# HVAC Back Office Software System | HVACSoftware.com

> Connect HVAC estimates, price books, service agreements, invoices, workflows, timesheets, and QuickBooks Online to the same operating record.

*Markdown mirror of https://hvacsoftware.com/back-office/ — Back office.*

**Back office for HVAC — estimates, invoices, agreements, workflows**

The job the field completes is the record the office prices, invoices, follows up, and connects to accounting.

One native job. Front office to dispatcher to back office.

## One-off vs recurring estimates

Spot repair quotes and seasonal maintenance packages share one estimate engine — the recurrence rule is what changes.

A one-off prices this visit. A recurring or maintenance estimate prices the package the next visits read. Both sit on the same customer and equipment.

[Open estimates](https://hvacsoftware.com/back-office/estimates/)

The gain is a readable chain from catalog and estimate through work, invoice, agreement, time, and accounting — with each record keeping the responsibility it actually owns.

### Same engine. Different recurrence.

| Kind | What it prices | What approval becomes |

| --- | --- | --- |

| One-off | This visit's repair or replace, from the price book or a custom line | A job, or an invoice, on the same record |
| Recurring / maintenance | A seasonal package or plan sale, with a cadence the next visits read | The service agreement and the visits it creates |
| Phased | Sections that split a commercial change-out | Progress invoices against the accepted option |

Spot quotes and membership packages are not two products. The recurrence rule is a field on the estimate, not a second tool.

## Good-better-best as native structure

Present recommended options on the estimate. Star a default. The customer picks and signs.

Each option has its own line items, markup, and total. A deposit on the accepted option carries to the invoice so it is not charged twice.

[Open GBB options](https://hvacsoftware.com/back-office/estimates/)

### Each option carries its own total.

- **Estimate Options** — Turn them on and present good, better, and best side by side.
- **Star a default** — The middle option is the one the estimate leans toward.
- **One approval** — The customer picks on the estimate. That choice declines the rest.
- **Deposit** — A percent or a fixed amount. It carries to the invoice.

A single price is a yes or a no. Three options turn the conversation into which one — on the job, not in a side deck.

### Signed, deposited, converted — still the same record.

1. **Price the work** — Pull parts and labor from the price book, or type a one-off line. Markup and tax recalculate as you go.
2. **Close at the door** — Annotate the photo, collect the deposit, capture an e-signature.
3. **Convert once** — The accepted option becomes a scheduled job or an invoice. Line items and the deposit carry over.

Nothing gets retyped onto a second ticket. The accepted option is what dispatch and the books already know.

## Invoices, payments, and deposits

The approved estimate becomes the invoice on the same job. Collect an online card payment or record a manual payment. The deposit already taken rolls forward.

Mark the visit complete and the invoice can build from the line items, taxes, and deposits already there. Partial payments stay on that record.

[Open invoices](https://hvacsoftware.com/back-office/invoices/)

### Approved estimate → invoice. Deposit rolls forward.

1. **Accept the option** — The signed estimate already holds the line items, tax, and any deposit.
2. **Finish the visit** — Mark the job or visit complete. The invoice can build itself from what is already there.
3. **Send the link** — Email or text the customer view. A connected Stripe checkout can accept an online card payment; other payments can be recorded manually.

The deposit already collected applies on the invoice. It is not charged a second time.

### How the invoice gets paid.

- **Online card** — A Stripe checkout link on the invoice when the connection is configured.
- **In person or terminal** — Collect on site. The payment lands on the same invoice.
- **Partials** — Tracked to the cent. The remaining balance stays on the record.
- **Card on file** — Recurring work can auto-charge after the invoice is generated.

Auto-pay retries a declined card and writes every attempt on the invoice. If retries exhaust, the invoice is marked payment-failed for a person.

### Recurring and progress — still invoices, on a cadence.

| Cadence | When it bills | Typical HVAC use |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Per visit | After the visit is marked complete | A plan stop, then the invoice |
| Weekly / monthly / annual | On the day you set for that contract | Retainers and memberships billed as a period |
| Progress / phased | A percent at each milestone | A commercial change-out split across deposits |

Visit-based or fixed-price. Only completed visits trigger visit-based invoices. Draft or scheduled visits are not charged.

## Memberships and maintenance agreements

Service agreements connect commercial terms, covered equipment, recurring work, renewal, and the ordinary invoice flow.

The agreement is distinct from the recurring job that creates visits and the invoice that bills completed work or a configured recurring charge.

[Open memberships](https://hvacsoftware.com/back-office/memberships/)

### The plan is sold as an estimate on the property.

1. **Tier the offer** — Visits per year, priority booking, repair discounts. Tiers live on the record, not in a column.
2. **Approve the sale** — The customer signs the same way they sign a replace estimate. The sale and the agreement are one record.
3. **Attach the equipment** — Coverage points at the units on the property — model, serial, warranty — so the next visit already knows what it is for.

