Starting a Cleaning Business Q&A: Costs, Clients, Banking

Prefer to watch? Watch this on YouTube.

On Friday, October 16, I went live on YouTube for our second Ask Me Anything, this time without Jen. For 50 minutes I answered questions about starting a cleaning business, the ones you sent in ahead of time plus the ones that came in from the chat. The replay is above, and every answer below links to the spot in the video where I give it. The first live, with Jen, is in part one of our cleaning business Q&A.

How do I get my first cleaning client?

Marisol from San Antonio has about 200 Instagram followers and asked whether that was enough to find a first client. It isn't, so lean on other channels. Jen and I got our first clients by emailing local realtors. The email was short: we're reliable, we guarantee every clean with a re-clean, and here's 15% off your first booking. We wrote to what realtors complain about, which is cleaners who don't show up and cleans that aren't done right.

After that, fill in every free listing. Use every character on your Google Business Profile and Yelp. Add Bing Places and Apple Business Connect so you show up in Apple Maps and when someone asks Siri. Post in your local Facebook groups. Our local group, Oak Bay Local, has about 8,000 members, and when someone asks there for a cleaner, we answer. If you have $300 to $500 for your first month, Google Local Services Ads charge per lead and Google Ads charge per click. The full list is in our guide to getting clients for a cleaning business. Watch at 1:04.

Can I start a cleaning company without doing the cleaning myself?

Lauren from Halifax would rather run the business than scrub. Jen and I never did the cleaning either. The Cleaning Company Blueprint model puts you in the middle: cleaners want good clients, clients want good cleaners, and your job is to pay the cleaners well and communicate clearly with both. I told Lauren it's better to stay out of the field:

"The more they're in the field, the harder it is for them to get more clients and handle working with more cleaners."

Watch at 6:42.

What do I need in place before my first clean?

Tanya from Phoenix asked about an LLC, insurance and bonding. I start with the website and booking software, because that's where clients book and pay. We run Oak Bay Clean on Convertlabs.io, and that link gives you 30 days free, a $197 value. It's an affiliate link, so Jen and I earn a fee if you sign up, at no extra cost to you.

Next is your LLC, which you set up through your state. In Canada you incorporate through your province, and the name has to be approved first, so check what's already registered near you. NameMyCleaningCompany.com, the free tool I built, looks at the names and prices already in your area.

On insurance, there are two kinds. General liability pays when something gets damaged. Someone in our community had a cleaner break a television the morning of the live. Workers' compensation pays when a cleaner gets hurt. In the US, an independent contractor carries that themselves. In British Columbia we pay WorkSafeBC 2.11% of every dollar we pay our cleaners, and this month two of our cleaners were off injured and claimed it. Winter Cardinal asked in the chat about Ontario, where the board is the WSIB, so check their rules for your business. We also run police checks on every cleaner. We skip bonding, because our insurance already pays for damage. Watch at 8:04.

Should I start with residential, commercial or Airbnb cleaning?

Brittany from Charlotte asked which one I'd pick if I started again. Residential. A hundred recurring clients paying $200 every two weeks comes to $520,000 a year. We hold the client's card the day before the clean and charge it after.

Commercial clients want net 30 terms. If a cleaner works for them on October 16, I invoice on October 31 and get paid in December, and I pay the cleaner the same day she works. In the chat Jonathan said owners should keep cash saved to cover that. We do between $50,000 and $90,000 a month, and we've had commercial clients worth $9,000 to $10,000 a month that came to us by phone. I'd still rather have 150 clients at $200 every two weeks. Our profit margin is about 30%, and the commercial margins I've heard quoted run 10 to 20%. I spent about two years taking workshops and doing walk-throughs for government contracts through sam.gov and Canada's tender site before going back to residential.

Airbnb hosts want the best cleaners at a low price, and they only have a window from 11:00 to 3:00. A cleaner can do a home from 9:00 to noon and another from 1:00 to 4:00 instead, which pays her more. We clean for one Airbnb, a luxury property. Later in the live, Random asked which is more consistent. Residential, because about 70% of cleaning companies don't answer the phone on the first call, and a company with online booking and posted prices wins those clients. More on the trade-offs in residential vs commercial cleaning. Watch at 13:42.

How much money do I need to start a cleaning business?

May from Vancouver asked what we spent first. Under $1,000 gets you started. These are the monthly costs I gave on the live:

Add whatever you can put into marketing, because Google takes time to find a new business. A single parent on a tight budget can open with the website, phone line and insurance for a few hundred dollars. The full breakdown is in how much it costs to start a cleaning business. Watch at 17:36.

