Where I'm coming from: my company handles invoicing and payment follow-ups for home service businesses, including cleaning companies, so I'm not a neutral party. I'm a Jobber affiliate, so if you sign up through a Jobber link in this guide, my company may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. No other company in this guide pays me, and every fee links to the company's own page. Read our disclosure.
Cleaning is a high-volume, small-ticket business. You might send dozens of invoices a month for a couple hundred dollars each, and every one of them is a chance to get paid late, or not at all. The tool you invoice with also decides how much of each payment you keep, because card fees come out before the money reaches your bank.
I've spent more than 25 years in customer service, sales, and operations. In this guide I'll compare the published payment fees for four tools small cleaning companies use to invoice and get paid: Jobber, Housecall Pro, QuickBooks, and Square. Then I'll cover the office habits that matter as much as the software.
The short answer
- Bank payments (ACH) are the cheapest way to get paid online. All four charge 1% per payment, so a $150 cleaning costs $1.50 instead of roughly $4.50 to $5.25 by card paid online.
- For a card paid online through an invoice, Housecall Pro and QuickBooks list 2.99%, Jobber lists 2.9% + 30¢, and Square's free plan lists 3.3% + 30¢.
- For recurring clients, a card or bank account on file, charged after each clean, does more for cash flow than any fee difference. Jobber, Housecall Pro, QuickBooks, and Square all support it, but the rate for a saved card can be higher than for an online invoice.
Published payment fees, side by side
| Tool | Card paid online (invoice) | Card in person (tap or reader) | Saved card or typed in | Bank payment (ACH) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jobber | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.7% + 30¢ (Tap to Pay) | Not listed separately | 1% |
| Housecall Pro | 2.99% | 2.59% | 3.49% | 1% |
| QuickBooks Payments | 2.99% (includes recurring payments) | 2.5% | 3.5% (typed in) | 1% |
| Square (free plan) | 3.3% + 30¢ | 2.6% + 15¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ | 1%, $1 minimum |
Jobber's pricing page lists the same card and ACH rates on every plan, and its help center says your card rate depends on your plan and shows in your Jobber Payments settings. Housecall Pro charges 3.49% for American Express and business or corporate cards by any method, and Tap to Pay costs $5 per active device per month. QuickBooks lists its rates as accurate as of September 18, 2026. Square's paid Plus and Premium plans have lower rates (2.9% + 30¢ online) and cap ACH fees at $10. None of these include the software subscription itself.
What fees cost on a month of $150 cleanings
Say you do 60 cleanings a month at $150 each, so $9,000 in sales. These are made-up numbers, for the math only, using the published rates above.
| How every client pays | How it's calculated | Monthly fees |
|---|---|---|
| Bank payment (ACH), any of the four | 60 × $1.50 | $90.00 |
| Card online, Housecall Pro or QuickBooks | 2.99% × $9,000 | $269.10 |
| Card online, Jobber | 60 × ($4.35 + $0.30) | $279.00 |
| Card online, Square free plan | 60 × ($4.95 + $0.30) | $315.00 |
| Saved card, Housecall Pro | 3.49% × $9,000 | $314.10 |
| Saved card, Square free plan | 60 × ($5.25 + $0.15) | $324.00 |
Real months are a mix of card, bank, check, and cash payments, so your total will land somewhere in between. Rates can differ for American Express or business cards.
The gap between the cheapest and most expensive card option here is about $55 a month. The gap between cards and bank payments is about $180 to $235 a month. That's why many owners nudge recurring clients toward paying by bank, while still taking cards for the ones who want points.
How fast the money reaches your bank
| Tool | Standard payout | Faster option |
|---|---|---|
| Jobber | Two-day payout window for cards; bank payments typically take 4 business days | Instant payouts for an extra 1% |
| Housecall Pro | 2 business days for cards; 1–2 business days for ACH, up to 7 | Instapay for an extra 1% |
| QuickBooks Payments | Not stated on the rates page | Instant deposits for 1.75% |
| Square | Free transfer the next business day | Instant transfer for a fee |
Housecall Pro says your first payout may take up to 7 business days. Square says new sellers may be limited to $2,000 a day in instant transfers. Jobber sets per-payment, daily, and 30-day limits on bank payments, which you can see in your settings.
