Who it's for
Owners, general managers and office or service managers of residential and light commercial AC, plumbing and electrical companies, from one truck to fifty.
Homeowners: we don't do repairs. Please call a licensed local contractor.
Free resources for AC, plumbing and electrical owners
A free library of guides, playbooks, calculators and industry numbers for the people who run AC, plumbing and electrical companies. No login, nothing to buy.
AC.Plumbing.Electrical.
Three trades that keep homes running. One place to run them better.
ACHeat waves, cold snaps, shoulder seasonsPlumbingFreezes, water heaters, repeat drainsElectricalStorms, panels, EV chargers
Your work isn't the problem. The money gets away before the truck ever rolls: calls nobody answers, leads nobody calls back, past customers nobody contacts, and open slots on a Tuesday.
A SLOW TUESDAY · ILLUSTRATIVE5 of 12 slots booked
8-1010-1212-22-4
AC
Tune-upBooked
open
Missed callWent to voicemail
open
PlumbingDrainBooked
Web leadNot called back
open
LeakBooked
Electricalopen
BreakerBooked
open
Panel quoteNo follow-up
Customer list: not being workedTrucks: still on payroll
What this site is
Practical help for running a trade business
Most owners got into the trades because they're good at the work. Nobody taught them how to answer every call, keep good techs, finance a truck or get ready for a buyer. This site collects what works, in plain language, with sources.
What you'll find
Guides and playbooks you can read in 3 to 5 minutes and download, calculators, sourced benchmarks, rule changes, templates, a message board and working software demos.
Who publishes it, and why
Service ProCall works with AC, plumbing and electrical companies on phones, past-customer outreach and software. We publish what we learn. Everything here is yours to use whether or not you ever work with us. About Service ProCall
Start with what's on your mind
Common problems, proven fixes
What leading companies are doing about it
The same problems show up in almost every trade shop. Here is how the companies pulling ahead are solving them, as reported in trade press.
| The problem | What leading companies do | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Calls ring out or sit on hold | Live overflow and after-hours agents who book on the first call | Read |
| Answered calls that never book | Trained agents, your scripts, recorded calls you can review | Read |
| A light board in the shoulder months | Equity mining: calling past customers with a no-charge visit offer | Read |
| Past customers drifting away | Seasonal, renewal and check-in calls on a schedule | Read |
| Estimates nobody follows up | A follow-up team that works every open estimate | Read |
| An office and dispatcher at the limit | Overflow coverage plus one field service system | Read |
| Paper, spreadsheets and late invoices | Field service software with your list imported on day one | Read |
The work
AC, plumbing and electrical, every day
Three trades, the same homeowners, and the same pressure: answer fast, show up on time, do it right and earn the next call.
66%of calls actually answered, while owners guessed 97%
85%of people who reach no one never call back
42 hrsaverage first response to a web lead
$149-$183per non-branded Google lead, HVAC to plumbing
The owner's library
Start with what you need today
PlaybooksPlays by trade, scripts, reviews, training, field salesFor ownersFinancing, fleet, private equity and growthYour teamKeep techs, get production, compliance, profitGuides16 short, practical guidesTemplatesChecklists and worksheets to copyCalculatorsMissed calls, outsourcing, reviews and salesBenchmarksSourced numbers and KPI formulasWhat's changingRules and dates that affect your shopGlossaryTrade and phone terms explainedCommunityTrade ideas with other ownersPACE clubPlays, benchmarks and the Scorecard
Sound familiar?
What we hear from owners
You built a good company by doing good work. These problems don't show up on a job site. They show up in the office, on the phone and in the schedule.
"The phone rings when nobody can get to it."
Monday mornings, the lunch hour, after hours and the first brutal weather day. The caller tries the next company.
"We'll call that lead back when we get a minute."
Techs are in the field and the form sits in an inbox. By the time you call, someone else booked the job.
"We spend more on ads every year."
You keep paying to reach strangers while the people who already trust you hear nothing from you.
