Most maintenance agreements are written in the spring, by the person selling them, on a single page. They say "two visits a year" and "15% off repairs" and stop there. Then November comes, half the plan members call in the same two weeks, and nobody wrote down whether a visit missed in the fall rolls over.
The checklist below covers the terms that cause trouble later. It works for HVAC tune-up plans, plumbing and water heater plans, pest and lawn programs, generator and backflow testing, and commercial preventive maintenance.
Note. This is a list of decisions, not a contract. Auto-renewal, cancellation and refund rules for consumer agreements vary by state, and some states have specific notice requirements. Have an attorney licensed in your state draft or review the final agreement.
The checklist
1. What the plan covers
- [ ] Plan name and tiers, if more than one
- [ ] Equipment covered: type, count, and how it is identified (serial number, location in the home)
- [ ] Exactly what happens on each visit, as a task list the tech can follow
- [ ] What is not included (parts, refrigerant, filters, repairs, after-hours visits)
- [ ] Condition requirements: equipment must be in working order at sign-up, or an inspection visit comes first
- [ ] Whether the plan transfers if the home is sold
2. Visits and scheduling
- [ ] Number of visits per term, and the target month or season for each
- [ ] Who schedules the visit: you call them, they book, or a standing date
- [ ] How far ahead the customer is contacted, and how many attempts before a visit counts as declined
- [ ] What happens to a visit the customer does not book or keeps cancelling (rolls over, expires, or is credited)
- [ ] Arrival window offered for plan visits, and whether plan visits get the same windows as paid calls
- [ ] Whether plan visits can be moved to fill gaps on slow days (with notice)
The scheduling terms decide whether your plan base helps or hurts the board. Plan visits are flexible work. If the agreement lets you offer them in the weeks you choose, they fill holes in slow periods instead of piling into peak season. The maintenance agreement scheduling definition and the preventive maintenance scheduling guide show how to spread them.
3. Member benefits
- [ ] Repair discount: percent, and what it applies to (labor only, parts and labor, excludes equipment replacement)
- [ ] Priority scheduling: what it actually means (next available before non-members, a held slot, a response time)
- [ ] Waived trip charge or diagnostic fee, and on which calls
- [ ] Extended labor warranty on repairs done during the term, if any
Write priority in terms you can keep. "Priority scheduling" with no definition becomes a promise of same-day service in July.
4. Price and payment
- [ ] Price per term, or per month
- [ ] Payment method: paid up front, monthly card charge, or invoiced
- [ ] What happens on a failed monthly payment (retry, pause benefits, cancel after a set number of days)
- [ ] Price changes at renewal: how much notice you give
- [ ] Tax treatment, which your CPA confirms
The second-trip row is why the visit task list and the equipment condition terms matter. A visit that finds a problem and needs a return trip eats the plan's margin unless the repair is billed.
5. Term, renewal and cancellation
- [ ] Start date and length of term
- [ ] Whether it renews automatically, and for how long
- [ ] How and when you notify the customer before renewal (your attorney checks your state's rules)
- [ ] How the customer cancels: phone, email, online, and how fast you confirm
- [ ] Refund on cancellation: prorated, minus visits used, or none
- [ ] Your right to cancel (non-payment, unsafe conditions, equipment replaced by someone else)
6. Records and communication
- [ ] What the customer receives after each visit (report, photos, readings)
- [ ] How long you keep the service history and whether the customer can request it
- [ ] Consent to texts and emails for scheduling reminders, kept separate from marketing consent
- [ ] Who to contact with a complaint
7. Liability and limits
- [ ] What the plan does not guarantee (that equipment will not fail)
- [ ] Limits on liability, as your attorney words them
- [ ] Access to equipment: who clears the area, pets, attic and crawl space access
How to adapt it
Residential HVAC and plumbing. Sections 2 and 3 matter most. Decide the target months for each visit before you sell, and cap how many plan visits you will book per week in your peak months. Your peak season is the wrong time for tune-ups.
Pest, lawn and pool. These are recurring service on a route. Replace "visits per term" with frequency (monthly, quarterly), and add terms for skipped visits due to weather.
Commercial preventive maintenance. Commercial clients expect response times and reporting. Add the response time you will commit to, how it is measured, and what happens when you miss it. That turns the plan into a service level agreement, so read that guide before quoting one.
If you book plan visits through CrewLink, the booking page only offers start times a qualified tech can actually make, counting their other jobs and the drive from the previous job. That helps when you invite all your plan members to book in a slow month. The agreement terms are still yours to write.
What to take away
- Write the visit task list, exclusions and equipment condition requirement before you sell the first plan.
- Decide what happens to a visit the customer never books.
- Define "priority" in terms you can keep in your busiest week.
- Renewal and cancellation rules vary by state; have an attorney review the final agreement.
Common questions
What should a maintenance agreement include?
At least: what equipment is covered, what each visit includes, how many visits and when, member benefits, price and payment, how it renews, how the customer cancels and what refund applies. The checklist above has each item. Have an attorney review the final wording.
Is a maintenance agreement the same as a service contract?
They overlap. A maintenance agreement usually means scheduled preventive visits with member perks. A service contract is a broader term that can include repair coverage or response time commitments. What matters is that the terms are written down.
Do maintenance plans auto-renew legally?
Many do, but rules on auto-renewal disclosures, reminder notices and cancellation methods differ by state. Ask an attorney licensed in your state what your renewal notice and cancellation process must include.
When should maintenance visits be scheduled?
Before or after your busy season, not during it. Put target months in the agreement so you can book plan visits into your slower weeks.