices age.

## Contractors, employees and year-end forms

Cleaning crews are a common worker-classification question. The IRS decides employee or contractor status by behavioral control, financial control and the relationship of the parties, and Form SS-8 asks the IRS to decide. If you set the schedule, supply the products and train the crew, read the IRS page before deciding how to pay them.

For contractors you do pay, Publication 1099 sets a $2,000 reporting threshold for tax years beginning after 2025. We keep payment totals and W-9s; your tax preparer decides on the forms.

## What the monthly service includes

Every month, the same close the [bookkeeping page](/bookkeeping/) describes: transactions categorized, bank, card and loan balances reconciled to statements, a profit and loss and balance sheet delivered, and a short list of questions instead of guesses. The books stay ready for your tax preparer at year end. For cleaning businesses, that close also covers:

- Payments matched to visits so unpaid cleanings are listed
- Income split into recurring, one-time and commercial
- Supplies and vehicle costs kept apart from household spending

Need more than the books? The [service levels page](/bookkeeping/plans) describes a monthly review and CFO-style planning on top of the same close.

## How remote onboarding works

- **Tell us about your books.** The [short form](/bookkeeping/#interest) asks what your books live in today, how many transactions you have a month, how many bank, card and loan accounts, how far behind the books are and what you need. You can ask for a 15-minute call instead of an email reply.

- **Written quote and engagement letter.** We review what you sent and reply with the scope and monthly price in writing before any work starts.

- **Access, without passwords.** QuickBooks Online: you invite us as an accountant user. Xero: you invite us with the Advisor role. Excel or Google Sheets: you share the workbook and we send a folder for statements. Nothing yet: we recommend QuickBooks Online or Xero and set it up in your name. You keep ownership and can remove our access.

- **Opening balances and a close day.** We confirm your accounts, collect recent statements and your prior-year return or financial statements, check opening balances, and agree the day each month's books are delivered.

What helps most for cleaning businesses:

- Your client list with how often each is cleaned (names can be initials)
- Any scheduling app's monthly report
- How you pay crew members today

## Price

These are the starting prices the quote form uses. Your written scope sets the final price before any work begins.

| Transactions a month | Monthly bookkeeping | Catch-up |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Up to 100 transactions a month | From $450 a month | $300 per month behind |
| 100 to 300 transactions a month | From $750 a month | $450 per month behind |
| 300 to 600 transactions a month | From $1,200 a month | $700 per month behind |
| Over 600 transactions a month | Custom quote | Custom quote |

- 2 bank, card or loan accounts are included; each additional account is $35 a month.
- Books kept in Excel or Google Sheets add $100 a month; starting from nothing adds a one-time $400 software setup.
- Reconciling the payroll your provider runs adds $100 a month.
- Receivables follow-up, with invoice reminders and an aging review, is $100 a month on top of current books.

Prices shown are starting estimates, not quotes.

## Do it yourself, or hand it off

Do it yourself

### House Cleaning Business Kit

Price each cleaning from its real cost and keep every visit, payment, tip and mile in one log. Built for owner-cleaners keeping their own books.

[Get the kit ($24)](/toolkits/house-cleaning-business-kit) [Free sample](/toolkits/house-cleaning-business-kit#free-starter)14-day full refund

Hire us monthly

### We keep the books for you

We do the monthly close in your own software and send the reports and a short list of questions. Already using one of our workbooks? Say so on the form; we can keep it up for you or move it into accounting software.

[Get a written quote](/bookkeeping/#interest)

## Common questions

**Can you track which clients are behind?**

Yes. Each month you get a list of unpaid visits or invoices with their age. Receivables follow-up, where we send reminders, is a separate add-on.

**Do I need accounting software?**

Not to start. We can keep a spreadsheet for you, or set up QuickBooks Online or Xero in your name. Spreadsheet books are priced differently, as shown below.

**How should I track mileage?**

Any method that records date, places and miles for each business trip works for us. Publication 463 explains what the IRS expects; your tax preparer decides how it is used.

**Can you tell me if my cleaners are employees?**

No. That is a question for your tax professional, an attorney or the IRS through Form SS-8. We keep the payment records clear either way.

**Do you work with cleaning businesses outside New Jersey?**

Yes. Everything is done online, so the state you work in does not change how the monthly books are kept.

## Related

- [Guide: bookkeeping for cleaning services](/bookkeeping/guides/bookkeeping-for-cleaning-services)
- [Break-even calculator](/bookkeeping/break-even-calculator)
- [Receivables follow-up](/bookkeeping/receivables-follow-up)
- [Remote bookkeeping for trucking and owner-operators](/bookkeeping/for/remote-trucking-owner-operators)
- [Remote bookkeeping for restaurants and food trucks](/bookkeeping/for/remote-restaurants-and-food-trucks)
- [Remote bookkeeping for online sellers](/bookkeeping/for/remote-online-sellers)
- [All industries](/bookkeeping/for/remote-monthly-bookkeeping)

## Sources

- [IRS Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463)
- [IRS: What kind of records should I keep](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/what-kind-of-records-should-i-keep)
- [IRS: Manage taxes for your gig work](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/manage-taxes-for-your-gig-work)
- [IRS Topic no. 762, Independent contractor vs. employee](https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc762)
- [IRS Publication 1099, General Instructions for Certain Information Returns](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p1099)
- [IRS Form W-9](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf)
- [IRS: How long should I keep records?](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/how-long-should-i-keep-records)

IRS pages checked November 6, 2026. MCC Solutions is a bookkeeping firm, not a CPA firm. Tax returns are a separate service (see /tax-preparation); this guide is not tax or legal advice and does not decide how a rule applies to you. The IRS statements on this page are summaries with links to the source; your tax preparer decides what they mean for your return.

## Want your cleaning businesses books done every month?

[Get a Quote](/bookkeeping/#interest)[Call (908) 444-6373](tel:+19084446373)