A CRM in most industries is a list of people and a pipeline of deals. In an HVAC business the customer is only half the record; the other half is the equipment at their house, and a CRM that does not know the unit is a contact list. This page is for the owner or office manager of a US HVAC contracting business asking what CRM software for HVAC has to hold, how it differs from the generic CRMs that are sold to every trade, and how to judge one for a company of your size. It leans on the free tools on this site for the paperwork the CRM should keep.
HVAC customer database software: the record is customer, site and unit
One customer can own two sites; one site can carry a furnace, a condenser and a mini split, each with its own model, serial, install date and history. HVAC customer database software has to model that tree, because the service call is about the unit and the sale is about the site. Judge any CRM for HVAC companies on whether a technician can open a unit and see its last three visits from a phone.
The pipeline is quotes, not leads
In this trade the sale usually happens at the kitchen table after a diagnosis, so the pipeline that matters is quotes sent, quotes open, quotes won and quotes lost, by technician and by month. A CRM that tracks leads from a website form but not the replacement quote a technician wrote on site is measuring the wrong funnel. Ask to see close rate by technician in the demo.
Agreements and renewals are the CRM's real automation
The follow-ups that make money in HVAC are the maintenance agreement due for renewal, the aging system on a customer who declined replacement last year, and the filter reminder that brings the customer back. CRM software for HVAC companies should generate those from the unit record automatically. If the follow-up has to be created by hand, it will not be created.
What a HVAC CRM costs when the whole company uses it
The CRM is only useful if the technicians write into it, so every technician is a seat. Jobber lists Core at $49 per month for one user and $29 per month for each additional user; Housecall Pro lists Basic at $79 per month for one user. Count the crew before comparing. CoilDesk Pro is $29 per month for the whole business and keeps customers, units and jobs on one record.
Put the quote in the record from day one
The quote builder on this site produces the replacement or repair quote from your own figures, free and on the page. Whatever CRM HVAC product you choose, the test is whether that quote lands on the customer and unit record without retyping, and whether the CRM shows you next month which ones are still open.
Questions people ask about hvac crm software
Is a generic CRM good enough for an HVAC business?
Only if you are willing to build the unit record, the agreement logic and the quote pipeline yourself, and to keep the technicians filling it in. Most shops that start generic end up with a contact list and a spreadsheet.
What is the difference between CRM for HVAC companies and field service software?
The good products are one thing with two names. If the vendor sells them separately, ask how the customer record stays in sync, because two records for one customer is the failure mode.
Should the technicians use the CRM or just the office?
The technicians, because they are the ones standing in front of the unit and the customer. A CRM the field does not touch is a record of phone calls, not of the business.