Notes on each tool
Jobber
A home-service platform with invoicing, a client hub where customers pay online, and automatic charging of saved cards or bank accounts after a job, which suits weekly and every-other-week cleanings. Clients can add a tip when they pay online. Jobber is worth a look if you also want scheduling, quotes, and reminders in the same place. I compare its plans in Jobber vs Housecall Pro vs ServiceTitan.
Housecall Pro
Also an all-in-one home-service platform. It publishes the most detailed fee list of the four, including PayPal and Venmo on invoices (2.99%), Klarna pay-later (4.99%), and free mobile check deposit. Watch the 3.49% rate on American Express and business cards if many of your clients are offices or property managers.
QuickBooks Payments
A good fit if your bookkeeper already works in QuickBooks Online, because invoices and payments land in the books without re-entry. Its 2.99% card rate covers invoices and recurring payments, and customers can pay with PayPal or Venmo. QuickBooks says businesses processing more than $2,500 a month may qualify for lower rates.
Square
No monthly fee on the free plan and simple invoices, but the free plan's online card rate (3.3% + 30¢) is the highest here, and saved cards cost 3.5% + 15¢. Square Plus and Premium lower the online rate to 2.9% + 30¢; check whether the monthly fee pays for itself at your volume.
Office habits that get you paid faster
Software helps, but in my experience late payments are usually an office problem, not a software problem. These are the habits that make the biggest difference:
- Invoice the same day as the clean. An invoice sent a week later gets paid a week later, at best.
- Put recurring clients on autopay. Get written permission to charge the card or bank account on file after each visit, and say so in your service agreement.
- Take a deposit on big one-time jobs like move-outs and deep cleans, before you put them on the schedule.
- Set clear terms up front: when payment is due, how clients can pay, and what happens if a card declines.
- Follow up on a set schedule. An automatic reminder when an invoice is due, a friendly call a few days later, and a firm one after that. Someone has to own this every week.
- Keep payment records clean for your bookkeeper. Match each deposit to its invoices and note the fees, so tax time isn't a guessing game. (More in payroll for a small cleaning business, which covers the other side of your cash flow.)
This guide is general information, not accounting or legal advice. Rules on passing card fees on to customers vary by state and card network, so check with your payment provider and your CPA before adding a surcharge.
More guides
- Scheduling and booking software for small cleaning companies
- Payroll for a small cleaning business: Gusto vs QuickBooks vs ADP
- How much does a virtual receptionist cost?
- Jobber vs Housecall Pro vs ServiceTitan for small shops
- Bookkeeping for HVAC and plumbing companies
Want someone to send the invoices and chase the late ones?
When you work with Infinite Time Solutions, you work with me. My team handles invoicing, payment reminders, and follow-up calls on unpaid invoices for cleaning and home service companies in South Florida, and we hand clean records to your bookkeeper. Book a free consultation and I'll come see how your billing runs now.
Sources
All fees were checked on October 27, 2026. Payment companies change rates and run promotions, so confirm on their sites before you sign up.
- Jobber, "Pricing" (Invoicing and Payments section): getjobber.com/pricing
- Jobber Help Center, "Bank Payments (ACH)": help.getjobber.com/en/articles/bank-payments-ach
- Jobber Help Center, "Jobber Payments in the Jobber App": help.getjobber.com/en/articles/jobber-payments-in-the-jobber-app
- Jobber, "Online payments software": getjobber.com/features/payments
- Housecall Pro Help Center, "Housecall Pro Payment Processing Options": help.housecallpro.com
- Housecall Pro Help Center, "ACH Payments FAQ": help.housecallpro.com
- QuickBooks, "Payment rates": quickbooks.intuit.com/payments/payment-rates
- Square, "Understanding Our Fees": squareup.com/us/en/payments/our-fees
- Square, "Square Payments" (transfer terms): squareup.com/us/en/payments/pricing