Most trade businesses run on the phone ringing. When it rings, there is work. When it does not, there is worry.
The businesses that sleep better have something else underneath: a base of clients who pay on a schedule, for work booked months ahead. A lawn program. A furnace and AC maintenance plan. A monthly commercial clean. A seasonal snow contract.
That is recurring revenue, and it changes how a trade business feels to run.
The short version
- A service contract turns a one-off client into a year of work, and gets you first call when something breaks.
- It smooths out the slow months, makes hiring less of a gamble, and makes the business worth more if you ever sell.
- Price it from the visits it includes, plus a reason to sign: priority service, a discount on repairs, or a locked price.
- Running it by hand breaks at about 30 contracts. Let software generate the visits and the invoices.
Why recurring work changes the business
You know what is coming. With a base of contracts, you start each month knowing a good part of your revenue. You can plan crews, buy materials and say no to bad jobs.
The slow months hurt less. Maintenance visits can be scheduled into the quiet weeks: tune-ups in the shoulder seasons, aeration in the fall, deep cleans in January.
You get the repair work. A client on your maintenance plan calls you when the furnace dies, not the first ad on Google.
Hiring gets safer. It is easier to hire a tech when you know there are 400 maintenance visits on the books for next year.
The business is worth more. Contracted revenue is something a buyer can see and count. A business that runs on the phone ringing is harder to value.
What a good contract looks like by trade
| Trade | Typical contract |
|---|---|
| HVAC | Furnace tune-up in the fall, AC check in the spring, priority service and a repair discount |
| Lawn care | Weekly mowing April to November, or a five-application fertilizer and weed program |
| Snow removal | Seasonal contract, cleared at a set depth, billed in instalments |
| Pool service | Opening, weekly maintenance and closing |
| Pest control | Quarterly treatments with free call-backs between visits |
| Cleaning | Weekly or monthly commercial cleans |
| Plumbing | Annual water heater flush and backflow test for commercial clients |
How to price a service contract
Start with the visits. Work out what each included visit costs you (labour, drive time, materials) and what you would charge for it as a one-off.
Then give a reason to sign. Clients sign contracts for one of three things:
- A lower price than booking each visit separately
- Priority: they are booked first when everyone needs you at once
- A perk: a discount on repairs, no call-out fee, or a locked price for the year
The best plans usually give priority and a perk, not a big discount. A 10% repair discount costs you less than 20% off every visit, and it is worth more to the client the day something breaks.
Bill it in a way that suits the client. Monthly feels small and keeps cash coming in. Paid up front gives you cash now. Per visit is simple for seasonal programs. Many shops offer monthly by card on autopay, with a small saving for paying the year up front.
Where running contracts by hand breaks down
Ten contracts fit in a spreadsheet. Thirty start to slip. A hundred are a full-time job. The usual cracks:
- A visit that nobody booked because it lived in someone's head
- A price that changed on the invoice but not in the contract, or the other way round
- A contract that quietly expired, and the client was never asked to renew
- Invoices that go out late, wrong or not at all
- No idea which contracts actually make money
How crewduo runs recurring contracts
- Set the rhythm once: weekly, monthly, seasonal or yearly. crewduo generates the visits on the schedule, and keeps generating them as time goes on.
- The price you sold is the price on the visit. Visits are locked to the contract's price, with a history of every change to its terms.
- Nearby visits are clustered to save driving.
- Renewals do not slip. Term contracts can renew automatically, and expired ones stop showing as active.
- Bills itself on the contract's own schedule (Crew plan), with autopay for clients who want it.
- Know what each contract makes with job costing and margins (Crew plan).
Recurring contracts are on every paid plan from Van. See how scheduling and recurring work works, or compare plans on the pricing page.
Quick answers
How many contracts should I aim for? Start with your best existing clients: the ones who call every year anyway. Offer them a plan at their next visit.
What if a client wants to cancel mid-year? Decide your terms up front and put them in the contract: notice period, and how unused visits or prepaid amounts are handled.
Should I lock the price for the year? For most residential plans, yes. It is a selling point. Review the price at renewal.
