How to start an HVAC business.
You know the work. This is the business side: getting licensed, getting set up, pricing your first jobs and looking professional from your first call.
Free means all of it
Free software
Dispatch, estimates, invoicing and reporting, for $0 a month.
Free scheduling
A dispatch board, recurring jobs and online booking requests.
Free accounting
A real double-entry ledger built in, so you can drop QuickBooks.
Free AI call assistant
Answers your calls 24/7, answers questions, takes booking requests and messages, and transfers to you. How it works.
Unlimited users
Every tech, dispatcher and office person, $0 each.
The honest part
Payments you take cost Stripe's fee plus our 1%, and optional bill pay from your accounting is $39 a month per office. That's how we earn.
1. Get licensed
HVAC contracting is licensed in most states. In Florida, the Construction Industry Licensing Board (part of DBPR) issues air-conditioning contractor licenses. Its site describes Class A as unlimited, Class B as limited to 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU of heating in any one system, and Class C as limited to servicing. A certified license lets you work statewide; a registered license is limited to the local jurisdiction where you met its competency requirements. You'll apply, meet the experience requirements, and pass the state exam. EPA Section 608 certification is required federally to handle refrigerants.
Official sources: Florida DBPR, Construction Industry Licensing Board · Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz) · IRS: apply for an EIN. Rules and fees change; confirm on the official site before you file. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
2. Set up the business
- Form an LLC (in Florida, file Articles of Organization on Sunbiz) and get an EIN from the IRS (free).
- Open a business bank account.
- Get general liability insurance, and workers' comp when you hire.
- Register for sales tax if your state taxes parts or equipment.
3. Price your work
Build prices from labor, parts, overhead and margin. Use the free HVAC price calculator.
4. Get your first customers
- Claim your Google Business Profile and ask every happy customer for a review.
- Offer maintenance agreements: recurring tune-ups smooth out slow months.
- Join the referral network: other trades send you work, and you earn when you send them work.
5. Run it on free software
MyHomeService360 gives a new HVAC company scheduling, estimates customers sign online, invoices with pay links, maintenance agreements and real books, for $0 a month. Free HVAC software.
What "free" means here, in plain numbers
- Software: $0 a month. Unlimited users. No contract, no setup fee, no card to sign up.
- Card payments you collect: Stripe's processing fee (2.9% + 30¢) plus our 1% platform fee.
- ACH bank payments: Stripe's 0.8% (capped at $5) plus our 1% (capped at $5).
- Online bill pay to your vendors (optional, from your accounting): $39 a month per office, only in months you pay bills through it, unlimited users, plus Stripe's cost at cost (bank debit 0.8% capped at $5, 0.25% + 25¢ per vendor payout, $2 per active vendor per month).
If you never take a payment through the platform, you never pay us anything. If you do, the fee is the same whether you have one employee or fifty.
“I’ve got a person for you.” Get paid for it.
Your techs see what else a house needs. On the MyHomeService360 network, when your AC tech refers a plumber on the network and the plumbing job sells and gets paid, your company earns a share of the network fee. The business that receives the referral pays nothing for the lead itself, only a network fee after the job is booked and paid. How the referral network works.
Questions people ask
Do I need a license to start an HVAC business in Florida?
Generally yes: Florida licenses air-conditioning contractors through DBPR's Construction Industry Licensing Board. Check the current requirements on myfloridalicense.com.
What software does a new HVAC company need?
Scheduling, estimates, invoicing with online payments, maintenance agreements and books. MyHomeService360 includes all of it for $0 a month.
Set up your account in about two minutes.
No card, no contract, no sales call. Pick your business type, and you'll land in your dashboard with a starter price book and a short setup checklist.
Get started free