How to start a cleaning business in Canada.

1. Decide: residential or commercial

The two businesses share mops and little else:

Most one-person cleaning businesses start residential and add a couple of small offices or short-term rental turnovers later. Specialties such as carpet, window and move-out cleaning raise your average ticket once the core business runs.

2. Register the business

As a sole proprietor, you and the business are the same legal person. Whether you have to register anything with your province depends on the name you use:

• Ontario: nothing to register under your own legal name; a business name like "Maple Leaf Cleaning" costs $60 on the Ontario Business Registry and lasts 5 years. See how to register a business in Ontario.
• British Columbia: a $30 name request, then a $40 registration. See how to register a business in BC.
• Alberta: a Declaration of Trade Name at a registry agent, $10.61 in government fees plus the agent's fee. See how to register a business in Alberta.

Separately, some cities require a municipal business licence for some home-based or service businesses. A quick call or search on your city's website settles it.

3. Business number and GST/HST

You don't need a CRA business number to start cleaning. You need one when you open a CRA program account, and for a solo cleaner that usually means GST/HST. Cleaning is a taxable service, and registration becomes mandatory once your revenue passes $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over the last four consecutive calendar quarters, as the CRA explains on its page about when to register and start charging GST/HST (checked September 2026).

At $45 an hour, $30,000 is about 670 billable hours, which a busy cleaner can reach within a year. Watch your running total every quarter. Once you register, every invoice carries the tax and your GST/HST number. Business numbers in Canada walks through registering online, and the GST/HST guide covers rates by province and filing.

4. Insurance and bonding

Cleaners work in other people's homes, with their floors, their valuables, and often their keys. Two policies do most of the work:

• Commercial general liability pays when you damage property or someone gets hurt: the bleach on the rug, the client who trips over your vacuum cord. $1 million to $2 million is a common limit, and commercial clients often ask for proof.
• A bond covers theft claims. Many fidelity bonds only cover employees, so ask for one that covers you as the owner.

Add tools and equipment cover if you carry expensive gear in your car. Published Canadian figures put basic liability for a low-risk solo business at roughly $100 to $500 a year; the cleaning-specific startup guide below budgets $500 to $2,000 a year for insurance and bonding together. Our small business insurance guide explains each policy and what it costs.

In Ontario, WSIB coverage isn't required while you work alone. The WSIB's registration page says independent operators outside construction don't need to register, and that you have 10 calendar days to register once you hire your first employee.

5. What it costs to start

Supplies, insurance and bonding, branding, website, marketing and vehicle ranges from River Design's Canadian cleaning startup cost guide (September 2025), which puts a typical start at $3,500 to $7,500 and notes many solo owners launch for under $1,500. Xero Canada's guide (April 2026) gives $2,000 to $10,000 overall. Registration fees from our provincial guides, as of September 2026.

The lean version: work under your own name, use your car, buy a solid vacuum and a basic kit, insure yourself before the first job, and let the first month of clients pay for the logo.

6. Set your prices

Most solo house cleaners in Canada charge $35 to $65 an hour in 2026, and a standard clean of a three-bedroom home runs about $150 to $300. The house cleaning pricing guide has city-by-city ranges and a rate calculator. If you add carpets, the carpet cleaning pricing guide covers per-room and per-square-foot rates.

Three rules that keep new cleaners from undercharging:

1. Quote flat, know your hours. Clients like one price per home. Build it from how long the home actually takes you, including the drive.
2. Charge more for the first clean. A deep first clean takes longer than the regular visits that follow. Price it separately.
3. Discount recurring, not one-offs. Weekly and every-other-week clients are the backbone of the business; a modest discount for them beats discounting to win one-time jobs.

7. Find your first clients

Your first ten clients usually come from people who already know you or someone who does:

• Your own circle. Tell friends, family, neighbours and co-workers you've started. Ask each for one introduction.
• A Google Business Profile. It's free, and it's where "cleaners near me" searches land. Ask every happy client for a review.
• Local groups. Neighbourhood Facebook groups and community boards, with a simple offer and a before-and-after photo.
• Realtors and property managers. Move-in and move-out cleans are urgent work, and a reliable cleaner gets called again.
• Referrals. A credit off the next clean for every client who refers a new recurring home.

