Ask most job management software what happens when a clean is finished and you will usually get one answer: an invoice is generated. That is fine if every customer works the same way. In practice, they rarely do.
A domestic customer expects their bill on the day of the clean. A commercial contract wants one neat, itemised statement each month, timed for a date their accounts team can plan around. A retainer customer does not want to think about individual invoices at all, just a fixed amount billed on the same day every month. Treat all of these the same way and you either annoy customers with the wrong billing rhythm or lose hours each week handling exceptions by hand.
So ProCleanerUK does not have a single invoicing switch. It has eight invoicing triggers, flexible billing timings, customer-level tax and payment term overrides and extra layers that stack onto any setup. Here is the full breakdown, and why each part exists.
1. On job completion: instant billing
The invoice is created and sent the moment your cleaner marks the job complete in the app. No batching, and no waiting for a month-end run.
How it works: as soon as the job is signed off, the system compiles the details and issues the invoice by email, text or both.
Best for: one-off domestic cleans, end of tenancy jobs, emergency call-outs and customers who prefer to pay on the day.
2 to 6. Your choice of billing cadence: consolidated billing
Rather than forcing every customer onto one schedule and hoping it suits their accounts team, you choose how often each customer is billed:
- Weekly.
- Every 2 weeks.
- Every 3 weeks.
- Every 4 weeks.
- Monthly, on the same day of the month, such as the 1st, 15th or 28th.
How it works: every job completed in that window rolls into one fully itemised invoice, created and sent on the schedule agreed with that customer.
Best for: commercial contracts with several visits a week, where an invoice per clean just creates noise for the customer’s finance team.
7. Monthly, on the nth day of the week
Some commercial accounts are not billed on a fixed date but on a floating schedule, such as the first Monday or last Friday of the month.
How it works: the software works out the right date every month, so there is no need to adjust calendars or spreadsheets by hand.
Best for: corporate customers whose payment runs are tied to particular days of the week.
8. Fixed monthly retainer, with advance, current and arrears timing
For customers on flat monthly arrangements, billed on the same day each month, this trigger gives complete predictability, with detailed controls:
- Same-day monthly billing: charge customers on the same day of every month.
- Multi-line retainers: split one retainer into several lines on the invoice, for example separate lines for different properties, sites or service levels.
- Flexible billing timing: bill the retainer in advance (for the coming cycle), current (for the cycle in progress) or in arrears (for the cycle just finished).
- Separate cycle dates: set a billing cycle start day, such as the 31st, which adjusts automatically for shorter months, independently of the date the invoice is created.
Best for: facilities management accounts and retained commercial customers, where predictability matters more than job-by-job lines.
Extra layers: stock and recharged expenses
These are not separate triggers. They sit on top of any of the eight setups above:
- Site stock queued automatically: consumables used on site are queued in the background and appear as itemised lines on the customer’s next regular invoice.
- Recharged expenses: out-of-pocket costs or specialist equipment hire pass through to the customer’s next invoice, so nothing is forgotten in a pile of receipts.
Customer-level controls and sub-branding
The system controls more than when an invoice goes out. It also controls how it looks and what terms apply, customer by customer:
- Custom due days: override your company default for any customer, with their own payment terms, or set it to 0 for due on receipt.
- Customer VAT rate overrides: set a specific VAT rate, including zero-rated or reduced rates, on an individual customer’s profile.
- Custom sender profiles: override your main branding for key accounts with their own logo, company name, address, tax ID and bank details (sort code, account number, IBAN and SWIFT), so invoices can come from a sub-brand or a separate company.
- Delivery by email, text or both: based on each customer’s preference.
Why it was built this way
Most job management platforms treat invoicing as a simple toggle: bill on completion or bill on a fixed date. That works if you only serve one type of customer. Most growing cleaning companies do not. The best-run businesses handle domestic one-offs, commercial contracts on different cycles and flat-rate retainers, often with the same team in the same week. The software should adapt to each customer, not force every customer to adapt to the software.
Set the rules once on each customer’s profile, and the right invoice goes out at the right time, every time.
Getting paid once the invoice is out
Invoices carry a payment link for card payments, can be collected by direct debit through GoCardless and are chased automatically by email and text if they go overdue. Payments and invoices sync to Xero, QuickBooks or Sage. See our guides to the invoicing features in detail and SMS invoice reminders.
Choosing the right setup for each customer
- One-off domestic and end of tenancy: on job completion.
- Regular domestic: on completion, or monthly with direct debit.
- Commercial with several visits a week: weekly, fortnightly or monthly consolidated billing.
- Corporate payment runs: monthly on the nth weekday.
- Facilities management and fixed contracts: a monthly retainer with the right timing.
For commercial contracts in more depth, read our guide to managing contracts from tender to renewal.
See every option in action
All eight invoicing triggers, retainer timing options, stock and expense layers, customer VAT and due-day overrides and custom sender profiles are included on every ProCleanerUK plan. Start your 28-day free trial, or book a free demo and bring your most awkward billing arrangement. For an overview, read automated invoicing for cleaning companies.
FAQs
How many invoicing triggers does ProCleanerUK have?
Eight: on completion, five consolidated cadences, monthly on the nth weekday and a fixed monthly retainer.
Can retainers be billed in advance or in arrears?
Yes. Choose advance, current or arrears for each retainer.
Can one customer have a different VAT rate?
Yes. VAT rates can be overridden on individual customer profiles.
Can invoices come from a different company name?
Yes. Custom sender profiles let key accounts receive invoices with a sub-brand’s logo, address and bank details.
Is stock used on site added to invoices?
Yes. Site stock and recharged expenses are added to the customer’s next invoice automatically.