A cleaning business is a profitable and growing industry. This is not just a job that you have to have for a short period of time. A cleaning business can be one of the most profitable small businesses out there. The service has been around for years and people definitely need such service. On the other hand, you certainly cannot work alone because your time will certainly run out doing the jobs by yourself. As such, it is important to find an accountant that can help you with finding and managing clients or customers and other tax-related issues.
Cleaning business accounting software can make your work easier. If you are running your own cleaning business, there are particular things that must be handled with extreme care. The growth of your revenue depends on how much profit you earn through customer charges and associated transactions.
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 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.
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 job, 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.
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 its 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 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 timesheets 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. A license will cost just $29/month for one user, and only $99/month for up to seven users. And if you’re even bigger than that, you can probably afford the $199/month for up to 30 users.
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.
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. Launch27
Launch27 is a sleek, powerful online booking system that allows potential customers to buy your maid services directly from your website. The entire booking engine can be customized to match your existing housekeeping website and can be integrated in mere seconds, giving customers a seamless buying experience from start to finish. Launch27 also has its own built-in calendar to show you upcoming jobs and appointment times, while the onboard analytics lets you fine-tune your cleaning services with numerous add-ons for awesome conversion rates. -Installs on any web page in seconds -Customize colors, fonts, layouts, pricing & more -Set custom pricing for different geographic areas -Automatically syncs w/ your calendar availability -Collect payments for you securely online -Allows for single or recurring bookings -Powerful analytics to track your progress online Why do other cleaning companies love Launch27? In a nutshell, it eliminates the need for giving quotes in person or over the phone. It’s also an easier, user-friendly process for your clients so your conversion rates will continue to increase while freeing up your day. That means more time can be spent doing what you do best- actually cleaning homes/businesses and growing your business while earning a great living. You’ll also be pleased to know that Launch27 listens closely to our amazing users and we are continually making updates based on your feedback. We 100% stand by our customers and our team takes pride in being a true partner for your business- we are always here to help!
5. Swept
Swept is Janitorial Software that Saves Janitorial Businesses Time and Money Swept makes simple and smart janitorial software designed specifically for the janitorial and commercial cleaning industry. Swept’s mission is to help cleaning companies retain their cleaners and clients by streamlining communication between managers and employees and giving them a competitive advantage. Swept Platform (desktop and mobile) helps proactively address issues on site before they become customer problems. The solution helps cleaning managers communicate with their staff about issues on-site, as well as provide cleaning instructions, track supply requests, and conduct inspections. Swept helps eliminate the most common mistakes that can degrade customer satisfaction by improving communication, regardless of language differences among the team. The platform enables managers to create and assign cleaners to recur or one-time shifts using the scheduling tool. All users get continuous access to their schedules via mobile app, with all shift changes and updates in real-time. Late alerts notify managers if a cleaner has not signed in on time, and automatically send them a reminder to their mobile device. Cleaners can sign in via the mobile app, SMS, or IVR (landline) to check into any shift. Time tracking features ensure users that clients receive the service they paid for, with recorded time for each cleaner imported automatically for review or payroll. Swept helps users identify issues immediately by allowing cleaners to report them to managers in real-time via text message or mobile app. Automated Multilingual cleaning instructions enable managers to support cleaners without being onsite. Location messages help teams stay connected, including a virtual message board that makes sure everyone is in sync. Supply tracking features inform managers of what is required and where, facilitating the requesting and replenishing of supplies. Swept’s messaging features allow clients to communicate with managers via SMS, or using their own account within the mobile app. Once logged in, clients can access the message board to stay up to date on job status, changes, issues, and more. Managers are able to create custom inspection plans with unlimited inspection points, as well as measure performance by rating the quality of each inspection point. All recorded notes can be sent to clients via mobile before the team exits the building. At Swept, we believe that cleaners add value beyond cleaning and that the most common mistakes that degrade customer satisfaction can easily be avoided with better communication. Get your free account today.
6. WorkWave Service Software
The software is a cloud-based solution that offers both desktop and mobile applications for field services.
WorkWave Service enables housekeeping companies to connect the office to their cleaning staff so that they can know what is happening in the field.
The mobile application allows the cleaning team to time in and time out of the job, to check out important job instructions, and much more.
The appointment calendar and the dispatch dashboard show revenue per route as well as any unscheduled jobs. Businesses can reschedule routes to accommodate sick days or bad weather and check out the new route to see whether they result in appointment clashes.
Additionally, WorkWave Service’s dashboard offers real-time information and offers a lot of options that allow house cleaning businesses to manage their service, service packages, one-time work orders, and repeat job orders.
WorkWave Services, as mentioned above, also syncs with Desktop and QuickBooks Online for efficient bookkeeping.
7. ServiceM8
This service management service comes at a very low cost with job-based pricing. The software has a wide variety of processes that can help you make job quotes, create invoices, and process payments.
House cleaning businesses can also take advantage of its many features to find out which jobs are current, what quotes have been given to clients and to keep track of the cleaning team. ServiceM8 also tell businesses how to effectively allocate people, resource, and time and make decisions based on them. You can also take out printed copies of employee schedules and routing charts for your employees. In the case of the cleaning team, it can get access to any modifications in their schedules in real-time.
ServiceM8 also allows you to connect to customers via SMS and email. The software has a variety of configuration tools and templates so you can customize it for your own company. Moreover, a MailChimp integration tool helps you send out beautiful-looking emails.
The best part is your house cleaning business will be able to access iPhone and iPad apps, unlimited storage as well as an unlimited number of users. If your housekeeping service company uses QuickBooks Online, MYOB, or Zero, you will be quickly synced to their accounts.
Conclusion
Cleaning business can be a profitable business. You have to improve many areas to have best profit from cleaning business. One of the important tasks of the cleaning business is making money with cleaners as an owner of a business. In this case, you have to use some good tools for your work. I would recommend you to read this article about what is a cleaning business and what are some things that can be helpful for you.