Window cleaning is one of the best trades for scaling. Low startup costs, high repeat rates, and a service every commercial building and upscale home needs regularly. But most window cleaners plateau at $40-60K because they run their business like a side hustle instead of a system.
Here’s the playbook for $100K+.
Build recurring revenue first
One-time residential cleans are fine for cash flow, but recurring contracts are how you build a real business:
Residential recurring
- Quarterly cleans: Most popular. $150-400 per home, 4 times/year.
- Monthly cleans: Higher-end homes. $100-200/month.
- Auto-scheduling: Book once, clean automatically every quarter. No phone calls, no rebooking.
Commercial contracts
- Monthly service: Storefronts, restaurants, offices. $50-300/month per location.
- Quarterly deep cleans: Add pressure washing, gutter cleaning as upsells.
- HOA contracts: Clubhouse, common areas, model homes.
Target: 100 recurring residential clients at $200/quarter = $20,000/quarter = $80,000/year in guaranteed revenue. Add 10 commercial contracts at $200/month = $24,000/year. That’s $104,000 before any one-time work.
Route optimization saves hours every week
Window cleaning is a route-based business. Your profitability depends on how many jobs you fit into a day, which depends on drive time between jobs.
Without route optimization:
- 6 jobs scattered across town = 90 minutes of driving = 5.5 billable hours
With route optimization:
- 6 jobs grouped geographically = 30 minutes of driving = 7 billable hours
That’s 1.5 extra billable hours per day × 250 work days = 375 extra hours per year. At $75/hour, that’s $28,125 in recovered revenue.
Group your recurring clients by neighborhood. Clean the north side on Monday, east side on Tuesday, etc. Route software with numbered stops makes this automatic.
Pricing strategy
Residential
- Per pane: $3-8 per pane (interior + exterior)
- Per window: $5-15 per window (typical home has 15-25 windows)
- Flat rate: $150-400 for a typical 3-bedroom home
- First clean premium: Charge 20-30% more for the first clean (more buildup), then standard rate for recurring
Commercial
- Per storefront: $25-75 per visit
- Per square foot of glass: $0.05-0.15/sq ft
- Monthly contract: $100-500 depending on glass area
Always quote flat rate, not hourly. Faster crews should earn more per hour, not less.
The review flywheel
Window cleaning results are immediately visible. The customer walks outside and sees sparkling glass. This is the best possible moment to ask for a review.
Automate a text 2 hours after each completed clean:
“Hi [name], hope your windows are looking great! If you have 30 seconds, a Google review would mean the world: [link]”
Window cleaning has unusually high review conversion rates (30-40%) because the result is so tangible and immediate.
Aim for 3-5 reviews per week. In 6 months, you’ll dominate “window cleaning near me” for your area.
Upsell strategy
Window cleaners who only clean windows leave money on the table. Natural add-ons:
| Service | Typical add-on price | Close rate |
|---|---|---|
| Gutter cleaning | $100-250 | 40% |
| Pressure washing | $200-500 | 30% |
| Screen cleaning/repair | $3-5 per screen | 60% |
| Solar panel cleaning | $150-350 | 25% |
| Chandelier cleaning | $75-200 | 20% |
| Holiday lighting | $300-800 | 15% |
Offer these at the time of booking. “Want us to do gutters while we’re there?” is an easy yes.
Hiring your first cleaner
You can only do 6-8 residential jobs per day solo. To break $100K, you need help.
The economics of your first hire:
- Pay: $18-22/hour
- They do 6 jobs/day = $900-1,200 in revenue
- Their cost: ~$160/day (labor + supplies)
- Your profit per day from their work: $740-1,040
One good employee doubles your capacity immediately. Use GPS clock-in to verify they’re on-site, and have customers rate each clean.
The $100K formula
- 80 recurring residential clients × $800/year = $64,000
- 8 commercial contracts × $2,400/year = $19,200
- One-time jobs and upsells: $25,000/year
- Total: $108,200
With one employee doing half the work, your take-home after labor is $70,000-80,000. Add a second employee and you’re at $150K+ with yourself managing routes and sales, not wiping glass.
Related Reading
- Google Reviews for Contractors: The Complete Guide — Build the review engine that drives leads on autopilot
- Scheduling Software for Small Contractors — Find the right tool for managing routes and crew schedules
- How to Build Repeat Business as a Contractor — Turn one-time clients into recurring revenue