Asset Management for Commercial HVAC: A Solution for HVAC Businesses

Managing HVAC assets for commercial clients requires organized and detailed tracking of a lot of information, including the number of units in the facility, equipment locations, equipment manufacturers, model numbers, serial numbers, age, lifecycle, and more.

Traditionally, this information has been documented with a mix of three-ring binders, paper forms, and spreadsheets. However, this method of tracking asset data has come with many drawbacks in both the field and office, particularly affecting technicians during preventative maintenance visits. These challenges include:

• Lack of crucial information about an HVAC unit’s service and repair history.

• Missing one or more assets during their maintenance visit due to inadequate or outdated documentation.

• Lack of a reliable way to document maintenance activities and communicate with the office about issues that are discovered, leading to inefficiencies and potential oversights.

Meanwhile, office staff deal with other challenges, such as:

• Receiving incomplete information from on-site technicians when setting up or managing service agreements.

• Keeping the details of commercial service agreements up-to-date and organized.

• Needing to manually enter customer data into CRM systems and other apps they use to manage operations, leading to workflow inefficiencies.

To solve these and other issues, many HVAC companies are adopting asset management software solutions such as our platform, ServiceTitan. In this post, we’re going to walk through how our HVAC software helps companies manage and execute maintenance programs for commercial HVAC clients.

How ServiceTitan Streamlines HVAC Asset Management for Commercial Service Contracts

ServiceTitan offers a robust tracking system to help HVAC businesses create and manage service agreements tailored to the specific needs of their customers. When creating service agreements, users are guided through a workflow that includes options to:

• Select templates to use as a starting point for their agreement

• Select the locations covered under the agreement

• Select equipment at those locations

• Plan any maintenance visits covered under the agreement

• Set pricing, a billing schedule, and payment terms for the agreement

All aspects of service agreements can be managed on the Service Agreements screen, and you can also run reports on the profitability of your service agreements.

Managing Commercial HVAC Service Agreements from the Office

Each commercial service agreement that is created in ServiceTitan can be managed from the service agreement dashboard, which shows a high-level overview of the agreement, including scheduling notes and visits, covered locations, billing information, and more.

From the side menu, users can easily view:

• Details: Information about the agreement, including the account manager on the agreement, the template used to create the agreement, a summary of the agreement, and a PDF download of the agreement. 

• Profitability: Details on profitability reporting (such as budget versus actual, and expense details). 

• Billing and Invoices: Billing schedule, payment terms, and historical invoice information. 

• Visits: Historical and future visit information. 

• Equipment: Equipment added to the service agreement.

• Materials: Information about the materials expected to be used on each visit of the agreement. 

Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the key features that help with asset management.

Scheduling Visits

Service agreement visits provide office staff with a streamlined system to manage the maintenance schedule for HVAC service contracts. Users can view past and upcoming service visits, edit visits, and add new visits as needed. 

When adding a visit, users are guided through a series of fields and dropdown menus to define the following: 

• Visit name (e.g. Regular Maintenance, Cleaning, etc.)

• Visit window (date range for the visit)

• Job type (e.g. Filter Change)

• Cost estimate

• Task summary

• Equipment to be serviced

Once scheduled, these visits can be easily tracked and updated. Staff can also be notified when a visit is overdue.

Tracking Equipment

Service agreement equipment functions as an asset management system, enabling office staff to document equipment details such as manufacturer, model, serial number, installation date, and so on. 

Each piece of equipment that is covered in a service agreement can be added and attached to a specific location, such as a commercial building. Users can also define quantities for equipment and use tags to indicate equipment needs (e.g. “maintenance”).

Once this information is entered into the cloud-based system, it can be attached to service visits and easily accessed and updated by office and field service staff.

With these features, office staff no longer need to build and manage complex spreadsheet systems to track assets for their commercial clients. In addition, all of the information that is tracked through service agreements is seamlessly integrated with the other parts of the ServiceTitan platform, such as our CRM, reporting, and accounting features.

Executing HVAC Asset Management from the Field

When technicians are initially auditing commercial HVAC systems (e.g. during walk-throughs with facility managers), they’re able to use the ServiceTitan mobile app to document details about the commercial property and equipment to be serviced. This can include using relevant forms and checklists, taking photos and videos, and taking notes that can all be shared with office staff for creating the service agreement.

