A house cleaning bookkeeper tracks the money coming into and going out of a residential cleaning company, where much of it arrives as card charges after each clean. They match those charges to the bank, run tips and mileage through payroll, check team pay and overtime, and track refunds and credits by branch.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building services companies · BLS, May 2025
Provide precise bookkeeping support for our housekeeping operations by tracking finances, processing payments, and reconciling records. Ensure financial accuracy and facilitate smooth operational functions within the home services industry. Serve as a key contributor to financial integrity and transparency for our housekeeping team.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Maintain accurate financial records by tracking all transactions related to housekeeping services.
Process payments and manage invoicing to ensure timely and accurate receipt of funds.
Reconcile bank statements and internal records on a regular basis.
Collaborate with the operations team to support financial reporting and budgeting requirements.
Assist with periodic audits and implement improvements to financial processes.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and record daily income and expenses for housekeeping services.
Process vendor and employee payments with attention to detail.
Reconcile daily, weekly, and monthly financial transactions to maintain up-to-date records.
Manage bookkeeping software entries and perform regular data backups.
Respond to queries from management regarding financial discrepancies or trends.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Payment Processing Accuracy: ≥ 98% accuracy rate per month.
Transaction Reconciliation Timeliness: 100% reconciled within 5 business days of month-end.
Invoice Turnaround Time: 95% of invoices processed within 48 hours.
Error Reduction: Less than 2% error rate in financial record entries on a quarterly basis.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field.
Minimum of 2 years of bookkeeping or financial processing experience.
Proficient in bookkeeping software (e.g., QuickBooks) and Microsoft Office Suite.
Strong numerical aptitude with meticulous attention to detail.
Effective communication skills and ability to collaborate within a team environment.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience working in the home services industry, specifically within housekeeping.
Previous work experience in a small to medium-sized business or service-oriented environment.
Familiarity with local financial regulations and compliance standards related to housekeeping operations.
7. Physical Requirements
Must be able to sit at a desk for extended periods while using a computer.
Occasionally lift or move office supplies and documents up to 20 pounds.
May require occasional visits to on-site locations for process reviews in a housekeeping setting.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard office hours from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
Minimal travel required; occasional visits to various cleaning sites may be necessary.
Flexibility to work additional hours during peak season or month-end closings.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Hourly rate range: $20 - $28 per hour, commensurate with experience.
Performance-based bonuses available on achieving financial targets.
Comprehensive benefits package including Health, Dental, and Vision insurance.
401(k) plan with company match and paid time off benefits.
Opportunities for professional development and ongoing training in financial best practices.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are an innovative and growth-oriented company driven by a passion for excellence in the home services industry.
Our dynamic and supportive work environment encourages professional growth and fosters a culture of teamwork and accountability.
We celebrate diversity and inclusivity and are committed to helping every team member level up and succeed in their career journey.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
What makes bookkeeping at a cleaning company different
Money at a cleaning company arrives in small amounts, nearly every day. The biggest bill is payroll for housekeepers paid by the hour or by the job, and many of their checks carry tips and mileage too.
Card deposits rarely match the day's cleans
Customers who pay by card are charged after each visit, but the processor sends money in batches, often a day or more later, with its fees already taken out. Tips and refunds land in the same batch. The bookkeeper ties each deposit back to the cleans in the booking system, so a missing charge or a double refund shows up the same week, not at year-end.
Team pay still needs overtime math
Some companies split a set amount per home among the team. Federal rules still call for overtime: total the week's job pay plus any bonuses and hourly pay, divide by all hours worked, and pay an extra half of that rate on hours beyond 40 in the week. Hours include the drive between homes, and the drive from the branch when teams must report there first for keys, supplies or the day's list. On 2026 W-2s, that extra half goes in box 12, code TT. Source: 29 CFR 778.111: Pieceworkers (Cornell LII).
Tips run through payroll
When a customer adds a tip in the booking app, the IRS counts it as a cash tip, the same as a bill left on the counter. The bookkeeper splits each tip among the team the way your written policy says, pays it through payroll and withholds taxes on it. Starting with 2026 W-2s, tips go in box 12 with code TP, with a tipped occupation code in box 14b. Source: IRS: 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3.
Mileage can stay off the paycheck
Many housekeepers drive their own cars from one home to the next. If they log the trips and you repay them at no more than the federal mileage rate, IRS rules treat the money as a reimbursement, not wages, so it isn't taxed. A flat car allowance with no trip log counts as wages and is taxed. The bookkeeper collects the logs and files them with payroll. Source: IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer's Tax Guide: accountable plans.
Credits and refunds show where quality slips
A missed bathroom can turn into a free re-clean, a partial refund or a credit on the next visit. A broken lamp can turn into a damage payment. The bookkeeper books each one to its own account and branch, so the owner sees what quality problems cost. They also match any insurance check to the claim it pays.
