HVACBossPro Blog — Maintenance Agreements

Choosing HVAC Maintenance Agreement Software: What to Check Before You Switch

If you run a heating and air company with a few vans, you have probably looked at software before. Some of it is built for huge companies with call centers and price you out. Some of it is generic field-service software that treats a tune-up the same as a lawn mowing. Here is what to check before you move your maintenance agreements anywhere.

Start With What Goes Wrong Today

The common mistakes in Mistakes HVAC Companies Make Running Maintenance Agreements make a good shopping list. Software should fix the ones that are hurting you: visits that slip, members nobody remembers to call, payments nobody chases, and techs who arrive without the right filter.

Before looking at any product, write down the three problems that cost you the most. Then judge every option by whether it solves those three.

Recurring Visits That Come Due on Their Own

This is the heart of agreement software. Check:

• Can you set a plan by days between visits, like 180, 365 or 90?
• Does the next visit come due automatically after the last one is completed?
• Can different addresses under one client have different plans?
• Do one-time repair calls live in the same system?

If someone still has to scroll a list and decide who is due, the software is not doing the hard part.

A Map of Who Is Due

Tune-ups are route work. A list of due members is useful. A map is better. Look for a view that shows every due visit on a map, colored by status, so the office can see clusters and build routes. HVACBossPro does this with the Waiting List, where pins are colored not due yet, due now and overdue past a 7-day grace.

Then check the step after: can due visits be assigned to a van and a day, and auto-routed from the shop? Can the office drag work between days when the weather turns?

Equipment on Every Visit

Generic field-service software usually gives you an address and a notes box. HVAC agreements need more. Check whether each address can hold system type, brand, model, serial, tonnage, year installed, filter size and unit location, and whether that shows on the tech's phone on every visit.

This is the difference between a tech who walks in with the right filter and one who drives to the supply house. Why it matters so much on agreements is covered in Equipment Records on Every HVAC Tune-Up: Filter Size and Unit Location Before the Tech Walks In.

Selling and Signing Up Members

Members have to come from somewhere. Check:

• Can a plan be added to an estimate the customer approves online?
• Is there a website sign-up form that captures a card?
• Does a sign-up turn into a client without retyping?
• Can existing customers sign up from a customer app?

Every extra step between yes and a booked first visit costs you members.

Tags, Reminders and Billing

The rest of the checklist is about running members day to day:

• Tags and custom fields so the office knows who is a member and why former members left.
• Automated reminders by text and email, with members choosing their alerts.
• Two-way texting so replies reach the office.
• Card on file charged on completion or on a schedule.
• Past-due follow-up for cards that fail.
• Monthly account billing for landlords and businesses with many addresses, one statement with each line labeled by address.
• Reports to track members over time.

The Tech's Phone and the Customer's Phone

Check what the tech actually sees. A route in order, navigation, equipment and access notes on each card, Start, Skip and Complete, photos, and automatic on-the-way and arrived texts. Ask whether it runs on the phones your techs already carry, or needs special devices and app store downloads.

Then check the customer side. Can members see the route on tune-up day, update their card, pay invoices and request service without calling?

Price, Trial and Moving Over

Watch out for software priced per tech with add-on fees for every feature. Small shops need predictable pricing. HVACBossPro plans are Start at $59, Pro at $89 and Crew at $199 per month, with maintenance agreements on every plan and a monthly text allowance included. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial, no credit card required.

Use the trial for real work. Import a slice of your members by CSV, set their plans and last visits, and see whether the Waiting List shows what you expect. Book a route. Send a reminder. If it handles your real members well in two weeks, it will handle them for years. Find the full feature tour on the HVAC maintenance agreement software page.