Residential tune-up memberships and commercial PM contracts are the same object with different terms: frequency, coverage, price, renewal.

### What the agreement holds, and what it creates.

| Field | What it means | What runs from it |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Frequency | Two tune-ups a year, quarterly rooftop calls, a monthly filter route | A configured recurring workflow creates the jobs or visits |
| Coverage | Which units at which property the plan includes | The tech opens the equipment already on the job |
| Entitlements | Visits per year, priority booking, repair discounts | Member pricing pulls into the next job |
| Term | The end date the agreement watches | Renewal is prompted before the plan lapses |

Scheduling and assignment stay explicit. The workflow creates the required work. A person still applies the dispatch.

### Billing stays in the standard invoice flow.

- **Closed visit** — Agreement and job context carry into the ordinary invoice.
- **Who invoices** — The standard invoice flow, under the account's configured process — not a hidden membership cycle.
- **Auto-pay** — A saved default card is charged once that invoice exists.
- **Win-back** — A lapsed plan moves to a state the office can see, instead of vanishing.

The membership is the agreement. The invoice is still an invoice you can open and correct. Auto-pay does not skip that record.

## Workflow automation for readable office processes

Triggers, conditions, delays, and object-supported actions can continue estimate, invoice, and renewal work.

An AI Agent step can reason over selected context inside the explicit path. Connections, roles, stop conditions, and run results remain visible.

[Open follow-up](https://hvacsoftware.com/back-office/workflows/)

### Two chases. One job object.

| Follow-up | What it watches | Visible control |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Estimate follow-up | An estimate that went out and has not been accepted | Configured action and connection; acceptance provides the stop path |
| Invoice follow-up | An invoice past due with a remaining balance | Configured action and connection; payment provides the stop path |

The follow-up stays on the record. Trigger, delay, condition, action, channel connection, permission, and run result remain visible to the office.

### A late invoice, as a path you can read.

The workflow is deterministic. An AI Agent step can draft the reminder from selected context. Channel connections, permissions, conditions, and stop paths still govern what the workflow can do.

- **Invoice unpaid** — status changed
- **Wait three days** — delay
- **Still unpaid** — condition
- **AI agent** — drafts the reminder
- **Email, SMS, or WhatsApp** — requires the corresponding connection

## Controlled products, services, and packages

One governed catalog supplies descriptions, pricing, tax behavior, and line-item structure to estimates, jobs, and invoices.

Role permissions separate people who use approved items from people who edit cost, sell price, categories, bundles, and document columns.

[Open the price book](https://hvacsoftware.com/back-office/price-book/)

### Shared line-item configuration preserves structure.

The table explains which catalog fields follow a selected item. It does not imply that editing an issued financial document silently rewrites its history.

| Catalog control | Estimate and job | Visit, request, and invoice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Name and description | Give the quoted scope a consistent customer-facing identity | Keep completed work and billing recognizable to the office and customer |
| Cost and sell price | Support internal pricing decisions and the visible quoted amount | Preserve the approved commercial basis while issued records retain their own history |
| Taxable flag | Applies the configured tax behavior when the item is selected | Carries consistent intent into billing for review under the shop's tax configuration |
| Line-item columns | Show the required quantity, rate, unit, code, or custom detail | Keep table structure aligned across records instead of rebuilding document layouts |
| Role permission | Lets approved users consume catalog items | Restricts catalog editing, costs, and administrative configuration to the intended roles |

### The price source stays connected to the work.

Category → Product or Service → Package or Bundle → Estimate → Job → Invoice. Cost is an internal input; sell price is customer-facing. Markup describes price relative to cost, while margin describes profit relative to sell price. A taxable flag and line-item columns preserve document behavior across the chain.

## Timesheets and labor profitability

The beta add-on reconstructs paid time from field evidence, then sends uncertain blocks to managers for review.

Labor margin compares job revenue with verified labor cost. It does not claim full profit or deduct materials, equipment, subcontractors, or overhead.

[Open timesheets](https://hvacsoftware.com/back-office/timesheets/)

### Timesheet rebuilds the week. Managers touch exceptions.

- **Evidence** — Clock punches, geofence entry and exit, visit status, route history, work timers.
- **Confidence** — Each block is Verified, Partial, or Low. Thresholds are configurable.
- **Inbox** — Only the entries the ledger cannot confirm, each with a suggested fix.
- **Payroll** — A review pass over a week. Corrections append — they do not overwrite the trail.

Timesheet is an add-on. Technicians see their own day. Dispatchers and admins see the ledger. A new custom role does not inherit manager screens by accident.

