Cleaning services

Books and taxes for commercial janitorial companies.

Nightly office contracts, a floor crew running strip and wax jobs, night-shift wages, and a property manager who wants a certificate of insurance on file. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
SeptemberExample month
$12,300
what you made

September came in at $12,300. The strip and wax job at the medical plaza was a one-time add-on that padded a steady month.

  • Highline Properties invoiceNightly office contracts
  • Strip and wax add-onOne-time floor jobs
  • Night crew payrollCrew wages
  • Interline Brands orderCleaning supplies
  • Traveler's liability policyInsurance and bonding
Money in$61,500
Money out$49,200
Set aside for taxes$3,400
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Commercial janitorial books go wrong in the same few places.

A generalist sees deposits and payroll. Your business runs on standing contracts across multiple sites, a night crew, and floor work billed separately from nightly cleaning. When the books do not know that, you cannot see which site is actually worth keeping.

  1. 1

    Multiple site contracts get lumped into one deposit

    Four office buildings and a strip mall might all bill on the same monthly cycle, landing as one lump sum in the bank account. Mixed together, you cannot see which contract is profitable and which one has been underpriced for two years.

    What we doKeeps each contract's revenue visible so you can compare what each site brings in against what it costs to clean.
  2. 2

    Night differential pay looks like regular wages

    A night crew often earns a shift differential on top of base pay. Lumped into one payroll number, you lose sight of what night cleaning actually costs compared to daytime work.

    What we doKeeps wage payments tied to the sites and shifts they were for, so night-shift cost is visible on its own.
  3. 3

    Floor work gets billed as regular cleaning

    Strip and wax jobs, buffing, and other floor work usually cost more in labor and chemicals than nightly cleaning, but if it is billed and booked as part of a standard contract, that extra cost disappears into the average.

    What we doKeeps one-time floor jobs and add-on work in their own line, separate from the standing nightly contract.
  4. 4

    Supply closets at each site scatter the real cost

    Running a supply closet at each building means chemical and paper orders happen constantly and in small amounts, making it hard to see the true supply cost per site.

    What we doKeeps supply purchases in one steady line and flags any site pulling more than the others.
  5. 5

    Equipment leased for big commercial floors gets missed

    A leased floor scrubber or buffer for a large office building is a real monthly cost that gets buried if it is paid the same way as a chemical order.

    What we doKeeps equipment leases in their own line so the true monthly cost of servicing a big floor account is visible.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a commercial janitorial company.

Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Nightly office contractsStanding monthly agreements with office buildings and property managers.
  • Retail and strip mall contractsSeparate standing contracts for storefront and common area cleaning.
  • One-time floor jobsStrip, wax, and buffing jobs billed apart from regular nightly service.
  • Emergency and event cleanupsSame-week jobs like a spill cleanup or a post-event turnaround.

Money out

  • Crew wagesNight-shift and day-shift pay, kept apart so shift cost is visible.
  • Cleaning suppliesChemicals and paper products bought for each site's supply closet.
  • Equipment leasesFloor scrubbers, buffers, and other machines leased for large accounts.
  • Vehicles and fuelVans and trucks moving crews and equipment between sites.
  • Insurance and bondingLiability coverage and the certificate of insurance property managers require.
  • Scheduling softwareSoftware used to route crews across multiple buildings each night.
  • Bidding and marketing costsCosts of pursuing new contracts, including proposal preparation.

What we watch for you

  • Cost per site

    Labor and supplies against each contract's revenue. It shows which sites are worth keeping at their current price.

  • Labor share

    Crew wages against money in. In a payroll-heavy trade, it tells you when a bid needs to go up.

  • Contract retention

    How much of last year's contract revenue is still on the books this year. It shows whether the business is holding its base.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things commercial janitorial owners ask Gus.

Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.

I think the strip mall contract stopped being worth it. Can you tell me for sure?

I keep that contract's revenue and its labor and supply costs apart from your other sites, so you can look at that one number and see it plainly.

My night crew gets a shift differential. Does that matter for the books?

It does for seeing your real cost. I keep night wages separate from day wages, so you can see what night coverage actually costs you.

I leased a new floor buffer for the Highline building. How does that get handled?

I log the lease payment in its own line so it does not get lost in your general supply spending, and the accountant sees the full picture at tax time.

The tax side

The tax side of a commercial janitorial business.

Most of what goes wrong here is a payroll-heavy crew across multiple sites and equipment paid for on lease. Get the classification and the leases right and the rest is steady.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Employee or contractorA crew member working your schedule at your assigned sites with your supplies is usually an employee. Getting this wrong across a multi-site crew gets expensive fast, so Gus flags any pattern that looks off.
  • Equipment and lease costsPurchased floor equipment can usually be written off in the year it is bought, up to $2,560,000 under Section 179, while leased equipment is typically deducted as it is paid.
  • Contractor 1099sAny subcontracted crew or specialist, such as a floor stripping company brought in for one job, paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.

Deductions commercial janitorial companies miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Cleaning chemicals and paper products
  • Equipment lease payments
  • Floor pads and buffing supplies
  • Vehicle fuel and repairs
  • Liability insurance and bonding
  • Scheduling software fees
  • Uniforms and safety gear
  • Background check fees for crew
  • Bidding and proposal costs
  • Storage for supplies and equipment
  • Phone and radios for night crews
  • Workers compensation premiums

General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.

All year, not just April

A commercial janitorial year, kept every month.

Contracts renew on their own calendar. Your taxes come on a different one. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, contractor 1099s are ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether a new contract or a lost one changed the number.

  4. October

    Before contract renewal season

    Before year-end contract renewals, Gus looks at equipment worth buying and moves worth making before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.

Book a call
  • Monthly bookkeeping

    Every transaction sorted into categories set up for commercial janitorial companies. You never categorize a thing.

  • An accountant checks every transaction

    Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.

  • Your business tax return, filed

    Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.

  • The monthly number

    What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.

  • Your own bookkeeper

    A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.

  • On your books all year

    Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.

  • Cancel any time

    No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.

Straight answers

Questions commercial janitorial owners ask first.

I clean four different buildings under one company name. Can Gus keep them separate?

Yes. He keeps each contract's revenue and costs visible on its own, so you can see which sites are actually worth their current price.

A property manager wants a certificate of insurance before renewing my contract. Does that involve Gus?

No, that document comes from your insurance provider. Gus keeps your insurance costs tracked in the books, but the certificate itself is between you and your carrier.

My night crew earns more than my day crew. Does that get mixed up in the books?

No. Gus keeps night wages and day wages separate so you can see exactly what covering a building overnight actually costs.

I bid on a big new contract and it cost me money in proposal prep before I even won it. Is that deductible?

Costs tied to pursuing new business are generally a legitimate expense. Gus keeps those costs visible so the accountant can confirm how they are handled on your return.

My books are behind because I have been chasing new contracts all year. Can you catch up?

Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them by site and contract, the accountant checks them, and most owners know where they stand inside a week.

Is a real accountant checking my books?

Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.

What does it cost, and can I cancel?

It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.

More in cleaning services

We keep books for the business next door too.

What makes a bookkeeper worth paying for Every business we keep books for

Book a call

Pick a time. That's the whole signup.

Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.

  • $197 a month to start
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever