Window cleaning and exteriors franchise finance
The median brand here reports average revenue of $512,934 a unit. Percentage fees at the median brand come to 9.8% of sales. The median cost to open runs $138,817 to $214,798.
Window cleaning and exteriors franchises at a glance
- Averan Franchise compares eight window cleaning and exteriors franchise brands, each from its own 2026 FDD.
- The cost to open a window cleaning and exteriors franchise runs from $21,550 at Christmas Decor to $363,744 at Window Hero.
- The Brothers that just do Gutters reports the highest average sales of these brands, at $1,147,556, and Pink's Window Services the lowest, at $281,886.
- Franchise fees take 6.55% to 19.87% of sales across the eight brands where Averan Franchise works out the figure.
These figures come from each brand's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, as the brand reported them, and were read by Averan Advisors.
Find a window cleaning and exteriors brand
This guide covers eight brands, each from its own 2026 FDD. Open one, or pick two and compare them.
All 8 brands
The brands in this group
Each brand has its own page on how its locations make money, with every figure set out against the brand’s disclosure document it comes from.
- Christmas Decor 245 locations · Surveyed estimated net profit
- Fish Window Cleaning Three consecutive years of total revenue AND new customer counts for the same four groups, read against a royalty rate that falls with volume and a minimum performance standard that rises every year of the term
- Outdoor Lighting Perspectives Revenue quartiles for all franchisees, for single-territory franchisees and for multi-territory ones, a twelve-line benchmarking cost model, cost thirds on five lines, project-level ticket by type, revenue mix and eight years of system sales
- Pink's Window Services 164 locations · Royalty minimum per territory
- Shine Window Cleaning Every reporting business named with its revenue
- The Brothers that just do Gutters 110 locations · Sales against the annual minimum gross sales requirement
- Window Genie Five parts - average and median gross sales PER JOB, average and median JOBS COMPLETED PER DAY on a seven-day week, share of jobs for RECURRING customers, revenue quartiles and halves, and three years of system revenue
- Window Hero 64 locations · Top and bottom halves with profit and loss
The figures, brand by brand
| Measure | Median | Brands | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average sales per unit | $512,934 | 8 of 8 | Median of each brand’s disclosed average |
| Median sales per unit | $377,039 | 7 of 8 | Median of each brand’s disclosed median |
| Initial franchise fee | $54,700 | 8 of 8 | |
| Royalty | 7% | 8 of 8 | Headline rate |
| Brand or advertising fund | 2% | 7 of 8 | |
| Fees paid to the brand | 9.8% | 8 of 8 | Royalty, brand fund and other fees paid to the brand or its affiliates, as a share of average sales |
| Cost to open, low | $138,817 | 8 of 8 | |
| Cost to open, high | $214,798 | 8 of 8 | |
| Profit margin | 21.7% | 3 of 8 | Each brand’s own profit line; definitions differ |
| Labor, share of revenue | 21.4% | 3 of 8 | |
| Building costs, share of revenue | Fewer than three disclose | 1 of 8 | |
| Unit growth over each FDD’s Item 20 period (2025, or 2023 to 2025) | 3.3% | 8 of 8 | (End − start) ÷ start |
| Customers lost over each FDD’s Item 20 period (2025, or 2023 to 2025) | 6.4% | 7 of 8 | Terminated, non-renewed, reacquired and ceased, ÷ opening units; transfers excluded |
Each figure is the median of the brands that disclose it, and the Brands column counts them.
How we calculated this
Revenue is each brand's own reported figure on its own unit basis, so the median describes the group and no single brand. Growth and customers lost are our calculations from each brand's outlet table. Where fewer than three brands disclose a figure, no benchmark is shown.
The model
The business model the top performers in window cleaning and exteriors are running
What the top performers can do that others cannot
Seven of the eight brands here sell one job at a time. Rostering against demand is the constraint: wages run 21.4% of sales at the middle brand, more than any other line.