How much house cleaning bookkeepers make
The closest BLS group for house cleaning bookkeepers is bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $22.50 an hour ($46,790 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $50,670 median for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in all industries. About 17,470 of the 1,373,680 bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in that survey work for building services companies.
The template sets this job up as hourly with a performance bonus, so plan for overtime in heavy payroll weeks and at year-end.
Building services companies
$46,790$46,790 median Middle half $40,700–$56,960 10th–90th $32,590–$67,710
All industries
$50,670$50,670 median Middle half $43,520–$61,470 10th–90th $36,000–$74,550
$20k$30k$40k$50k$60k$70k$80k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Building services companies
$32,590
$40,700
$46,790
$56,960
$67,710
All industries
$36,000
$43,520
$50,670
$61,470
$74,550
BLS doesn’t publish pay for maid services on their own. These figures cover services to buildings and dwellings, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Running payroll for a large hourly staff, including tips
Reconciling bank accounts and card processor deposits
Working knowledge of QuickBooks or similar accounting software
Patience with housekeepers who have questions about their checks
Guarding customer card numbers and each housekeeper's pay records
Teach these on the job
How team pay and tip splits are figured at your company
How your booking system records cleans, add-ons and cancellations
Your mileage log and reimbursement steps
Branch and service codes for job costing
Your refund, credit and damage claim process
The job runs on QuickBooks Online or another ledger, a payroll service that can split tips and repay mileage, and a booking system such as Jobber, ZenMaid or Launch27 that charges customer cards. If sales still get typed into the ledger by hand, say so, because that changes the workload more than any software brand does.
House cleaning bookkeeper interview questions
They have their own page: 6 questions that test this job, what strong and weak answers sound like, and a work exercise to run with your finalists.
Use the template's numbers for the first quarter. Then reset them with the CFO using your own closing history, and see whether heavy payroll weeks drag them down.
Payment Processing Accuracy
Each month, pick a batch of card charges, refunds and housekeeper payments at random. Trace each one to the booking record or timesheet behind it, and log any that hit the wrong customer, employee or branch.
Transaction Reconciliation Timeliness
Track the date each bank, card processor and payroll clearing account is tied out after month-end. If the processor account always comes last, look at how refunds and tips post to it.
Invoice Turnaround Time
Hours from a clean being marked done in the booking system to the charge or invoice going out. Report recurring homes apart from one-time deep and move-out cleans.
Error Reduction
Log every entry fixed after the fact, whoever caught it, noting why it happened, for example a wrong branch code or a tip posted twice. Compare that count with all entries for the quarter, then fix the most common cause.
Career path
Customer service repTakes payments by phone and learns how cleans are booked and billed.
BookkeeperReconciles deposits, reviews every payroll run and finishes the month-end close.
Senior bookkeeper or controllerSets up the books for each new branch and signs off on the monthly reports.
Chief financial officerWithin reach for some after leading the finance team through years of growth.
Each day they match card deposits to finished cleans, post bills for supplies, insurance and vehicles, and reconcile the bank. Each pay period they check team pay, tips and mileage before payroll runs. Each month they close the books and report revenue, refunds and credits by branch.
How much does a house cleaning bookkeeper make?
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $22.50 an hour ($46,790 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $40,700 and $56,960 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
What should a cleaning company bookkeeper check before payroll runs?
Make sure the branch office has closed out its timesheet fixes. Then check that drive time is counted as hours, that team pay and overtime follow your pay plan, and that each tip went to the team that cleaned that home. Under federal law, no owner, manager or supervisor may keep a cut of workers' tips. Match mileage to trip logs. Confirm new hires have their tax forms in, and that anyone who left gets their final check on time under your state's rules.
Is house cleaning on the IRS list of tipped jobs?
Yes. The final Treasury list of jobs that customarily receive tips, published in April 2026, includes home cleaning service workers, code 407, with house cleaner as an example. That code goes in box 14b of the W-2 for housekeepers who were tipped. Whether a housekeeper can deduct those tips depends on their own tax return, so point them to a tax preparer.
How do you keep the books for several cleaning branches?
Give each branch its own location or class in the accounting software and tag every sale, payroll run and supply bill to it. Shared costs, like the main office and the booking software, get split by a rule your CFO sets, such as each branch's share of cleaning hours. Then every general manager sees their own branch's results each month.
What should a house cleaning bookkeeper job ad include?
Lead with the payroll load: how many housekeepers, how many branches and how often checks go out. Then explain the pay setup, hourly or per home, and whether tips and mileage run through payroll. Close with who prepares the tax returns and when the late weeks fall, such as W-2 season in January.
