What Cleaning Companies Actually Need from Payroll Software
Cleaning company payroll has two problems most software ignores. First, a lot of cleaning businesses pay per house or per room — that is piece rate, and standard payroll tools do not handle it. Second, cleaning companies have high turnover and heavy part-time rosters. You might onboard three new cleaners this month and lose two next month. Your software needs to handle that churn without creating an administrative nightmare.
I'm Tyson Faulkner. My background is in roofing, not cleaning, but piece rate works the same way across trades. A roofer gets paid per square of shingles installed. A cleaner gets paid per house completed. Both need software that calculates pay from production output, not just hours on the clock.
This guide compares seven payroll tools for cleaning companies. I will be honest about which ones actually support per-house or per-room pay models and which ones just assume everyone is hourly.
Pricing listed was accurate as of April 2026 and may change.
Quick Comparison Table
| Software | Piece Rate / Per-House Support | Starting Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piece Work Pro | Native production tracking | Free (Solo) / $8/user/mo | Per-house piece rate pay calculation |
| Gusto | None | $40/mo + $6/person/mo | Full-service payroll with tax filing |
| QuickBooks Payroll | None | $45/mo + $6/employee/mo | Cleaning companies on QuickBooks |
| Homebase | None | Free (basic) / $20/mo+ | Scheduling + time tracking for hourly teams |
| Jobber | None | $39/mo+ | CRM + scheduling + invoicing |
| ZenMaid | None | $49/mo+ | Maid service scheduling + client management |
| Swept | None | Custom pricing | Commercial cleaning operations |
The pattern holds across every industry I have looked at: general payroll tools handle taxes and direct deposit. Industry-specific tools handle scheduling and client management. Almost none of them calculate pay from production output. If you pay per house, you are on your own with the math — unless you use a tool built for that.
1. Piece Work Pro — Best for Per-House Piece Rate Pay Calculation
Best for: Cleaning companies that pay cleaners per house, per room, or per task and need accurate pay calculated from those counts.
Piece Work Pro was built for production-based pay. In roofing, that means squares. In cleaning, that means houses, rooms, or tasks. The workflow is the same: your cleaner completes a job, logs the work, and the system calculates their pay from the rates you have set.
Pricing:
- Solo (1 user): Free forever. No credit card required.
- Team: $10/user/month (monthly) or $8/user/month (annual)
A cleaning company with 10 cleaners runs $80 to $100 per month.
Pros:
- Native piece rate tracking — log houses or rooms completed per cleaner per day
- Automatic pay calculation from custom rates (per house, per room, per task type)
- Job costing shows your actual labor cost per cleaning job
- Mobile app for field entry — cleaners can log completed work from their phones
- Handles teams of varying sizes with easy onboarding
Cons:
- Does not handle tax filing or direct deposit — pair with a payroll processor
- Not a scheduling or CRM tool — no route planning, client communication, or booking
- Not cleaning-industry specific in its interface (no clean-specific terminology)
Bottom line: Piece Work Pro handles the part of cleaning payroll that other tools skip — calculating what each cleaner earns from their production. If you pay $75 per house for a standard clean and a cleaner does 4 houses in a day, their pay is $300. Piece Work Pro tracks that natively. Pair it with Gusto or QuickBooks Payroll for tax filing and direct deposit.
For more on setting cleaning piece rates, read our guide on fair piece rates for house cleaning.
2. Gusto — Best Full-Service Payroll with Tax Filing
Best for: Cleaning companies that need reliable tax filing, direct deposit, and easy onboarding for a high-turnover workforce.
Gusto is a standout for cleaning companies on the payroll processing side. The onboarding flow is clean — new hires get a self-service portal where they enter their own tax info, direct deposit details, and sign documents. When you are hiring and losing cleaners regularly, that onboarding speed matters.
Pricing: $40/month base + $6/person/month. A 12-person cleaning company runs about $112/month.
Pros:
- Automatic federal, state, and local tax filing and payments
- Self-service employee onboarding that reduces admin time
- Direct deposit with flexible scheduling
- Health benefits, workers' comp, and 401(k) available as add-ons
- Clean, modern interface that is easy for non-accountants
Cons:
- Zero per-house or piece rate support — built entirely for hourly and salaried workers
- No cleaning-specific features (no scheduling, routing, or quality tracking)
- No way to track houses completed and calculate pay from production
- Per-person pricing adds up with a large part-time roster
Bottom line: Gusto handles the tax and payment side of cleaning payroll better than most. The onboarding flow is a real advantage when turnover is high. But it has no concept of per-house pay. You calculate each cleaner's earnings from their production and enter the flat dollar amount into Gusto. It processes the payment and files the taxes from there.
