Accounting for cleaning companies in Ontario
Cleaning businesses run recurring contracts, a distributed crew, and often subcontractors, which makes payroll and scheduling the bookkeeping backbone.
CRA EFILE authorized · Every filing signed by an accountant · Switching is free — about an hour of your time
taxifi · Cleaning Companies
This month
- Bookkeeping Current
- Payroll & source deductions Filed
- HST Filed
- Year-end tax (T2) On track
The problems we take off your plate
Recurring contract revenue
Recurring contracts are tracked so you always know your predictable monthly base and where it's growing.
A large, changing crew
Payroll scales with your staffing, with source deductions remitted to CRA on time whatever the headcount.
Subcontractors
Payments to subcontractors are tracked and reported correctly, distinct from employee payroll.
What’s included
Published prices for incorporated Ontario cleaning companies. Everything below is handled.
- Recurring contract revenue tracked
- Crew payroll and source deductions
- Subcontractor payments tracked and reported
- HST returns prepared and filed
- Year-end corporate tax (T2), from $1,000 a year
| Area | A typical setup | With taxifi |
|---|---|---|
| Your books | Weeks or months behind | Current every day |
| Year-end (T2) | A spring scramble, billed extra | Included, no surprise invoice |
| Your accountant | Metered by the hour | Unlimited questions, flat monthly |
The classification question that decides your payroll exposure
Cleaning businesses scale by adding people, and the single most expensive decision is whether those people are employees or contractors. CRA weighs the actual relationship — control over how and when the work is done, who supplies equipment and supplies, whether the worker carries real financial risk, and how integrated they are into your operation — not the label on the agreement.
Get it wrong and CRA can reassess the income tax, CPP, and EI that should have been withheld, including the employer's share, plus penalties and interest going back years. Crews on fixed routes, using your supplies, working only for you, generally look like employees no matter what the paperwork says. Papering the arrangement properly before you scale is far cheaper than a reassessment after.
Common questions
Can you handle a large, changing crew?
Yes. Payroll scales with your staffing, with source deductions remitted to CRA on time.
Do you work with incorporated cleaning companies?
Yes. Incorporated cleaning businesses are a good fit.
Are my cleaners employees or contractors?
It depends on how the relationship actually operates, not what the contract calls it. CRA looks at control, tools and supplies, financial risk, and integration. A cleaner on your schedule, using your supplies, with no other clients, generally looks like an employee. CRA's guide RC4110 sets out the factors, and the answer should be settled before you hire, not after.
What happens if CRA reclassifies my contractors as employees?
You can be assessed for the income tax, CPP, and EI that should have been withheld — including both the employee and employer shares of CPP and EI — plus penalties and interest, potentially for multiple past years. It is the most expensive payroll mistake a growing service business can make.
Books and taxes for your cleaning company, done
Bookkeeping from $99 a month, accountant-reviewed from $299, corporate T2 from $1,000 a year. Prices are published; a call confirms the fit.
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