HVACBossPro Blog — Quotes & Estimates

Refrigerant by the Pound and Other Variable Lines on an HVAC Estimate

Most HVAC repairs have a fixed price. A capacitor is a capacitor. Refrigerant is different. The tech often does not know exactly how much a system needs until the work is underway, and the customer wants a number before anyone starts. Quoting variable items well is mostly about setting expectations in writing, so the invoice never surprises anyone.

A Different Kind of Line

The fixed-price repairs in Quoting Common HVAC Repairs: Capacitors, Contactors, Drain Lines and Blower Motors each go on the estimate as a single line at a single price. Variable items work better as a price per unit times a quantity. On your HVACBossPro service list, set up “Refrigerant, per lb” with your price per pound. On the estimate, the quantity changes and the price per pound stays put.

Keep the per-pound price on the service list and nowhere else. If one tech quotes from memory and another from a sheet in the truck, the same customer could get two different numbers in the same summer.

Quoting When the Amount Is Unknown

A tech who finds a system low on refrigerant usually has a rough idea of how much it will take, but not an exact figure. A few honest ways to handle it on the estimate:

• Quote an expected amount. Put the expected pounds as the quantity and say in the description that the final amount is billed per pound actually added.
• Quote a range in the description. “Expected 2 to 4 lbs, billed per lb added” with the quantity set at the middle of the range.
• Set a ceiling. “Will not exceed 4 lbs without calling you first.” Customers like knowing there is a stopping point.

Whichever you choose, use it every time. Consistency is what makes customers trust per-pound billing.

Explain Why, Not Just How Much

A system that is low on refrigerant usually has a leak somewhere. Customers often assume refrigerant gets “used up” like gas in a car. A short description that explains the difference builds trust: “Add refrigerant to restore cooling. A system that is low usually has a leak; we can quote leak search and repair separately if you would like to find the source.”

That sentence does two things. It is honest about the likely cause, and it opens the door to a second line or a separate estimate for leak search. Writing it as an option rather than a requirement keeps the customer in control, which is covered in Good, Better, Best HVAC Quotes: Writing Options as Separate Estimate Lines.

Keep the technical advice general on the estimate. The customer does not need a lesson on pressures. They need to know what you are doing and what it will cost.

Other Variable Items

Refrigerant is the classic example, but other lines work the same way:

• Extra labor hours on an unusual job, such as a difficult attic or a crawlspace install. A per-hour line on the service list keeps the rate consistent.
• Drain line or line set footage, priced per foot.
• Filters by count, for a house or a rental property with several returns.
• Additional systems, such as a second tune-up in the same home.

For each one, the service list holds the unit price and the estimate holds the quantity. If the final quantity changes, the job is updated before it is invoiced, and the customer sees the same unit price they approved.

Keeping the Invoice in Line With the Estimate

When the customer approves an estimate with an expected quantity, the approved estimate becomes the scheduled job with that quantity on it. If the tech adds more or less than expected, the quantity on the job is updated before completion. When the tech taps Complete, the invoice is built from the job, sales tax is figured, and the card on file can be charged.

The key is that nothing on the invoice is new to the customer. The unit price was on the estimate. The possibility of a different quantity was in the description. If the amount goes past any ceiling you promised, the office uses two-way texting to check with the customer before the tech continues. That text sits on the customer's record for anyone who asks later.

The Equipment Record Helps Next Time

When a system needs refrigerant, the equipment details matter for the next visit. The system type, brand, model, serial, tonnage and year installed are on the record, carried over from the estimate, and they show under the address on every visit after. A note on the job about what was added and when gives the next tech context if the same system comes up short again next summer. That pattern is often what leads the homeowner to approve a leak repair or start thinking about a replacement.

The next guide covers giving customers choices on a single quote. For the overview of quoting, approvals and scheduling in HVACBossPro, return to the HVAC estimate software page.