We don’t have to tell you how competitive the HVAC landscape is. Every little detail of every job is important, from the first contact a potential customer has with you to the payment process when the job is done. That includes how you handle your invoices.
An invoice template helps you in three key ways.
- Your invoices will look consistently professional for the lifetime of your customer. You can add your company’s logo to help with branding, and everything customers need to know is right there in an easy-to-understand format. Looks aren’t everything. But they matter!
- Your techs will capture all the important details to handle billing and payment collection. They don’t have to stop and wrack their brains trying to remember everything they need to remember. It’s all right in front of them.
- Your invoicing process will go smoother and you’ll save a whole lot of time. Everything you need is there for you, and you can prefill all the fields that will stay the same from job to job.
After reading the three compelling benefits of an invoice template, you might think using one will solve all your invoicing problems. Not quite! There are still a few other challenges to consider. For instance, do you print out copies of the template for your techs in the field? If so, they could lose them on the way to a job or on the way back. They may forget to pass the invoice on to the customer. Not to mention there’s the manual hassle of data entry back at the office for customer records and accounting purposes.
Even if you manage your invoices digitally, there can be issues. PDFs can be difficult to scale, and you’re still relying on your techs and office staff to remember components of the process.
Needless to say, invoicing can be a real headache. But it doesn’t have to be! Keep reading to see how Housecall Pro helps HVAC Pros cut out the stress involved in invoicing and provides a more efficient way to get the job done
SIMPLE TO LEARN AND QUICK TO USE
Built for Pros: Free HVAC invoice template from Housecall Pro
This HVAC invoice template is a quick and easy way for HVAC technicians to conduct a job, record results, and share a professional invoice with a customer in minutes!
Here’s Everything Included in Our HVAC Invoice Template
Creating accurate and thorough invoices is a top priority for any HVAC company. Having a simple, straightforward repair invoice template makes that a whole lot easier. Our HVAC invoice template features:
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Step-by-step instructions that walk you through the entire template
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Simple customization to add your company logo and personalize for your brand and customer
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The ability to add multiple line items and custom sales tax
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Built-in formulas that save you time calculating totals from the numbers you input
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A blank invoice form that is ready to print and use on the job site
What’s in our HVAC invoice template?
- Step-by-step instructions that walk you through it all
- An invoice number and date, service date, and payment due date
- Detailed contact information for both the tech and the customer
- A place to describe services and materials
- Columns for material quantities, unit costs, and total amount, with subheads for sales tax and discount
- Lines for tech and homeowner names and signatures, along with the date
- We mentioned a few of the potential pitfalls involved in invoicing. Below, we’ll take a deeper dive into the challenges Housecall Pro is solving for HVAC businesses.
What’s the problem with HVAC businesses using pen and paper invoicing?
An invoice is simply a way to provide proof of work that’s been completed. If it’s that simple, then what in the world could go wrong, right? What are we missing here? Unfortunately, a lot can go wrong for HVAC companies—and especially those that still invoice using pen and paper.
Booker T. Washington once said, “Success in life is founded upon attention to the small things rather than to the large things; to the every day things nearest to us rather than to the things that are remote and uncommon.”
How many of us have gotten advice from a parent, teacher, or mentor to master the details… take control of the little things? When it comes to invoices, this couldn’t be more important! Let’s take a look at some common invoicing challenges HVAC companies face:
- Billing and Payment Mishaps
- A Field Day for Confusion
- In Accounting Hot Water
1. Billing and Payment Mishaps
Pen and paper have been the enemy of efficiency for decades. Many home service businesses have turned to job management software like Housecall Pro so they can leave them in a desk drawer. Scribbled notes jotted down quickly in a customer’s kitchen are often about as impossible to decipher as a handwritten prescription from your family doctor. And when you can make out the handwriting, there’s still a chance the paper gets smudged with grease or coffee, crumpled up on a floorboard, or just plain lost. You don’t want to have to reach back out for credit card info. That’s embarrassing. And ever had cash go missing? That’s a fun one.
Those details you may not be able to make out can be REALLY important! For instance, maybe you ordered a Trane that costs $12,000, but your customer wanted the $3,000 Goodman. If the mistake is caught in time, changes can be made. If not, warranties come into play!
Of course, mistakes like these don’t help with customer satisfaction or Google reviews. Making a few of these missteps can put your reputation on ice.
Paper invoices are also mailed out days—or even sometimes weeks—after a job is done. Homeowners usually don’t immediately pop a check in the mail or go online to pay it either. Now you’re talking about cash flow issues. You’ve already covered supplies, labor, and other expenses out of your pocket!
And what about those customers who own multiple properties? Property managers often send out purchase orders. Techs have to attach their invoices to them. Now, if you’re a pen-and-paper company, oh the human error possibilities here! Say a tech services five unique locations for the same customer but attaches all five invoices to one purchase order. Four of those invoices likely won’t get paid.
