An HVAC maintenance agreement is a contract where a homeowner pays a yearly or monthly fee and your company agrees to tune up their system on a schedule, usually a spring cooling visit and a fall heating visit, plus perks like priority scheduling and a repair discount. It should spell out visits, perks, term, renewal, cancellation, exclusions and payment.
This guide is for the owner building or fixing a membership program. It gives you a sample agreement you can copy, a field-by-field template, a worked pricing example you can redo with your own numbers, and a renewal plan, because a membership that does not renew is just a discounted tune-up.
What is an HVAC maintenance agreement?
Owners use three names for the same thing. An HVAC maintenance agreement or maintenance plan is the residential membership: scheduled tune-ups and perks for a fee. An HVAC service agreement or HVAC service contract is the broader term and often covers commercial work, where the contract also sets response times, the equipment list and the scope of each visit. The structure in this guide works for both. Commercial contracts just get longer equipment schedules and tighter response terms.
The agreement does three jobs for your business:
- It fills the shoulder seasons. Tune-ups can be booked in the slow weeks of spring and fall instead of competing with no-heat and no-cool calls.
- It keeps the customer yours. A member calls you first when something breaks, instead of searching for whoever ranks highest that day.
- It creates recurring revenue. Predictable income is easier to plan around, and buyers of HVAC businesses usually look hard at the membership base.
It also creates an obligation. Every member you sign is a visit you owe, at a time you promised, done to a standard you wrote down. Write only what your crew can deliver in a busy year.
What should an HVAC service agreement include?
Use this table as the template. Each row is a section of the agreement, what you enter, and an example.
| Section | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Parties | Your legal business name, address, phone and license number; the customer's name and service address | Example Heating and Air LLC, License #000000; Jane Smith, 12 Oak St |
| Covered equipment | Each system by type, make, model, serial and location | 1 gas furnace (basement), 1 split AC condenser (side yard) |
| Covered visits | Number of visits per term, the season for each, and the checklist used | 2 visits per year: cooling in spring, heating in fall |
| Priority service | What "priority" means in plain terms | Members are scheduled ahead of non-members for repair calls |
| Discounts | Percent off, what it applies to, what it excludes | 15% off repair parts and labor; not on new equipment |
| Fee waivers | Any trip or diagnostic fee you waive | Diagnostic fee waived during business hours |
| Term and renewal | Start date, length, whether it renews automatically, how you notify | 12 months; renews unless cancelled; notice 30 days before |
| Cancellation | How the customer cancels and what refund applies | Cancel by phone or email; prorated refund minus visits used |
| Exclusions | What the agreement does not cover | Ductwork, refrigerant beyond a set amount, equipment past repair |
| Payment | Price, billing schedule, method, what happens if a payment fails | $22 per month by card on file; paused after 2 failed charges |
| Access and scheduling | Who books the visit and what happens if you cannot get in | We call to schedule; 2 missed appointments forfeit that visit |
| Signatures | Customer signature, date, your representative | Signed on tablet at the first visit |
HVAC service agreement template: a sample to copy
This sample works as an HVAC maintenance contract template for residential plans. Here is a filled example in plain language. Replace the bracketed items with your own terms, then have your attorney review it before you use it. This is a starting draft, not legal advice.
- Agreement. This Comfort Plan agreement is between [Example Heating and Air LLC, License #000000] ("we") and [customer name] ("you") for the equipment at [service address] listed in Section 2.
- Covered equipment. [One gas furnace, model and serial] and [one central air conditioner, model and serial]. Equipment added later is covered only if added in writing, and the price may change.
- Covered visits. Two maintenance visits per 12-month term: one cooling visit between March and May and one heating visit between September and November. Each visit follows our written checklist, which includes checking thermostat operation, tightening electrical connections, lubricating moving parts, clearing the condensate drain, checking controls and startup, cleaning coils and checking refrigerant level (cooling visit), and checking gas connections, burner combustion and the heat exchanger (heating visit). You agree to change or clean your air filter between visits.
- Priority service. When you call for a repair, we schedule you ahead of non-member calls received the same day. Priority means place in line, not a guaranteed arrival time.
- Discounts and waivers. You receive [15%] off repair parts and labor performed by us, and we waive the diagnostic fee for calls during normal business hours. Discounts do not apply to new equipment, ductwork projects, or work already discounted by another offer.
- Term and renewal. This agreement starts on [date] and lasts 12 months. It renews for another 12 months at the then-current price unless you cancel. We will remind you at least [30] days before renewal and tell you the new price if it changes.
- Cancellation. You can cancel at any time by phone, email or [online form]. If you cancel, we refund the unused part of your fee minus the regular price of any visit already performed and any discount you already received.
- Exclusions. This agreement does not cover: repair parts and labor (they are discounted, not included); refrigerant beyond [1 lb] per visit; ductwork, duct cleaning or indoor air quality equipment; damage from floods, power surges, misuse or work by others; equipment that we determine cannot be safely repaired; and code upgrades required by a building inspector.
- Payment. The fee is [$22 per month] or [$240 per year] by card or bank account on file. If a payment fails, we will contact you. After [two] failed payments, benefits pause until the account is current.
- Scheduling and access. We will contact you to schedule each visit. If we cannot reach you or get access after [two] attempts in the season, that visit may be forfeited.
- Liability. A maintenance visit reduces the chance of breakdowns but does not guarantee your equipment will not fail.
- Signatures. Customer signature and date; our representative and date.
The visit checklist in Section 3 follows the annual check-up items ENERGY STAR recommends: cooling in spring, heating in fall, with the homeowner checking the filter monthly. Using a public checklist helps when a customer asks what a tune-up actually includes.
