Flow BPOOctober 2026 · cash basis · USD

Sample report · fictitious company and figures

Expense report · BrightNest Cleaning LLC

Of every $100 that came in, $81 went to expenses.

For U.S. cleaning companies, a healthy level is up to $80. In October 2026, expenses totaled $49,311.33 (▲ 11.2% vs. the average of the previous 3 months, $44,345.07). Owner draws, contributions and loan payments are not included (see "Outside expenses").

Revenue and expenses for the last 3 months, in U.S. dollars. Cash basis: each transaction counts in the month it cleared the bank, as reconciled in Xero. Owner draws, contributions and loan payments are not expenses and are shown separately.

$61,400October revenue
$163,500Revenue, last 3 months (Aug–Oct)
$49,311October expenses
$44,345Average expenses, previous 3 months
$132,794Expenses, last 3 months
$81Of every $100 in revenue (3 months): 81.2%
99Expense transactions in October

Revenue and expenses, month by month

May to October 2026. On the right, how much of each month's revenue went to expenses.

RevenueExpensesAbove 80%: past the healthy line

Every $100, group by group

Each square is $1 of every $100 in revenue over the last 3 months (Aug–Oct).

  • Remainingoperating cash result$18.8
October expenses by group, share of revenue over the last 3 months and benchmark ranges
GroupOctober% of revenue (3 months)Healthy up toWatch up toStatus
Labor$28,650.0047.2%50%60%Within range
Laundry$9,150.0014.9%——No benchmark
Cleaning supplies$2,480.005.6%6%9%Within range
Vehicles & travel$1,723.133.1%4%7%Within range
Occupancy$2,202.403.8%3%6%Watch
Technology$507.500.9%2%4%Within range
Marketing & sales$1,540.001.5%3%6%Within range
Professional services$940.001.0%3%5%Within range
General & admin$1,201.801.6%4%7%Within range
Financial$1,045.901.5%2%4%Within range
Refunds received (netted against expenses)−$129.40—
Total$49,311.3381.2%80%90%Watch
Remaining (operating cash result)18.8%

Swipe the table sideways →

What changed the most this month

Compared with the average of the previous 3 months

  • Contract Labor - Cleaners (1099)Labor▲ $2,517$28,650 · avg. $26,133 · +10%
  • Advertising & MarketingMarketing & sales▲ $1,027$1,540 · avg. $513 · +200%
  • Cleaning SuppliesCleaning supplies▼ $970$2,480 · avg. $3,450 · −28%
  • Laundry & Linen ServicesLaundry▲ $967$9,150 · avg. $8,183 · +12%
  • Accounting & Tax ServicesProfessional services▲ $590$940 · avg. $350 · +169%

All expenses

Tap a group to open its accounts; tap an account to see the transactions.

Outside expenses

Money that went through the bank this month that is neither an operating expense nor revenue

ItemAmount
Owner draws (2 transactions)−$8,000.00
Owner contributions (1 transaction)+$1,500.00
Loan payments (principal) (1 transaction)−$420.00

This month's findings

What the October 2026 numbers show beyond the averages

  1. General & adminInsurance rose 100%. Shield Business Insurance appears 2 times with the same amount ($486.20). Worth checking whether it was paid twice.
  2. Financial$228 in avoidable costs. Late fees, penalties and overdraft charges totaled $227.50 in October 2026 (7 transactions).
  3. OccupancyNew expense: Repairs & Maintenance. Repairs & Maintenance was almost nothing in the previous 3 months ($72 per month) and came in at $240 (Vacuum Doctor Orlando (Commercial vacuum repair, 2 units)). At 3.8% of revenue, the group exceeds the benchmark (up to 3%): about $446 per month over.
  4. Marketing & salesAdvertising & Marketing rose 200%. Advertising & Marketing went from $513 (average of the previous 3 months) to $1,540. What drove it: Google Ads (Search campaign - fall move-out cleanings), $1,180.00.
  5. Cleaning suppliesCleaning Supplies fell 28%. Cleaning Supplies fell: $3,450 (average of the previous 3 months) → $2,480.
  6. Professional servicesAccounting & Tax Services rose 169%. Accounting & Tax Services went from $350 (average of the previous 3 months) to $940. What drove it: Orange County CPA Group (Q3 estimated tax filing), $590.00.

Where to start

The actions with the most money at stake this month

  1. 01Bring occupancy back within the benchmark

    3.8% of revenue; healthy is up to 3%. That is about $446 per month over.

  2. 02Eliminate late fees, penalties and overdraft charges

    $228 in October 2026 that did not need to go out. Put fixed payments on autopay and keep a due-date calendar.

  3. 03Check possible double payment: Shield Business Insurance

    2 transactions of $486.20 in October 2026. If it is a duplicate, request a refund.

