What does this sample plan cover, and why two revenue lines?
This is a complete worked plan for Clear View Window Co., a made-up solo owner in a mid-sized city who builds a route of storefronts cleaned every two weeks and sells residential inside-and-out jobs to homeowners in spring and fall. Every Clear View number is an example, not an industry average. The plan is built on two lines on purpose: the storefront route is small money that arrives every month, including January, and the residential jobs are big money that arrives in two seasons. One without the other is either a boring business or a bankrupt one.
Two related pages do a different job. The general cleaning business plan guide explains each section with a fill-in template for a residential house cleaner, and the free cleaning business plan template prints a plan with a 12-month forecast built from recurring cleans. Our guide on how to start a window cleaning business covers equipment, ladder safety, insurance and finding clients in detail; this plan assumes you have read it and turns it into a document a lender or partner can read.
The SBA describes two formats: a traditional plan, detailed and often dozens of pages, which lenders and investors commonly request, and a lean plan that sums up the key points, typically on one page. Clear View uses the traditional order in about four pages; a self-funded owner can cut it to one.
Executive summary: Clear View Window Co. in one paragraph
Write it last, from the finished projection.
Sample
Clear View Window Co. LLC cleans windows for storefronts and homes in one city and its two nearest suburbs. Storefronts are cleaned outside every two weeks on a fixed route at $30 a visit; homes are cleaned inside and out at a per-window price, with screens and tracks as add-ons, mostly in March to June and September to November. The owner works alone from a hatchback with a traditional squeegee kit, a 24-foot fiberglass ladder and a water-fed pole for second-story glass, within a written height limit of two stories by ladder and three by pole. The company plans to reach 60 storefront accounts and 168 residential jobs in year one. Startup costs are about $5,900, funded from savings, and the storefront route alone covers fixed costs from month 3. The hypothetical first-year projection shows $69,600 in revenue and about $58,000 of owner profit before taxes.
Fill-in version
[Company] cleans windows for [storefronts, homes, low-rise offices] in [area]. Storefronts are cleaned [frequency] at $[price] a visit; homes are priced [per window, per pane, by the house]. The owner works [alone or with ___] within a height limit of [limit]. The company plans [accounts] storefront accounts and [jobs] residential jobs in year one. Startup costs are $[amount], funded by [source], and [the route] covers fixed costs by month [number].
Services and pricing: per visit for storefronts, per window for homes
Storefronts are priced per visit, usually outside only, on a schedule. Homes are priced per window inside and out, with add-ons and a minimum. The two price lists live on one sheet.
| Service | Unit | Sample price |
|---|---|---|
| Storefront, outside only, every two weeks | Per visit, billed monthly by card | $30 a visit ($60 a month) |
| Storefront, inside and out, monthly | Per visit | $55 |
| Residential, inside and out | Per window, $175 minimum | $11.50 a window |
| Residential, outside only | Per window | $5.50 a window |
| Screens washed | Per screen | $2.50 |
| Tracks and sills detailed | Per window | $3 |
| Hard water stain removal | Per window after a test spot | $15 to $30, no promise on etched glass |
| Third story or hard access | Per window surcharge | +$4 |
For a market check, Thumbtack reports a national range of $184 to $387 for window cleaning, with most people paying about $266, and by count $99 to $194 for one to five windows, $127 to $249 for six to ten, $168 to $330 for eleven to fifteen and $187 to $368 for sixteen to twenty; it quotes one company at $4 a window and another at $6. Fixr puts the price at $8 to $40 per window, $4 to $8 per pane and $40 to $75 an hour, with $310 as the average for a house with 22 double-hung windows and screens. Clear View’s typical residential ticket, 24 windows inside and out with screens, comes to about $336, and its planning average of $275 allows for smaller homes and outside-only jobs.
The window business guide shows the cost build: timed minutes per window, screens and setup, labor at a target rate, supplies and driving, then overhead and profit, which lands around $11.40 a window inside and out with screens. Rebuild it from your own timed windows and send every quote in writing with the estimate template. For storefronts, the test is different: a $30 visit must take 20 minutes including the walk from the car, or the route is underpriced.
Market: a fragmented trade with two kinds of buyer
The market section shows there are enough storefronts on a few commercial strips and enough homes with glass in your suburbs to fill both lines, and names who is already cleaning them.
Industry size
There is no clean federal count of window cleaning companies on their own. The Census Bureau files them under NAICS 561720, Janitorial Services, whose index entries include “window cleaning services”. The 2022 County Business Patterns file counts 67,295 employer establishments and 1,067,762 employees in that code, most of them janitorial companies, with window specialists a small slice and the many owner-operators without payroll not counted at all. The useful fact for a plan is that the trade is local and fragmented: nobody owns a city.
Local demand (sample)
Clear View walked its three target commercial strips and counted 310 ground-floor businesses with street glass, then counted detached homes in its two suburbs from a map: about 9,000. Sixty storefront accounts is 19% of the strips, which is ambitious and is why the plan gives it twelve months. 168 residential jobs is under 2% of the homes. Write your own counts; a plan that needs half the storefronts on the street is a plan that will stall at the first strip.