What the customer is buying
The customer buys a quoted job, usually once. At one of them the model is different: the customer buys work that repeats on a schedule, which asks something else of the owner. A location at the middle brand sells $528,932 a year, and the median top group sells $1,558,932. The offer is the same at both ends of that range, so the difference is volume.
Who the customer is, and how often they come back
This is an acquisition business. Each job is won again, so lead flow, the close rate and what the average job is worth decide the year. A median 36% of locations reach their own brand’s average, so most of the system is below the number the brand advertises, and the gap usually comes from low demand. Effort is usually not the cause. The top group sells $1,444,227 against $148,930 at the bottom. Trade area and site set that range before an owner takes a booking.
How the money works
Opening costs $21,550 to $363,744 across the group, and inside one brand the top of the range is typically 1.7 times the bottom. At the middle brand the cost stack runs wages 21.4%, occupancy 3.0%, cost of sales 23.2%, franchise fees 9.8% of sales. What is left runs 21.7% at the middle brand, which is $313,975 a year at the top group and $32,377 at the bottom. The percentage changes little between them; the dollars change a lot.
Top performers
These are the things that separate top performers in window cleaning and exteriors
Across the window cleaning and exteriors brands that publish both figures, the median top group of locations sells $1,444,227 a year and the median bottom group sells $148,930. Across these brands, a median of 36% of locations reach their own brand’s average.
Decided before you open
- Opening cost against sales.The top group sells $1,444,227 a year against a build that tops out at $363,744, so at the heavy end of the range a location sells $3.97 for every dollar it cost to open.
Live operating levers
- Seven of the eight brands here sell one job at a time.
Business model attribute
- Service
- Jobs quoted and won one at a time
- Unit economics
- Jobs a week times the average ticket
- Wages by brand.Wages run 21.4% of sales at the middle brand and 16.6% to 25.8% across the three that disclose it. The levers are scheduling against booked demand hour by hour, sales per paid hour, and keeping part of pay variable. On the top group’s $1,444,227 of sales, a point of wages is $14,442 a year; on the bottom group’s $148,930 it is $1,489.
- Cost of goods by brand.Products and materials take 21.0% of sales at The Brothers that just do Gutters and 25.5% at Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, the two brands that disclose them. The levers on this line are buying on the brand program, holding the price list instead of discounting to close, and counting waste weekly.
- Profit margin.Of the three brands that publish a profit line, the middle one keeps 21.7% of sales, from 21.1% to 27.9%. The cost lines above move by a few points between the highest-selling and lowest-selling locations while sales move by multiples. At a 21.7% margin, the top group earns $313,975 a year and the bottom group $32,377.
- Fees as a share of sales.Fees run a median 9.8% of sales across eight brands, from 6.5% to 19.9%. Where a minimum applies, lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. At $1,444,227 the fees cost $142,256 a year; at $148,930 they cost $14,670.
Context you underwrite around
- First-year build-up.One of eight filings in this group show how a new location builds up. The others do not show it.
Operating levers
What each brand’s top performers actually work on
These are the levers each brand's filing supports. Each brand has three to five, read from its own 2026 FDD. Filter by type of business, or open a brand for the figures underneath.
8 brands
Christmas Decor
Window cleaning and exteriors
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 6.5% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Jobs. Each job is won separately. Track how many quotes turn into work and the average job value.
- Memberships and rebooking. A recurring plan turns appointments into a monthly subscription and keeps the schedule fuller. Rebooking before the customer leaves keeps it full.
- Cash needed in the first year. This filing shows how a new location builds up: the month sales cover costs, and how much cash you fund before then.
Fish Window Cleaning
Window cleaning and exteriors
- Routes. Each van costs the same per day. Track stops per van and the distance between them.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 9.0% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
Outdoor Lighting Perspectives
Window cleaning and exteriors
- Products and materials. Products and materials take 25.5% of sales, against 21.1% kept at the end. The levers are buying terms, price discipline and waste.
- Jobs. Each job is won separately. Track how many quotes turn into work and the average job value.
- Service and retail mix. Retail sales and the share of customers on higher service tiers raise revenue per hour without adding hours or rooms.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 8.9% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
Pink's Window Services
Window cleaning and exteriors
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 19.9% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Jobs. Each job is won separately. Track how many quotes turn into work and the average job value.
