Before a session, Ali asks every owner for the same short set of figures. Twelve numbers, gathered in an evening, describe most of what matters in an HVAC company: how much comes in, what each kind of job earns, how predictable the year is, and what growth would cost. This guide explains each one, where to find it, and what it tends to reveal.
You don't need perfect records. Rough figures, honestly labelled as estimates, are far more useful than none at all.
Part 1: Revenue and seasonality
The first three numbers show the shape of your year.
1. Revenue by month, last 12 months
Pull it from your accounting software or bank deposits. Write it as twelve numbers in a row, not a yearly total.
What it reveals: the depth of your shoulder-season dip. Many heating and cooling companies see revenue in the slowest month at well under half of the busiest. A deep dip is a sign that recurring revenue, such as agreements, is the missing piece.
2. Revenue by job type
Split last year's revenue into four or five buckets: diagnostic and repair, maintenance visits, replacements, new installs, and anything else, such as commercial work.
What it reveals: what your company actually is, as opposed to what you think it is. Owners who see themselves as a replacement company sometimes find repairs bring in most of the money, or the other way round.
3. Share of revenue from your largest customer
If you do work for builders, property managers or a commercial client, work out what share of revenue the largest one represents.
What it reveals: concentration risk. If one customer is a large slice of revenue, losing them would hurt badly, and a future buyer will notice.
Part 2: Job economics
The next four numbers show whether the work makes money.
4. Average ticket by job type
Total revenue for each job type divided by the number of jobs. Do it separately for repairs, maintenance and replacements.
What it reveals: whether your pricing has kept pace with your costs. An average repair ticket that hasn't moved in three years while wages and parts have gone up is a warning.
5. Gross margin by job type
Revenue minus direct costs (tech wages for the time on the job, parts, and subcontractors) for each job type, as a percentage.
What it reveals: which jobs carry the company. A common finding is that one job type, often small repairs or discounted maintenance visits, earns far less than the rest once drive time is included. The pricing and margin session is built around this number.
6. Callback rate
The share of jobs that need a return visit at no charge. Count them for three months if you don't track them.
What it reveals: hidden costs. A callback rate of 1 in 10 means a tenth of your capacity is spent redoing work for free. It also points to training needs.
7. Quote close rate, by who quotes
The share of replacement quotes that turn into jobs, split by who wrote the quote: owner, comfort advisor or tech.
What it reveals: where selling skill sits in your company. If the owner closes far more often than anyone else, freeing the owner's time to quote may be worth more than any marketing campaign. The owner-time audit explores this.
Part 3: Recurring revenue
Two numbers describe how much of next year is already likely.
8. Active agreement members
The number of customers on a paid maintenance plan today, and the number a year ago.
9. Renewal rate
Of the members who were due to renew in the last 12 months, how many did?
What they reveal together: whether the program is growing or leaking. A program that signs 200 members a year but loses 150 is barely moving. The maintenance agreement maths guide shows how to model this.
Part 4: Growth costs
The last three numbers show what growth costs and whether you can handle it.
10. Marketing spend by channel, last 12 months
List every line: ads, directories, website hosting and management, sponsorships, vehicle wraps, printed materials. Include agency fees.
11. Booked jobs by source
For the same 12 months, how many booked jobs came from each source? If you don't track this, ask the office to record "how did you hear about us?" on every new booking from today.
What 10 and 11 reveal together: your cost per booked job, by channel. This is the number that decides a marketing budget, and it's the one most often missing.
12. Spare capacity
How many more paid calls a month could your current techs handle in the shoulder seasons? In peak season?
What it reveals: whether marketing or hiring is the next move. If you have no spare capacity in peak season, more marketing then won't help.
The sheet itself
Copy this table and fill it in. Mark estimates with an "E".
| # | Figure | Your number | Estimate? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Revenue by month (12 numbers) | ||
| 2 | Revenue by job type | ||
| 3 | Largest customer's share of revenue | ||
| 4 | Average ticket: repair / maintenance / replacement | ||
| 5 | Gross margin by job type | ||
| 6 | Callback rate | ||
| 7 | Quote close rate by who quotes | ||
| 8 | Active agreement members, now and a year ago | ||
| 9 | Renewal rate | ||
| 10 | Marketing spend by channel | ||
| 11 | Booked jobs by source | ||
| 12 | Spare monthly capacity, shoulder and peak |
Reading the sheet: three patterns Ali sees often
Most completed sheets fall into one of three patterns.
Busy but broke. High revenue, full schedule, low margin on one or two job types, and a callback rate nobody had counted. The fix starts with pricing, not marketing.
Feast and famine. Strong margins, but a deep shoulder-season dip and a small, leaky agreement base. The fix starts with recurring revenue.
Owner-shaped ceiling. Healthy margins and steady demand, but the owner closes most replacements and handles dispatch. Growth is capped by the owner's hours. The fix starts with a hire.
Each pattern points to one of the session topics, which is why Ali asks for the sheet first.
Common mistakes when filling it in
- Using annual totals only. The monthly shape matters more than the total.
- Leaving out agency fees. They're marketing spend, even if billed as "management".
- Guessing close rates from memory. Owners usually remember the wins. Count the quotes.
- Counting leads instead of booked jobs. A lead that never books isn't a result.
- Waiting for perfect data. Start with estimates and improve them monthly.
What to do next
Fill in what you can this week, mark the gaps, and set a reminder to update it monthly. If the sheet raises a question you can't answer alone, see how sessions are quoted on the pricing page, then call, text or email Ali with the completed sheet, or just the part that worries you.
Frequently asked questions
What if I can't find some of these numbers?
That's common and it's useful information. Write down your best estimate, mark it as a guess, and start tracking the real figure from next month.
How often should I update the sheet?
Monthly for revenue, tickets and close rates; quarterly for the rest. Ten minutes a month is enough once the habit is set.
Should my accountant prepare this for me?
Your accountant can supply several figures, such as revenue, gross margin and overhead. The operational ones, like close rate and callbacks, usually live in your dispatch or field-service software.
Is there one number that matters most?
If you only track one, track gross profit per technician per month. It combines pricing, productivity and callbacks in a single figure.