Two kinds of buyer
- Storefront managers buy reliability and invisibility: the same day every two weeks, no interruption to the shop, one card charge a month. They rarely compare prices once they have someone who shows up.
- Homeowners buy a result they can see from the sofa, twice a year, and they ask neighbors who did it. They compare prices and they remember the cleaner who scratched a pane.
Competitors (sample table)
| Competitor | 24 windows inside and out | Storefront visit | What reviews say |
|---|---|---|---|
| Competitor A (franchise) | $395 | Does not do small storefronts | Professional, pricey, scheduling by call center |
| Competitor B (solo, 20 years) | $260 | $25 | Loved, not taking new homes |
| Competitor C (pressure washing company) | $300 | None | Streaks on interior glass, spring only |
Clear View’s gap: a written per-window quote from a window count the client can check, a water-fed pole for second-story glass without a ladder against the siding, and small storefronts the franchise ignores. Competitor B, full and not taking homes, is where the first referrals come from.
Marketing plan: walk the strip, then let the glass advertise
Clear View markets the two lines differently: storefronts by walking in, homes by door hangers next to every job and by reminders before each season.
Storefronts
- Walk one strip a week at a quiet hour, ask for the manager, offer the first outside clean free and a set day every two weeks.
- Carry a one-line agreement and a card-on-file form; sign them at the counter.
- Add the shop next door before leaving. Target: five new accounts a month, net of the ones that close.
Homes
- Door hangers on four neighbors after every residential job (the flyer template works), with the date you were on the street.
- A Google Business Profile with before-and-after photos and a booking link; a review request by text after every job.
- Referral agreements with three house cleaning companies that do not do exterior glass, and two realtors for listing prep.
- A text in late February and late August to every past residential client with a one-tap rebook.
Budget: $150 a month: printing, boosted posts in March and September, referral credits. Target: 60 storefront accounts by month 12 and 20 residential jobs a month in the two peaks. Measured by: source of every booking, storefront churn per month, and rebook rate for homes at six months. The wider channel list and scripts are in how to get cleaning clients.
Operations: the route day, the residential day and the height limit
The operations section describes the two kinds of working day, the safety limit the company runs on, the kit, the software and the hire trigger.
A route day
Tuesday and Thursday mornings, one strip each, storefronts in walking order with the car parked once. Twenty minutes a stop at most. The card on file is charged monthly; a missed visit is made up within two days and the client is told before they notice.
A residential day
Two homes, morning and afternoon, quoted in writing from a window count the client sent or the owner made on a quick visit. Inside first with the traditional kit, outside with the water-fed pole where the glass is above the first floor, screens washed on the lawn, tracks detailed if sold. Photos before and after; card charged on completion; review request by text.
Height limit and safety
Two stories by ladder, three by water-fed pole, nothing higher and no roof work, written into every quote. Ladder rules (inspection, angle, three points of contact, standoffs, no top rungs, distance from power lines) follow OSHA’s guidance as laid out in the window business guide, and the plan copies them into a one-page policy any helper signs. Blades stay off tempered glass without a test spot, and that is in the terms.
Team
Owner only in year one. Trigger for a helper: 50 storefront accounts plus a residential calendar booked two weeks out in a peak month. Pay: $18 an hour as an employee, with workers’ compensation added to fixed costs that month. For a benchmark, O*NET lists a 2025 median of $17.71 an hour for janitors and cleaners, the federal occupation whose tasks include cleaning windows, glass partitions and mirrors.
Tools
A scheduling app with recurring route visits every two weeks, seasonal reminders, quotes, photos and card-on-file billing. Broombook is built for residential house cleaning; if a cleaning crew runs beside the window work, it covers that side with recurring schedules and card checkout (see features). Whatever runs the window calendar, the plan names it, because sixty storefront accounts on different two-week cycles do not survive in a notebook.
Startup costs: the sample budget
A window cleaning start is one of the cheapest in home services if you own a car: a traditional kit, ladders, a water-fed pole system, insurance, marketing and a reserve. Dealer prices below were listed at J. Racenstein, a US window cleaning supply house, in October 2026, and are examples, not quotes.
| Item | Example cost | Source or note |
|---|---|---|
| LLC filing and local business license | $200 | Varies by state and city; see the license guide |
| Traditional kit: squeegees, channels, scrubbers, scrapers, bucket, belt, towels | $330 | Racenstein lists starter kits from $58.59 to $1,051.33, including a $72.55 basic kit, a $109.42 Ettore basic kit, a $328.53 complete kit and a $530.96 pro kit |
| Water-fed pole system with DI purification, 20 to 24 ft | $900 | Racenstein lists an entry 20-foot Unger HydroPower kit at $805.32, DI tank packages from $937.99, and a full residential kit at $2,799 |
| 24 ft fiberglass extension ladder, 6 ft step ladder, standoff, levelers | $750 | Example from hardware store pricing; price locally. Racenstein lists specialist sectional ladder kits at $1,191 to $1,815 and a LeveLok leveler at $203 |
| Extension pole, spare rubbers, resin, solution, detail cloths for the first three months | $250 | Example |
| General liability, first month | $78 | Insureon reports window cleaning companies average $78 a month for general liability |
| Door hangers, cards, car magnets, Google profile photos | $300 | Example |
| Software, first month | $0 | Trial, then in fixed costs |
| Cash reserve | $3,100 | About five and a half months of fixed costs at $557, because winter is slow |
| Total | About $5,900 | Funded from savings in the sample |
Many owners start without the water-fed pole and add it when second-story exterior work justifies it; that cuts the sample start by about $900 but puts the owner on a ladder for every upstairs pane. Clear View buys it on day one because its height policy depends on it.
