How to start a window cleaning business

A storefront route of small weekly stops pays the bills between residential rushes. Many window cleaners build both.

Most cities and counties ask for a general business license, and some ask for a separate one for each city you work in. Window cleaning rarely needs a trade license, but work on tall commercial buildings brings its own rules and equipment, and should wait until you have the training.

OSHA's fall protection page says fall protection is required at four feet in general industry workplaces and six feet in construction. Once you hire, those rules are yours to meet. Even alone, a two-story window on a slope is where accidents happen. A water-fed pole lets you clean many upper windows from the ground, which is safer and often faster.

The SBA lists the launch steps in this order: pick a location, choose a structure, choose a name, register, get federal and state tax ID numbers, apply for licenses and permits, open a business bank account, and get insurance. For a window cleaning business working out of a truck, the location is usually your home address and the area you will serve.

• Structure. A sole proprietorship is the simplest. An LLC keeps the business separate on paper. Ask an accountant which fits your state and your plans.
• Tax ID. The IRS gives out an employer identification number (EIN) online, and says you never have to pay a fee for one. Websites that charge for an EIN are not the IRS.
• Self-employment tax. The IRS lists the self-employment tax rate as 15.3%: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare. Income tax comes on top, so set money aside from every job.
• Bank account. Open it before the first payment lands, so every dollar in and out is easy to find at tax time.

Your name goes on the truck, the invoices, the Google profile and the yard signs, so pick it once. The free window cleaning name generator gives 36 ideas for your town and style, each with a domain idea, and lists the checks to run before you commit: your state's business name search, a federal trademark search and the domain itself.

The SBA describes general liability insurance as cover for financial loss from bodily injury, property damage, medical expenses and defending lawsuits. It says businesses with employees are required to carry workers' compensation, unemployment and disability insurance, and some states ask for more.

Broken glass, a ladder through a screen and a fall are the claims to plan for. Ask your agent about general liability and commercial auto, and workers' compensation once you hire. Storefronts and property managers will ask for a certificate.

No total here on purpose. What you spend depends on what you already own, new or used, and how much work you plan to take on. Price your own list with a local supplier, then put the numbers in the startup cost table of the free business plan generator, which adds them up for you.

• Squeegees, channels, scrubbers and buckets
• Extension poles, and a water-fed pole with a purification system for upper windows
• Ladders, levelers and stand-offs
• Scrapers and a hard water stain remover
• Microfiber cloths, drop cloths and towels for inside work

A water-fed pole system is the largest single item. Many start with hand tools and ladders, then add one when exteriors pick up.

Price per window or per pane, with set prices for screens, tracks and second-story or hard-to-reach glass. The free window cleaning cost calculator shows how the pieces add up, and our guide to pricing window cleaning works through examples. Set a minimum per visit so a small job still pays for the drive.

• Walk a block of storefronts. Offer a first clean and a schedule. Many owners say yes on the spot.
• Your past customers. Koira texts them when spring and fall come around, with one tap to book.
• The neighbors. Koira mails nearby homes after each job.
• A price on your website. Instant quotes answer from your own price list.

Put storefronts on a plan billed on a card on file. For homes, invoice when you finish and take payment at the door. Then ask for the review.

Add a second person for two-story homes and storefront routes, and add services that use the same ladders and poles, like gutters and solar panels. Keep each day's stops in one area with routes in driving order.