Advisor's opinion

What this month's numbers say, as read by a financial analyst

October closed with $49,311.33 in expenses against $61,400 in revenue, 11.2% above the average of the previous 3 months ($44,345.07). It was the second-best revenue month since May, and the increase in expenses followed the volume: labor ($28,650) and laundry ($9,150) add up to $37,800, or 77% of everything that went out. Over the last 3 months, however, expenses represent 81.2% of revenue, above the healthy level (up to 80%) and within the watch range (up to 90%). What weighs is not a cost out of control but the weak revenue of August and September ($49,800 and $52,300) against fixed costs that do not come down. Outside expenses, $8,000 went out in owner draws and $420 in van loan principal, and a $1,500 owner contribution came in on 10/14/2026 to cover a negative balance, a sign that cash got tight mid-month even in a good revenue month.

Group by group

Labor$28,650 this month, against an average of $26,133, a 9.6% increase that tracks the revenue growth. It represents 47.2% of revenue over the last 3 months, within the healthy range (up to 50%). There were 36 biweekly payments to 12 1099 cleaners, between $500 and $1,230 per pay period. Nothing to fix; the point to watch is keeping the share below 50% in months when revenue drops, as in August.
Laundry$9,150 in 4 weekly invoices from a single vendor (FreshFold Linen Co.), up 11.8% on the $8,183 average. That is 14.9% of revenue over the last 3 months, the company's second-largest cost. There is no published benchmark for linen laundry, so the benchmark cannot say whether it is expensive; what it does say is the weight: every 5% discount on the rate card is worth about $5,500 per year.
Cleaning supplies$2,480, down 28% on the $3,450 average, in 14 purchases at Sam's Club, Home Depot and Amazon (largest: $347.26 on 10/28/2026). At 5.6% of revenue it is within the healthy range (up to 6%), but at the edge. A drop this size in a high-revenue month is usually stock bought earlier, not real savings; check inventory so November does not bring a large restock.
Vehicles & travel$1,723.13, flat against the average ($1,720.37) and at 3.1% of revenue, within the healthy range (up to 4%). Fuel and tolls ($1,222.95 in 12 fill-ups for the two vans) are 71% of the group; the $412.60 commercial auto policy covers almost all the rest. No action needed this month.
Occupancy$2,202.40, up 7.3% on the average, at 3.8% of revenue over the last 3 months. It is the only group outside the healthy range (up to 3%; watch up to 6%): about $446 per month over, or $5,352 a year. Office and storage rent ($1,750) is 79% of the group and does not move; what pushed October up was the repair of two vacuums ($240). What puts the group over the range is August and September revenue, not the rent itself: at October's revenue level it sits at 2.9%.
Technology$507.50, exactly the average of previous months, and 0.9% of revenue, well within the healthy range (up to 2%). Six fixed charges: Jobber ($169), Verizon ($148.32), Spectrum ($89.99), Google Workspace, Xero and Canva. Not significant this month; an annual review is enough to avoid piling up unused tools.
Marketing & sales$1,540 against a $513 average, up 200%, the biggest percentage jump of the month. There is a single cause: the Google Ads search campaign for move-out cleanings ($1,180 on 10/28/2026), plus a Yelp boost ($360). Even so, the group stayed at 1.5% of revenue, within the healthy range (up to 3%). If it becomes routine, that is $12,320 more per year; whether it is worth it depends on how many new customers the campaign brought in.
Professional services$940 against a $350 average. The difference is the quarterly estimated tax filing ($590 on 10/20/2026) on top of the CPA's monthly retainer ($350). It is seasonal, not an increase: it returns to the average in November. At 1% of revenue, it is within the healthy range (up to 3%).
General & admin$1,201.80 against a $696.30 average, up 72.6%. The cause is clear: two identical Shield Business Insurance debits of $486.20 on the same day (10/14/2026). The general liability policy is charged once a month; the second debit looks like a double charge and should be disputed. Without it, the group would be $715.60, right at the average. At 1.6% of revenue, it is within the healthy range (up to 4%).
Financial$1,045.90 against a $738.40 average, up 41.6%. Stripe fees ($735, about 1.2% of revenue) are the bulk and track sales. What should not exist is the $227.50 in avoidable charges: three $34 overdraft fees (10/13 and 10/14/2026), one returned item fee ($34), the credit card late fee ($29 on 10/08/2026), the electricity late fee ($25 on 10/06/2026) and the toll penalty ($37.50 on 10/21/2026). Small amounts, but 100% avoidable and a symptom of tight cash mid-month.
Refunds received$129.40 received on 10/21/2026, a refund for floor machine pads returned to Home Depot. It is correctly netted against Cleaning supplies. Nothing to do.