Should I charge by the hour or a flat rate per home?

Kesha from Atlanta is scared of quoting too low. We price by the job: square footage, number of bathrooms, and type of clean. A standard clean is our base price, recurring cleans get a discount, and move-in, move-out and first-time cleans cost more. Every price is on our website, so a client picks her home size and clean type and sees the number. People who can't afford it leave before they ever call.

I use a hairdresser to explain it to clients. Ask for highlights and you know it costs more and takes longer, and you'd never ask the stylist for an hourly rate. About 90% of the time our prices are spot on for the client and the cleaner. The other 10% need a conversation, and you'd have that conversation with hourly pricing too. When we do take an hourly job, we charge more, because the client decides what gets done in that time. Watch at 20:08.

Should I pay a service to incorporate?

James, who is in Ontario, asked whether we used Ownr and put the price in the chat: $599 a year. We incorporated ourselves. Kristen, who runs Effortless Home Services, and Nikita both did theirs on their own, and Nikita wrote that the instructions are in the form. If a term confuses you, ask an AI tool what it means and have your accountant look over the paperwork. Most cities also have a small business support office whose job is helping new owners. I told James:

"The hardest part about your business is the emotional capacity you have for the ups and downs that you're going to experience as a business owner."

Watch at 23:12.

How do I find good cleaners and keep them?

Anna from Mississauga asked whether cleaners should be employees or contractors. We use independent contractors. The best cleaners in Victoria have years of experience, their own car and their own supplies, and they want to take days off when they choose. Nikita in Virginia wrote in the chat that her contractors work when they want, as often as they want. We pay 60% of every job to the cleaner and show her the pay before she accepts it. When a client complains, I pass the client's feedback along, and when the client booked the wrong clean, I handle the client so the cleaner never has to.

If cleaners keep missing jobs, look at your interview, your test clean and your reference checks. Expect about 20 applications for every good one. Kristen interviewed four cleaners from Indeed the day of the live using the ad I share inside the Inner Circle, which I've rewritten nearly every month for five years. The longer version is in employees vs independent contractors. Watch at 28:02.

Is there room for one more cleaning company in my area?

I shared my screen and ran Williamsburg, Brooklyn through NameMyCleaningCompany.com. The report starts with who lives there. Our best clients are double-income couples with a couple of kids and maybe a dog, and Williamsburg came back as a strong match. Of the five competitors it found, one had 284 reviews but no online booking and no prices posted. The only one with both online booking and posted prices used all of New York City in its name. WilliamsburgClean.com was available the day of the live. The tool is built with AI and can't read every website, so check what it tells you. Watch at 36:56.

What bank should a cleaning business use in Canada?

James asked this one too. We bank with TD because its unlimited business plan includes unlimited Interac e-Transfers for $125 a month. We pay our cleaners by e-Transfer the same day they work, and at $100,000 a month in revenue, 60% means $60,000 a month going out to cleaners. RBC capped us at around $10,000 a month. In the US, payments usually go through Zelle or Venmo, which take a cut. Whichever you choose, pay your cleaners fast. Watch at 42:57.

What if a client cancels the same day or the cleaner can't get in?

A couple of weeks before the live I posted an Indeed ad, and within five minutes a cleaner emailed her resume and phoned. She had just driven to a job for another company, the client cancelled that day, and she got nothing. After an interview and a test clean, she works with us. We charge clients $79 for a cancellation inside 24 hours, and the cleaner gets $45 of it.

A locked door counts as a same-day cancellation. Our booking software reminds clients 72 hours and 24 hours before the clean and tells them when the cleaner is on the way, so forgetting the key is on the client. For a great client I might waive it once, and we still pay the cleaner. Kristen asked about a flight delay, and that's a fair reason to waive it. Watch at 46:17.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to start a cleaning business?

Under $1,000. Our monthly costs are $197 USD for Convertlabs.io, about $20 for a Quo phone line, $40 to $100 for insurance and about $50 for Google Workspace, plus about $300 to incorporate in BC.

Should cleaners be employees or independent contractors?

We use independent contractors. They bring their own car and supplies, choose their own days, and receive 60% of every job they accept.

What should a same-day cancellation fee be?

We charge $79 for a cancellation inside 24 hours, and $45 of it goes to the cleaner. A locked door with no key counts as a same-day cancellation.

Is residential or commercial cleaning better for a new company?

We chose residential. 100 recurring clients at $200 every two weeks is $520,000 a year, paid by card on the day, at about a 30% profit margin. Commercial clients usually want net 30 payment terms.