WindowBossPro Blog — Storefronts & Commercial

What the Office Manager Sees: The Customer App for Commercial Window Cleaning Clients

Most of what makes a commercial account run well happens on your side: cycles, routes, access notes, photos. But the client has a side too. An office manager, a storefront owner or a property manager wants to check a bill, pay it, update a card or ask for extra work without calling you. The customer app is where they do that.

The Client's Side of the Account

Importing your accounts, covered in Moving Commercial Window Cleaning Accounts Off Spreadsheets and Into One System, gets everything on your side organized. The customer app gives your clients a view of the parts that concern them.

It runs on their phone or computer. There is nothing for them to set up beyond logging in, and it shows only their own account.

Invoices, Statements and Online Payment

The most-used part of the customer app for commercial clients is billing. They can see their invoices, or their monthly statement if the account is set to Monthly, and pay online.

For a property manager on Monthly billing, the statement shows every visit at every location, each line labeled with the address. They can check it, pay it and move on, without emailing you to ask for a copy. For more on statements, see Monthly Statements for Commercial Window Cleaning Accounts: One Bill for Every Location.

Storefront owners with a card on file can update their card in the app when it expires or when they change banks. That alone prevents a lot of failed charges and awkward texts.

Requesting Service

Commercial clients often want something extra: the inside of a unit before a new tenant moves in, an extra clean before an event, hard-water removal on a drive-thru. They can request service from the customer app, and the request comes into the office.

The office can then send a quote for online approval. When the client approves, it becomes scheduled service. Nobody plays phone tag, and the request is written down from the start.

Alerts They Choose

Clients pick which alerts they want. The options are a reminder the night before, a heads-up when they are next on the route, and a notice when the tech arrives. Alerts go out by text and email.

An office manager might want the night-before alert so they can tell the front desk. A property manager with twelve buildings might turn alerts off entirely and rely on the monthly statement. A store owner who leaves the back door open for you might want the arrived alert. Each person gets what is useful to them and nothing more.

The Live Route Map

On the day of a visit, clients can see the route on a live map in the customer app, with their place in line: “You're stop 12 of 20 — the crew is 5 stops away.” For a storefront owner waiting to open the door for inside glass, that answers the question “when will they get here?” without a phone call.

The map shows where they are on the route, not a running feed of your other clients, so each business sees only what concerns them.

Rating and Referring

Clients can rate a visit and refer others from the customer app. For commercial work, referrals are especially valuable. A happy storefront owner knows the owners next door. A property manager knows other property managers. Making it easy to pass your name along is one of the cheapest ways to grow a storefront route.

Why the Customer App Helps You

• Fewer calls asking for invoice copies or arrival times
• Faster payment because paying online takes a minute
• Fewer failed card charges because owners update their own cards
• Extra work requested in writing, ready to quote
• Referrals from the people who know your best prospects

None of this replaces two-way texting with the office. It handles the routine parts, so your texts can focus on the things that need a person.

Introduce It at Sign-Up

Clients only use the customer app if they know it exists. Mention it when a new commercial account is approved: “You can see your statements, pay online and request extra work from the customer app.” Include the link in the first invoice or statement. For property managers, it helps to say that their whole portfolio's billing is in one place, because that is the part they care about most.

A Clear View for Every Client

The customer app gives commercial clients what they need, when they need it, without calling you. For the rest of the commercial toolkit, visit the WindowBossPro commercial window cleaning software page.