Time is already precious in the HVAC industry — whether it’s responding to an emergency call or trying to find enough hours in the day to get everything done, time wasted is money wasted.

But luckily, thanks to a wide range of powerful software options that allow users to automate many different aspects of the customer interaction process, there are now ways contractors can claw some of that precious time back.

Leaving some of these tasks to software and AI applications also allows both technicians and staff to focus on more important aspects of the jobs, and enhances the accuracy of communication between customer and company. In turn, alleviating certain tasks can also open the door to more sales.

Endless Possibilities to Save Time (and Money)

For contractors involved in any aspect of HVAC, a lot of time is spent juggling multiple customers, projects, employees, and the skilled craft they excel in, all while managing the responsibilities of being a business owner.

“It’s a complex dance, one that often leads to chaos and inefficiency,” Roland Ligtenberg, co-founder of Housecall Pro, said of day-to-day HVAC business operations. “Housecall Pro changes the game by automating and streamlining the monotonous tasks that plague contractors daily.”

Just think about customer communication — letting them know a tech is on the way, reminding them of past due invoices, or facilitating collecting payments in various forms. These tasks are critical, they are time-consuming, and they can be automated.

“Follow-ups on unsold estimates, crucial for revenue, become seamless as the software consistently nudges the customer multiple times, increasing your chances of winning jobs,” Ligtenberg added. “Collecting payments is another area where time slips through the cracks and uncollected service jobs across multiple techs add up. Automation in Housecall Pro ensures nothing is forgotten, helping you focus on what truly matters — growing your business.”

These business software functions are not only a boon to business owners, but also to employees, who spend a lot of time dealing with data collection. If there is a central repository in play, everyday tasks like sales notifications and customer correspondence become automatic, and that means a little less on their plate.

“With instant access to trends about the assets they work on, techs can identify upsell opportunities in real-time, and utilize instant email notifications to the sales team,” said Aaron Salow, CEO at XOi Technologies. “Technicians who use XOi begin each job with a simple photo of a data plate, which sparks instant notation of the unit being worked on, and it creates a workflow in which all of their work is captured. This work ("data") is aggregated and analyzed by XOi — the software then provides efficiency-producing insights for contractors to run their business more effectively.”

On-site registration and commissioning processes can also be a drag, but luckily, there are solutions for those tasks as well.

“With this software, contractors can register and bind heat pump products in approximately two minutes. During on-site commissioning, the software intuitively displays operating data, performance curves, and fault information, enabling contractors to quickly debug and resolve issues,” said Mark Lee, vice president of product management at Ecoer.

In the home services sector, significant time is also often wasted on costs associated with showing up to provide quotes, handling customer redo requests, and dealing with low-return jobs.

“GlassHouse helps contractors target customers and properties that match their "ideal customer job" profile, giving them more opportunities with customers who need and value their services,” said Jimmy Speyer, founder and CEO of GlassHouse. “By identifying prospects who frequently leave one or two-star reviews, contractors can bypass these time-wasting and costly interactions, saving both time and money.”

And the numbers back it up. XOi users see a 20% reduction in time per task, 24% increase in revenue per service call, 40% reduction in second truck rolls, and 30% reduction in customer credits. Housecall Pro users report reclaiming over 8.6 hour per week, with a 35% increase in monthly revenue after just one year while also managing to complete 24% more jobs each month. GlassHouse users see a drastic increased in “billed hours,” which becomes a force multiplier for an existing business, resulting in less of a need to increase leads or hire more staff just to make more money.

Eliminate Scheduling Conflicts, Improve Communication

A great way to lose business or hurt the reputation of a company is to overlap jobs or not understand exactly what the customer wants.

By creating a central hub for everyone's availability, deadlines, and appointments, software eliminates the back-and-forth of checking calendars and prevents double-booking.

“Real-time updates ensure everyone sees changes immediately, reducing wasted communication. Advanced features can even proactively detect potential conflicts based on factors like skills and travel time,” Speyer said. “Some software even helps find solutions, suggesting alternate times or identifying someone available to cover a shift.”

When all job site work is documented and captured in centralized workflows in a single app — not kept in the tech’s brain or lost between multiple devices — communication issues can also be eliminated.

“Technicians using XOi are communicating the work they do on-site by simultaneously following workflow steps that capture their work,” Salow said. “With the use of AI technology, the work becomes even more streamlined both internally and with customers.”

Those techs who struggle with written work summaries can also now lean on AI for assistance, which ensures a clear and concise message is sent to the customer, and reduces stress on the tech.

“Communication works seamlessly from the technician outward and from the back office/OEM/owner back to the technician,” Salow added.

By centralizing communication, techs and office workers can see the same conversations that occurred with clients, meaning they can be referenced and understood without additional information having to be exchanged, and maybe misinterpreted, between employees.

“This transparency prevents miscommunications and ensures everyone is on the same page. Promises made to customers are kept, and nothing falls through the cracks,” Ligtenberg said. “As your company grows, you need to see all calls and jobs on one board. Housecall Pro allows you to filter across different departments easily and schedule non-work items like vacations, trainings, and PTO days. Our new map view feature lets you assign jobs based on technician location, optimizing efficiency and reducing conflicts. It’s about creating a harmonious workflow that drives productivity.”

