How to Start a Window Cleaning Business in 2025: A Complete Guide

## How to Start a Window Cleaning Business in 2025: A Complete Guide

I started when I was 10 years old, learning from my father who cleaned windows professionally across Canada for 30 years. Now I'm 26 with 16 years in the field. I've watched this industry shift from paper route sheets and phone calls to software-driven scheduling and digital customer portals.

Here's what I know: Starting a window cleaning business is genuinely easy. You can get rolling for under $1,000. A single-operator cleaning 10 houses a week can make $50-80k a year. No degree needed. No storefront. No inventory.

But there's a gap between "I started a business" and "I built a business." Most people plateau at $30-50k annually because they're running on chaos instead of systems. This guide covers what actually matters: the legal stuff you can't skip, pricing that doesn't sell you short, marketing that actually converts, and systems that let you scale without burning out.

Why Window Cleaning is a Great Business in 2025

Low startup costs: You can get pro-grade gear for $500-$2,000. You're not buying a $50k franchise or signing a lease on a building.

Recurring revenue: This is the key. Clients don't just book once. They book 2, 3, or 4 times a year. Commercial jobs are weekly. Get 50 recurring clients, and your monthly income is pretty much guaranteed.

High profit margins: Material costs are negligible (soap, squeegees wear slowly). Your main costs are labor and fuel. Gross margins of 60-70% are common.

You can scale it: You can start alone out of your truck (or van), add a helper, then build a real crew. The model just works.

Weather-dependent but manageable: Modern weather forecasting (14-day forecasts are standard now) lets you reschedule proactively instead of reactive cancellations.

Step 1: Legal Setup (Don't Skip This)

Business Structure

Most window cleaners start as sole proprietors, but I recommend forming an LLC from day one:

Liability protection: If you damage a $5,000 window or a helper gets injured, your personal assets are protected.
Tax benefits: Write off equipment, vehicle expenses, software subscriptions, insurance premiums.
It just looks professional: 'ABC Window Cleaning LLC' gets more respect (and higher-paying jobs) than 'Bob's Window Cleaning.'
Keep in mind: tax filings are significantly more expensive than a sole proprietorship, so only incorporate early if you see potential for quick growth.

Cost: $100-$500 depending on your state. Use LegalZoom, ZenBusiness, or file directly with your Secretary of State.

Licenses and Permits

Requirements vary by state/province, but typically you need:

Business license (city/county level)
DBA ("Doing Business As") if not using your legal name
Employer Identification Number (EIN) from IRS. It's free and takes 10 minutes online.

Most states don't require special licenses for window cleaning. But always check local regulations.

Insurance (Non-Negotiable)

General Liability Insurance: Covers property damage (broken windows, scratched siding) and bodily injury. Shoot for $500-$1,500/year for $1M/$2M coverage. Workers' Compensation: Required if you hire anyone, even part-time. Rates vary by state. Budget 2-4% of payroll.

Commercial Auto: If using your vehicle for business (and you are), get commercial auto or at minimum a business rider on your personal policy. I've seen too many operators skip insurance to save $100/month, then one broken window bankrupts them. Don't be that person.

Step 2: Essential Equipment

Here's what you actually need, not the $10,000 "starter kits" equipment suppliers push:

Core Tools ($500-$800)

Squeegees:

12", 18", 24" stainless steel or brass channels
Multiple rubber blades (soft for cold weather, hard for hot)
Ettore, Unger, Sorbo, or Moerman brands last years

Extension Poles:

4ft and 7ft poles for bungalows and small residential
Consider telescoping WFP (water-fed pole) system for 3+ stories: $1,200-$3,000

Buckets, Scrapers, Towels:

5-gallon professional buckets with a bucket caddy
Triumph scrapers (replacement blades bulk from Amazon)
Surgical towels (lint-free, get them from Amazon or a janitorial supplier, not Home Depot)

Cleaning Solution:

Dawn dish soap works. Seriously. $0.10 per job.
Professional concentrates (GG3, GG4) if you want, but Dawn is 90% as effective.

Ladders:

6ft step ladder for residential
24ft extension ladder if doing commercial
Little Giant adjustable ladders are pricey but versatile

Nice-to-Haves (Add Later)

Pure water system ($2,000-$5,000): eliminates spotting on commercial jobs
Pressure washer ($300-$800): for concrete, siding, awnings
Professional uniforms ($50/set): polo shirts with logo

My advice: Start with the basics. I cleaned 100+ houses with a $12 squeegee, a bucket, and Dawn. Upgrade when revenue justifies it, not before.

Step 3: Pricing Strategy

Underpricing is the #1 mistake new window cleaners make. You're not competing with the $50 Craigslist guy. You're a professional business.