### The field day and the books share a job.

| On the job | What the office can see | What we do not invent |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Labor | Hours reconstructed against the visit, with a profitability review | A published margin percentage |
| Parts | Line items already on the estimate and the invoice | A second costing spreadsheet |
| The day | The same job the dispatcher applied | A truck-cost figure we did not compute |

Labor from the timesheet and parts on the job sit on one record so the office can see what the day took. We do not publish a margin number we did not calculate.

## QuickBooks Online and accounting sync

Supported finalized invoices and payments move under a connected accounting integration and current plan requirements.

Automatic forward sync begins at the connection date. Selected older invoices use manual sync; QuickBooks Desktop is excluded.

[Open books sync](https://hvacsoftware.com/back-office/quickbooks/)

### Supported records cross a documented accounting boundary.

- **QuickBooks Online** — Finalized invoices move into the connected account; supported payments can sync in both directions.
- **Xero and Wave** — Supported secondary accounting destinations under their documented connection behavior.
- **Connection date** — Defines the automatic-forward boundary; selected older invoices use manual sync.
- **The invoice** — Remains the operating record on the job while accounting owns ledger reconciliation.

The current Pro plan and a connection are required. Sync history shows outcomes; the shop still reviews mapping, duplicates, failures, and reconciliation.

## Front office, the dispatcher, and the shop stay next door.

They write and apply the same record. This page owns the books.

- [Front office](https://hvacsoftware.com/front-office/)
- [AI dispatcher](https://hvacsoftware.com/ai-dispatcher/)
- [Home back office](https://hvacsoftware.com/#back)
- [Home OS table](https://hvacsoftware.com/#shops)
- [Marketing](https://hvacsoftware.com/#marketing)
- [Book a demo](https://hvacsoftware.com/back-office/#demo)

## The books, answered.

What back office includes, how one-off and recurring estimates differ, and how follow-up and QuickBooks sit on the job.

### What does HVAC back office software include?

HVAC back office software connects the catalog, estimates, invoices, service agreements, workflows, timesheets, and accounting handoff to the same operating record. Online card payments use the connected Stripe path, while other payments can be recorded manually. Roles, connections, object support, and shop configuration determine which actions are available.

### One-off vs recurring estimates — what's the difference?

A one-off estimate prices this visit's repair or replace. A recurring or maintenance estimate prices a seasonal package or a plan sale, with a cadence the next visits read. Both use the same estimate engine and the same customer and equipment. Approval becomes a job or an invoice on that record, or the service agreement the plan visits bill from.

### How does good-better-best work in estimates?

Turn on Estimate Options and present good, better, and best side by side. Each option has its own line items, markup, and total. Star one as the default. The customer approves the option they want; that approval declines the rest. A deposit on the accepted option carries to the invoice so it is not charged twice.

### Can AI follow up on estimates and unpaid invoices?

Yes, when an explicit workflow is configured for the supported estimate or invoice event. Conditions and delays control timing, while a connected action or bounded AI Agent step can prepare the next move. Accepted estimates and paid invoices provide stop conditions. Approval behavior depends on the action and configuration rather than a universal pause.

### How do memberships and maintenance agreements bill?

The plan is sold as an estimate and held as a service agreement on the customer and the covered equipment. A configured recurring workflow creates the visits. A completed visit carries the agreement into the ordinary invoice. Recurring billing can charge a card on file after that invoice exists. Renewal is tracked before the term lapses.

### Does it sync with QuickBooks?

Yes. Supported finalized invoices move to QuickBooks Online after the current Pro-plan connection is configured, and supported payments can sync in both directions. Xero and Wave are also documented destinations. Automatic forward behavior starts at the connection date; selected older invoices use manual sync. QuickBooks Desktop is not included.

## See the books on the job. Book a demo.

A walkthrough of the price book, estimate options, an invoice with a deposit, a service agreement, a workflow, labor review, and the accounting boundary. One conversation, not a self-serve signup.

### Who this is for

- **Residential** — Sell the membership at the kitchen table and bill the visits on the same record.
- **Commercial** — Phase a change-out, progress-bill it, and keep the agreement on the equipment.
- **Enterprise** — Share a price book and one invoice flow across branches, with follow-up the office can read.

### What a demo covers

- **Estimates** — One-off vs a maintenance package — same engine.
- **GBB** — Three options, a deposit, convert once.
- **Invoices** — The same job, a payment link, the deposit rolled forward.
- **Memberships** — The agreement on the customer and the equipment, then the visits.
- **Workflows** — Open estimate and aged invoice — explicit triggers, conditions, actions, and stop paths.
- **Books** — QuickBooks Online on the finalized invoice the office already has.

### What we ask in the first conversation

1. Do quotes and invoices live on the same job today?
2. Is the membership a record, or a spreadsheet the office reconciles?
3. What follow-up still depends on someone remembering to send it?

[Book a demo](https://calendly.com/jeel-fieldcamp/30min?utm_source=hvacsoftware.com&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=back-office)

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