3. QuickBooks Payroll — Best for Cleaning Companies Already on QuickBooks
Best for: Cleaning businesses that use QuickBooks for accounting and want payroll in the same ecosystem.
A lot of cleaning companies run their books in QuickBooks. Adding QuickBooks Payroll keeps your accounting and payroll in one place, which simplifies reconciliation and year-end reporting.
Pricing: $45/month (Core) to $125/month (Elite) + $6/employee/month.
Pros:
- Seamless integration with QuickBooks accounting
- Automatic tax calculations and filings
- Direct deposit with next-day or same-day options (plan dependent)
- Workers' comp management available
Cons:
- No per-house or piece rate pay calculation
- Job costing is time-based, not production-based
- Per-employee fee adds up with a large part-time roster
- You do the production math outside QuickBooks and enter totals manually
Bottom line: If QuickBooks is already your financial backbone, adding QuickBooks Payroll makes sense for the tax and payment layer. But like Gusto, it does not understand per-house pay. You calculate what each cleaner earned from their production and enter the amount. QuickBooks handles everything after that.
4. Homebase — Best for Scheduling and Time Tracking for Hourly Teams
Best for: Cleaning companies that pay hourly and need scheduling, time tracking, and basic team management in one free or low-cost platform.
Homebase is popular with small businesses that need to schedule shifts and track clock-in times. The free tier is generous — you get basic scheduling, time tracking, and a team messaging feature. For cleaning companies with hourly teams, it covers a lot of ground without a big bill.
Pricing:
- Basic: Free (1 location, up to 20 employees)
- Essentials: $20/month per location
- Plus: $48/month per location
- All-in-One: $80/month per location
Pros:
- Free tier with scheduling, time tracking, and hiring tools
- Mobile app for cleaners to clock in and out from job sites
- GPS verification of clock-in location
- Shift scheduling with availability management
- Hiring tools including job posts and applicant tracking
Cons:
- No piece rate or per-house pay support
- Payroll is an add-on, not the core product — and it is hourly-only
- Limited job costing capabilities
- Free tier has limitations on features and support
Bottom line: Homebase is excellent for hourly cleaning teams that need scheduling and time tracking. The free tier is hard to beat for a startup cleaning company. But if you pay per house, Homebase cannot calculate those earnings. It tracks hours, not production. Good for knowing when your cleaners worked, not for knowing what they produced.
5. Jobber — Best for CRM, Scheduling, and Invoicing
Best for: Cleaning companies that need to manage the client lifecycle from booking to invoice alongside basic team management.
Jobber is one of the most popular platforms in the home services space. It handles quoting, online booking, scheduling, dispatching, invoicing, and client communication. For cleaning companies that are growing beyond a handful of clients, Jobber brings real operational structure.
Pricing: $39/month (Core) to $249/month (Grow+). Higher plans add features and user seats.
Pros:
- Client quoting and online invoicing with payment processing
- Online booking that clients can use to schedule recurring cleans
- Scheduling with route optimization — assign cleaners to jobs efficiently
- Client portal with communication history
- Automated follow-up messages and reminders
Cons:
- No piece rate or per-house payroll calculation
- Time tracking is for client billing, not for production-based crew pay
- Payroll is not included — you need a separate payroll tool
- Pricing gets expensive as your team grows past the Core plan limits
Bottom line: Jobber is a client management and scheduling tool, not a payroll tool. It solves the "which cleaner goes to which house at what time" problem very well. It does not solve the "how much does each cleaner earn from the houses they completed" problem. Pair Jobber for scheduling with Piece Work Pro for pay calculation and Gusto for tax filing.
6. ZenMaid — Best for Maid Service Scheduling and Client Management
Best for: Residential maid services that want scheduling, automated reminders, and client management built specifically for the cleaning industry.
ZenMaid is one of the few platforms built exclusively for maid services. The scheduling interface is designed around recurring cleaning appointments, and the automations handle a lot of the client communication that eats up your admin time — appointment reminders, follow-ups, and review requests.
Pricing: Starts at $49/month. Pricing scales with the number of appointments or team size.
Pros:
- Built specifically for maid services — the interface speaks your language
- Automated appointment reminders, follow-ups, and review requests
- Recurring scheduling with easy rebooking
- Client management with cleaning history and preferences
- Online booking for new clients
Cons:
- Not a payroll tool — no pay calculation, tax filing, or direct deposit
- No per-house piece rate pay calculation
- Focused on residential maid services — less suited for commercial cleaning
- Smaller ecosystem and integration options than broader platforms like Jobber
Bottom line: ZenMaid is a strong choice for residential maid services that want industry-specific scheduling and automation. But it does not handle payroll at all. You would use ZenMaid for scheduling and client management, a production tracking tool for piece rate math, and a payroll processor for tax filing.