Just having the invoice for your records is a big deal, especially in the event a customer argues that you didn’t do the work or overcharged their card. Protect your business. Protect your cash flow!
2. A Field Day for Confusion
For some HVAC companies, the invoicing process can be like a real-life game of telephone. Techs will wrap up a job and head back to the office. There, a manager will use any job notes to create an invoice that will be mailed or delivered to the customer by hand at some point in the future. In other cases, techs will call the office from their trucks with all the details of the job. Then they’ll wait for a call back from someone who can authorize it all. Once approved, the tech writes out the invoice and heads back to the door to deliver it to the customer.
These invoice methods are slow and can take away significant time from your team’s workday. They’re far less efficient since techs could be well on their way to the next job, or starting the job already. And they create the opportunity for a ton of mistakes! Some of those mistakes can be costly. Anytime specific details, like job site and customer info, product model numbers, and credit card numbers, are passed from a tech to office staff, that’s a chance for errors. We’ve all played the telephone game as kids, right? Never ends well!
3. In Accounting Hot Water
Many HVAC Pros who are still stuck in the world of pen and paper will use QuickBooks to handle their accounting needs. That also means they (or a member of their office staff) spend a ton of time manually entering information from handwritten invoices into their company’s QuickBooks account. That time could be spent making money instead of documenting it!
Plus, all that paperwork can go missing, get ripped up, have wrong info, or be difficult to read. This sets companies up for headaches at tax time, and even bigger issues if things turn legal.
Housecall Pro’s seamless QuickBooks integration helps you work smarter, not harder. It automatically uploads all the important financial data in real-time.
Most home service professionals aren’t bookkeepers. They didn’t go into business to spend hours and hours laboring over accounting details. With our QuickBooks integration, not only does the whole process run a lot smoother, but business owners can rest easy knowing that if they’re audited, or they want to sell their business someday, their books will be in good shape.
How Housecall Pro Helps HVAC Contractors Streamline Invoicing
Obviously, this whole page is about making your life a little simpler with our free HVAC invoice template. But if you’re looking for something that will drive efficiency even more, check out Housecall Pro’s invoicing software. It allows you to create your own custom invoice template that can be easily edited and updated at any time.
You’ve got enough to worry about in the day-to-day operations of your business. You shouldn’t have to waste your time thinking about what to include on each customer invoice.
How can invoicing software help my business?
The current health and future health of any business is based on the money it brings in. That’s why getting the invoicing thing right is such a big deal. It helps customers know what services were performed, when they were performed, and what parts were needed. It also lays out the cost of each individual service or item and provides a convenient layout for payment methods and due dates. All of these elements add up to a smoother payment collection. In the end, getting paid for your services shouldn’t be a hassle.
Invoicing software can make creating an invoice template a breeze. And more importantly, it ensures accurate, customized invoices for each customer. They know what to expect, what to pay, and when. You’ve got instant, accurate records.
“Housecall Pro is an important tool for our business operations. It’s affordable, user friendly for office staff, and the mobile app used by our techs makes collecting money at each service call much more likely than with paper invoices.” — Joel V., Venteicher Heating and Cooling
Get In Touch: 858-251-9751
Download our HVAC repair invoice template
FAQ
- What is an HVAC invoice template used for?
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HVAC professionals and companies use an HVAC invoice template to bill their clients for services. This template includes details like the service provided, the cost of labor and materials, any taxes or fees, contact information for both the client and the HVAC company, and payment terms.
Using an HVAC invoice template ensures that all important details are included and presented professionally. It also streamlines the billing process for both the HVAC company and the client, making it easier to track services provided and payments received. As an added bonus, having a standardized template can help prevent errors and disputes over billing.
- What does an HVAC invoice template contain?
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An HVAC invoice template typically includes these elements:
Header: This section has the name and logo of the HVAC company, along with contact information such as address, phone number, email, and website.
Invoice Number and Date: Each invoice should have a unique identifier, usually an invoice number, along with the date the invoice was issued.
Client Information: This includes the name, address, phone number, and email address of the client receiving the services.
Description of Services: This offers a detailed breakdown of the services provided, including any labor performed and materials used. It may include items for installation, repair, maintenance, or consultation services.
Itemized Charges: This is a list of each service provided and the related costs. Itemized charges can include hourly labor rates, the cost of materials, and any additional fees or taxes.
Total Amount Due: This includes all charges—including taxes and fees—that the client must pay.
Payment Terms: This section covers any terms or conditions related to payment, such as the due date, accepted payment methods, and any late fees or discounts for early payment.
Notes or Terms and Conditions: Any additional information or terms relevant to the invoice, such as warranty details, return policies, or guarantees, are included in this section.
Signature: This is a space for the client to sign and acknowledge receipt of the invoice, if necessary.
Payment Instructions: This section provides information on how the client can make payment by check, credit card, or online payment portal, along with any payment details.
By including these elements in the invoice template, the HVAC company and the client can rest assured that the correct information is listed and that the billing process is straightforward and transparent.