Residential Pricing Models

Per-Window Pricing:

Inside/outside: $6-$12 per window depending on size and accessibility
Outside only: $4-$8 per window
Add $20-$50 for screens, tracks, sills

Flat-Rate Pricing:

Small house (10-15 windows): $150-$250
Medium house (15-25 windows): $250-$400
Large house (25+ windows): $400-$700

Story Count Multipliers:

Ground floor: base rate
Second story: 1.5x multiplier
Third story: 2x-2.5x multiplier

Sergio software has built-in story count calculators that auto-price based on your rates + story multipliers. Saves 10+ minutes per quote.

Commercial Pricing

Square Footage Method:

Small commercial: $0.50-$1.00 per sq ft of glass
High-rise/difficult access: $1.50-$3.00 per sq ft

Per-Pane Pricing:

Storefront windows: $3-$5 per pane
Office buildings: $2-$4 per pane depending on frequency

Contract Pricing:

Monthly contracts: 10-15% discount from one-time rate
Annual contracts: 20-25% discount, paid quarterly upfront

Minimum Charges

Always have a minimum. Mine is $150 for residential, $200 for commercial. Anything less and your profit gets eaten by drive time.

Step 4: Finding Your First Customers

Marketing is where most new businesses fail. Here's what actually works in 2025:

Google Business Profile (Free, Highest ROI) Set up your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) immediately:

Claim your business listing
Add photos of completed jobs, your truck/logo, team
Post weekly updates (before/after photos work great)
Respond to every review within 24 hours

Local SEO tips:

Use exact-match keywords: "Window Cleaning in [City]"
Get reviews. Ask every happy customer. 20+ reviews with 4.5+ stars = top 3 map ranking.
Post regularly. Google ranks active businesses higher.

I get 30-40% of my leads from Google Maps. Zero ad spend.

Door-to-Door (Old School, Still Works) Print 500 door hangers on VistaPrint ($50). Hit neighborhoods where you'd want to work:

Homes with large windows (picture windows, bay windows)
Two-story homes (higher ticket)
Well-maintained properties (pays on time, values quality)

Conversion strategy: Offer a "new customer special": 20% off first cleaning. Include:

Your phone number (big, readable font)
Website with online booking
Before/after photo
"Licensed & Insured" badge

Go out Saturday mornings, 3-4 hours, cover 200-300 doors. Try for a 2-5% conversion rate. That's 4-15 jobs. At $250 average, that's $1,000-$3,750 revenue from a $50 investment.

Facebook Local Groups Join neighborhood groups, HOA pages, local business groups. Don't spam. Provide value first:

Answer questions about window maintenance
Share seasonal tips (spring pollen, winter hard water spots)
Post stunning before/after photos

Once a month, post a "limited-time offer." Facebook groups convert at 3-5% if you're active and helpful first.

Referral Program Your best marketing is your existing customers. Implement a referral program:

$25 credit for every referral that books
$50 credit if referral signs up for recurring service

Track this in your CRM. Sergio automatically reminds customers about referral credits after job completion.

Step 5: Operations & Software

Here's where I made my biggest mistakes. For 5 years I ran everything on paper route sheets, a notebook, and memory.

Problems with manual systems:

Forgot follow-ups (left $20k+ on the table)
Scheduling conflicts (double-booked, showed up wrong day)
No route optimization (wasted 2-3 hours per day driving)
Couldn't track recurring customers (forgot to reach out = lost clients)

What You Actually Need

Customer Management:

Contact info, service history, notes
Automated follow-ups for quotes (80% of quotes need 2-3 follow-ups to close)
Recurring service tracking

Scheduling:

Calendar with customer addresses
Route optimization (cluster jobs by neighborhood, not chronological order)
Weather-based rescheduling (14-day forecasts, automatic alerts)

Invoicing & Payments:

Professional invoices with online payment
Automated payment reminders (friendly, not pushy)
Stripe or ACH for instant deposits

Quoting:

Fast, professional quotes with logo
Online quote acceptance with e-signatures
Story count calculators, glass rail pricing

I built Sergio because every "solution" I tried was either:

Generic field service software (built for HVAC, doesn't understand window cleaning)
Overly complex (50 features I'll never use)
Expensive ($200+/month for solo operators)

Sergio is $49/month for solo operators, includes everything above, built specifically for window cleaning workflows. Alternatives:

Jobber ($49-$349/mo, per-user fees add up)
Housecall Pro ($59-$499/mo, requires internet for mobile app)
Google Sheets + QuickBooks ($20/mo, manual everything)

Whatever you choose, don't run your business on paper. You'll leave money on the table, burn out from disorganization, and can't scale past 1-2 person operation.

Step 6: Hiring & Scaling

Once you're consistently booked 5 days/week, it's time to add help.

