A window cleaning bookkeeper posts payments from a steady stream of small home jobs, pays the bills for pure water filters, chemicals and van fuel, and reconciles the bank and card accounts. Spring brings in a large part of the year's cash, so the monthly reports also show how long it has to last.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building services companies · BLS, May 2025
Responsible for managing and maintaining financial records for our window cleaning operations to ensure accuracy and timely processing of invoices, account reconciliation, and expense tracking. Plays a vital role in supporting the overall financial health of the company by providing accurate bookkeeping and financial reporting.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Process all incoming invoices related to window cleaning services with accuracy and timeliness.
Reconcile bank statements and company accounts on a regular basis.
Track and record all expenses and financial transactions in the accounting system.
Prepare monthly financial reports to assist in financial planning and decision-making.
Maintain organized financial records in compliance with company policies and relevant regulations.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Verify and enter invoices into the accounting system each day.
Monitor daily cash receipts and payments associated with window cleaning jobs.
Perform routine reconciliations between bank records and internal ledgers.
Update expense tracking sheets and communicate discrepancies with management.
Collaborate with team members to resolve any financial discrepancies or queries.
Timeliness of Account Reconciliation: complete reconciliations within 48 hours of receiving bank statements.
Expense Tracking Accuracy: maintain tracking errors at less than 2%.
Monthly Financial Reporting: deliver reports within the first five business days of each month.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
Minimum of 2 years’ experience in bookkeeping or accounting roles.
Proficiency in accounting software (e.g., QuickBooks, Xero) and Microsoft Excel.
Strong attention to detail and excellent organizational skills.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in the home services industry, particularly within window cleaning or related sectors.
Familiarity with industry-specific financial processes and regulatory requirements.
Experience working with small business accounting environments.
Proven track record of managing high-volume transaction processing.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to sit for extended periods while working on a computer.
Occasional light lifting of accounting materials and files (up to 15 lbs).
Periodic visits to on-site locations if necessary, in a standard office-to-field transition.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard office hours from Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
Occasional overtime during month-end closing periods.
Primarily an office-based role with minimal travel requirements.
A comfortable and inclusive workplace that supports work-life balance.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Annual salary range of $45,000 – $55,000 USD, commensurate with experience.
Performance-based bonus opportunities.
Comprehensive benefits package including Health, Dental, and Vision insurance.
Participation in a 401(k) plan with company matching.
Additional fringe benefits such as paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We foster a collaborative environment where every team member is empowered to excel and grow.
Our commitment to excellence in customer service drives our daily operations and strategic goals.
We emphasize continuous learning, innovation, and mutual support to help each employee reach their full potential.
We pride ourselves on transparency, integrity, and a passion for delivering top-quality window cleaning services.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Debits and credits work the same everywhere. In window cleaning, small tickets, a spring peak and a service list that mixes windows, gutters and pressure washing shape the books.
Many small tickets, many ways to pay
A spring day can close out more jobs than a slow winter week. One homeowner pays by card at the door, another mails a check, another pays online days later. Card processors and field apps pay out in batches, minus fees. Each payout has to be split back into the jobs it covers before the month is reconciled.
Cash comes in spring, bills come all year
Homeowners book most window and screen cleaning once the weather warms, so cash runs heavy in spring and thin in winter. Payroll, van loans, insurance and rent don't slow down. Monthly reports should show cash on hand against the slow months ahead, so the owner can plan hiring, equipment buys and any draws on a credit line.
Homes and storefronts can be taxed differently
In Florida, cleaning a nonresidential building is taxable, windows included, while cleaning homes, apartments and condos isn't. If a crew cleans a dentist's office on the way to three houses, that's two tax treatments in one day. Pressure washing a building's outside isn't taxed as cleaning there at all. Each service and customer type needs its own tax setting in the field app, matched to your state's rules. Source: Florida Administrative Code Rule 12A-1.0091: Cleaning services.
Card tips belong to the crew
When a homeowner adds a tip for the crew to a card payment, federal law bars the business from keeping any part of it. The most you can deduct is the card company's fee on the tip amount, and the rest has to reach the workers no later than the regular payday. The bookkeeper follows each tip through to payroll. Source: U.S. Department of Labor: Fact Sheet #15, Tipped employees under the FLSA.
Costs by service line
Windows, screens, gutters and pressure washing use different gear and labor. Water-fed pole systems use up filter resin, pressure washers burn fuel and cleaning chemicals, and gutter jobs eat crew hours on ladders. Coding labor and supplies to each service shows the owner which ones earn their keep and which need a price change.
Residential vs. commercial window cleaning bookkeeping
Both keep the same kind of books. The customers, the invoices and the paperwork change.
