By the Templateez Team · Licensed Attorney · June 2026

Window Cleaning Intake Forms: What to Capture Before the First Job

A window cleaning crew that shows up to a property without knowing the window count, whether there are skylights three stories up, or that the commercial building requires a lift permit is going to burn time on-site figuring out logistics instead of cleaning glass. Worse, they are going to underbid the job, miss access requirements, or send a two-person crew to a job that needs four. The intake form is where you prevent every one of those problems.

Most window cleaning companies take a phone call, jot down an address, and ask "how many windows?" That is not intake — that is guesswork dressed up as a booking. A real window cleaning intake form captures the property profile, access logistics, service scope, safety factors, and pricing variables your team needs to quote accurately and show up prepared. Here is what that form should include.

Property type: residential and commercial are different worlds

Window cleaning is one of the few trades where the property type fundamentally changes the equipment, crew size, insurance requirements, and time estimate. A ranch-style home with twenty double-hung windows is a ladder job for one technician. A twelve-story office building with curtain wall glass requires rope access or a boom lift, a crew of three or four, and an entirely different insurance rider. Your intake needs to distinguish these from the first question:

Residential properties:

• Single-story — ground-level access, standard extension poles and ladders. The simplest jobs to quote and staff.
• Multi-story (two to three floors) — requires extension ladders, possibly water-fed poles for upper-floor exteriors. Landscaping and terrain under windows become access factors.
• High-rise residential (four-plus floors) — condo towers and high-rise apartments. May require roof anchor points, bosun's chairs, or building-provided swing stages. Many high-rise buildings have their own window cleaning vendor contracts, so a residential client in one of these buildings may only need interior service.

Commercial properties:

• Storefront — ground-level plate glass, often with signage, awnings, or security gates that affect access and cleaning method.
• Office building — multi-floor, uniform window grids. Requires after-hours access for interior work, and the property manager — not the tenant — usually controls scheduling for exterior work.
• Warehouse or industrial — high interior windows, often louvered or fixed pane. May involve forklift access, scissor lifts, or interior scaffolding. Dust and residue from manufacturing processes can require specialized cleaning solutions.

Window inventory: count, sizes, and types

This is the core of the estimate. A property with forty windows sounds like a big job, but if thirty-eight of them are standard double-hung and two are small bathroom casements, it is a very different job from a property with forty windows that includes six floor-to-ceiling picture windows, four skylights, and a set of French doors. Your intake form needs granularity:

• Total window count — separated by floor. Ground floor, second floor, third floor, basement egress windows. This drives both time estimates and equipment planning.
• Window types — single-hung, double-hung, casement, sliding, awning, picture or fixed, bay or bow, jalousie, transom. Type determines cleaning method — a casement window that cranks open requires different handling than a double-hung that tilts in.
• Specialty glass — skylights (flat or domed, fixed or vented), French doors, sliding glass doors, storm windows, glass block, stained or leaded glass, tinted or coated glass. Each of these has cleaning constraints. Storm windows add a second layer of glass to clean — and remove and replace if the client wants both sides done.
• Oversized or non-standard windows — floor-to-ceiling panels, curtain walls, glass atriums, conservatory glass. These may require special squeegee sizes, water-fed poles, or multiple technicians working simultaneously.

A detailed window inventory separates professional operators from companies that show up and start counting on-site. If the client cannot provide an exact count, offer a range estimate with a note that the final quote will be confirmed after the walkthrough.

Access requirements: how your crew reaches every pane

Access is the variable that turns a simple window job into a logistically complex one. Two identical buildings with the same window count can have completely different access profiles based on terrain, landscaping, and structural features. Your intake should capture:

• Ladder placement — is there solid, level ground under every window? Decks, patios, flower beds, steep grades, and gravel surfaces all affect where a ladder can safely sit. If the ground slopes away from the building on one side, your crew needs levelers or may need a different access method entirely.
• Landscaping obstructions — hedges, shrubs, flower beds, garden fencing, trellises, or mature trees directly below windows. These affect ladder placement and may require the crew to work from a different angle or use water-fed poles instead of direct squeegee access.
• Lift or scaffolding requirements — for third-floor-and-above exteriors where ladder access is not feasible. Does the property have a driveway or parking area where a boom lift can be positioned? Are there overhead power lines, tree canopy, or narrow setbacks that restrict lift placement?
• Roof anchor points — for commercial buildings or high-rise residential, are there certified roof anchors for rope descent systems? When were they last inspected? This is not a convenience question — it is an OSHA compliance requirement.
• Interior-only access windows — some windows can only be cleaned from the inside because the exterior is inaccessible (windows facing a light well, interior courtyard, or zero-lot-line wall). These need to be identified so the crew plans interior access and time accordingly.

