Personal & Home Services · Brisbane
Accountants for Cleaning Services
Labour is 60–70% of a cleaning business. Get the contractor-versus-employee question and the award right, and the rest is arithmetic.
Are cleaners contractors or employees?
Most are employees in substance, even when they invoice with an ABN. The tests look at control, whether they can delegate, who supplies equipment, and whether they bear commercial risk. Getting it wrong means retrospective PAYG withholding, superannuation, leave entitlements and penalties. Genuine contractors still trigger TPAR annual reporting, and super can apply where the contract is principally for labour.
- Specialist support for cleaning businesses
- Fixed monthly packages from $220
- BAS, payroll and year-end handled together
- Benchmarked against ATO industry figures
What we watch
What matters most for cleaning businesses.
Worker classification
Reviewed properly against the tests, with contracts and practice aligned — the largest financial risk in the industry.
Award compliance
Cleaning Services Award rates, broken shifts, weekend penalties and travel between sites. Underpayments are enforced hard.
TPAR reporting
Annual taxable payments report for contractor payments, due 28 August each year.
Travel and vehicles
Travel between client sites is generally claimable; home to first site usually isn't. A log book settles it.
Deductions
Cleaning Services — what you can claim.
A working checklist we go through with every client in this sector. Substantiation requirements differ by item — we'll tell you which need records and which don't.
- Cleaning products, chemicals and consumables
- Equipment, vacuums and machinery
- Vehicle costs with a log book
- Wages, super and contractor payments
- Public liability and workers' compensation
- Uniforms, gloves and protective equipment
- Police checks and staff screening
- Scheduling software and phone costs
- Marketing and quoting costs
How we help
Services cleaning businesses use most.
Tax Returns
Individual and business returns prepared accurately, lodged fast, with every deduction claimed.
Learn more →Tax Planning
Year-round planning that lowers your tax bill before 30 June — not after it.
Learn more →Business Accounting
Bookkeeping, BAS, payroll and management reporting handled end to end.
Learn more →Self-Managed Super (SMSF)
SMSF setup, administration, compliance and audit coordination in one place.
Learn more →Business Advisory
Structuring, cash-flow forecasting, growth strategy and succession planning.
Learn more →Financial Reporting
Clear statutory and management accounts you can actually make decisions from.
Learn more →FAQ
Cleaning Services — questions we're asked most.
Do I pay super to a cleaner with an ABN?
Often yes. Where the contract is wholly or principally for the person's labour, super guarantee applies regardless of the ABN. Combined with the risk that they're an employee outright, this is the single most expensive thing to get wrong in a cleaning business — and it accumulates silently.
What is TPAR and do I have to lodge it?
The Taxable Payments Annual Report discloses payments to contractors for cleaning services (among other industries) and is due by 28 August. It's specifically designed to identify contractors who under-report income, and the ATO cross-matches it — so accuracy matters at both ends of the transaction.
Can my cleaners claim travel between jobs?
Travel between two work sites in the same day is generally claimable; home to the first site and last site to home usually isn't, unless carrying bulky equipment that can't be stored on site. Reimbursements you pay have their own treatment, so set a consistent policy.
What structure suits a cleaning business?
Sole trader while it's just you. Once you engage workers, liability and payroll risk make a company more attractive — it separates personal assets from employment claims. Directors remain personally exposed for unpaid super and PAYG through director penalty notices, so compliance still matters.
Related
Related pages.
Accountants for Contractors
Specialist tax and accounting support for Brisbane contractors.
Learn more →Accountants for Home Businesses
Specialist tax and accounting support for Brisbane home businesses.
Learn more →Small Business Accountant Brisbane
Sole traders to companies
Learn more →Business Accounting
Bookkeeping, BAS, payroll and management reporting handled end to end.
Learn more →Local coverage across Brisbane
We work in person from our Wakerley office and by secure video across 200 suburbs. Start with your region:
- Accountants Brisbane CPA accountants for the wider Brisbane metro area.
- Accountants South Brisbane South Brisbane, West End, Annerley and Sunnybank.
- Accountants Brisbane Northside Chermside, Stafford, Aspley and the northern corridor.
- Accountants Brisbane Bayside Wynnum, Manly, Wakerley and Tingalpa.
- Accountants Redland City Cleveland, Capalaba, Victoria Point and the bay islands.
- Accountants Logan City Springwood, Beenleigh, Browns Plains and 50 Logan suburbs.
- Accountants Ipswich Ipswich CBD and the western Brisbane corridor.
Ready when you are
Accountants for cleaning services — let's talk.
Free 15-minute consultation, fixed monthly fee, and an accountant who already knows your sector.