Why Cleaning Companies Owners Should Care
For cleaning companies, overhead is every expense beyond direct labor and supplies for specific jobs. Vehicles, insurance, marketing, admin — they all bill whether you clean 200 homes a month or 20. Cleaning looks lean at first, but overhead scales faster than most owners expect once you add employees, vehicles, and marketing.
Industry Benchmarks
18-28% of revenue
Healthy Range
29-35% of revenue
Warning Zone
Over 35% of revenue
Danger Zone
Industry context: Solo operators: 10-18%. Small teams (3-8 people): 20-28%. Larger companies (10+ employees): 25-35%. Overhead grows with team size.
Source: Cleaning business financial benchmarks, 2025
How to Calculate Overhead Costs
Formula
Overhead Rate = (Total Overhead Costs / Total Revenue) × 100
In plain English
What percentage of every dollar you earn goes to keeping the business running (not counting direct service delivery costs)
Example: Fresh Start Cleaning
Annual Revenue Full-year revenue, 8 employees | $400,000 |
Vehicles (3 Cars) Gas, insurance, maintenance, depreciation | -$24,000 |
Insurance General liability + workers' comp | -$28,000 |
Marketing Website, Google Ads, Thumbtack, referral incentives | -$18,000 |
Administrative Part-time bookkeeper, scheduling software | -$14,000 |
Equipment & Supply Overhead Equipment maintenance, replacement mops/vacuums | -$6,000 |
Training New hire training, safety certifications | -$4,000 |
Miscellaneous Storage space, background checks, drug testing | -$5,000 |
Calculation
($99,000 overhead / $400,000 revenue) × 100 = 24.8% overhead rate
This cleaning company spends 25 cents of every dollar on overhead. If gross margin (after labor and supplies) is 45% ($180K), then $99K goes to overhead, leaving $81K in net profit (20.3%). A 5-point overhead increase from insurance hikes or a new vehicle drops net margin to 15%.
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Get My Free ScoreCommon Problems in Cleaning Companies
Symptom
Same rates as when it was just you, but now carrying insurance, vehicles, and admin
Impact
A solo cleaner has nearly zero overhead. A company with 8 employees has 25%+ overhead. Same pricing = shrinking margins with every hire.
How to Improve Your Overhead Costs
How to do it
Calculate your overhead rate (25% in this example). For a $150 job, $37.50 must cover overhead. Price accordingly: labor + supplies + overhead allocation + profit margin.
Expected impact
Stops the common trap of underpricing as you grow. Every job now covers its share of business costs.
Key Takeaways
What it measures
The ongoing expenses of running your business that aren't tied to delivering a specific product or service
Healthy range for Cleaning Companies
18-28% of revenue
Formula in plain English
What percentage of every dollar you earn goes to keeping the business running (not counting direct service delivery costs)
Most common problem
Pricing like a solo operator with employee-level costs
Fastest fix
Price to include overhead per job
Related Financial Metrics
Other important metrics for Cleaning Companies
Overhead Costs in Other Industries
See how overhead costs compares across different business types
Salons & Spas
Salon overhead averages 25-38% of revenue. Booth rental runs 20-30%, employee model 30-45%, high-end hits 35-50%. See benchmarks by salon type.
Restaurants
Restaurant overhead averages 20-30% of revenue. Fast-casual runs 18-25%, full-service 25-35%, fine dining hits 30-40%. See benchmarks by format.
HVAC Contractors
HVAC overhead averages 25-35% for residential and 30-40% for commercial. Larger fleets trend higher. See the benchmarks and where to cut.
Marketing Agencies
Marketing agency overhead averages 20-30% of revenue. Remote-first runs 15-25%, downtown offices hit 30-45%. See where your agency should land.