Compare accounting software for cleaning businesses and self-employed cleaners in the UK. We look at expenses, mileage, invoices, VAT, Making Tax Digital, pricing and independent customer reviews.
Looking for job management or staff rota tools too? See our Software for Cleaning Businesses guide.
Quick answer
Top pick: Xero — 94/100
Xero is our best all-round choice for cleaning businesses that want bank feeds, invoices, receipt capture, VAT and room to grow.
Best value: QuickBooks — 93/100
QuickBooks is particularly useful for cleaners who travel between customer sites. It combines mileage tracking, expenses, invoices and MTD tools at a relatively low starting price.
Best for sole traders: FreeAgent — 91/100
FreeAgent is a strong UK option for self-employed cleaners. It handles expenses, invoices, VAT, Self Assessment and MTD, and can be free with some business bank accounts.
Compare accounting software for cleaning businesses
| Tool | Best for | Viaqo score | Standard price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xero | Overall | 94/100 | From £7/mo* |
| QuickBooks | Value | 93/100 | From £10/mo** |
| FreeAgent | Sole traders | 91/100 | From £19/mo*** |
*Xero Simple normally costs £7 per month excluding VAT and is designed for non-VAT businesses. VAT-registered businesses can use Ignite, which normally costs £18 per month excluding VAT. Xero was offering 90% off for the first six months when checked in October 2026.
**QuickBooks Sole Trader Plus normally costs £10 per month plus VAT. VAT-registered businesses can use Simple Start, which normally costs £16 per month plus VAT. A 90% introductory discount for six months was available when checked.
***FreeAgent normally costs £19 per month excluding VAT for a sole trader. It can be free with eligible NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank or Mettle business accounts.
Prices checked October 2026.
Why this ranking?
Xero comes first because it covers the main accounting jobs a growing cleaning company is likely to need: bank reconciliation, invoices, receipts, VAT, reports and MTD. It also has a large independent review base, with 4.4/5 from 3,330 Capterra reviews.
QuickBooks is very close behind. Its mileage tracking is particularly useful for cleaners travelling between homes or commercial sites, and it also covers receipts, expenses, bank feeds and VAT. It currently has 4.3/5 from 8,543 Capterra reviews, giving it the largest independent review sample of our top three.
FreeAgent scores highly for sole traders because it is strongly focused on UK tax and small businesses. It currently has 4.5/5 from 179 Capterra reviews, although that review sample is much smaller than Xero or QuickBooks.
Review scores cover each product as a whole and are not limited to cleaning businesses.
Xero — Best overall
Viaqo score: 94/100
Xero is cloud accounting software for small businesses.
A cleaning business can use it to record customer income, match bank transactions, store receipts, send invoices, manage VAT and prepare digital tax records.
Why we like it
- Bank feeds and reconciliation
- Invoices and quotes
- Digital receipt storage
- VAT returns
- Making Tax Digital support
- Financial reports
- Payroll options
- Useful as the business grows
Xero automatically imports bank transactions and suggests matches with your accounting records. Digital receipts can also be stored and linked to transactions.
What to watch
The cheapest Simple plan is for non-VAT businesses.
A VAT-registered cleaning company will normally need at least Ignite, which costs £18 per month excluding VAT at standard price. Ignite also limits you to 20 invoices and 10 bills each month.
A busy cleaning company may therefore need Grow, currently £39 per month excluding VAT.
Pricing
- Simple: £7/month excl. VAT — non-VAT businesses
- Ignite: £18/month excl. VAT
- Grow: £39/month excl. VAT
- Comprehensive: £55/month excl. VAT
- Ultimate: £70/month excl. VAT
Xero was offering 90% off for the first six months when checked. This is a temporary promotion, not the normal price.
Best for: Cleaning businesses that want a strong accounting system they can continue using as they grow.
QuickBooks — Best value
Viaqo score: 93/100
QuickBooks covers invoices, expenses, receipts, bank transactions, mileage and Making Tax Digital.
For a cleaner who drives between customer sites, the mileage tool is especially useful. The mobile app can record journeys automatically and lets you mark them as business or personal.
Why we like it
- Low starting price
- Automatic mileage tracking
- Receipt capture
- Expense tracking
- Bank feeds
- Invoices and estimates
- Recurring invoices
- VAT filing on suitable plans
- MTD support
- Large independent review sample
QuickBooks also lets businesses create recurring invoices, which can be useful if the same customers are cleaned every week or month.
What to watch
The cheapest plan is aimed at sole traders.
VAT filing is available from Simple Start rather than the basic sole-trader option. QuickBooks states that VAT submission tools are not available in its Sole Trader plan.
Payroll is also an optional extra rather than automatically included with the main accounting plans.
