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AI bookkeeping tools for cleaning businesses in the UK

Cleaning businesses run on lots of small transactions: weekly or fortnightly invoices, cash and card payments, supermarket runs for supplies, and mileage between houses. Separately each is tiny; together they decide whether you're making money. A bookkeeping app with a bank feed keeps them straight, and gets you ready for Making Tax Digital as you grow.

Prices were re-checked on each provider's own page; the date is next to each one. Rules and figures from GOV.UK are linked where they're used.

Recurring invoices and small receipts

Set up repeat invoices for regular clients and let the bank feed mark them paid. Photograph supply receipts as you go. Zoho Books has a free plan for very small businesses, with paid UK plans from £12 a month (checked 15 October 2026); check its limits.

Staff and travel time

If you employ cleaners, the National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over from April 2026 (GOV.UK), and travel between jobs counts as working time (GOV.UK). Track hours and travel in the same place as wages so you can check pay meets the minimum.

Making Tax Digital

If your turnover was over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies from 6 April 2026; £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028 (GOV.UK). Our Making Tax Digital guide has the dates.

The options, with prices

Tool	Price and free plan	UK notes and source
Zoho Books Accounting software with a free plan for very small businesses and paid UK plans.	Free: £0. Standard: £12 a month (£10 billed annually). Professional: £24 (£20). Premium: £30 (£25). Per organisation. Free plan for sole traders and micro businesses.	UK pricing in pounds. Source, checked 15 October 2026
FreeAgent UK accounting software for sole traders, partnerships and small companies.	Sole traders: £19 a month. Limited companies: £33 a month or £330 a year. All excl. VAT, with 50% off the first six months when checked. Free with a NatWest, RBS or Ulster Bank business account, or Mettle (conditions apply). Free for eligible NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank and Mettle customers; otherwise a 30-day free trial.	UK company, pounds. Source, checked 15 October 2026
QuickBooks Cloud accounting with invoicing, expenses and VAT, plus Intuit Intelligence AI features (some in beta).	Plans: Sole Trader Plus, Simple Start, Essentials, Plus and Advanced, each with a 30-day free trial. All include CIS calculation and submission; VAT submission isn't in Sole Trader Plus. Prices load dynamically on the UK pricing page, so check the current figure there. No free plan; 30-day free trial.	UK pricing in pounds. Source, checked 15 October 2026
Xero Cloud accounting for invoices, bank feeds, VAT and payroll, with AI-assisted features.	Ignite: £18 a month. Grow: £39. Comprehensive: £55. Ultimate: £70 (all excl. VAT). When checked, the first 6 months were 90% off. Payroll £1.50 per person. No free plan; a free trial and introductory discounts are offered.	UK pricing in pounds; Making Tax Digital compatible. Source, checked 15 October 2026
Sage Accounting UK accounting and payroll software with the Sage Copilot AI assistant included in every plan.	Start: £20 a month. Standard: £43 a month. All excl. VAT. Offer when checked: 90% off for 6 months. No free plan; introductory discount instead.	UK company, pounds, Making Tax Digital and CIS support. Source, checked 14 October 2026

What to check before you choose

Is it on HMRC's list of software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax? Check HMRC's finder, not only the provider's page.
Does it read receipts from a photo and match them to your bank feed?
Can it send recurring invoices and record cash payments easily?
Introductory discounts: budget for the full price (FreeAgent, Xero and Sage all had offers when checked on 14 and 15 October 2026).
Can your accountant log in?

A prompt to start with

Paste this into ChatGPT or Claude, filling in the brackets:

You're helping me with bookkeeping for my cleaning business. Here are this month's client payments, supply receipts and mileage: [paste]. Match each payment to a client invoice, list any unpaid invoices, total supplies and mileage, and flag anything personal or missing a receipt. Don't give tax advice.

Free tools

Price a job with the quote and VAT calculator (20%, 5%, 0% and reverse charge), or work out your day rate (see how much to charge per hour). Near the VAT threshold? Use the VAT threshold checker and read should I register for VAT? Already registered? See if the VAT Flat Rate Scheme calculator would save you money. End-of-tenancy, key-holding and price-rise prompts: ChatGPT prompts for cleaning businesses. Estimate your tax bill with the self-employed tax calculator, see what you owe in January and July with the payments on account calculator, or see whether a company would leave you better off with the sole trader vs limited company calculator. Over £50,000 turnover? Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has applied since 6 April 2026; check your date with the Making Tax Digital checker.

Questions

What's the cheapest bookkeeping software for a cleaner?

Zoho Books has a free plan for very small businesses, and FreeAgent is free with some business bank accounts. Checked 15 October 2026.

Do I need to keep supermarket receipts?

Yes, for business supplies. Keep records for at least 5 years after the 31 January deadline for that tax year.

Are these prices in pounds?

Not all. Where a provider only publishes US dollar prices we show dollars, so check the price in pounds at checkout.

Do you get paid if I sign up?

Some links may become affiliate links, and we'll label them when they do. It doesn't change what we list. See how we make money.

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