7. Swept — Best for Commercial Cleaning Operations
Best for: Commercial cleaning companies (janitorial services, office cleaning) that need location management, inspections, and workforce tracking.
Swept is designed for commercial cleaning operations — the companies cleaning office buildings, medical facilities, and retail spaces. It focuses on the operational side: location management, inspection checklists, issue reporting, and communication with cleaners at multiple sites.
Pricing: Custom pricing based on the number of locations and features. Contact Swept for a quote.
Pros:
- Built for commercial cleaning operations with multi-location support
- Inspection and quality tracking with photo documentation
- GPS-verified time tracking at cleaning locations
- Communication tools for dispatching and issue reporting
- Cleaner-facing mobile app for clock-in and task management
Cons:
- Not a payroll processor — does not calculate pay, file taxes, or run direct deposit
- No per-location piece rate pay calculation
- Custom pricing means you need a sales conversation
- Focused on commercial cleaning — less useful for residential maid services
Bottom line: Swept solves the operational challenge of managing multiple commercial cleaning locations. Inspections, quality control, and location-based time tracking are its strengths. But payroll — especially production-based payroll — is not part of the platform. You still need a pay calculation tool and a payroll processor.
How to Choose the Right Setup
If you pay hourly and need simple payroll:
Gusto or QuickBooks Payroll handles everything. Add Homebase (free tier) for scheduling and time tracking if you need it. Straightforward, affordable, and reliable.
If you pay per house or per room (piece rate):
Start with Piece Work Pro for pay calculation from production. Add Gusto or QuickBooks Payroll for tax filing and direct deposit. This combo handles the part most tools skip — turning "4 houses cleaned today" into accurate pay — plus the compliance side.
If you need client management and scheduling:
Add Jobber or ZenMaid for scheduling, booking, and client communication. Neither handles payroll, so you still need the stack above for pay.
If you run a commercial cleaning operation:
Swept for location management and inspections, plus Piece Work Pro for production-based pay calculation, plus Gusto for payroll processing. Three tools, each doing what it does best.
The high-turnover reality:
Cleaning companies cycle through employees faster than most industries. Whichever tools you choose, pay attention to how easy it is to onboard a new person and offboard someone who left. Gusto's self-service onboarding is a real time saver here. Piece Work Pro's per-user pricing means you only pay for active team members.
Use our Payroll Calculator to estimate your total payroll costs at different team sizes and pay structures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use regular payroll software if I pay cleaners per house?
You can use regular payroll software to process the payment and file taxes, but it will not calculate per-house earnings. You would need to track which houses each cleaner completed, multiply by their per-house rate, and enter the flat dollar amount into your payroll tool. A production tracking tool like Piece Work Pro automates that calculation.
Do cleaners on per-house pay still need to track hours?
Yes. Federal law (FLSA) requires that you track hours for all non-exempt workers, including those on piece rate. Their piece rate earnings divided by actual hours worked must meet at least minimum wage. If it does not, you must make up the difference. For the full breakdown, see our guide on do you have to track hours for piece rate workers.
What is the biggest payroll mistake cleaning companies make?
Not tracking hours alongside per-house pay and failing to verify minimum wage compliance. If a cleaner earns $200 for completing 3 houses but was working for 9 hours (including drive time between jobs), their effective hourly rate is $22.22. That is fine. But if those 3 houses took 14 hours due to deep cleans and long drives, the effective rate drops to $14.29 — below minimum wage in many states. You need to track both production and time. Read more about this in our guide on piece rate minimum wage compliance.
How do I handle drive time between houses?
Drive time between houses during a work day is generally considered hours worked under the FLSA. You must count it toward total hours for minimum wage and overtime calculations. Some cleaning companies pay a small hourly rate for drive time and piece rate for the actual cleaning — a hybrid model that accounts for non-productive time fairly.
Is per-house pay legal for cleaning employees?
Yes. Per-house pay is piece rate pay, and it is legal in all 50 states as long as you comply with minimum wage requirements, track hours worked, and calculate overtime correctly when workers exceed 40 hours per week. For more on the legal requirements, see our guide on is piece rate pay legal.
Try Piece Work Pro free to see how per-house pay tracking works for your cleaning company — no credit card required.