"We have thousands of customers. Nobody calls them."
Years of records sit in your software. Aging equipment, lapsed plans and old customers get no outreach.
"Tuesday is empty. Saturday is slammed."
Slow days still cost you payroll, trucks and overhead. Jobs scatter across the map instead of clustering by zip.
"We quoted it. Then nothing happened."
The homeowner said "not yet," nobody followed up, and the job went to whoever called last.
"Our dispatcher is at the breaking point."
One person is running the phones and the board at once. When good people burn out, you start over.
"It was booked. Nobody was home."
A truck rolled and the door stayed shut. Vague bookings and no confirmation burn your best hours.
"I can't tell you what any of it produced."
Call logs show activity. They don't show which calls turned into shown visits, sold jobs and revenue.
Your trade
Every trade leaks in its own way
AC and HVAC
Your year swings between too many calls and not enough.
What hurts
- The first heat wave or hard freeze can double or triple calls in an hour
- Shoulder months go quiet while techs and trucks stay on payroll
- Cutting hours loses good techs, and discounts teach customers to wait for a sale
- A non-branded Google lead averages about $149
What gets missed
- Systems 7 years and older that nobody calls about until they fail
- Lapsed maintenance plans drifting to a competitor
- Replacement quotes that never got a second call
- Your best time to call past customers, the mild months, going unused
What works
- Pre-season tune-ups and no-charge inspections from your own customer list
- Outreach that steps up in shoulder months and backs off at peak
- Replacement follow-up on aging systems
- Inbound overflow and shift coverage for weather surges
Plumbing
Urgent work goes to whoever answers first.
What hurts
- A leak or backup does not wait for a callback
- Emergencies arrive after hours and on weekends
- A non-branded Google lead averages about $183, even higher than HVAC
- Customers call when something breaks, then disappear for years
What gets missed
- Water heaters 10 years and older, still running until they flood
- Customers you have not heard from in 12 to 24 months
- Maintenance agreements that lapsed without a call
- The bigger job a tech spotted and nobody followed up on
What works
- Every call answered, including overflow and after hours, with emergencies routed your way
- Water heater outreach before the failure
- Lapsed-customer recovery and agreement renewals
- New leads worked in minutes
Electrical
Customers need you rarely, so they forget who you are.
What hurts
- Long gaps between visits mean your name fades
- Small service calls tie up a skilled electrician
- Storms bring sudden surges your office can't absorb
- BLS projects about 72,700 electrician openings a year, so every tech's day has to count
What gets missed
- Outdated panels your techs saw and nobody called about
- Homes that never got a safety inspection offer
- Past customers adding new electrical loads who call someone else
- Storm-readiness work booked by whoever asks first
What works
- Outreach to homes with flagged panels
- No-charge whole-home safety inspections that open the door
- Seasonal storm-readiness campaigns
- Trained schedulers who book the visit and leave the diagnosis to your tech
Missed opportunities
The revenue you already paid for
Two leaks cost more than almost anything else, and neither shows up on your P&L.
Calls you never knew you missed
Asked what share of calls they answer, home service owners estimated 97%. Call tracking measured 66%. Calls cluster on Monday mornings, at lunch, after hours and on the worst weather days, or land on a dispatcher who is already on the line.
- 1,000inbound calls a month
- 340missed at a 66% answer rate
- 289never call back
- 116needed service you could book
- 58jobs that would have booked
$312,120 a year in first-visit revenue, before any repeat work or replacements.
Illustrative model from White Paper 04: 40% of missed callers bookable, half of those book, $450 first visit. Use your own numbers.
- 66 answered
- 5 missed, but they call back
- 29 missed and gone for good
Applies the 66% answer rate and 85% no-callback rate to 100 calls.
The customers nobody is calling
Your database holds homes you have already been inside, equipment you have already seen, and people who already said yes to you once. Winning a new customer can cost 5 to 25 times what it costs to keep one. Most of the value comes from a small share of conversations that uncover a system near the end of its life, and you can't find those homeowners with an ad.
