Answers for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical owners.
Dispatch, truck count, membership plans, on-call rotation, and pricing a call so the truck pays for itself.
41 questions, 41 of them with a word-for-word script, the actual math, or a template you can copy.
Pricing
All pricing →What should I charge for a service call?
Charge enough to cover the truck, the tech, and the windshield time, not just the drive. Most owner-operated shops land between $79 and $149 for a diagnostic trip, and the fee should apply toward the repair if the customer books it.
Script The mathShould I do flat rate pricing or time and materials?
Flat rate for anything you've done a hundred times. Time and materials only for genuinely open-ended troubleshooting where you can't scope the job in advance.
The mathHow do I figure out my hourly rate for HVAC, plumbing, or electrical work?
Add up truck cost, tech pay burdened, and overhead per billable hour, then add your target profit. Most owner-operators are underpriced because they never actually run this math.
The mathIs a maintenance membership plan worth it, and how do I price it?
Yes, if you price it to cover the visit cost and treat the real value as the repair pipeline it feeds, not the membership fee itself.
The mathHow should I handle after hours and emergency pricing?
Charge a clear premium, quote it before you roll, and never let a tech negotiate it on the doorstep at 11pm.
Script The mathHow do I raise prices across the board without it feeling like a scramble?
Pick a date, calculate the number from your actual cost increases, announce it once in writing, and apply it to everyone the same way. A clean, universal increase reads as confidence. A quiet, selective one reads as something to hide.
Script The math
Operations
All operations →When should I add a second truck?
When your first truck is booked out more than a week and you're turning away same-week work, not when you're just busy. Run the math on what the truck needs to bill before you sign for it.
The math ChecklistHow do I dispatch when every customer says it's an emergency?
Build a short, specific triage list so your dispatcher isn't deciding urgency call by call, and hold the line on the schedule for anything that doesn't meet it.
Script ChecklistHow should I handle callbacks and warranty labor?
Fix it fast, don't charge the customer twice, and track callbacks by tech so you know if it's a training problem or a parts problem.
The math TemplateHow do I build an employee handbook I'll actually use, not just a binder that sits on a shelf?
Write ten pages of the policies that come up every year, in plain language, and actually enforce every line in it. A fifty-page handbook nobody reads protects you less than a ten-page one everyone has actually opened.
Template ChecklistHow do I cover my own vacation without the business shutting down while I'm gone?
Build coverage in stages over months, not the week before you leave, starting with a written list of every decision only you currently make. If that list has more than a few items on it, that's your actual project before you can leave.
Template Checklist
Hiring
All hiring →Should I pay techs commission, spiff, or straight hourly?
Hourly plus a capped spiff on upsells works better for most residential service teams than pure commission, which tends to produce pushy techs and inflated tickets.
The mathMy tech is great at the work but terrible with customers, what do I do?
Coach the specific behavior with a script, give it 30 days, and if it doesn't move, put them on jobs without customer-facing time before you lose him entirely.
Script ChecklistHow do I know if I can actually afford my first hire?
Run the fully loaded cost against the revenue you're already turning away, not against your current cash balance. If the math doesn't clear with room to spare, you can't afford it yet.
The math ChecklistHow do I write up an employee and actually document performance problems?
Write it down the same day, in plain facts, with a clear expectation and a deadline, and have them sign it. A folder of dated write-ups is what protects you and gives the employee a real chance to fix it.
Script TemplateWhat's the right way to fire someone so it doesn't blow up on me?
Make the decision before the meeting, keep the meeting short and factual, and have logistics ready so there's no ambiguity about what happens next. The meeting itself should take five minutes, not thirty.
Script ChecklistHow do I write a job posting that actually filters out the wrong people?
Put the real pay, the real hours, and the real hard parts of the job in the posting, on purpose. A posting written to attract everyone attracts everyone, including everyone wrong for the job.
Template ChecklistShould I pay for an employee's training, and how do I make sure they don't take it straight to a competitor?
Pay for training that makes your team better, and use a simple repayment agreement tied to a time period, not a non-compete. It protects your investment without pretending you can stop someone from leaving.
Template ChecklistHow do I know when it's time to hire a manager, and how do I find the right one?
Hire a manager when the business has outgrown your personal attention span, not your patience. Look inside first for someone who already has the trust of the team, and only go outside if nobody internal is close.
Script ChecklistWhat do I do when a key employee suddenly quits?
Cover the immediate gap first with a short-term plan, then find out honestly whether it was preventable before you rush to backfill the exact same role the exact same way. A rushed replacement hire often repeats whatever problem drove the last person out.
Script Checklist
Sales
All sales →How do I get techs to sell without turning into pushy salesmen?
Train them to diagnose out loud and present options, not to pitch. Customers trust a tech who explains, not one who upsells.
ScriptHow do I handle customers who demand a price over the phone?