12-month projection (hypothetical numbers)
Clear View’s assumptions, all examples, written above the table:
- Storefronts: accounts grow by five a month from 5 to 60; each pays $60 a month for two outside visits.
- Homes: 4 jobs in month 1 (a January start) rising to 20 to 22 in the spring peak, falling in summer, rising again in fall, 168 in the year, at an average ticket of $275.
- Variable costs: $3 per storefront visit and $15 per residential job for solution, rubbers, resin and driving.
- Fixed costs: $557 a month: general liability $78, software $29, phone and bookkeeping $50, marketing $150, car fuel and insurance share $250.
- Owner capacity: 120 storefront visits a month (about 40 hours) plus 22 residential jobs (about 73 hours) at the peak, which is a full month. The owner’s time is not a cost in the table.
| Month | Storefront accounts | Home jobs | Storefront revenue | Home revenue | Supplies and driving | Owner profit (after $557 fixed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 4 | $300 | $1,100 | $90 | $753 |
| 2 | 10 | 8 | $600 | $2,200 | $180 | $2,063 |
| 3 | 15 | 12 | $900 | $3,300 | $270 | $3,373 |
| 4 | 20 | 16 | $1,200 | $4,400 | $360 | $4,683 |
| 5 | 25 | 20 | $1,500 | $5,500 | $450 | $5,993 |
| 6 | 30 | 22 | $1,800 | $6,050 | $510 | $6,783 |
| 7 | 35 | 16 | $2,100 | $4,400 | $450 | $5,493 |
| 8 | 40 | 12 | $2,400 | $3,300 | $420 | $4,723 |
| 9 | 45 | 16 | $2,700 | $4,400 | $510 | $6,033 |
| 10 | 50 | 20 | $3,000 | $5,500 | $600 | $7,343 |
| 11 | 55 | 14 | $3,300 | $3,850 | $540 | $6,053 |
| 12 | 60 | 8 | $3,600 | $2,200 | $480 | $4,763 |
| Year 1 | 168 | $23,400 | $46,200 | $4,860 | $58,056 |
How to read it
Owner profit is before income tax and the 15.3% self-employment tax, and the owner cleaned every pane to earn it. The storefront line is a third of revenue and all of the stability: from month 3, fifteen accounts at $60 cover the $557 of fixed costs on their own, so a rained-out residential week costs profit, not solvency. Residential jobs are two thirds of revenue and nearly all of the swing: month 6 earns $6,783 and month 12 earns $4,763 with twice the storefront accounts. Run your own table with your climate’s peaks, and run a second version with storefront growth at half the planned rate, because walk-in sales are the number you control least in the first quarter.
Funding: savings first, a small loan only for a second line
Clear View funds its $5,900 start from savings, which is how most window cleaners begin. The first storefront accounts pay within a month, and residential jobs are paid by card on the day, so the business is cash-positive almost immediately and the reserve exists for weather and winter, not for growth.
- Self-funding. Write the amount and the source. If savings cover the kit but not the reserve, start with the traditional kit and storefronts only, and add the water-fed pole from the first spring’s residential revenue.
- SBA microloan. Up to $50,000 through nonprofit intermediaries, averaging about $13,000, with terms up to seven years and rates generally between 8% and 13%. The right size for a van, a second water-fed system and a helper’s kit when the route outgrows a hatchback.
- What not to borrow for: marketing spend to speed up storefront sales. Walking the strip is free, and a loan does not make managers say yes faster.
A lender will ask for this plan, the projection extended to three years with the seasonal shape kept, an insurance certificate that states your height limit, and your service agreement. The contract template is a starting point for the storefront agreement, adapted to a per-visit schedule with monthly card billing.
How to make this sample your plan
Change six numbers and the plan is yours: your storefront visit price, your per-window price, your account growth per month, your residential jobs by season, your fixed costs and your reserve.
- Walk your commercial strips and count street-glass businesses; write down the share your plan needs.
- Time 50 windows on your own home and friends’ homes, inside and out, and build the per-window price from the window business guide’s cost method.
- Price three competitors for a 24-window home and one storefront visit.
- Get an insurance quote that names your height limit and covers glass in your care.
- Rebuild the table for your climate: in the Sun Belt the summer dip is heat, not snow, and the fall peak comes later.
- Write the executive summary last.
This is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice. Check your city and state for registration or contractor rules, and confirm coverage with a licensed agent before the first ladder goes up. If you also run a house cleaning crew, keep the two businesses in separate sections and separate books; the general cleaning business plan guide and the free plan template cover that side.