Then, once service technicians are on-site to perform HVAC preventative maintenance services, they have numerous tools at their disposal via our mobile app, including:

Access to Detailed Job Histories

First, they have access to the customer’s complete job history, including:

• Previous estimates

• Recurring services

• Existing HVAC equipment

• Previous invoices

• Photos and videos

• Job notes

There’s no need for them to constantly get on the phone with the office to figure out essential details, and there’s no chance of them forgetting key paperwork at the office. This helps avoid job delays and equipment downtime, provide better customer experiences, and avoid delays in service and payment.

Access to HVAC Maintenance Checklists

In addition, technicians can access or be prompted to fill out maintenance checklists via our custom forms feature. These checklists can be created and customized via the office or the field. Business owners can require technicians to complete these forms to close out a job — helping to foster accountability and ensure key steps aren’t missed during routine maintenance.

So, if a maintenance job requires assessing a commercial air conditioning system, the checklist can ensure techs perform a thorough checkup, grading all of the necessary elements. For example:

• Air intake

• HVAC piping

• Heat exchangers

• Condensers

• Refrigerant

• Humidifiers

• Controls

• Fans

• Air filters

• Air terminal units

• Coils and pans

• Etc.

These forms can be easily duplicated to account for maintaining multiple systems on a given job (particularly useful in a commercial service context). They also provide a form of documentation of work to explain to customers when an issue or breakdown needs to be addressed.

Access to Warranty Details and the Ability to Order Replacement Parts

In cases where technicians encounter faulty parts or equipment that needs to be replaced, they can easily access warranty information on that equipment (in cases where it was installed by their company). This can allow them to more quickly understand the next steps for addressing the issue. 

When parts or equipment are under warranty, techs can also initiate orders for replacement parts right from their tablet, which can then be followed up and executed by office or warehouse staff (who can leverage our HVAC inventory tracking workflow to see that entire process through). 

Ability to Quickly Create Estimates and Work Orders from the Field

When field technicians discover issues with HVAC equipment while on maintenance jobs, they can either:

1. Create an estimate on the spot for resolving the issue. Our mobile estimates feature allows technicians to select equipment and materials from ServiceTitan’s integrated pricebook functionality, and easily build an estimate on the spot. That estimate can be presented via the tablet if someone is on location to view the estimate, or it can be emailed for review and approval. 

2. Upload the relevant details of the issue to the mobile app (photos, videos, notes, etc.), and notify the office to create an estimate for resolving the issue. Office staff can view the photos, notes, etc. in real-time, allowing them to quickly create and send an estimate. There’s no need to wait for techs to bring paper documents back to the office, and there’s no chance of losing crucial photos or notes. This feature significantly reduces the time it takes to deliver estimates to customers, who often need the work done urgently. 

In addition, the same follow-up features can be used via the field and office to track and follow up on open estimates that are sent to customers, allowing you to close more deals and maximize profits. 

Automate Billing and Get Paid Faster

Finally, ServiceTitan offers several features that help you get paid faster with less effort on behalf of your team.

First, once you’ve defined the billing settings in the service agreement set-up, ServiceTitan will automatically deliver invoices to customers at the appropriate times (based on the preferences you set — which include duration, frequency, pricing, a corresponding invoice template, and other flexible details such as discounts, customer-specific pricing, etc.).

This is a huge timesaver, relieving your staff of the need to track every service agreement client, set reminders, create new invoices for each billing period, and ensure they get sent at the appropriate times. All of this is simply done for you. 

And second, customers also have access to a self-serve customer portal. This allows them to log in and view their maintenance agreement details any time, as well as view detailed job histories, schedule appointments, view invoices, and pay their bills — without the need to call in, make requests, speak to your team, etc. — all of which further reduce the demands on your staff, and free them up to focus on other important tasks.

See How ServiceTitan Can Help You Manage HVAC Assets for Commercial Clients

As we've explored, managing HVAC assets for commercial clients presents a unique set of challenges that require a sophisticated yet user-friendly solution. 

By adopting ServiceTitan, HVAC businesses can overcome traditional documentation drawbacks, improve communication between technicians and office staff, and ensure a high level of service for commercial clients. 

If you’re interested in streamlining commercial service agreements and preventative maintenance programs for your HVAC business, schedule a call for a free product tour.