Business umbrella support in Portland, Oregon?

November 13, 2018 3:59 PM

I have a friend who is an outstanding house cleaner. She works for an agency who pay her pitifully but she knows she can do better because her clients tell her what they are paying the agency to have her clean their homes. Her problem is she can’t manage a business on her own. I am looking for a service who can manage the invoicing, billing, and business support for a sole practitioner in Oregon. Not software! Any leads? Thanks in advance.
posted by parmanparman to Work & Money (2 answers total)

This isn't exactly what you are asking. My cleaners have little business management needed. I am on the schedule for a certain day. They text me when they are planning to come or occasionally ask if they can come the next day. I text them if I wish them to come the next day or at a specific time or if I have an extra/different request. I leave cash or a check and a roll of paper towels and the door open if I am not there. They come, they clean, they leave. They speak some English and have had me talk into their phone so they can use the translation app on occasion. I really like them and hope they have a similarly good experience with their other clients. I know they have a couple circuits of cleaning clients on different days and different cities. There is no invoicing, billing, or phone calls. This I'm sure keeps expenses down for them and subsequently their clients. All the cleaners I've ever worked with have operated in the same way, though at times it has been by phone instead of text, I prefer text. I expect agencies to cost more in part because they take on an added layer of "business" that my cleaners don't have to do and also because agencies typically take on one-off or occasional cleaning whereas individual cleaners (not through an agency) come on a schedule of once a week or every other week, and should charge more for one-off, first time, or less than every other week (occasional).
posted by RoadScholar at 5:54 PM on November 13, 2018

Cash is the go-to for this sort of work. However, if she drops off the radar of the tax authorities, they may come looking at her bank account and whatnot.

Obviously, the agency are charging for the services they provide. Without knowing what they charge, and what she gets, we don't know whether she is being ripped off (at one extreme), or the other, she is being charged what she is going to pay for the services you say she needs.

I would think that there are a million accountants out there that could provide those basic services, but I don't know the usa.
posted by GeeEmm at 1:46 AM on November 14, 2018