An industrial cleaning bookkeeper records the money side of plant cleaning, shutdown and tank jobs: payroll inputs, supplier bills, customer invoices and bank reconciliations. They also tie the travel, truck fuel and disposal costs that come with plant work to the right job.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building services companies · BLS, May 2025
Provides accurate and timely bookkeeping support by processing transactions, reconciling accounts, and managing payables/receivables to ensure the financial integrity of our industrial cleaning and degreasing operations.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Process all financial transactions with accuracy and adherence to industry standards.
Conduct regular account reconciliations to ensure consistency between bank statements and ledger entries.
Handle accounts payable and accounts receivable in a timely and efficient manner.
Assist with month-end closing processes and preparation of financial reports.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and record daily transactions including invoices, receipts, and payments.
Reconcile bank accounts and verify accuracy of financial data.
Verify expenses and ensure proper documentation for all disbursements.
Collaborate with team members to resolve discrepancies and follow up on outstanding items.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Transaction Accuracy Rate: >99% correctness in recorded transactions.
Invoice Processing Time: 95% of invoices processed within 24 hours of receipt.
Account Reconciliation Timeliness: 100% of accounts reconciled by month-end.
Payment Collection Efficiency: Achieve a collection rate of >98% on receivables within allocated time frames.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Associate’s Degree in Accounting or related field or equivalent work experience.
Minimum of 2 years’ experience in bookkeeping or a similar role.
Proficient in accounting software (e.g., QuickBooks) and Microsoft Office Suite.
Strong attention to detail and excellent organizational and analytical skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior bookkeeping experience within industrial cleaning, degreasing, or related home services industries.
Experience managing financial transactions in high-paced operational environments.
Familiarity with industry-specific software and financial reporting standards.
Demonstrated ability to support cross-functional teams in a collaborative setting.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to remain seated for extended periods while working at a computer.
Capability to lift up to 15 lbs for occasional handling of documents and supplies.
Adept at working in an office environment with standard lighting and ergonomic conditions.
Occasional manual handling of physical paperwork with minimal exertion.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Primarily office-based with the possibility of remote work as needed.
Occasional overtime may be required during financial close periods.
Work environment supports a structured and collaborative administrative setting.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary Range: $40,000 - $55,000 per year based on experience and qualifications.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses in line with departmental objectives.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision insurance packages.
401(k) plan, paid time off, and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a forward-thinking, growth-oriented company dedicated to excellence in industrial cleaning and degreasing services.
Our culture promotes teamwork, integrity, and continuous professional development.
We value innovation and offer ample opportunities for career advancement and skills enhancement.
Become a part of an inclusive, supportive team where your contributions directly impact our success.
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 changes for a bookkeeper at an industrial cleaning company
Plant work sends crews and heavy trucks across state lines, and some bills arrive long after the crew leaves. These four things land on the bookkeeper's desk here.
Heavy trucks that cross state lines report fuel tax
Under the International Fuel Tax Agreement, a qualified motor vehicle has two axles and a weight over 26,000 pounds, three or more axles at any weight, or runs in a combination over 26,000 pounds. Check each vacuum truck and tanker against that test. One that runs in more than one member state needs an IFTA license and decals, and the company reports its fuel taxes to a single base state. Log miles and fuel receipts by state for each truck as you go. Source: Michigan Department of Treasury: IFTA, what is a qualified motor vehicle.
Travel money for out-of-town shutdowns
Crews often stay near a distant plant for a week or longer. Under an IRS accountable plan, meal and lodging allowances aren't taxed as wages when the worker accounts for the trip within a reasonable time and returns any extra. Per diem paid above the federal rate is reported as wages. Put the plan in writing and collect trip dates, places and purpose before the money goes out. Source: IRS Publication 463: Travel, gift and car expenses (accountable plans).
Some bills show up after the job is closed
Waste disposal, rented equipment, lab tests on residue and extra hotel nights can bill weeks after the crew leaves. If the bookkeeper closes the job at the final invoice, those costs fall into overhead and the job looks better than it was. Keep plant jobs open for a set window, or post an accrual from the field supervisor's list of costs still to come.