Pricing
- Sole Trader Plus: £10/month + VAT
- Simple Start: £16/month + VAT
- Essentials: £38/month + VAT
- Plus: £56/month + VAT
- Advanced: £123/month + VAT
QuickBooks was offering 90% off for the first six months when checked.
Best for: Sole traders and small cleaning businesses that want simple accounting with strong mileage and expense tools.
FreeAgent — Best for sole traders
Viaqo score: 91/100
FreeAgent is UK accounting software designed for small businesses and freelancers.
It can handle invoices, expenses, bank feeds, VAT, Self Assessment and Making Tax Digital.
Why we like it
- Strong UK tax tools
- Self Assessment
- MTD for Income Tax
- VAT filing
- Bank feeds
- Expense and mileage records
- Invoices
- Receipt capture
- 30-day free trial
- Can be free with some business bank accounts
For eligible sole traders, FreeAgent can prepare MTD quarterly updates from the income and expenses already recorded and send them to HMRC.
What to watch
FreeAgent is not necessarily cheap if you pay the normal subscription price.
A sole trader normally pays £19 per month excluding VAT. A limited company normally pays £33 per month.
Receipt capture also has limits unless you pay for the optional unlimited Smart Capture add-on.
Its main value becomes much stronger if you qualify for a free account through NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank or Mettle.
Pricing
For a sole trader:
- Monthly: £19/month excl. VAT
- Annual: £190/year excl. VAT
FreeAgent was offering 50% off for the first six months, or 50% off the first year with annual billing, when checked.
Best for: Self-employed cleaners who want straightforward UK tax and bookkeeping tools.
Also considered: Sage
Sage is worth considering, especially for a cleaner working alone.
Its Sage Sole Trader Free plan costs £0 and is aimed at non-VAT-registered sole traders. It includes digital income and expense records and MTD readiness. Paid Sage Accounting plans start at a standard £20 per month excluding VAT.
However, Sage Accounting currently has a lower independent rating than our top three at 4.1/5 from 652 Capterra reviews.
For that reason, we would keep it as a strong alternative rather than place it in the top three.
What should cleaning businesses look for in accounting software?
Good accounting software for cleaners should make everyday money admin easier.
We would check these first:
- Expenses: cleaning products, equipment, uniforms and other business costs
- Mileage: useful if you drive between customer sites
- Receipts: easy photo capture can reduce paperwork
- Invoices: especially useful for regular customers
- Bank feeds: so transactions do not need to be entered manually
- VAT: important if your business is VAT registered
- Making Tax Digital: particularly important for self-employed cleaners
- Payroll: useful once you employ staff
- Reports: so you can see whether the business is actually making money
Do not choose a plan just because it has the lowest headline price. Check which features are included in the plan you actually need.
Job management software and accounting software are different
Cleaning business software manages the work itself: customers, jobs, recurring cleans, schedules and quotes.
Accounting software manages the money behind the business: income, expenses, bank transactions, tax, VAT and financial reports.
Some job management tools can send invoices, but that does not always replace proper accounting software.
For a growing cleaning business, it often makes sense to use one tool for jobs and another for the accounts.
Why mileage matters for cleaners
Many cleaners travel between several customer locations during the working week.
Recording business mileage can therefore be important, especially for sole traders who use their own vehicle.
QuickBooks can automatically track journeys from its mobile app. FreeAgent and some Xero plans also include mileage and expense tools.
If you do not travel much for work, this feature will matter less.
Do self-employed cleaners need accounting software?
Not always when the business is very small.
However, accounting software becomes more useful as you collect more customer payments, buy more supplies and travel between more jobs.
Making Tax Digital also makes digital record keeping increasingly important for self-employed people. FreeAgent states that MTD for Income Tax began applying from April 2026 to qualifying self-employed people and landlords with income above £50,000, with lower thresholds following in later years.
How Viaqo compares accounting software for cleaning businesses
We compare everyday bookkeeping, expenses, mileage, invoices, VAT, MTD support, pricing and independent customer reviews.
We also consider the type of cleaning business each product suits. A self-employed domestic cleaner may need something simpler than a company employing several cleaners.
We use standard prices in our comparison. Temporary discounts are explained separately.
Large and recent independent review samples carry more weight than high scores based on only a small number of reviews.
Affiliate commissions never affect Viaqo scores or rankings.
Sources — checked October 2026
- Xero — official UK pricing, bank reconciliation, receipts and expense information.
- QuickBooks — official UK pricing, mileage, expenses, VAT and MTD information.
- FreeAgent — official UK pricing, VAT, accounting and MTD information.
- Independent reviews — Capterra for Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent and Sage Accounting.
Looking for jobs and staff rotas too? See our Cleaning Business Software and Staff Scheduling Software comparisons.