WindowBossPro Blog — Quotes & Estimates

Inside and Outside Window Cleaning Pricing: Quoting the Sides Clearly

“How much to do my windows?” is really two questions. Outside, inside, or both? The answer changes the price, the time on site, whether someone needs to be home and how the crew plans the day. Getting the sides wrong on the estimate is one of the fastest ways to an unhappy customer.

Sides Change the Whole Job

In Story Add-Ons: Pricing Second-Story and Third-Story Window Cleaning we priced the height. Sides are the other big variable. A 30-window house quoted outside only and the same house quoted inside & outside are very different jobs, and the customer needs to know which one they bought.

Outside Only

Outside-only work is the simplest to sell and schedule. Nobody needs to be home. The crew can work around the house on their own schedule. It is the most common choice for recurring residential plans and almost universal for storefronts.

The things that slow outside work down are height, landscaping, screens and hard water. Price those with add-ons and extras rather than a higher base rate, so the base price stays easy to compare.

Inside & Outside

Inside work is a different kind of job. The crew needs access, so someone has to be home or leave a key or code. They work around furniture, blinds, plants and pets. Drop cloths and towels come out. Every window gets handled twice.

Many window cleaners price inside separately from outside, often at a lower per-window rate because there is no ladder work. Others add a set amount on top of the outside price. Either way, put it on its own line:

• Outside window cleaning, 28 windows
• Inside window cleaning, 28 windows

Two lines make it obvious what is included. They also make it easy for the customer to switch: outside every quarter, inside twice a year, for example.

Inside Only

Inside-only jobs are less common but real: condo owners whose association handles the outside, customers who just moved in, or someone who had the outside done by a different crew. Quote it the same way as the inside line of an inside & outside job and note why the outside is not included, so nobody shows up with ladders.

Things to Ask About Inside Work

• Who will be home? Or how will the crew get in?
• Blinds, shutters and window treatments. Will the customer move them or does the crew?
• Furniture in front of windows. Who moves it?
• Pets. Where will they be?
• Tall interior windows. Foyers, great rooms and stairwells need a ladder inside too.

These answers also shape the price. A house where the crew moves heavy furniture and takes down shutters is a longer job than one where the customer has cleared every sill. If you expect the extra work, quote it. If you expect the customer to do it, put that on the estimate so the expectation is in writing.

Write the answers as access notes on the job. They show on the tech's phone so the crew knows to call ahead or where the dog will be.

Showing the Sides on the Job

In WindowBossPro, sides are part of the window details on every job: outside only, inside & outside, or inside only. They show under the address on the lists and on the tech's phone, like “28 windows · 2-story · Inside & Outside · Screens.”

That matters at the door. When a customer says “I thought you were doing the inside too,” the tech can see exactly what was sold. If the customer wants to add inside work on the spot, the office can add it to the job and the invoice. Upsells like that are easier when the price is already on your service list. Screens are the other common add-on at the door, covered in Pricing Screens and Tracks on a Window Cleaning Estimate.

Mixing Sides on a Recurring Plan

Many homeowners do not need the inside cleaned every visit. A common setup is outside on a quarterly plan with inside on a twice-a-year plan. Set them up as separate recurring services with their own minimum days between visits, 90 and 180, and each comes due on the Waiting List on its own. When both are due at the same time, the office can schedule them together.

This also gives you a natural price conversation. A customer who balks at inside & outside every quarter may happily take outside quarterly and inside twice a year.

Say Which Sides, Every Time

Never send an estimate that just says “window cleaning.” Put outside and inside on separate lines, record the sides on the job, and ask the inside questions before the crew arrives. For the rest of quoting in WindowBossPro, see the window cleaning estimate software page.