Accounting and invoicing for cleaning companies
Sites cleaned every week, deep cleans on call, caretaker services by the hour: in building cleaning a lot repeats, and every site needs its own invoice. Saldiqo creates them on a fixed date and shows which site pays off.
What comes up for cleaning companies
Recurring jobs
Offices, practices, stairwells and nurseries are cleaned on a fixed rhythm. The monthly invoice is almost the same every time.
Several sites, one business
Every site has its own prices, hours and contacts. Without allocation you do not know whether a job pays for itself.
Special services on call
Deep cleaning, window cleaning and winter service come on top and need a quote or an invoice by effort.
Payment terms with business customers
Property managers and companies pay on terms. If you do not follow up, you wait a long time.
How Saldiqo helps
- Site cleaning as a recurring invoiceThe monthly invoice is created on a fixed date, with the lines from your contract.
- Time per siteYou record hours with start and stop and bill by effort where the contract requires it.
- Cost centre per clientAssign income and expenses to a site and see in the report what it brings in.
- Quote for special servicesYou issue deep or window cleaning as a quote, and after delivery it becomes the invoice.
- Reminders with deadlinesAfter the bank statement you see who is still open and send payment reminders with one click.
Typical invoice lines
Examples that often appear on invoices in this industry. You set the prices yourself.
- Maintenance cleaning of office, October
- Deep clean by measured area
- Window cleaning, inside and outside
- Caretaker service, hours
- Cleaning supplies as per receipt
- Winter service, flat fee for November
Tax and invoicing in Germany
What applies to invoices in Germany, in short. As of October 2026.
- VAT
- Standard rate 19 %, reduced rate 7 %. Which rate applies to which supply depends on the case. Saldiqo calculates each invoice line with the rate you pick.
- Small business scheme
- Under section 19 of the VAT Act (UStG) you charge no VAT as long as your turnover was at most €25,000 last year and is at most €100,000 this year. Saldiqo shows how much room is left and adds the note to your invoice.
- Mandatory details
- Under section 14 UStG every invoice shows a tax number or VAT ID, a consecutive invoice number, the date of supply and the recipient. Saldiqo checks this before you finalise an invoice. Small invoices up to €250 gross need fewer details.
- E-invoicing
- All businesses have had to be able to receive e-invoices since 1 January 2025. Issuing becomes mandatory from 2027 if last year’s turnover was above €800,000, and from 2028 for domestic business-to-business sales in all cases. Small businesses under section 19 are exempt. Saldiqo creates XRechnung and ZUGFeRD.
- VAT return
- The advance VAT return goes to the tax office through ELSTER, by the 10th after the end of the period. You file monthly if last year’s VAT was above €9,000 and quarterly above €2,000. Saldiqo provides the figures; you file in ELSTER or through your tax adviser.
- Record keeping
- Keep invoices and accounting vouchers for 8 years, books for 10 years and business letters for 6 years. The period starts at the end of the calendar year.
- Late payment
- In the second half of 2026 the default interest rate is 10.52 % between businesses and 6.52 % towards consumers, plus a €40 flat fee that applies to businesses only. Saldiqo has reminder levels with deadlines and fees.
- Getting paid
- Every invoice carries a GiroCode (EPC QR) that customers scan with their banking app. You match payments by uploading the bank statement as CSV or CAMT.
- Tax adviser
- Cash-basis profit calculation (EÜR), a DATEV export and a separate login for your tax adviser are built in.
For cleaning companies in Germany
Building cleaning services to businesses that provide building cleaning themselves are mostly subject to the reverse charge under section 13b of the VAT Act. For that you choose the tax type reverse charge. For household cleaning, private customers can claim part of the labour costs for tax if labour costs appear on the invoice and they pay by bank transfer.
Frequently asked questions
Can I create monthly invoices automatically?
Yes. A recurring invoice creates them on a fixed date. If the contract changes, you adjust the series with a click.
How do I see whether a site pays off?
With cost centres. You assign income and expenses to the site and see the report per cost centre.
Can I bill by the hour?
Yes. You record time and create the invoice line from it.
Do cleaning companies in Germany have to charge VAT?
Yes, unless they qualify as small businesses under section 19 UStG. That applies when turnover was at most €25,000 last year and is at most €100,000 this year. The limit is hard: VAT is due on the sale that takes you over it.
Do cleaning companies in Germany need e-invoicing?
Every business must be able to receive e-invoices since 2025. Issuing is mandatory from 2027 if last year’s turnover was above €800,000, and from 2028 for domestic business-to-business sales in general. Small businesses, invoices up to €250 and tickets are exempt. Private customers still get a normal invoice.
How long do cleaning companies have to keep invoices?
Invoices and vouchers for 8 years, books for 10 years and business letters for 6 years, counted from the end of the calendar year. You can store receipts digitally in Saldiqo. The legal duty to keep records and to document your procedures stays with you.
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As of October 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice, without guarantee. For your case ask your tax adviser.