Topic
Residential
Commercial
Who pays
Homeowners, often by card at the job or online
Property managers, by check, ACH or vendor portal
Invoice volume
Many small invoices every day in spring
Fewer, larger contract invoices, checked against the building list each month
Job costs to track
Pure water supplies, ladders, chemicals and van fuel
Crew hours per building plus lift, swing stage and rope access gear
Extra paperwork
Card batches, tips and refunds for redo visits
Subcontractor insurance certificates, lien waivers and retainage on post-construction cleans
Cash rhythm
A big spring peak and a slow winter
Steadier, set by recurring building contracts
How much window cleaning bookkeepers make
The closest BLS group for window cleaning bookkeepers is bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $22.50 an hour ($46,790 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $50,670 median for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in all industries. About 17,470 of the 1,373,680 bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in that survey work for building services companies.
A yearly salary and a performance bonus are what the template lists. Check that the duties really make the job exempt before you skip overtime, because spring weeks and month-end closes bring long days.
Building services companies
$46,790$46,790 median Middle half $40,700–$56,960 10th–90th $32,590–$67,710
All industries
$50,670$50,670 median Middle half $43,520–$61,470 10th–90th $36,000–$74,550
$20k$30k$40k$50k$60k$70k$80k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Building services companies
$32,590
$40,700
$46,790
$56,960
$67,710
All industries
$36,000
$43,520
$50,670
$61,470
$74,550
BLS doesn’t publish pay for window cleaning companies on their own. These figures cover services to buildings and dwellings, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Ties card payouts and bank deposits back to the jobs inside them
Stays accurate across a high count of small entries
Works daily in QuickBooks Online or Xero, plus Excel
Calls homeowners about declined cards and past-due bills without souring the relationship
Flags a cost that looks off, like a fuel bill out of line with the routes
Teach these on the job
Your service list and what each line item includes
Where tips, refunds and redo credits show up in your field app
Your state's sales tax setup for each service
Where glass company bills and damage payouts get coded
Which costs belong to windows, gutters or pressure washing
Crews close jobs and take payments in Jobber, Housecall Pro or a similar field app, and those records flow into QuickBooks Online or Xero, the two programs the template names. Experience matching a field app's payouts to its invoices shortens the learning curve.
Window cleaning bookkeeper interview questions
They have their own page: 6 questions that test this job, what strong and weak answers sound like, and a work exercise to run with your finalists.
Start from your own records when you set each target. Compare spring with spring and winter with winter, because job and payment counts swing hard between them.
Invoice Processing Accuracy
Once a week, spot-check a few entries against their sources: the closed job in the field app or the vendor's bill. Any field that doesn't match counts as one error.
Timeliness of Account Reconciliation
Log the date each bank and card statement arrives and the date its reconciliation is signed off. Include card processor payouts, since each one mixes many jobs into a single deposit.
Expense Tracking Accuracy
At month-end, check a sample of expenses for the right category and service line, such as pure water supplies, ladders, fuel or chemicals. Track how often one vendor gets coded two different ways.
Monthly Financial Reporting
Record the date the owner gets the monthly P&L, balance sheet and cash outlook, and whether anything was still open. A late spring close usually traces back to unmatched card payouts.
Career path
Customer service repAnswers billing questions and sees how each job turns into an invoice.
BookkeeperPosts the day's payments, reconciles accounts and closes each month.
Senior bookkeeper or controllerAdds payroll review, job costing and the year-end file for the CPA.
Chief financial officerRuns budgets, cash planning and the bank relationship; usually needs a finance degree and senior experience.
Is sales tax due on the supplies a window cleaning company buys?
It can, even where the service itself isn't taxed. Missouri, for example, exempts window cleaning and pressure washing services but taxes the soap, cleaning chemicals, tools and safety gear the company buys to do the work. Your bookkeeper should record sales or use tax on those purchases the way your state requires, and check your revenue department's guidance for each service you sell.
How much does a window cleaning bookkeeper make?
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $22.50 an hour ($46,790 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $40,700 and $56,960 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
How should the books handle a window a crew breaks?
Give damage its own expense account and note the crew and job on each entry. Some owners pay a small break straight to a glass company and save insurance claims for bigger losses; your agent can tell you where that line sits. Either way, the bookkeeper's monthly damage total by crew shows the owner whether a training problem is building.
Are subcontracted window cleaners contractors or employees?
It depends on the facts, not the label. The IRS looks at three things. Behavioral control: who directs how the work is done. Financial control: who supplies the tools and how pay works. The type of relationship: contracts, benefits, and whether the work is ongoing and central to the business. If you bring in outside crews for spring, have your CPA or an employment lawyer review the setup before the bookkeeper pays them as contractors.
Should the window cleaning bookkeeper run payroll too?
Often the payroll itself runs through a payroll service, and the bookkeeper feeds it: hours, production pay, card tips and bonuses. Someone should check that what the field app recorded matches what was paid. In spring, with new cleaners starting most weeks, that check catches mistakes before they turn into back pay.