Make booking easy. A link where a client can request a clean and pick a time converts better than "message me for a quote", especially from a phone.

8. Contracts, invoices, and getting paid

A one-page service agreement before the first clean saves arguments later: what's included, what isn't, the price and how often you come, what happens if the client cancels late or you can't get in, how keys are handled, and when payment is due.

Then invoice every clean the day you do it. Clear invoices with your business name, the date, the service and the amount get paid faster than a text asking for money, and once you're registered they have to show your GST/HST number. How to write an invoice lists what goes on one. Most Canadian clients pay by Interac e-Transfer; some prefer a card.

This is the part Biller is built for. Clients request cleans from your own booking link, you turn each request into a scheduled job, and you send the invoice when the clean is done, with reminders for the ones still unpaid. Clients can pay by card through your Stripe account, and Biller records each Autodeposit e-Transfer from the notification emails you forward.

9. What a solo cleaner can earn

An illustration, not a promise. Revenue is your rate times the hours you can actually bill, and driving, quoting and admin aren't billable:

Around 28 to 30 billable hours is a realistic full week for one person once you add driving between homes and the physical toll of the work. Supplies, insurance, fuel and car costs come off the top, then income tax and both halves of CPP. Only the side-hustle row stays under the $30,000 GST/HST threshold; in the others, you'd register and add tax to your invoices. The self-employed tax calculator estimates what you'd keep, and at tax time the income goes on Form T2125.

Common questions

How much does it cost to start a cleaning business in Canada?

Published Canadian estimates put it at roughly $2,000 to $10,000, and $3,500 to $7,500 for a typical residential start. A solo cleaner who works under their own name, uses their own car and buys a basic kit can start for well under that, often around $1,500 plus the first year of insurance.

Do I need a licence to start a cleaning business in Ontario?

Ontario has no provincial licence for cleaners. If you work under your own legal name, you don't have to register anything with the province; if you use a business name, you register it on the Ontario Business Registry for $60. Some municipalities have their own business licence rules, so check with your city.

Do I need insurance to start a cleaning business?

No law requires it for most sole proprietors, but you should have it. Commercial general liability covers damage or injury you cause, and a bond covers theft claims when you hold clients' keys. Many commercial clients and property managers won't hire you without a certificate of insurance.

Do I need to register for GST/HST as a cleaner?

Only once your taxable revenue passes $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters. Cleaning is a taxable service, so after that you register with the CRA, add GST/HST to every invoice, and file returns. You can register voluntarily before then.

How much can a self-employed cleaner make in Canada?

It depends on your rate and how many hours you can actually bill. As an illustration, 25 billable hours a week at $45 an hour for 48 weeks is $54,000 in revenue before expenses and tax. Most solo cleaners land somewhere between $20,000 part-time and around $100,000 working full weeks at a high rate.

How do I get my first cleaning clients?

Start with people who already trust you: friends, neighbours and your local community groups. Set up a free Google Business Profile, ask every happy client for a review and a referral, and approach realtors and property managers for move-in and move-out cleans. Recurring weekly and every-other-week clients are the ones to build around.

Do I need WSIB for a cleaning business in Ontario?

Not while you work alone. The WSIB says independent operators outside the construction industry don't need to register. Once you hire your first worker, you have 10 calendar days to register.

Should I start a residential or commercial cleaning business?

Most solo cleaners start residential: you can begin with a basic kit, clients book directly, and recurring homes give you steady income. Commercial contracts are bigger and steadier but usually mean evening work, insurance certificates, written contracts and competitive bids. Many cleaners add a few small offices once the residential side is running.

Related guides

• House cleaning rates in Canada
• Carpet cleaning prices in Canada
• Window cleaning rates in Canada
• How to register a business in Ontario
• Business numbers and GST/HST
• Small business insurance in Canada
• How to write an invoice
• GST/HST guide for small businesses