Start a Cleaning Business: Price it right, get clients, and run it legally

The Practical Guide to Launching a Residential Cleaning Business in the USA: Startup Costs, LLC and Licensing, Insurance, Pricing Formulas, Scripts, Checklists, Hiring Rules, and a 90-Day Plan

Thinking about cleaning homes for a living, or already doing it informally and not sure you are doing it right? This is the step-by-step manual for starting a residential cleaning business in the United States, written for real people with a car, a few hundred dollars, and a willingness to work.

You get an itemized startup budget, a plain-English path through registration, EINs, local licenses, and the LLC decision, and a clear explanation of general liability insurance and janitorial bonds, including the coverage gap many new cleaners miss. The pricing chapter shows you how to calculate your own hourly target, then build quotes three ways (hourly, flat rate, and per square foot) with full worked examples for recurring cleans, deep cleans, move-outs, short-term rental turnovers, and small offices.

You also get word-for-word scripts for the first call, the walkthrough, the quote, follow-ups, objections, price increases, complaints, and breakage; room-by-room checklists for standard, deep, move-out, and turnover cleans; and a chemical safety system built around one rule you never break.

Later chapters cover getting your first ten clients with Google Business Profile, Nextdoor, referrals, and door hangers; booking software and payment policies; the IRS and Department of Labor rules on employees versus 1099 contractors as of 2026; self-employment tax, quarterly estimates, and the 2026 mileage rate; and how to grow into a team without losing quality.

It ends with official sources to check and a week-by-week 90-day launch plan. No hype and no income promises: just the numbers, systems, and words that help a cleaning business last.

What you get:

• Itemized startup budget and a break-even worksheet
• Pricing formula plus worked hourly, flat-rate, and per-square-foot quotes
• Word-for-word scripts for calls, walkthroughs, quotes, and complaints
• Standard, deep, move-out, and turnover cleaning checklists
• Insurance, bonding, LLC, and licensing explained step by step
• 2026 rules on employees vs 1099 contractors and new 1099-NEC threshold
• Self-employment tax, quarterly estimates, and mileage basics
• Week-by-week 90-day launch plan

Instant download: PDF ebook (6x9 in), readable on any phone, tablet or computer. Educational content; rules change, so check the official sources listed in the book.