How to set up recurring service plans that customers keep

Plans work in many trades: HVAC tune ups, lawn care, pool service, pest control, cleaning, gutter cleaning, water treatment and more. The steps are the same.

Step 1: Decide what your plan covers

A recurring service plan should solve a problem the customer has again and again. Look at your past jobs and ask:

• Which services do customers need on a schedule, like seasons, months or weeks?
• Which emergency calls could a regular visit help prevent?
• Which customers already call you every year for the same thing?

Then define the plan in plain words. Every plan needs:

1. The service: what you do at each visit, as a checklist.
2. The frequency: weekly, every two weeks, monthly, quarterly, twice a year or yearly.
3. The term: often 12 months, renewing unless cancelled.
4. Member perks: optional, like priority booking or a discount on repairs.
5. Exclusions: what costs extra, such as parts, major repairs or extra rooms.

For example, a membership plan for HVAC customers might be two tune ups a year with priority booking. Keep it simple. One plan done well beats four confusing ones. You can add a second tier later.

Example visit checklist, HVAC tune up

• Check thermostat operation and settings.
• Replace or clean the filter.
• Inspect electrical connections and tighten as needed.
• Check refrigerant pressures (cooling) or burner and flame (heating).
• Clean condensate drain line.
• Inspect blower and motor.
• Note any issues and leave a written summary.

Step 2: Price the plan with real numbers

Maintenance plan pricing should start from your costs, not from what a competitor charges. Use this method:

1. Cost per visit = labor hours × loaded hourly cost + materials + travel + overhead share.
2. Annual cost = cost per visit × visits per year.
3. Plan price = annual cost + your profit margin.
4. Compare with what the same visits cost one at a time.

Here is a worked recurring plan pricing example. These numbers are for illustration only. Use your own costs and local rates.

Twice a year HVAC tune up plan

Now add margin. At a 25% markup on cost, $241.50 becomes about $302 a year. Round to a clean price, like $300 a year or $25 a month.

Then compare. If your one time tune up price is $179, two separate visits would cost the customer $358. The plan at $300 saves them $58 and gives you two booked visits, a reason to be in the home, and a chance to spot repairs early.

Add a perk, carefully A common perk is a percentage off repairs for members. Check that the discount still leaves you a healthy margin on repairs before you offer it. Priority booking costs you nothing in dollars and is often valued just as much.

Weekly and monthly services For a weekly lawn service, the same math applies per visit, but travel matters more. Plans work best when customers are close together, so price routes, not just yards. A customer three streets from your other stops costs less to serve than one 20 minutes away.

Step 3: Write a simple service agreement

You do not need a ten page contract. A one page service agreement template covers most plans:

Service agreement template

• Customer: name, address, phone, email.
• Plan name and term: "Comfort Plan, 12 months starting [date]."
• Included: the visit checklist and number of visits.
• Schedule: "Spring visit in March or April, fall visit in September or October."
• Price and billing: "$300 per year, billed at signup," or "$25 per month."
• Not included: parts, repairs, after hours calls, unless listed.
• Member perks: any discounts or priority booking.
• Rescheduling: how much notice you need.
• Cancellation: how to cancel and whether any refund applies.
• Renewal: whether it renews and how you will remind them first.
• Signature and date.

State laws on automatic renewals and service contracts vary. Check the rules in your state, or ask a local attorney, before you use auto renewal language.

In Dheed, you can send the plan as an estimate with the agreement terms in the description, and the customer signs on their phone. The signed copy is kept on their record, and the approval creates the job.

Step 4: How to set up recurring service plans in your schedule

A plan only works if the visits actually happen. Recurring visit scheduling is where many businesses fall down, because visits live in a spreadsheet or someone's memory.

Set up each plan in your scheduling system with:

• Frequency, from every week to every year.
• Start date and time.
• Length of the visit, including travel buffer.
• Assigned technician or crew.
• End date, matching the agreement term.
• Price shown to the customer.

In Dheed's field service scheduling software, recurring services work this way. Dheed books the visits as real appointments 45 days ahead, keeps end of month dates correct, and if you change or pause a plan, it cancels that plan's future visits quietly and rebooks them. The plan shows on the customer's contact page and in the Work, Recurring list. Reminders go out before each visit by email, and by text if you use texting.

Customers can see their recurring services, upcoming and past visits, and the price in the customer portal for service businesses, which cuts down on "when are you coming?" calls.

How billing works in Dheed today

Be clear on this: Dheed does not create recurring invoices yet. You have two simple options:

• Bill the term up front: one invoice at signup for the year.
• Bill per visit: invoice from each completed visit.

Card payments go to your own Stripe account and carry Stripe's fee plus a Dheed platform fee by plan. You can also record cash or check payments by hand. Overdue invoice reminders at 3, 7 and 14 days can run as an automation.

Step 5: Sell the plan without being pushy

Learning how to sell maintenance plans is mostly about timing and honesty. The best moments to offer a plan:

• Right after a repair, when the customer has just felt the cost of a breakdown.
• At the end of a one time visit that went well.
• On the estimate, as a separate option.
• Before the season starts, by email to past customers.

A short plan script for technicians "Everything looks good today. A lot of our customers put this on a schedule so they don't have to remember. Our plan is two visits a year for $300, and you'd get priority booking if something breaks. Want me to leave you the details, or set it up now?"

Then stop talking and let them decide. If they say no, thank them and leave the details.

Never promise outcomes you cannot control, like "your system will never break." Say what the plan includes and what it is designed to help with.

Step 6: Keep plans running and renew them

Recurring revenue for service businesses depends on renewals. Build a light routine:

• Every visit: leave a short written summary so the customer sees the value.
• Every month: check for skipped or cancelled visits and reschedule them.
• 60 days before renewal: remind the customer what the plan included this year.
• 30 days before renewal: send the renewal invoice or agreement.
• After a cancellation: ask one simple question about why, and note the reason.

Use tags or a custom field in your CRM for service businesses to mark plan members, so you can find them fast for renewals and seasonal emails.

Launch checklist

• [ ] One plan defined with a visit checklist.
• [ ] Price worked out from your real cost per visit.
• [ ] One page agreement written and reviewed.
• [ ] Recurring schedule set up for each member.
• [ ] Billing method chosen: up front or per visit.
• [ ] Technician script practiced.
• [ ] Renewal reminders on the calendar.

That is how to set up recurring service plans that customers understand and keep. Trades with seasons, like HVAC business software and landscaping business software users, often start with one plan before their busy season. Scheduling, estimates and invoices are on every Dheed plan, so you can see plans and pricing or start free and set up your first plan today.

Frequently asked questions