Access logistics overlap significantly with other exterior trades. General cleaning companies deal with the same entry codes, alarm systems, and pet confinement issues, but window cleaning adds the vertical dimension — your crew is not just entering the building, they are climbing the outside of it.

Service scope: interior, exterior, and everything between

A client who asks for "window cleaning" might mean exterior glass only, interior and exterior, or a full window detail that includes screens, tracks, sills, and frames. Your intake form should present the scope options clearly so there is no ambiguity about what the quoted price covers:

• Exterior only — the most common request for commercial properties and the standard service for many residential maintenance contracts. Glass, frames, and visible sills from the outside.
• Interior only — common in high-rise condos where exterior cleaning is handled by the building. Also requested by clients with hard-to-reach interior windows (skylights, two-story foyer glass, stairwell windows).
• Interior and exterior — the full service. This is what most residential clients expect when they hire a window cleaner for a seasonal or one-time service, and your pricing should reflect the doubled labor.
• Screens — removal, washing, and reinstallation. Some companies include screens in every service; others charge separately. Either way, the client needs to know. Damaged or missing screens should be documented before cleaning to avoid post-job disputes about who tore the screen.
• Tracks and sills — vacuuming and wiping window tracks, cleaning sills and frames. This is detailed work that adds significant time to each window, especially on older homes where tracks have years of accumulated dirt, dead insects, and debris.
• Hard water stain removal — mineral deposits from sprinkler overspray, irrigation systems, or hard water runoff. This requires specialized acidic solutions and additional dwell time. It is never included in a standard window cleaning price and should be quoted as a separate line item after inspection.
• Post-construction cleanup — paint overspray, stucco dust, adhesive residue, manufacturer sticker removal on new windows. This is razor-blade-and-solvent work, not standard squeegee work, and it carries a higher risk of scratching if done incorrectly.

Frequency: one-time, recurring, and seasonal patterns

Window cleaning has a distinct seasonal rhythm that differs from other cleaning trades. A house cleaning client books bi-weekly service year-round. A window cleaning client is more likely to book quarterly or seasonally, with demand spiking in spring and fall:

• One-time or event-driven — pre-sale home preparation, post-construction, spring deep clean, holiday preparation. These are non-recurring jobs where the scope tends to be more intensive because the windows have not been professionally cleaned in a long time (or ever).
• Seasonal (twice per year) — the most common residential frequency. Spring and fall cleanings are the industry standard, timed around pollen season ending and before winter weather sets in.
• Quarterly — more common for commercial storefronts where clean glass is a customer-facing concern, and for residential clients in areas with heavy pollen, construction dust, or coastal salt spray.
• Monthly — almost exclusively commercial. Restaurants, retail storefronts, professional offices with street-level glass. The windows are part of the brand presentation and need to look clean at all times.

Your intake form should capture the requested frequency and note the recommended frequency based on the property profile. A home surrounded by mature trees will need more frequent service than one with minimal landscaping because of sap, pollen, and leaf debris on the glass.

Property-specific concerns: the details that derail jobs

Every property has quirks that affect scheduling, access, or how the crew does the work. Your intake form should surface these before the first appointment, not during it:

• HOA restrictions — some homeowners' associations restrict when exterior work can be performed, require contractor registration, or mandate that vendors park in designated areas rather than in front of the unit. Missing these rules means your crew gets turned away at the gate.
• Tenant notification (commercial) — commercial building tenants need to be notified before exterior window cleaning begins, especially if rope access or lifts will block entrances or obscure windows. The property manager typically handles notification, but your intake should confirm that it has been or will be done.
• Pets — dogs that react to people outside windows, cats that sit on windowsills and resist being moved, birds in cages near windows that are sensitive to cleaning product fumes. Pets are a factor on both the interior and exterior sides of the job.
• Alarm systems and motion sensors — exterior motion-activated lights, cameras, and alarms that will trigger when your crew sets up ladders. Interior motion sensors that detect movement through glass. Security camera systems that the client may want paused during interior work for privacy.
• Window treatments — interior blinds, shutters, curtains, or shades that need to be moved before interior cleaning. Are there motorized blinds that the crew should not touch? Plantation shutters that need to be opened a specific way? Delicate drapes that cannot be pushed aside without risk of damage?