Accounts that deserve attention

  • Contract Labor - Cleaners (1099) · Labor: $28,650 in 36 payments, $2,517 above the average. Growth is proportional to revenue, so the cost per job held steady. With biweekly payments of up to $1,230, all 12 cleaners will cross the annual 1099-NEC threshold; make sure each one has a signed W-9 and a current address before January.
  • Insurance · General & admin: $972.40 against a $486.20 average: the monthly policy was debited twice on 10/14/2026. Until the insurer refunds it, October's result is $486.20 worse than it really is.
  • Advertising & Marketing · Marketing & sales: $1,540 against a $513 average, driven by the fall Google Ads campaign ($1,180). The spend itself fits the range; what is missing is the return math: how many quotes and how many new customers came from the campaign. Without that, there is no way to decide whether to repeat it.
  • Bank Service Charges · Financial: $117 this month against a $15 average: three overdraft fees in two days. Together with the $1,500 owner contribution on the 14th, it shows the cleaners' biweekly pay (the 16th) landed before the property managers' payments (the 8th to the 22nd). It is a timing mismatch, not a revenue shortfall.
  • Late Fees & Penalties · Financial: $125.50 in 4 charges that did not exist in previous months: credit card late fee, electricity late fee, returned item fee and a toll penalty. All of them go away with autopay and a minimum cash cushion.

Compared with the market

The comparison uses the ranges Flow BPO estimated for U.S. cleaning companies (NAICS 561720), based on the 2022 Economic Census and industry guides; they are provisional ranges, useful as direction rather than as a hard rule. In total, expenses are at 81.2% of revenue over the last 3 months, above the healthy level (up to 80%) and within the watch range (up to 90%). By group: labor (47.2%), supplies (5.6%), vehicles (3.1%), technology (0.9%), marketing (1.5%), professional services (1%), general & admin (1.6%) and financial (1.5%) are all within the healthy range; occupancy (3.8%) is in the watch range; laundry (14.9%) has no published benchmark. In practice, the cost structure is healthy for the company's size; what keeps it out of the green is revenue volatility, which dropped about 20% in August and September while rent, insurance and subscriptions stayed the same.

Suggestions

  1. Dispute the second $486.20 debit of 10/14/2026 with Shield Business Insurance and request the refund. Deadline: this week. Meanwhile, confirm the policy shows as paid once, not twice.
  2. Put rent, insurance, the van loan, electricity and subscriptions on autopay and keep a minimum $5,000 cushion in the operating account. October had $227.50 in avoidable fees and penalties; at that pace, about $2,730 per year. It is also worth asking the bank to waive the $15 monthly fee based on the relationship.
  3. Align collection dates with the cleaners' pay. The property managers pay between the 8th and the 22nd and pay runs go out on the 2nd, 16th and 30th: that gap produced the overdrafts of 10/13 and 10/14. Negotiating payment by the 10th with the property managers, or moving the second pay run to the 20th, fixes it at no cost.
  4. Measure the return on the fall Google Ads campaign ($1,180). Count how many quotes and new customers came from it in October and November and work out the cost per customer. If it is below the value of a first job, repeat it in January and April, the moving months; if not, go back to the $400 level.
  5. Negotiate FreshFold Linen Co.'s rate card. It is $9,150 per month, about $110,000 per year, with a single vendor and guaranteed volume. Ask for a per-pound or per-load price with a volume discount and get quotes from at least two competitors in Orlando. Every 5% discount is worth about $5,500 per year, the largest saving the numbers show.
  6. Set the owner's monthly draw by the worst month, not the best. In October $8,000 went out and $1,500 had to come back; in August, with $49,800 in revenue, a $2,500 contribution was needed. A fixed draw of about $6,000, with a top-up only after the month closes, ends the emergency contributions.
  7. Collect the 12 cleaners' W-9s now. With biweekly payments of up to $1,230, all of them exceed the annual threshold that requires a 1099-NEC, due by 01/31/2027. Gathering W-9s and addresses before year-end avoids a scramble in January; confirm the current threshold with your CPA.

Risks to watch

  • Unstable revenue: July ($63,500) and October ($61,400) were good, but August and September hovered around $50,000. Since labor and laundry are variable but rent, insurance and subscriptions (about $3,000 per month) are not, a weak month pushes total expenses toward 90% of revenue, the watch limit.
  • Tight cash mid-month: three overdrafts and a $1,500 owner contribution in a good revenue month. If the pattern repeats in a weak month, fees and penalties grow and the owner ends up covering the business out of pocket again.
  • Single-vendor dependence in laundry: 14.9% of revenue concentrated in FreshFold Linen Co., with no market benchmark and no alternative quoted. Any price increase or disruption hits the short-term rental changeover cleanings directly.
  • Customer concentration: three short-term rental property managers account for about 45% of revenue. Losing one of them removes $8,000 to $12,000 per month in billing without reducing fixed costs.

Opinion generated by artificial intelligence (Claude) from the numbers in this report and the U.S. industry benchmark; it does not replace your advisor's reading.