First Hire: Part-Time Helper Start with 2-3 days/week, $15-$20/hour depending on market. Look for:

Reliable (shows up on time, every time)
Coachable (willing to learn your way)
Physically fit (carrying ladders, standing all day)
Clean driving record if using your vehicle

Where to find them:

Indeed, Craigslist, Facebook Jobs
Local high schools/colleges (summer workers)
Word-of-mouth (friends, family, customers)

Training timeline:

Week 1: Shadow you, learn basics (squeegee technique, safety)
Week 2: Do simple windows while you supervise
Week 3: Run small jobs solo (you quality-check after)
Week 4: Fully independent on residential

Scaling to Multiple Crews Once your first helper can run jobs solo, you decide: keep growing, or stay solo-plus-help.

Option A: You move into scheduling/sales, hire a second person to run jobs solo. Option B: Hire a second helper, split into two crews (you lead one, they lead the other).

At two crews, your schedule gets complicated fast. You're tracking two teams, two sets of jobs, weather alerts for multiple zones, customer follow-ups happening in parallel. This is where software actually matters. Sergio's Team plan ($109/mo) gives you visibility: where is each crew, what's their next job, who's falling behind, which customer needs a follow-up.

Without visibility, you're guessing. With it, you're managing.

The revenue picture changes too. A solo operator can do 4-5 jobs in a day. Two people working in parallel can do 6-8. But only if they're not stepping on each other's schedules. The logistics matter more than the raw math.

The real question at two crews: Do you want to keep cleaning windows, or do you want to run a business? Because that's the choice. If you love the actual work, stay solo or solo-plus-one-helper. If you love building something, scale to two crews and embrace the logistics.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Underpricing to "get customers" – You attract price-shoppers who'll leave for anyone $5 cheaper. Price for value, not volume.
No contracts for recurring customers – Get monthly/quarterly service agreements in writing. Auto-renewing, auto-billing. Predictable revenue.
Not tracking metrics – Jobs per day, revenue per job, drive time, customer acquisition cost. What gets measured gets improved.
Making customers call you for everything – Let customers book, pay, and reschedule online through a portal. It cuts your phone time in half and makes you look more professional.
Seasonal feast/famine – Sign up recurring commercial accounts (office buildings, retail storefronts) to smooth out seasonal dips.
Skipping weather checks – Check 14-day forecast every Sunday. Proactively reschedule rain days. Customers appreciate it more than reactive cancellations.

Action Plan: Your First 90 Days

Month 1: Setup

Week 1: Form LLC, get insurance, apply for EIN
Week 2: Buy equipment (squeegee, poles, ladder), set up software
Week 3: Design simple logo, create Google Business Profile, add 3-4 photos
Week 4: Order 500 door hangers, hit 200+ doors on Saturday morning

Month 2: First Customers

Week 5-6: Do your first 10 jobs. They'll be slow. That's normal.
Week 7-8: Get photos, ask every happy customer for a review, post to Google

Month 3: Find Your Rhythm

Week 9-10: Evaluate pricing. If you're not booked 2-3 weeks out, raise it 10-15%.
Week 11: If consistently booked 5 days/week, start looking for a helper.
Week 12: Review what worked (door hangers? Facebook? Google?), plan your next push.

What to Expect:

Month 1 is brutal. You'll do 2-3 jobs total. You'll spend more time on setup and marketing than actual cleaning. That's fine. You're building.

Month 2, you'll have 5-8 jobs booked. Some will refer friends. You'll start seeing which marketing actually works. Google reviews will show up slowly.

Month 3, if you've priced well and marketed consistently, you should be booking 3-4 jobs per week. That's $750-1,000 weekly. Not life-changing yet, but real.

After 90 days, if you're not consistently booked, your pricing is probably too low or your marketing isn't targeting the right neighborhoods. Fix one or both and try again.

Final Thoughts

I started this at 10 years old out of necessity. My dad needed help. I kept going because I realized early that the skill was learnable, the barriers were low, and the upside was real.

At 26, I run multiple crews. I've built software that's helping other cleaners avoid the mistakes I made. I get to decide when I work, what I work on, and how big I want to take this.

Here's what separates people who make $30k a year from those who make $200k:

Exceptional service. Show up on time, don't break anything, be friendly. That's table stakes.
Smart pricing. You're not competing on price. You're competing on professionalism. Charge accordingly.
Systems. Don't run your business in your head. Use software. Write things down. Measure what matters.
Recurring revenue. One-time jobs are inconsistent. Monthly contracts are predictable.

The hardest part isn't the technical skill. It's the first 20 "no"s. After that, it gets easier. You get good at your pitch. You get confidence. You start closing more.

You don't need $50,000 to start. When I started, it was maybe $500 for decent equipment and the willingness to be rejected. The rest is just showing up and not giving up.

Ready to go? Try Sergio free: sergio.app Questions? support@sergio.app (I answer every email)

Cody 16 years in windows, 1 year building software, forever learning