WindowBossPro Blog — Storefronts & Commercial

Tags and Custom Fields for Commercial Window Cleaning Clients

Once a window cleaning company has more than a handful of commercial accounts, a new problem shows up: finding them. Which clients are storefronts on the route? Which ones are property managers? Which dental office needs a purchase order number on every statement? Tags and custom fields answer those questions without a separate spreadsheet.

Why Organization Matters on the Commercial Side

Photos keep each visit organized, as described in Proof-of-Service Photos: Showing Property Managers the Glass Was Cleaned. Tags and custom fields keep the accounts themselves organized.

Residential and commercial customers live in the same client list in WindowBossPro, which is what you want: one system, one map, one Waiting List. But the two groups behave differently. They are billed differently, scheduled differently and contacted differently. Tags let you pull them apart when you need to.

Tags That Work for Window Cleaners

Tags are short labels you add to a client. Common ones for a window cleaning company include:

• Storefront for single businesses on the storefront route
• Commercial for property managers, offices, medical and larger accounts
• Residential for homeowners
• Quarterly for homes on a 90-day plan

Keep the tag list short. Five or six tags that everyone uses are worth more than thirty that nobody remembers. A client can have more than one tag, so a medical office on the storefront route could be both Storefront and Commercial if that helps you.

What Tags Are Good For

• Filtering the client list. Pull up every Storefront client when you are reviewing the route.
• Reports. See how much of your work and revenue comes from commercial accounts versus homes.
• Targeted messages. Text every storefront owner about a holiday schedule change without texting your residential customers.
• Training. A new office person can tell at a glance which clients are commercial and handle them accordingly.

For more on reporting, see Reports by Account: Seeing What Each Commercial Window Cleaning Client Is Worth.

Custom Fields for Commercial Details

Tags describe what kind of client someone is. Custom fields hold specific facts that the standard client record does not have a spot for. Commercial accounts tend to need several:

• Site manager name when it differs from the billing contact
• PO number that has to appear on statements
• Vendor number assigned by the client's accounting department
• Contract renewal date for accounts on an annual agreement
• Insurance certificate sent date, for clients that require one on file
• Store number for chains and dealer groups

Set up the fields once and fill them in as you add accounts. They stay with the client record where anyone in the office can see them.

Tags and Fields Versus Access Notes

It helps to keep each kind of detail in its place:

• Tags and custom fields live on the client and describe the account: what type it is, who manages it, what accounting needs.
• Window details and access notes live on each address and describe the location: the glass, the sides, the back door, the alarm.

The tech sees the address details on the phone. The office sees everything. That split keeps the tech's screen focused on the work, and keeps account details like PO numbers and renewal dates where the office needs them.

Bringing Old Records In

If your commercial accounts currently live in a spreadsheet with columns like “type” and “PO#,” those columns map well onto tags and custom fields. A CSV import brings the clients and addresses in and places every address on the map, and you can add tags and fill custom fields as part of the cleanup.

Take the chance to settle on one spelling for each tag. “Commercial,” “commercial” and “Comm” should become one tag before they become three.

A Simple Starting Setup

If you are not sure where to begin, start with this and adjust later:

• Tags: Storefront, Commercial, Residential, Quarterly.
• Custom fields: Site Contact, PO Number, Vendor Number, Renewal Date.
• Rule: every new commercial client gets a tag and its custom fields filled in the day it is added.

That small rule is what keeps the setup useful. Tags that are applied to half the clients give you half the answer. Once everyone in the office tags new clients the same way, the filtered lists and reports become something you can trust when you are planning routes, sending a holiday notice or reviewing which accounts to reprice.

Organized Accounts, Faster Answers

Tags and custom fields are small features that save time every week. Tag commercial clients, store the facts their accounting needs, and keep location details on the address. For the full commercial setup, visit the WindowBossPro commercial window cleaning software page.