Truck and pump hours belong on the job
A vacuum truck or high-pressure water unit costs money every hour it runs, even on days nobody buys parts. Charge each job an internal hourly rate for the units it used, taken from the crew ticket. Without that line, job reports make equipment-heavy work look like your most profitable work.
How much industrial cleaning & degreasing bookkeepers make
The closest BLS group for industrial cleaning & degreasing 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.
Hourly pay with overtime in close weeks is common, and some firms move the role to salary plus a close bonus. The template's pay band lands within the BLS range for this industry.
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 industrial cleaning companies 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
Full-cycle bookkeeping through the month-end close
Job costing by customer and by job, not just by account
Payroll inputs for crews with travel, overtime and night shifts
Steady follow-up on unpaid invoices with plant payables teams
Records a CPA can review without rework
Teach these on the job
Fuel tax reporting by state
Your per diem and travel expense rules
How each customer wants purchase order numbers shown
Internal equipment rates and how tickets record unit hours
Your disposal vendors and the job numbers their bills need
Expect QuickBooks or a similar ledger, a job management system that holds crew tickets and unit hours, GPS mileage reports from the trucks, and an expense app for crew travel receipts. Name your ledger and how you track fuel by state in the ad.
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Unbilled costs
You notice waste disposal fees from several jobs were never billed to the clients. What do you do?
A strong answer: Checks the contracts to see which fees are billable, gets them invoiced with backup, tells the Office Manager and suggests a step that adds disposal to every job closeout.
Behavioral · Accuracy under volume
Tell me about a time you handled a heavy month-end with many job invoices. How did you avoid errors?
A strong answer: Describes a system of batching, checklists and reconciling invoices to work tickets before sending.
Swap in your own targets once a few closes are done, using invoice volume and how fast your customers pay.
Transaction Accuracy Rate
Each month, pull a sample of posted entries and count how many had to be corrected, such as a wrong job, account or amount. Add any corrections the CPA makes at year end.
Invoice Processing Time
Measure from the day a vendor bill or signed crew ticket reaches the office to the day it is posted or invoiced. Track bills and customer invoices separately.
Account Reconciliation Timeliness
Keep a checklist of each bank, card, loan and fuel card account. Record the date each one is reconciled and whether the close finished on schedule.
Payment Collection Efficiency
Compare cash collected with invoices due in the period, customer by customer. Review the aging report weekly and note which plant invoices are waiting on paperwork.
Career path
Billing clerkTurns crew tickets into invoices and learns each plant's billing habits.
BookkeeperKeeps the ledger, payables, receivables and job costs current.
ControllerOwns the monthly close, job cost reports and the year-end file.
What does the 15-pound lifting line in the bookkeeper template cover?
It means carrying what an office handles: a box of filed crew tickets, a case of printer paper or binders headed to storage. Otherwise the work happens at a desk. If a candidate can do this with a cart or a coworker's help, that is a reasonable change to talk through.
How much does an industrial cleaning & degreasing 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.
Does an industrial cleaning bookkeeper need to understand hazardous waste paperwork?
Not to decide what the waste is. That belongs to the plant's environmental staff and your operations team. The bookkeeper does need each disposal invoice to carry a job number, and it helps to file the waste tracking number from the shipping papers with it. Then the cost lands on the right job and can be billed back where the contract allows.
What should the bookkeeper watch while a big shutdown is running?
Watch crew hours against the estimate each day, hotel and per diem spending, rental days on extra equipment, and any work the plant added on site. A short weekly note to the CFO during the shutdown lets pricing problems surface before the final invoice instead of after it.
What past experience fits an industrial cleaning bookkeeper?
Bookkeeping at a trucking firm, an industrial contractor or a construction trade is a close match, because those jobs mix job costing, heavy equipment and crews on the road. Someone from a single-location retail or office setting can learn it, but expect a longer ramp on travel, fuel and job reports.
