Buyer's guide · 2026
For the 1–5 truck window cleaning operator, here's how the real options stack up, ranked for a window cleaning business specifically, with the total-stack-cost math, not generic feature lists.
Window cleaning lives and dies by the count. A 1-5 truck operator prices in-and-out or exterior-only by the window, prices French panes and screens by the piece, and adds a surcharge the moment a second story or a ladder job appears. The right software prices that way natively, packs recurring storefronts into tight routes by density, and keeps a photo record of cracked glass before you ever touch it. Generalist field-service tools make you fake all of that with flat line items.
The ranking
Built for the count. Quote in-and-out and exterior-only by window, price divided-light panes and screens separately with their own minimums, and let the second-story surcharge apply itself. Recurring storefronts pack into density-based routes, and the walkaround checklist makes crews photograph cracked glass before work starts, with those photos anchored to the property across every recurring visit. Per truck from $49, not per seat.
Window cleaning softwareThe window trade's long-trusted CRM: flat $44.95/mo for unlimited seats, deep roots in the window and pressure-washing community, and a QuickBooks-Desktop sync few modern tools match. If your team already knows it and you run QB Desktop, that stickiness is a real advantage. But it invoices and stores records rather than pricing off window and pane counts: quoting is manual line items, there's no weather-aware scheduling, and photos live on the job, not the property across recurring visits.
Compare to HoseworksThe biggest, most polished generalist, with the largest integration ecosystem and a mature crew app. If you run windows alongside other trades, that breadth is a genuine strength. For window work specifically it stays generic: no per-window or per-pane logic, no automatic second-story surcharge, photo records come from a CompanyCam add-on, and it's priced per user, so a two-tech truck costs more than it should.
Compare to HoseworksThe instant-quote widget window pros bolt onto their website: customers self-quote by window count and it runs the follow-up, which it does better than almost anything. But it isn't a system of record. It cannot schedule, dispatch, or invoice, it needs a separate FSM sitting under it, and it bills roughly $179/mo plus a one-time setup fee. Excellent as a front end, not a business to run the jobs on.
Compare to HoseworksA polished generalist with the best consumer-facing booking and payments in this set, strong if your customers book online and you want a slick brand experience. For windows it's still generalist: it doesn't speak window count, pane count, or a second-story surcharge, photo records lean on a CompanyCam add-on, and per-user pricing from $79 climbs as you add crew.
Compare to HoseworksTotal cost of ownership
Add-on pricing verified 2026-07; third-party figures are indicative and change.
| Hoseworks | Generalist + add-ons | |
|---|---|---|
| Field management | Included | Base plan |
| Photo job recordsvs. CompanyCam | Included | +$63/mo |
| Surface-based estimatingvs. ResponsiBid | Included | +$179/mo |
| Review requestsvs. NiceJob | Included | +$75/mo |
| Purpose-built for window cleaning | – |
Add-on pricing is third-party, indicative, and changes. Check each vendor. The comparison is about stack vs. single plan.
What to look for
Windows aren't priced by the square foot. Look for native per-window pricing for in-and-out and exterior-only, separate per-pane pricing for French or divided-light glass, per-screen pricing, and a minimum on each. Counting windows on a napkin is how you undercharge the two-story French-pane job.
Second-story access, ladder or hard-to-reach windows, and post-construction cleanup all change the price. The tool should add a second-story surcharge automatically (15% is typical) and let you flag ladder or hard-to-reach work (around 15%) and post-reno cleanup (around 30%), so the number is right before the quote goes out.
Storefront accounts are flat per-visit and recur weekly or monthly. The software should keep those visits on the calendar as a recurring plan and let you pack them by geographic density, instead of leaving them scattered across the week for you to chase one at a time.
When a customer points at cracked glass, you need proof it was there first. Look for a walkaround checklist that prompts the crew to note and photograph damaged panes before work starts, with photos that stay on the property across every recurring visit rather than buried inside one job.
Let customers request a measured quote from your site and approve it without making an account. A booking form that captures window counts up front lands the lead ready to price, and an account-less portal lets a homeowner or property manager approve and pay in a click.
FAQ
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