HVAC Bookkeeping and Fractional CFO Services
Will found about $70,000 a year in lost profit for a Tampa Bay area HVAC company in a single review meeting. Sales were up $125,000 over the same period a year earlier, profit was flat, and installation margin had dropped about 5.5 points because most equipment price lists were out of date. Departmentalizing the books by service line made the problem visible.
In person across Tampa Bay (Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Manatee, Sarasota). Remote for HVAC companies nationwide.
Problems Will fixes for HVAC companies
- ServiceTitan data not reconciling to QuickBooks Online
- Equipment costs on change-outs running above margin
- Vendor price lists not updated as material costs rose
- Revenue growing while profit stays flat
Why a generalist bookkeeper isn't enough
Most bookkeepers record transactions, reconcile the bank and hand you a Profit and Loss statement once a month. Will reads your numbers the way a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) does: which service lines make money, where costs are drifting, what cash looks like 60 days out, and whether the books are telling you the truth.
Software Will works with
ServiceTitan is the dominant field service platform for HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) companies above about $3M in revenue; smaller shops often run Housecall Pro. Both sync to QuickBooks Online, but the sync needs careful general ledger mapping to produce accurate job-level costs. Without it, field revenue and accounting entries drift apart. Will maps the integration so your books reflect what your technicians are actually producing.
The numbers HVAC companies should watch every month
- Gross margin by service line: maintenance agreements, service and repair, replacement and new construction
- Equipment cost as a percentage of change-out revenue, month by month
- Revenue and gross profit per technician
- Maintenance agreement count and renewal rate
Bookkeeping or fractional CFO?
Construction bookkeeping
Weekly books, job costing, monthly financials and a CPA-ready year-end, about $1,000–$3,500 a month. Best for companies up to roughly $5M. See the tiers.
Fractional CFO
Cash forecasting, WIP and bonding reports, budgets, pricing and growth strategy, typically $6,000–$12,000 a month. Best for companies from roughly $5M to $50M. Fractional CFO services.
Frequently asked questions
Can you work with ServiceTitan or Housecall Pro?
Yes. Will maps either platform to QuickBooks Online so revenue, equipment and labor costs land in the right service line.
Why is my HVAC company busier but not more profitable?
Most often, costs rose faster than prices on one service line. Splitting the books by service line shows exactly where, as it did for the HVAC client whose outdated price lists were costing about $70,000 a year.
When does an HVAC company need a fractional CFO?
Usually around $5M in revenue, when you add locations, finance a fleet, or start planning an acquisition or sale.