Improved aspects of communication in the software sense also aren’t necessarily exclusive to person-to-person.

“When the unit is connected to the ESS PRO app, any fault or alarm triggers a push notification to the contractor,” Lee said. “This enables remote diagnosis and resolution of issues, and even allows for the advance arrangement of spare parts.”

Installation, Productivity, and Sales

Now that the job is scheduled and everyone is on the same page, software is along for the ride on the next leg of the project as well.

Software like GlassHouse offers a multi-pronged approach to boosting sales and streamlining the installation process — it integrates with existing CRM systems, allowing service professionals to easily request reviews from past customers.

“This can significantly enhance their online reputation and local search presence on platforms like Google and Yelp, leading to more qualified leads,” Speyer said. “Additionally, GlassHouse employs smart filtering to target marketing efforts towards ideal customers, maximizing return on investment for marketing spend. This targeted approach ensures service professionals connect with customers most likely to convert, ultimately leading to a smoother sales and installation experience.”

At XOi, they believe seeing is believing, which can also turn into additional sales.

“Video evidence breeds job opportunities — show your customers the work that needs to be done, document site work, and give your customers transparency and data-backed recommendations on both installations and additional job opportunities,” Salow said.

By cutting the sales process in half, more upsell opportunities become available and can be communicated directly from the job site to the sales team (and even off to the installation department) so that jobs get done quickly.

Software can also ensure that techs aren’t missing any critical steps in the installation process.

“During the installation process, Housecall Pro’s checklist feature ensures that technicians follow a consistent, high-quality process every time,” Ligtenberg said. “This process-driven approach is essential for growing companies, guaranteeing every customer interaction is a five-star experience. Quality assurance features embedded within Housecall Pro ensure that the end customer experience is consistently excellent.”

On the job site, software also eliminates techs having to search for information or trying to identify fixes via antiquated or unreliable sources.

“When technicians take a data plate photo via XOi, they save time and alleviate busy work looking for important equipment information such as service bulletins,” Salow said.

Eliminating a lot of the busy work in the sales and installation process through automation can boost productivity, especially for staff that is getting bogged down with scheduling and completing excessive quotes for jobs that might not go anywhere, anyway.

“Many leads from typical sites like Angi, Thumbtack, and HomeAdvisor (pay-per-lead engines) are looking for the cheapest deal, requiring a lot of time for little to no return,” Speyer said. “GlassHouse gives home service professionals the autonomy to find the right jobs, allowing staff to focus on priority leads. These leads come from targeted marketing efforts and free review collection reputation boosts, making home service companies top of mind for homeowners who want and value their services.”

Productivity is the lifeblood of any business — in the HVAC space, adopting a call-by-call management philosophy ensures that processes are followed meticulously.

“Housecall Pro automates these processes, significantly reducing the workload on office and CSR staff. This allows them to focus on more critical tasks, ensuring consistency and efficiency across operations,” Ligtenberg said. “Automation not only boosts productivity but also empowers your team to deliver better service, ultimately enhancing your business’s performance.”

Trends, Future Predictions

Like every other space in the HVAC industry, AI is positioning itself to play a larger and larger role as connectivity and customization are being demanded by customers.

“More automation is starting to make the field tech experience more real-time with the back office, and data collection is starting to get automated to help with sales coaching,” Speyer said. “We also are seeing an explosion of review collection tools available as Google prioritizes online reviews in its search rankings.”

But like with any other tech AI is involved in, it’s only as good as the data sets it's trained on.

“Smaller software companies may offer flashy AI features, but without robust data sets, these tools can feel generic. The trend is shifting towards companies leveraging proprietary data to train their AI systems,” Ligtenberg said. “Contractors must ask how the AI was trained and where the data came from. Partnering with reputable software companies with extensive data points ensures that the AI tools are effective and reliable.”

Luckily, there are companies out there who are leveraging AI, and not just for the sake of fitting into the latest trend.

“For field service, the promise of revolutionary AI technology lies with the data that powers it,” Salow said. “For 10+ years, techs using XOi have been collecting information from the job site — content that fuels prompts to generate highly specific AI suggestions.”

As more companies adopt these technologies, the value of that data and how they leverage it will become more important. It can be used to engage with prospects between jobs and find new ways to target buyers and avoid being drowned out in the sea of sameness that has become home service advertising.

“We predict that the need to create more efficient customer acquisition motions is going to drive businesses to look for ways to do more targeted outbound marketing vs. focusing solely on inbound marketing efforts,” Speyer said.

At the end of the day, technology taking over some of the more mundane aspects of HVAC could help to shine a brighter spotlight on the industry’s commitment to craftsmanship.

“The essence of trades — craftsmanship, skill, and face-to-face communication and relationships with homeowners and local communities — will always be invaluable,” Ligtenberg said. “As AI and automation handle mundane tasks like data entry and scheduling, the true craftsmanship in trades will shine even brighter. Housecall Pro empowers tradespeople to focus on their core strengths: being out in the field, engaging with customers, serving the community, and solving complex problems. Even as AI accelerates, the need for skilled tradespeople will remain as robots won’t be going into hot attics or tight crawl spaces anytime soon. The human touch will continue to be indispensable, making the future of trades both exciting and secure.”