Common mistakes in the agreement
- "Priority" with no definition. If a member waits two days in a heat wave, they will say you broke the deal. Define priority as place in line, or name a response window you can actually hit.
- No refrigerant limit. Without a cap, a leaking system turns into free refrigerant every visit.
- Discounts that stack. Say what the member discount does not combine with.
- No rule for missed appointments. Members who never answer still count as visits owed on your books.
- No license number. Many states expect your contractor license number on contracts and advertising. Check your state licensing board.
A note on state rules
If your agreement renews automatically and charges a card, a number of states have automatic renewal laws that set how you disclose renewal terms, get consent and let customers cancel, and some require a reminder before an annual term renews. The rules differ by state and change, so check your state attorney general or consumer protection office and have an attorney review the renewal and cancellation sections. Making cancellation as easy as sign-up is the safe default everywhere.
How much should you charge for an HVAC maintenance plan?
Price from your own costs, not from a competitor's mailer. Here is a worked example for a fictional shop. Every number below is an example to replace with your own.
Step 1: cost of one visit
Start with the loaded cost of a technician hour: wage plus payroll taxes, workers' comp, benefits and the truck. For reference, the median wage for HVAC mechanics and installers was $29.33 an hour in 2025, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data reported on O*NET. Your loaded cost will be higher than the wage. Then add overhead per billable hour (office, rent, software, insurance, divided by the hours your techs actually bill).
| Item | Example | Per visit |
|---|---|---|
| Tech time, including drive | 1 hour at $45 loaded | $45 |
| Overhead | 1 hour at $60 per billable hour | $60 |
| Materials (coil cleaner, drain tablets, small parts) | Flat estimate | $15 |
| Cost of one visit | $120 |
Step 2: cost of one member per year
| Item | How to estimate | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Two visits | 2 x $120 | $240 |
| Repair discount given away | 15% x $400 average member repair spend | $60 |
| Admin, billing and card fees | Office time to schedule plus processing | $10 |
| Cost per member | $310 |
Step 3: choose a price, and know what it means
If the plan has to make a 20% margin on its own, divide cost by 0.80: $310 / 0.80 = $387.50 a year, or about $32 a month. That is the "plan pays for itself" price.
Many owners price lower on purpose, because members buy repairs and replacements from them. That can be a sound choice if you do the math. Say this shop charges $240 a year ($20 a month). It loses $70 per member on the plan itself ($310 cost minus $240). If repairs carry a 50% gross margin, each member has to buy at least $140 a year in extra repairs (beyond what they would have bought without the plan) to cover that gap. If your records show members do, the lower price works. If you cannot measure it, you are guessing.
| Price per year | Plan margin on its own | When it makes sense |
|---|---|---|
| $387.50 (cost / 0.80) | About +20% | You want the plan profitable even if members buy nothing else |
| $310 (cost) | Break even | You treat the plan as a retention tool and track member repair revenue |
| $240 | About -$70 per member | You have data showing members buy enough extra work to cover it |
Two more pricing rules: charge per system (a second system is a second set of visits), and offer monthly billing. Monthly payments are easier for the customer to say yes to and keep renewing without a decision every year.
How do HVAC maintenance agreement renewals work?
Renewal is where most programs leak. A member who signed up after a breakdown, got two tune-ups and heard nothing else has no reason to pay again. Three things keep members:
- Deliver both visits. A member who never got a fall visit is not renewing. Track visits owed by season and work the list weekly in the shoulder months.
- Start the renewal early. Pull a list of agreements expiring in the next 90 days, not the next two weeks. Our Renewal Runway guide lays out the 90-day list, the note that names the member's last visit, and the office call for anyone who does not respond.
- Remind them what they got. The renewal note should name the visits done, anything the tech found, and the discount they used. "Your technician cleaned the condenser coil in April and replaced a capacitor at member pricing" renews better than "Your plan is expiring."
Decide between auto-renewal and manual renewal up front. Auto-renewal with monthly billing keeps more members but carries the disclosure and cancellation duties above, and failed cards need follow-up. Manual annual renewal is simpler legally and loses more members who simply forget. Either way, measure your renewal rate: members renewed divided by members whose term ended that month.
How to sell maintenance agreements without being pushy
- Offer it on every service call, with the math in front of the customer: "Today's diagnostic fee and the 15% repair discount would have saved you $X."
- Offer it on every new install. The first year's visits protect your workmanship and catch installation issues early.
- Keep one plan, maybe two. Three tiers of maintenance plans confuse customers and techs. A basic plan and a plan with more perks is enough for most shops.
- Pay techs a small, fixed spiff per agreement sold, and track sales by tech.
Maintenance agreements also belong in your plan for the whole business. The HVAC business plan outline covers where recurring revenue fits next to pricing and staffing.
Software or spreadsheet: how to track agreements
Most field service software has some way to handle recurring service or memberships, so check what yours already does before buying anything. A spreadsheet works for the first 50 members. Past that, you need software that tracks visits owed, renewal dates and the member discount on every invoice. The questions to ask your software: can it show visits owed by season, renewals due in 90 days, and members who have not been seen this term?
Where Cortex fits
Cortex builds AI agents that work inside the software you already run. For a membership program, the usual jobs are: a weekly list of visits owed this season, a 90-day renewal list with a drafted note that names each member's last visit, and a flag when a member's card fails. A person in your office approves every message before it goes out. If your software's built-in reminders already do this well, you do not need us. See how this works for HVAC companies, or book the free AI Operations Audit and we will look at your agreement list, renewals and visits owed in 30 minutes.