Size up my databaseOne pass through a 5,000-customer list
- 3,000reachable
- 1,050live conversations
- $55,125service and maintenance visits
- $189,000replacements from systems near end of life
$244,125 modeled revenue
Illustrative model from White Paper 03. Your list, rates and tickets will differ.
For growing companies
Still running on a spreadsheet?
Spreadsheets, thin technology and too few skilled people slow down good small companies. Get off the sheet and run like the big shops, even with five trucks.
- Spreadsheets: one file, one person who understands it, and every job typed in twice.
- Technology: paper tickets, late invoices and no follow-up.
- Talent: you can't hire your way out, so each person has to get more done.
- The move: a 14-step setup and an import tool that brings your sheet with you.
What's changing
On the calendar for your trade
All tradesEffective Nov 25, 2026
FCC changes how people opt out of automated calls and texts
The FCC replaced its planned "revoke all" rule. An opt-out from one kind of informational robocall or text can apply to that category, and callers may name exclusive opt-out methods if clearly disclosed. Telemarketing opt-outs still revoke consent to telemarketing.
What to do: Have counsel review your texting and calling opt-out process.
Source: National Law ReviewACIn effect 2026
R-410A installation deadline lifted
EPA removed the January 1, 2026 installation deadline for qualifying residential and light commercial R-410A equipment made or imported before January 1, 2025. The industry is still moving to R-454B and R-32.
What to do: Check distributor stock and pricing before quoting, and give your team one plain explanation for homeowners.
Source: ACCAPlumbingStarts May 6, 2029
New federal water heater standards
DOE standards apply to consumer water heaters from May 6, 2029. Most common-size electric storage heaters will need heat pump technology.
What to do: Start training and financing conversations early, and flag homes where a heat pump unit may not fit.
Source: Federal RegisterOur focus and our commitment
Three trades and nobody else
Every agent, script and standard is built around how AC companies, plumbers and electricians earn money. Our agents are trained on tonnage, SEER2 ratings, water heater lifespan and panel capacity before they ever talk to your customer.
We work as your solutions and profit center. The phone stops being a cost and starts filling the board.
- 3trades, one industry
- 20 yrscombined industry experience
- 100%of calls analyzed
What the same Tuesday can look like
SAMPLE BOARD · TUESDAY11 of 12 slots booked
8-1010-1212-22-4
AC
Tune-upPast customer
No-coolInbound
Replace est.14-yr system
Tune-upLapsed plan
PlumbingWater heater10+ yrs old
DrainInbound
open
Leak checkNo-charge visit
ElectricalPanel est.Flagged panel
Safety insp.No-charge visit
BreakerInbound
EV chargerEstimate
Zip-clustered routesBooked straight to dispatch
The revenue engine
Our service and our apps run as one machine
Most contractors stitch together a call center, a phone system, field software and a spreadsheet, then wonder why nobody can say what worked. We built every piece to feed the next one, from the first dial to the sold job.
01
Your database
Aging equipment, lapsed plans and unsold estimates become a ranked call list.
Our teamHub
02
Every call
Outbound campaigns and inbound lines run on trained schedulers and measured standards.
Our teamVoice
03
A full board
Bookings land on dispatch, clustered by zip and sized to the techs you actually have.
VoiceField
04
Visits that show
Booking details are verified on the call. Reminders and confirmations follow.
Our teamField
05
Sold work
Your tech runs the visit with quotes, offer sheets and payment in hand.
Field
06
Proof, then repeat
Shows, closes and revenue come back to you, and the plan gets sharper every cycle.
Our teamHub
Published by Service ProCall
Want someone to run this for you?
Everything here is yours to use on your own. If you would rather have a team do it, that is what we do.
The PACE email club
Plumbers, AC, Electrical
Playbooks, Answers, Community and Early access for owners in the three trades. Free to join, and you can leave with one click.