Safety considerations: the section that protects your crew and your license

Window cleaning is one of the highest-risk trades in the building services industry. Falls from height account for the majority of serious injuries and fatalities in the profession. Your intake form is not just a business document — it is a pre-job safety assessment:

• Height and fall exposure — maximum height to be worked, number of stories, roof pitch if roof access is required. Any window above ground floor height triggers OSHA fall protection requirements that your crew must comply with.
• Power line proximity — overhead electrical lines near windows, especially on the sides and rear of residential properties where service drops run from the utility pole to the house. Aluminum ladders and metal extension poles near power lines are fatal hazards. This must be documented before equipment selection.
• Fragile roofing — slate, clay tile, or aging asphalt shingles that cannot support the weight of a technician. If roof access is needed for upper windows or skylights, the roofing material determines whether it is safe to walk on.
• Wet or slippery surfaces — moss-covered walkways, recently watered landscaping, steep driveways, pool decks. Ladder base stability depends on dry, level ground. If the property has known slippery areas, your crew needs anti-slip ladder feet or an alternative access plan.
• Structural concerns — rotting window frames, loose sills, cracked glass, windows painted shut. Your crew should not apply pressure to a window that could break or a frame that could give way. Document known structural issues at intake so the crew can assess on-site before touching each window.

Add-on services: expanding the scope at intake

Window cleaning clients are natural candidates for related exterior and interior detail services. Your intake form should present these as add-ons so the client can build a more comprehensive service package — and so your crew comes prepared for the full scope:

• Gutter cleaning — the most common window cleaning add-on. You are already on the ladders. Clearing gutters and downspouts while you are up there is efficient for your crew and convenient for the client.
• Pressure washing — driveways, walkways, patios, siding, decks. Another service that pairs naturally with window cleaning because the equipment transport is already done.
• Chandelier cleaning — interior crystal chandeliers, pendant lights, and light fixtures in foyers and dining rooms. This is delicate, time-intensive work that many homeowners cannot do themselves and that most general cleaning companies will not touch.
• Mirror cleaning — large mirrors, mirrored walls, gym mirrors, bathroom vanity mirrors. While this is technically interior cleaning, window cleaning technicians have the squeegee technique and streak-free process that makes them better at large mirror surfaces than a general cleaner with a spray bottle and paper towels.
• Solar panel cleaning — rooftop solar panels that accumulate dust, pollen, bird droppings, and tree debris. This is a growing add-on category as residential solar adoption increases, and the roof access required overlaps with skylight and upper-story window access.

Pricing model: per pane, per window, or flat rate

Window cleaning pricing is more variable than most service trades because the unit of work — a single window — varies enormously in size, type, and difficulty. Your intake form should establish how you price so the client understands the quote when it arrives:

• Per pane — the most granular pricing model. Each pane of glass is one unit, so a single double-hung window with two panes counts as two. French doors with fifteen small panes count as fifteen. This model is transparent but can produce sticker shock on properties with divided-light windows.
• Per window — each window opening is one unit regardless of how many panes it contains. Simpler for the client to understand, but you need a surcharge structure for oversized windows, skylights, and specialty glass.
• Flat rate — a single price for the entire property based on the walkthrough assessment. Most common for recurring residential clients because it simplifies billing and sets expectations. The flat rate should be quoted after the window inventory is complete, not before.
• Add-on pricing — separate line items for screens, tracks, hard water stain removal, and other services beyond basic glass cleaning. These should be itemized on the intake form so the client can select what they want and see the total before work begins.

Whatever pricing model you use, the intake form is where you document it. A client who receives a per-pane invoice after expecting a flat rate will dispute the bill — not because the price is wrong, but because the expectation was never set.

Building the client relationship from the first form

A thorough window cleaning intake form tells the client that your company has cleaned enough properties to know what questions matter. When a prospective client fills out a form that asks about their window types, roof anchor certifications, and hard water stain history, they understand that they are hiring professionals who plan the job before they arrive — not a crew that shows up with a bucket and a squeegee and figures it out as they go.

That level of preparation is especially important in window cleaning because the stakes are higher than in most service trades. Your crew is working at height, handling ladders near landscaping and power lines, and touching every window surface on the building. The intake form is your first opportunity to demonstrate that you take those responsibilities seriously.

If you are building documentation across a multi-trade operation, the Trade Services Bundle includes window cleaning alongside 51 other service categories, each with trade-specific intake fields.