WindowBossPro Blog — Storefronts & Commercial

Strip Center Window Cleaning With One Property Manager and a Row of Tenants

A strip center can be the best stop on a storefront route. Eight or twelve storefronts in a row, one place to park, and an hour or two of steady work. When the property manager pays for the whole row, it is even better: one decision maker, one bill, and no need to sell every tenant separately.

Two Ways Strip Centers Are Sold

Dealerships are one building with a lot of glass, as covered in Car Dealership Window Cleaning: Showroom Glass That Has to Shine Every Week. Strip centers are the opposite: many small storefronts side by side. There are two ways they get cleaned:

• Tenant by tenant. Each business hires you on its own. You sell door to door, bill each one separately, and some say no.
• Through the property manager. The owner or manager of the center pays for the whole row, usually the outside glass, and often recovers it from tenants through common area charges.

Many centers are a mix. The property manager pays for the outside of every unit, and a few tenants pay you separately for their inside glass. That is fine, as long as the records keep the two apart.

Setting Up the Property Manager Account

Make the property manager the client. Then decide how to list the addresses. You have two good options:

• One address for the whole center. Simple. The window count covers the whole row, and one visit cleans everything. Good when the manager just wants “the center” done.
• One address per unit. More detail. Each unit has its own window count and notes, and the statement shows each unit as its own line. Good when the manager wants to see per-unit charges or bill tenants back.

Either way, each address carries its window details: count, stories, sides and extras. Ask the manager which way they want to see it on the bill, and set it up that way from the start.

Tenants Who Pay for Their Own Inside Glass

When a tenant also wants their inside glass done, make that tenant their own client with their own address and recurring service. That keeps their bill separate from the property manager's, which is exactly what both of them want.

Tag both kinds of clients Storefront or Commercial so the whole center is easy to find. The tech's phone shows each stop in route order, so the outside of the whole row and the inside of two units can be done in one visit, with each charge going to the right client.

Keeping the Row on One Cycle

Strip centers work best when every unit is cleaned on the same visit. Give the center's outside glass one recurring service, or give each unit the same minimum days between visits and start them on the same day. Monthly is common for centers paid by the manager. Tenants who pay for their own front glass often want every two weeks.

When the center comes due, it appears on the Waiting List map. On the dispatch board, put it on the storefront van's day and set the order. If the center has a restaurant that opens early, clean that unit first.

Notes for Every Unit

Each unit in a strip center has its own quirks. A salon with a decal. A vape shop with a security gate down until 10. A vacant unit with paper on the glass. Put those notes on the address so the tech knows:

• “Unit 4 vacant, outside only, do not remove paper.”
• “Unit 7 roll-down gate until 10, clean last or skip and note.”
• “Unit 2 painted logo on glass, soft pad only.”

When a unit cannot be done, the tech taps Skip and writes why. The office sees the reason and can let the manager know.

One Statement for the Center

Property managers want one bill. Set the account to Monthly billing and they get one statement each month, with each line labeled with the address. If you listed each unit separately, the manager sees every unit on its own line, which makes it easy to bill tenants back. Before and after photos from each visit back up the statement. For more on statements, see Monthly Statements for Commercial Window Cleaning Accounts: One Bill for Every Location.

A Whole Row in One Stop

A strip center paid by the property manager is dense, steady work with one person to keep happy. Set up the account the way the manager wants to see it, keep unit notes current and send one statement. For the rest of the commercial setup, visit the WindowBossPro commercial window cleaning software page.