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Hiring · 1 role

Software subscription · Online · based in the UK

Rotaboard

Since 2021 · owner Owen Mercer

rotaboard.example.com
$342,300Revenue, last 12 months
+32%vs last year
$28,525Average month
4Employees

12 months to Sep 2026Verified via PaddleUpdated today

About this business

Rotaboard is rota and timesheet software for cleaning companies. Owners plan who cleans which site, cleaners clock in on their phone, and the hours go to payroll at the end of the month. About 900 companies pay a monthly or yearly subscription.

About 22,000 visits a month to the website, from Google Analytics (read-only). Background only: visits are not sales, and they are not part of the verified figures.

Read the full interviewShow less

How did you start?

I ran the office for a contract cleaning firm and did the rota in a spreadsheet every Sunday night. I built a simple version for us, then offered it in a cleaning owners’ forum. Twelve companies paid in the first month.

What made it grow?

Building for one trade. Every page, guide and feature is for cleaning companies, so the people who find us are the right people. Yearly plans paid up front gave us the cash to hire.

Part 1How Owen built it

Part 2The numbers behind it

Over the last 12 months Rotaboard took $342,300, 32% more than the year before. Its best month was Aug 2026 at $32,760 and its quietest was Jan 2026 at $20,311, a swing that matches the trade's pattern: sign-ups peak in january and september.

Average monthly revenue is higher than 83% of the 133 verified software businesses worldwide. Every revenue figure comes from Paddle.

Financial snapshot

How it compares

Average month vs 133 verified software businesses worldwide. It earned more than 83% of them.

Bottom 10% $1.5kTypical $8.2kTop 10% $43.3k
Middle halfMiddle 80%Typical

Part 3How Rotaboard wins new customers

  1. 1

    The owner explains

    “The owner explains what the first year looked like and what changed once regular customers came back.”

    About 5 in 10 software businesses do this

  2. 2

    Most of the

    “Most of the work came from a few dependable sources, and the owner says which ones paid off and which did not.”

    About 5 in 10 software businesses do this

  3. 3

    Prices were set

    “Prices were set early and checked again each season against what similar businesses charged nearby.”

    About 5 in 10 software businesses do this

Part 4Starting a software business? Watch for these

Warning signHow to avoid itCheck before you commit
Warning sign

A free plan with no path to paying

How to avoid it

Charge from the first customer; offer a short trial instead.

Check before you commit

How many of your users pay today?

Warning sign

Building for everyone

How to avoid it

Pick one trade or job and say no to the rest for the first two years.

Check before you commit

Can you name the one kind of customer it is for?

Warning sign

Customers quietly cancelling

How to avoid it

Call every customer who cancels in the first year and fix the top reason.

Check before you commit

How many customers leave each month?

Part 5Why software businesses fail, and how often

Still trading after 3 years
52%
About 5 in 10
Still trading after 5 years
44%
About 4 in 10
Most common reason for closing
Not enough paying customers
Given by 34% of owners who closed

The survivors share a few habits: charged from the first customer, with no free plan; sold yearly plans paid up front; picked one kind of customer and built only for them.

Check your own oddsSurvival and income for software subscription, by your budgetRead the software subscription guideEarnings, start-up costs and what owners keep

Main reason for closing, software businesses

Not enough paying customers34%
Customers cancelled faster than new ones came22%
Founder ran out of savings18%
A bigger company copied it12%
Other14%

Open roles at Rotaboard

See all jobs →

Rotaboard

Customer support lead

This job isRemote · UK

Full-timeRemote$42k–50k a yearPosted 16 days ago

View full postingHide posting
Experience
None needed
Education
None needed
Openings
1 person
Apply by
Oct 15, 2026

What you'll do

  • Answer customers by chat and email, and turn the common questions into help pages
  • Set up new cleaning companies on calls

What you'll need

  • 2+ years in customer support
  • Clear, friendly writing

Hours

  • Hours agreed with the owner

What you get

  • Paid holiday

You'd be joining a software subscription business with $342k in verified revenue over the last 12 months, +32% on the year before.

Open for 14 more days

Part 6Ask Owen a question

No questions yet. Be the first to ask Owen.

Free for everyone who signs in. Questions about all software businesses →

More on software businesses

Earnings guideWhat software businesses make in the USYour oddsHow many last 3 and 5 years, for your budgetPost-mortemsWhy businesses like this close

Timeline

  1. 2021The owner explains what the first year looked like and what changed once regular customers came back.
  2. 2022Most of the work came from a few dependable sources, and the owner says which ones paid off and which did not.

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The Sunday TillIssue #87 · Sep 2026How Brightside Window Cleaning grew to 1,900 customers on dense rounds and direct debits12-month revenue$242,160Price properly from day oneDensity is the profitGet out of the van5 min read · Verified via Stripe + GoCardless

One real business.
Its real numbers.
Every Sunday.

The Sunday TillIssue #87 · Sep 2026How Brightside Window Cleaning grew to 1,900 customers on dense rounds and direct debits12-month revenue$242,160Price properly from day oneDensity is the profitGet out of the van5 min read · Verified via Stripe + GoCardless

Get one verified business breakdown every Sunday