How to get commercial window cleaning contracts and build a route

Commercial window cleaning rewards the company that shows up on the same day every cycle, does not need reminding and never leaves streaks on the front door. It is route work. Once a route is dense, each extra stop costs little more than the time on the glass, and that is where the margin lives.

This guide covers which commercial work fits your company, who buys it, the safety rules that shape your bids, the paperwork buyers ask for, where to look for accounts without paying a marketplace, how to price and bid, what federal and public buildings require, and how to keep the route. Treat it as general guidance rather than legal advice; licensing, insurance and purchasing rules change from state to state and town to town, so confirm the ones that apply to you.

Which commercial window work fits your company?

Grow from the top of that table down. A storefront route pays from the first week and teaches you how to run a schedule. High-rise work is a different business, and its safety, insurance and equipment demands deserve a decision of their own.

Who buys commercial window cleaning, and how?

• Store owners and managers can decide on the spot. A specific per-visit price and a named day of the week give them something simple to say yes to.
• Property managers run a vendor list for each building. They want a fixed price per cycle, a set schedule, tenant notice handled, and an invoice that matches their purchase order.
• Facility managers for chains want one standard across stores. A chain may hand window work to a facility services company that subcontracts locally. Ask who holds the contract and who pays you.
• HOA and condo boards approve vendors at meetings, usually through a community manager. How an association hires is governed by its own documents and state law, which differ.
• Janitorial contractors clean the inside of the building and may not handle exterior glass, especially above the ground floor. They can be a steady source of subcontract work.
• General contractors need glass cleaned before a new building is turned over, which is a one-time job that can lead to the owner's maintenance contract.

Our guides on property managers and HOA contracts cover those relationships in detail.

Safety rules that shape a commercial window bid

Height changes everything about a window cleaning bid. For rope descent systems, OSHA's general industry rule puts a duty on the building owner as well as the employer. The owner has to give the employer written confirmation, before the first descent, that each anchorage was identified and tested, carries a certification, and is maintained so it can hold at least 5,000 pounds in any direction for each employee attached, based on an annual inspection by a qualified person and certification as necessary and at least every 10 years. The employer may not let anyone use an anchorage until it has that written information, and must keep it for the duration of the job (29 CFR 1910.27).

Rope descent is off the table above 300 feet unless the employer can show no other way up is feasible or every alternative is more dangerous. The same section requires a separate, independent personal fall arrest system for each worker, an equipment inspection at the start of each shift, squeegees, buckets and tools secured by lanyards or a similar method, prompt rescue in the event of a fall, padding where ropes cross building edges, stabilization for descents over 130 feet, and no descents in storms or gusty or excessive wind.

What that means for your bid:

• Ask for the anchorage certification at the walkthrough. If the owner cannot produce it, price another access method, price the anchorage inspection as a separate item for the owner to arrange, or decline the rope work.
• Price your access method elevation by elevation: ground and pole, ladder, lift rental, or rope.
• Write your weather policy into the contract, because the rule stops descents in high wind and you need the schedule to flex.

Our job site safety basics and window cleaning equipment list cover training and gear for lower-level work.

What goes in the vendor file?

• Certificate of insurance with the limits the account asks for, often naming the property owner and manager as additional insured. A certificate summarizes coverage and should not be used to change it (Indiana's insurance department said as much in a 2009 bulletin); additional insured status needs an endorsement on the policy, which your agent arranges with the insurer.
• Workers' compensation proof. Requirements depend on your state and your crew, and buyers will expect to see it.
• Form W-9, which the IRS describes as the way a payer gets your correct taxpayer identification number for information returns (IRS).
• A written safety plan covering ladders, lifts, poles near power lines and, if you do it, rope descent work.
• A sample service log with photos, so the buyer sees how you report.
• Key and alarm procedures for before-hours work, and background checks if the account requests them.

How do you find commercial window accounts through channels you own?