Give a real range when you can, and be honest about why an exact number requires eyes on the job. Refusing to give any number at all loses the call.
ScriptShould I offer financing on big installs?
Yes. A financing option turns a customer who can't approve $9,000 today into one who can approve $140 a month today, and it costs you a small dealer fee, not your margin.
Script The mathA customer went silent after I gave them an estimate. How many times should I follow up?
Three follow-ups over about two weeks, spaced out, then one final close-out message. After that, move on and let them come back to you.
Script ChecklistHow do I fire a bad customer without burning a bridge or looking unprofessional?
Be brief, be honest that it's not a fit, and don't relitigate every past incident. You're allowed to stop serving someone who costs you more in stress and margin than they're worth, and doing it calmly protects your reputation more than tolerating them does.
Script Checklist
Finance
All finance →How do I get customers to pay the final invoice on an install without chasing them for weeks?
Collect a deposit up front, get final payment due at completion in writing before you start, and don't leave the job site until the final payment is handled.
Script TemplateIs it worth taking home warranty company work?
It can fill slow days and build volume, but the low payout rates and slow claims process mean it should never be your main revenue source. Treat it as filler, not a strategy.
The mathHow do I know if I actually made money on a job before the month closes?
Track job cost against loaded labor, materials, and truck time at the invoice stage, not at month-end. Waiting for the P&L to tell you means you find out too late to fix anything.
The math ChecklistHow do I pay myself a real wage instead of whatever's left over?
Set a fixed weekly or biweekly owner paycheck based on a market wage for your role, and pay it on payroll like everyone else. Profit distributions come later and separately, not instead of it.
The math ChecklistHow do I collect from a customer who refuses to pay?
Escalate in stages, in writing, with dates, before you call a lawyer or small claims court. Most non-payers cave once they see you're organized and not going away.
Script TemplateWhat numbers should I actually look at every week to run the business?
Pick five to seven numbers you can pull in fifteen minutes every Monday, not a forty-tab spreadsheet nobody keeps updated. Cash, sales booked, jobs completed, and one leading indicator of trouble beat a dozen vanity metrics.
Template ChecklistHow do I manage cash flow when customers are stretching out how long they take to pay?
Tighten terms going forward, chase the aging receivables aggressively, and build a cash buffer sized to your actual collection lag, not your best-case assumption. You can be profitable on paper and still run out of cash if collections slip.
The math ChecklistShould I take on debt to grow the business?
Only if the debt funds something that generates more cash than it costs, on a timeline you can survive even if growth is slower than planned. Debt to cover a cash shortfall from an already-struggling operation is a different and much riskier decision.
The math Checklist
Leadership
All leadership →When should I stop doing residential work and go commercial?
When commercial accounts are already a meaningful share of revenue and asking for more, not as an escape from residential headaches. Commercial has its own brutal payment terms and expectations.
ChecklistHow do I set up an on-call rotation that doesn't burn out my team?
Rotate weekly among enough techs that no one is on call more than one week in three or four, pay a flat on-call stipend even for nights with no calls, and protect the day after an overnight call.
The math ChecklistHow do I get out of the truck/bay and actually start running the business instead of just working in it?
Replace yourself one skill at a time, starting with the task that's easiest to hand off, and protect a fixed block of office time on your calendar like it's a customer appointment. You won't get pulled out all at once, and trying to will just put you right back in the field within a week.
The math ChecklistHow do I set a real vacation policy for myself as the owner, not just whenever I can sneak away?
Put your own time off on the calendar for the year, in writing, the same way you'd schedule payroll, and treat moving it as the exception, not the norm. If you don't schedule it in advance, it will always lose to whatever feels urgent that week.
Template ChecklistHow do I decide whether to open a second location?
Open a second location only once your first one runs profitably without your daily presence, not because it's busy. A second location amplifies whatever systems and management you already have, good or bad, it doesn't fix a first location that's only working because you're always there.
The math ChecklistHow do I handle a serious disagreement with my business partner?
Separate the business decision from the relationship, get it in writing once you agree, and use your partnership agreement before you use your feelings. If you don't have a partnership agreement that covers this kind of dispute, fix that the moment things calm down, not after the next one.
Script ChecklistHow do I know if my business could actually survive a week without me?
Run the test for real, not hypothetically: leave for a genuine week with your phone off except for a true emergency line, and see what actually breaks. What breaks is your real to-do list, not a guess.
The math Checklist
Every owner hits these
Not specific to your trade, but they show up in every shop that has employees, customers, and a bank account.
- Should I pay my team commissions?
- Should I pay someone 1099 or W2?
- What do I tell the team after firing someone?
- How do I train someone to sell my service?
- Should I hire help or raise prices instead?
- How do I raise prices without losing customers?
- What do I say when a customer says my price is too expensive?
- How do I follow up with leads without being annoying?