Am I employed by a booking platform?

No. On platforms like Wecasa or Helpling, you generally work as a self-employed person — so you need your own trade license and are responsible yourself for SVS and taxes. The platform only matches you with jobs.

How much does booking through a platform cost?

Platforms keep part of the customer price as a commission — on every single job, even with long-standing regular customers. The exact amount varies by provider and is often not public. Calculated over a year, this is usually clearly more than a fixed monthly price for your own back office.

What is the advantage of having your own customers?

The full price goes to you, you set the terms and appointments, and the relationship continues regardless of apps, rankings, or platform rules. Regular customers recommend you further — that is advertising that costs nothing.

How do I find new customers without a platform?

Your own website with clear prices, a Google Business profile, neighborhood groups — and above all, recommendations from satisfied customers. This takes a few months to build up, but then keeps going on its own.

Can I use a platform and run my own business at the same time?

Legally, nothing stands in the way — in both cases you are self-employed, with a registered business and SVS. But expect this: on every platform job, the platform earns alongside you. The faster your own regular customers grow, the more of your work stays with you.

Platform comparisons

Platform or Your Own Business: Which Gives You More?

Booking platforms promise a full calendar with no advertising — and take a cut of every job in return. Your own business takes time to build, but it belongs to you. Here is the honest math — and the plan for getting from one to the other.

Last updated on 20.07.2026 · All figures as of 2026, without guarantee

How do booking platforms for cleaners work?

Platforms like Wecasa (in Vienna) or Helpling (mainly in Germany) work on the same model: households book online, you accept jobs, the platform handles payment — and keeps a commission on every job. It is important to know: you are self-employed in this setup, with your own trade license^[1] and SVS obligation.^[2] So the platform takes finding customers off your hands — not the paperwork, and not the responsibility.

What speaks for the platform?

Fast jobs — bookings come through the app, even if no one knows you yet.
No advertising needed — setting up a profile is enough.
Payment handled for you — you do not have to chase the money.
Flexible — accept or decline jobs as it suits you.

And what is the price for that?

The commission never ends. Even on the 50th appointment with the same customer, the platform still earns — for a match that is long in the past.
The customers belong to the platform. Booking, price, communication: everything runs through the app. If you switch, you start from zero.
The platform sets the prices (largely). Your quality, your reputation, your experience — within the platform framework, that only counts for so much.
Dependence. A ranking change, new rules, more competition on the platform: your income depends on decisions you do not make.

The simple math

Take your regular jobs per month and work out what the commission costs over a year. Compare that with a fixed monthly price for your own back office — with bop, soon from 29 €/month, no commission. With regular customers, running your own business almost always wins. The direct comparison with one specific platform: bop vs. Wecasa.

How do you build your own customer base? The 4-step plan

Lay the foundation

Register your business, sort out SVS, calculate your prices — so you can operate openly. Guide: Becoming a self-employed cleaner.
Become visible

Your own website with services, prices, and a way to get in touch, plus a Google Business profile. Anyone who finds you directly books with no detour — and no commission.
Keep regular customers

Set up fixed recurring appointments, send reminders, invoice reliably — a full calendar comes less from many new customers and more from the ones who stay.
Let recommendations do the work

Reliability, clear agreements, clean invoices — and every satisfied household recommends you further. After 6–12 months, your own calendar carries itself.

What usually gets in the way of making the switch?

Not the work — the organization: appointment chaos, forgotten invoices, fear of SVS letters. This is exactly what bop is built for: appointments with regular customers, automatic invoices, a tax overview, official letters explained — all in your language, cancel any month. That is how "I clean on the side" becomes a real business of your own: legal, insured, and independent.

Frequently asked questions

: No. On platforms like Wecasa or Helpling, you generally work as a self-employed person — so you need your own trade license and are responsible yourself for SVS and taxes. The platform only matches you with jobs.
: Platforms keep part of the customer price as a commission — on every single job, even with long-standing regular customers. The exact amount varies by provider and is often not public. Calculated over a year, this is usually clearly more than a fixed monthly price for your own back office.
: The full price goes to you, you set the terms and appointments, and the relationship continues regardless of apps, rankings, or platform rules. Regular customers recommend you further — that is advertising that costs nothing.
: Your own website with clear prices, a Google Business profile, neighborhood groups — and above all, recommendations from satisfied customers. This takes a few months to build up, but then keeps going on its own.
: Legally, nothing stands in the way — in both cases you are self-employed, with a registered business and SVS. But expect this: on every platform job, the platform earns alongside you. The faster your own regular customers grow, the more of your work stays with you.

Sources

Official information, retrieved on 20.07.2026:

WKO: Gewerbeanmeldung — Registration is required even for platform work
SVS: Beitragsberechnung für Gewerbetreibende — Social insurance for the self-employed

This article was partly researched, translated and written with the help of language models (AI). We check the content carefully, but errors can still slip in — please cross-check important details with the official sources linked above.

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Keep reading

Platform comparisons

Platform or Your Own Business: Which Gives You More?

How do booking platforms for cleaners work?

What speaks for the platform?

And what is the price for that?

How do you build your own customer base? The 4-step plan

Lay the foundation

Become visible

Keep regular customers

Let recommendations do the work

What usually gets in the way of making the switch?

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Ready to lose the paperwork?

Keep reading

bop vs. Wecasa: Platform Jobs or Your Own Business?

Becoming a Self-Employed Cleaner: How to Do It Right

Working Legally as a Cleaner: Easier Than You Think