- Memberships and rebooking. A recurring plan turns appointments into a monthly subscription and keeps the schedule fuller. Rebooking before the customer leaves keeps it full.
Shine Window Cleaning
Window cleaning and exteriors
- Jobs. Each job is won separately. Track how many quotes turn into work and the average job value.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 10.7% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
The Brothers that just do Gutters
Window cleaning and exteriors
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 11.2% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Jobs. Each job is won separately. Track how many quotes turn into work and the average job value.
- Products and materials. Products and materials take 21.0% of sales. The levers are buying terms, price discipline and waste.
Window Genie
Window cleaning and exteriors
- Jobs. Each job is won separately. Track how many quotes turn into work and the average job value.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 9.0% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
Window Hero
Window cleaning and exteriors
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 16.7% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Jobs. Each job is won separately. Track how many quotes turn into work and the average job value.
- Wages. Wages take 25.8% of sales, against 21.7% kept at the end. The levers are staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission.
Window cleaning and exteriors cost lines as a share of sales
Three of the eight window cleaning and exteriors brands in Averan Franchise disclose what their locations spend on wages, rent and space, or cost of goods. Each figure is a share of the average location's sales, from the brand's 2026 FDD. Rent and space covers rent and the other costs of the premises.
| Brand | Wages | Rent and space | Cost of goods |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outdoor Lighting Perspectives | 16.6% | Not disclosed | 25.5% |
| The Brothers that just do Gutters | 21.4% | 3.0% | 21.0% |
| Window Hero | 25.8% | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
How fast new window cleaning and exteriors locations build sales
The pages for one of the eight window cleaning and exteriors brands in Averan Franchise shows how a new location's sales build after opening, by month or by years open, in dollars from each brand's FDD. The months before sales cover costs are the ones to plan cash for, and the minimum fee calculator shows what the fees cost during them.
Common questions
How much does a window cleaning and exteriors franchise cost to open?
Among the eight window cleaning and exteriors brands in Averan Franchise that publish it, the cost to open runs from $21,550 at Christmas Decor to $363,744 at Window Hero, according to their 2026 FDDs.
Which window cleaning and exteriors franchise costs the least to open?
Christmas Decor has the lowest starting cost of the window cleaning and exteriors brands in Averan Franchise, at $21,550 to $116,250.
Which window cleaning and exteriors franchise has the highest average sales?
The Brothers that just do Gutters reports the highest average sales of the window cleaning and exteriors brands in Averan Franchise, at $1,147,556 in its 2026 FDD.
What do window cleaning and exteriors franchise fees cost as a share of sales?
Across the eight window cleaning and exteriors brands where Averan Franchise works out the figure, franchise fees take 6.55% to 19.87% of sales.
Questions owners ask next
The figures above raise these, and each one is answered on its own page.
- At what level of sales does a minimum fee stop costing me more than the percentage?It works out the sales level where a minimum fee stops applying.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?It builds a 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- My payroll percentage keeps climbing. Is that a payroll problem?It shows how to tell whether payroll is rising or revenue is falling.
- I run several locations. Which ones actually make money?It shows each location's contribution to profit and the reporting it takes to see it.
- How much of Item 19 can I rely on?It explains what an Item 19 financial performance representation tells you and what it leaves out.
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Numbers Check runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. It checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
Launch the diagnostic →How many jobs did you run last week?
We review your unit economics and cash forecast and build your reporting around job count, a minimum fee your brand imposes. We also map your chart of accounts to the benchmark you are being measured against.
Talk to AveranWhere these figures come from
Every figure here comes from the brands' 2026 FDDs and is unaudited by us. We are unaffiliated with the brands. The medians, growth and customers lost figures are our own calculations. The figures describe past performance at other businesses. They are not a projection of your results. This page is an educational summary and is not an offer to sell a franchise or financial, legal or tax advice. All trademarks belong to their owners. How Averan reads a Franchise Disclosure Document.