Financial Truths Every Cleaning Business Owner Needs to Hear
In Season 5 of the Five Door Media Podcast, we’re doing something different. We’re getting uncomfortable. We’re talking about numbers. In our latest episode, we kicked things off with a powerhouse guest: Meaghan Likes, founder of Likes Accounting and Bookkeeping Academy Online. Meaghan isn’t just an accountant. She’s a straight-shooting business owner who’s helped thousands of home service companies simplify their finances, increase profitability, and reclaim their time. She also owns multiple businesses herself, including a window cleaning company, so she gets it.
If you’re a cleaning business owner who knows it’s time to get serious about your finances but isn’t sure where to start, this conversation was made for you.
The Biggest Financial Blind Spot? Lying to Yourself.
Meaghan didn’t hold back. She called out one of the most common financial habits among cleaning business owners: self-deception.
Too many of us obsess over run rate and topline revenue, especially in maid services. But here’s the truth: If you’re basing your success on what might happen every week if the stars align, you’re ignoring what matters most.
The real metric? Profit.
She encouraged owners to stop chasing vanity metrics and start asking:
Am I making money today?
Can I pay my people well?
Am I paying myself?
If those answers are unclear or uncomfortable, it's time to face your numbers.
Profit Doesn’t Mean Greed. It Means Survival.
One of Meaghan’s biggest takeaways: Profit isn’t selfish. It’s responsible.
She shared a story about a cleaning company owner who whispered to her team about her lake house because she didn’t want them to think she made "too much money." Meaghan’s take? That mindset needs to go. Your team wants you to win, because when your business is profitable:
You pay your team better
You invest in better tools, training, and vehicles
You stick around long enough to keep providing jobs
Profit builds trust. And Meaghan takes it a step further with open-book management, showing her team exactly what she earns. Because they’re already guessing anyway and transparency builds loyalty.
If You Only Track 5 Numbers, Make Them These:
You don’t need to be a spreadsheet wizard. You just need to look at five KPIs weekly:
Average Ticket – How much are you making per job?
Booking Rate – How many leads are converting into estimates?
Close Rate – How many estimates are converting into sales?
Cash in the Bank – Can you survive a rough week or month?
Actualized Revenue – Not projections. Not run rate. Real money collected.
Look at those five numbers. Then improve one each week.
Yes, You Can Start Profit First, Even With Tight Cash Flow
The Profit First method isn’t about taking 20% of your revenue tomorrow. It’s about starting with just 1%. One percent set aside in a separate account builds the habit of saving. Then you slowly increase it.
According to Meaghan, it’s not about the math. It’s about the discipline.
Simplify the P&L
Most business owners only look at a single column on their P&L. Meaghan says that’s not helpful. Add columns. Compare to last month. Compare to last year. Toggle "percentage of income" in QuickBooks.
Don’t just see numbers. See trends. See stories.
And above all? Know your gross profit. If your revenue and gross profit are the same, you’re not tracking your costs right. If your gross profit is off benchmark for your industry, you have a pricing problem - and you’re scaling a business that’s heading toward bankruptcy.
Financial Mindset = Business Maturity
You can’t outsource your financial clarity. You can hire a bookkeeper, but at the end of the day, you are the owner. You hold the responsibility.
It all comes back to this: Own the seat you’re in. Show up with confidence. Start where you are.
Because when you understand your money, you control your business, your growth, and your future.
