Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S4509 since 2019
WINDOW HERO
Cleaning & Restoration · independent · est. —
Window Hero is an exterior home-cleaning service specializing in window washing, pressure washing, soft washing and gutter cleaning for houses and businesses. A franchisee runs a local service operation, scheduling crews who travel to customers' properties to do the cleaning rather than working from a retail storefront.
WINDOW HERO net unit count grew +176.9% from 2021–2023 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).
The verdict
Proven & strong
Distress
Enough units and history to judge, and the record is good: growing or stable units with clean exits by the standards of its disclosed record. The standout in the record: the system is growing.
Exit rate · latest year
0.0%
vs 3.1% across 25 cleaning & restoration systems
Cost to open
$134K–$294K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
Too few resolved
16 loans exist; too few resolved to rate
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness
Systemwide units
2021–2023
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2023, 0 of 20 franchised outlets left the system — a 0.0% annualized exit rate, vs 3.1% across 25 cleaning & restoration systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 13 | 13 | 20 |
| Opened | 1 | 7 | 16 |
| Transfers | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Outlets at end | 13 | 20 | 36 |
| Net change | 0 | +7 | +16 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 16 SBA-backed loans to WINDOW HERO franchisees since 2019. Most are still open, so there is not yet a resolved cohort large enough to rate.
—
3 resolved · too thin to rate
—
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
—
default rate × loss severity
$156,873
what recent franchisees borrowed
—
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
6 vs 1
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
Loan performance by state
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO WINDOW HERO BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $55K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $134K–$294K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$134K–$294K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$55K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
7%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$70K
7% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$700K
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.
Build a real pro-forma for WINDOW HERO with an independent CPAModeled risk
FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record
The public record puts this brand toward the safer end of the systems we score — but the evidence is thin, so treat it as a range, not a number.
Risk percentile (range)
15–39 / 100
Directional
Modeled SBA charge-off
9.6%
Observed SBA charge-off
no resolved cohort
Top drivers: Net unit growth (lowers) · System size (log units) (raises) · Item 20 exit rate (lowers) · Investment ceiling (log) (raises). Thin loan history — treat this as a range, not a number. A linear scorecard built from this brand's own disclosure figures plus the federal loan record behind its franchisees; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.
Distress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for WINDOW HERO. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing WINDOW HERO's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →WINDOW HERO franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of WINDOW HERO franchises closed last year?
In WINDOW HERO's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2023), 0 of 20 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 0.0% — compared with 3.1% across 25 cleaning & restoration systems tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons." There is no official failure rate, and not every exit is a failure, but this is the measurable floor.
How much does a WINDOW HERO franchise cost?
Per WINDOW HERO's 2024 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $55K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $134K–$294K (Item 7).
What royalty does WINDOW HERO charge?
WINDOW HERO charges an ongoing royalty of 7.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2024 FDD.
Does WINDOW HERO disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — WINDOW HERO makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2024 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.