Solutions for Estimates, Deposits, Invoices, Financing, and Sales

Service Invoice Pro (serviceinvoicepro.com) is a cloud-based solution suitable for tradespeople, including HVAC and plumbing contractors, that supports end-to-end workflows for mobile and desktop with a single interface. It facilitates creating estimates, presenting options, collecting deposits, sharing photos, and converting approved work into jobs or invoices sending.

The software accepts card and ACH payments (through Stripe Connect, a popular API-based payments solution designed for platforms and marketplaces to handle complex multiparty payments), updates invoice status automatically, and tracks unpaid jobs automatically.

Users can schedule jobs, assign teams, manage recurring tasks, and send dispatch-style updates from within billing workflows. The software also supports tracking job time, approving timesheets, monitoring overtime, and exporting payroll-ready reports with QuickBooks Online sync support. There’s also a customer portal service hub for invoices, estimates, balances, approvals, and online payments.

Pricing: the free version accepts offline payments in cash, check, and Zelle (free ability built into some banking apps facilitating payment direct from customer’s bank ID) with “Powered by Service Invoice Pro” staying on invoices.

The Pro plan carries a fee per month for each user on a team. In addition to accepting  payments online, it also accepts automated review requests, supports recurring invoices, equipment tracking, checklists, and generating job profitability reports, along with QuickBooks sync. Optional add-ons for Pro subscribers include SMS notifications. Users can see invoice status on a single-screen view that shows issue date, due date, total, status (sent, viewed, overdue, draft, ability to send automated payment reminders and late fees), and action. The customer portal self-service hub enables interactions regarding invoices, estimates, balances, approvals, and online payments.  

Simpro Fast Cash

Simpro Fast Cash (www.simprogroup.com) is an adaptive autonomous agent that personalizes outreach based on real-time invoice analysis. It is an Accounts Receivable automation and intelligent platform designed specifically for collections and finance teams.

Replacing rigid 15/30/60-day reminders with intelligent personalized outreach, it is designed to replace manual, spreadsheet driven workflows and intends to accelerate payments, reaching customers at times they are most likely to settle their accounts. It does not replace Simpro, which remains your system of record, but rather sits on top of it, pulling your real-time invoice and customer data to manage the collections process.

How it works: the solution leverages deep insights into customer history, helping ensure every communication is accurate, professional, and effectively unspam-like.

All your payments are housed in one platform, making it easy to see those that are outstanding or partial. You are able to send invoices electronically, straight from Simpro, at the click of a button and can filter invoices by date, status, business, and other refinements and batch print or email in bulk to customers. (You can customize email subject line and message body for each template in Settings.)

OnCall Air

OnCall Air (www.oncallair.com, 888/808-6231) is a proposal builder/sales engine for HVAC contractors suitable for use on customer premises in the field. (The solution integrates with multiple distributors.) Designed to maximize potential sales, the software enables contractors to build digital multi-option customizable quotes that can maximize specificity of offered tiered “best options” in on-the-spot price proposals in the field. Potential customers can access the proposals on any computing device 24/7 and the contractor can track that activity, including which options a customer shows interest in.  

Product information can include your company logo, images, videos and brochures, along with recommended add-ons and upgrades that can be added with just a click. Financing opportunities include estimated monthly payments and a link directly to the application. Pricing: subscription based, unlimited users, pricing based on usage/month. Quotes under $1k don’t count toward monthly usage. 

Update

New features for web users of QuoteWerks (May 2023 column) include: event scripting with AI Assistant allows writing custom Java Scripts that respond to specific events in your quoting workflow, giving you enhanced control over how your quotes are processed, validated, or managed.

With Event Scripting, you can create automated workflows at key moments in the quoting process, providing flexibility to customize QuoteWerks Web to match your exact business requirements and enabling such capabilities as preventing incompatible products to be sold together or making certain fields are completed before sending out a quote.  With little or no JavaScript experiences, you can create sophisticated automation scripts just by describing what you want to accomplish in plain English via the AI prompt.

QuoteWerks includes sample prompts to help spark creativity. For such actions as generating a scope of work, standardizing markup, or totaling and summarizing by item type. Scripts can respond to a wide range of events throughout the document lifecycle including documenting events before and after service, or previewing events before generating PDFs or printing.

According to the developer, because the AI assistant makes automation accessible to all—including sales teams, account managers, and business users—it  can be seamlessly integrated into your existing business systems.