WindowBossPro Blog — Quotes & Estimates

Access Notes on a Window Cleaning Estimate: Gates, Dogs, Ladders and Skylights

The quote visit is the one time someone from your company walks the property with the customer standing right there. It is the best chance you will ever have to learn the gate code, meet the dog, find the soft flower bed where a ladder will sink and spot the skylight nobody mentioned. If that information stays in the estimator's head, the crew pays for it on the first visit.

The Quote Visit Knows Things the Crew Needs

In Common Window Cleaning Quoting Mistakes and How to Avoid Them we listed losing the details after the yes as one of the costliest mistakes. Access notes are the biggest part of those details. They do not change the price much, but they decide whether the job starts smoothly or with a phone call from the driveway.

What to Capture During the Quote

• Gate codes and locks. Side gates, community gates, lockboxes. Which gate, which code.
• Dogs and other pets. Where they are, whether they are friendly, whether the gate must stay closed.
• Where to set the ladder. Patio, not the flower bed. Not on the pool cover. Watch the sprinkler heads.
• Skylights. How many, inside or outside, and whether roof access is safe.
• Water. Where the hose bib is, and whether it works.
• Parking. Driveway, street, or around the back.
• Interior notes. For inside jobs: shoes off, alarm codes, fragile items near windows, who will be home.
• Timing. “Baby naps 1–3, outside only during that time.” “Storefront: before 9am opening.”

Write Notes for a Stranger

The test for a good access note is simple: could a tech who has never been to the house get in and work without calling anyone? Put things in the order the tech will need them.

Weak: “Gate code on file. Dog.”

Better: “Use left side gate, code 4412. Dog (friendly lab) in back yard, keep gate closed. Set ladder on patio pavers, not the mulch. Hose bib on right side.”

Add what to do when something goes wrong: “If gate code fails, text office, do outside front only.” That one line saves the tech a decision on the spot.

Where Access Notes Live

In WindowBossPro, access notes are part of the window details on every job, alongside the number of windows, stories, sides and extras. They show under the address on the lists and on the tech's phone. When the approved estimate becomes the scheduled job, enter the notes on the job once. Every visit after that shows them, so the quarterly cleaning next year starts with the same information as the first.

That is far better than a group text or a sticky note. The current note is the only one shown, it is behind the company login and a personal PIN, and when someone leaves the company, their access to the codes goes with them.

Access That Affects the Price

Most access notes are free information, but some affect the quote:

• Steep slopes or terraced yards that make ladder work slower.
• Roof access for skylights or dormers. Price it, or say you do not do it.
• Long carries from where the van can park.
• Interior obstacles like heavy furniture or many window treatments.

If an access issue will slow the crew, put it on the estimate as a line or a note, not just in the access notes. Skylights and other awkward glass are covered in French Panes, Skylights and Specialty Glass: Pricing the Windows That Take Longer.

Ask on the Form, Confirm on the Visit

Add an access question to your website request and sign-up forms: “Gate code, pets or anything we should know?” The answer arrives in Form Responses with the lead. Then confirm it on the quote visit or first cleaning. Customers often forget a second gate or a new dog.

Notes for Storefronts and Commercial Sites

Commercial access notes are often about time and people rather than gates and dogs. “Clean before 9am opening.” “Ask for the manager on duty before doing inside glass.” “Water from the spigot behind the dumpster enclosure.” Capture them on the walk-by quote, the same way you would on a house.

Keep Them Current

Codes change. Dogs come and go. When a tech finds something new, they add a note on the job, and the office updates the access notes for next time. Before-and-after photos from the tech app can help too: a photo of where the ladder went is clearer than a sentence.

Every Detail on the Job

The estimate is where access information is easiest to collect. Write it down for a stranger, keep it with the job, and every crew walks in prepared. For more on quoting in WindowBossPro, see the window cleaning estimate software page.