• Walk a retail strip. Note the dirty glass, then go in with a card that names a per-visit price for that storefront and a day you can start. Follow up by phone the next week. Every yes on that strip makes the next stop cheaper to serve.
• Build a commercial page on your website for storefront routes and low-rise buildings, with the towns you cover, your schedule options and your insurance details. Our website service builds it, and our window cleaning industry page explains the rest of a strong site.
• Keep your Google Business Profile full of commercial photos: storefronts, office entrances, water-fed pole work.
• Meet property managers where they gather. IREM has 72 U.S. chapters (IREM), and BOMA's site has a directory of its local groups by state (BOMA).
• Reach community associations. Community Associations Institute counts association board members, managers and vendors among its members (CAI).
• Partner with janitorial companies that clean interiors but not exterior glass.
• Ask residential customers who own a shop, an office or a rental building. They have already seen how you treat their screens, sills and floors.

Every one of these is a relationship you keep. A paid lead platform may send the same request to other companies, and the customer stays the platform's when you stop paying.

How should you price and bid commercial window cleaning?

Storefronts are usually priced per visit from a quick count: panes or door and window units, inside, outside or both, and any frames, tracks or ledges included. For larger buildings, walk every elevation and record:

1. Glass count or area per elevation, inside and outside separately.
2. Access method per elevation and any lift or equipment rental.
3. Obstacles: landscaping, awnings, signage, sloped ground, parking that must be closed off.
4. Time windows: before opening, after hours, weekends.
5. Frequency, and whether interior glass is every cycle or less often.
6. Extras priced separately: hard water stain removal, screen cleaning, frame washing, post-construction debris.

Our window cleaning pricing guide covers the per-pane math. For a formal bid, price exactly what the specification asks, submit questions in writing before the deadline, list interior glass and stain removal as alternates when the spec allows, and state your weather and rescheduling policy. Commercial accounts often pay on net terms, so plan for waiting 30 days or more after the invoice. Our bidding guide goes through the full package.

Federal and public buildings

Schools, city halls, libraries and courthouses buy through their purchasing offices under state and local rules that vary widely. Find each agency's vendor registration and bid page, and read each solicitation's insurance and safety requirements before you price.

Federal buildings use the federal system:

• Registration. SBA says you need a Unique Entity ID before you can bid on government proposals, and you receive it when you register with SAM at SAM.gov (SBA). GSA's quick start guide says registering and keeping it current costs nothing, and SAM.gov requires renewal every 365 days.
• Industry code and size. The Census Bureau's definition of NAICS 561720, Janitorial Services, includes cleaning windows. A window company stays small for 561720 contracts up to $22.0 million of average annual receipts, the SBA limit in 13 CFR 121.201 on eCFR when we checked in October 2026 (eCFR).
• Where opportunities appear. Federal buyers must generally advertise planned purchases above $25,000 through the governmentwide point of entry, though the FAR lists exceptions (FAR 5.101; FAR 2.101 names SAM.gov as that point of entry). Smaller purchases may not be posted there at all, so introduce yourself to the facility managers and contracting offices at federal buildings near you.
• Wages. On federal prime service contracts above $2,500, the Service Contract Act sets a wage floor: your crew must earn at least the locality rates and fringe benefits that the contract's wage determination sets (DOL).
• Set-asides. SBA's programs for 8(a), HUBZone, women-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses reserve some contracts for firms that qualify. The federal government's goals include 5% of contracting dollars for women-owned small businesses and 3% for HUBZone firms (SBA).

For no-cost help with a first public bid, look up the nearest APEX Accelerator. Our government contracts guide explains registration and searching for opportunities.

How do you keep commercial window accounts?

• Same day, every cycle. A store manager should never have to call to ask where you are.
• Before photos protect you. Photograph scratched glass, failed seals and damaged screens before you touch them, and send the notes to the manager. That record can settle a damage dispute before it starts.
• After photos sell renewals. A timestamped photo of each elevation, attached to the visit, shows a property manager the work was done without a site visit.
• Bill the way each buyer pays. Storefront owners do well on card on file and autopay. Property managers need invoices with purchase order numbers and a building name.
• Rain plan in writing. State when you reschedule and when you clean anyway, so nobody argues after a storm.

A custom CRM built for route work can hold every stop with its glass count and price, timestamp arrival and departure, attach before and after photos, and bill each account the way it pays. Want to know where commercial requests are slipping through your phone and website today? Start with a free system quote.

Frequently asked questions