An HVAC maintenance agreement is a simple deal: the customer pays a yearly or monthly fee, and you service their system on a schedule and give them a few perks. For the customer it means fewer breakdowns and someone to call. For you it means predictable revenue, booked work in the slow shoulder months, and customers who call you first when something does go wrong instead of searching for whoever’s open.
This is a guide for HVAC business owners: what to put in an agreement, how to price it from your own numbers, a template outline you can adapt, and how to actually sell it. It isn’t legal advice, so have your final terms checked locally, especially around automatic renewal.
What should an HVAC maintenance agreement include?
- Visits: usually two a year, a cooling check in spring and a heating check in fall, with a written checklist of what each visit covers.
- Equipment covered: which systems, how many units, and at which address.
- Member perks: priority scheduling, a discount on repairs, a waived or reduced service call fee, no overtime charges, or a combination.
- What’s not included: parts, refrigerant, major repairs, ductwork, and anything caused by misuse. Being clear here prevents most disputes.
- Term and renewal: how long it runs, whether it renews automatically, and how the customer cancels.
- Payment: annual upfront or monthly, and what happens if a payment fails.
How should you price it?
Work from your costs rather than copying someone else’s price. Add up:
- The visits. Technician time per tune-up including driving, multiplied by your loaded hourly cost, times the number of visits.
- Consumables. Filters or other items you include.
- The perks. What the repair discount and waived fees cost you across a typical member’s year.
- Admin. Scheduling the visits, reminders and billing.
Then add your margin. A made-up example to show the arithmetic: two visits of 1.25 hours each at a loaded cost of $90 an hour is $225, plus $20 in filters and around $40 in discounts and waived fees across the year, comes to $285. A plan around $300 to $350 a year leaves a margin, before counting the repair work members bring you. Use your own figures; costs vary a lot by market.
Monthly billing usually sells better than a single annual charge because the number looks smaller, and it renews quietly. If you offer it, price it slightly above the annual total divided by twelve.
Should you offer more than one tier?
Two or three tiers work well: a basic plan with the two tune-ups, and a premium one that adds bigger discounts, a waived service call fee, or coverage for a second system. Most people pick the middle option when there are three, so make sure that’s the one you want to sell. Don’t go beyond three; it makes the choice harder, not easier.
A template outline you can adapt
Comfort Club Maintenance Agreement
1. Services. Two scheduled maintenance visits per year: one cooling inspection (March to May) and one heating inspection (September to November), each following our written checklist.
2. Equipment. One central air conditioner or heat pump and one furnace or air handler at the service address below.
3. Member benefits. Priority scheduling, 15% off repairs, and no service call fee during business hours.
4. Exclusions. Parts, refrigerant, ductwork, equipment replacement and repairs caused by misuse, power issues or lack of access are not included.
5. Term and renewal. This agreement runs for 12 months and renews automatically unless cancelled. We’ll remind you before renewal. Cancel any time by calling or emailing us.
6. Payment. $___ per year, or $___ per month by card on file.
If your perks include waiving the service call fee, make sure your standard fee is clear first. Our guide to setting a service call fee covers that.
How do you sell maintenance agreements?
- At the end of a repair. The customer has just felt what a breakdown costs. “We have a plan that includes two tune-ups a year and takes 15% off repairs like today’s” lands well then.
- During a tune-up. Offer to credit today’s tune-up price toward the plan if they join now.
- On the phone. When someone calls to book a one-off tune-up, mention the plan once, briefly. Whoever answers your phone should know the price and the main perks.
- In the off-season. A short email or text to past customers before spring and fall.
Don’t forget to actually do the visits
The fastest way to lose members is to let a year pass without the promised tune-ups. Put the visits in the calendar when someone signs up, contact members a few weeks before each season, and make booking easy. Agreements only renew when people feel they got something for the money.
Members will also call more often, and expect you to answer. Ansdale, which is ours, is an AI receptionist that answers every call, books tune-ups and repairs into your calendar, and sends urgent no-heat or no-cooling calls to your on-call tech, from $49 a month. See how it works for HVAC businesses.
Questions people ask
What is included in an HVAC maintenance agreement?
Usually two maintenance visits a year, one for cooling and one for heating, plus member perks like priority scheduling and repair discounts. Parts, refrigerant and major repairs are normally excluded.
How much should I charge for an HVAC maintenance agreement?
Add up the cost of the visits, consumables, perks and admin from your own numbers, then add your margin. Costs vary by market, so base the price on yours rather than a competitor’s.
Is an HVAC service agreement the same as a maintenance agreement?
People use the terms interchangeably. Both usually mean a paid plan with scheduled maintenance visits and member benefits.
Should maintenance agreements renew automatically?
Automatic renewal keeps members, but tell customers clearly, remind them before renewal and make cancelling easy. Check local rules on automatic renewals.
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