PlumbingBossPro Blog — Water Heaters & Maintenance Plans

Auto-Charging Maintenance Plan Visits When the Plumber Taps Complete

A maintenance plan that depends on chasing payment is not much of a plan. If every yearly flush ends with an invoice in the mail and a reminder two weeks later, the office spends more time collecting than scheduling. The fix is simple: get the card up front and charge it when the work is done.

Different Accounts, Different Billing

Landlords on Monthly billing, as described in Maintenance Plans for Landlords With Many Homes: One Client, Many Water Heaters, One Statement, get one statement covering every address. Most residential members are simpler: one house, one card, one charge per visit. This guide covers that case.

How It Works

In PlumbingBossPro, a member with a card on file can be charged automatically when the visit is completed. The flow is:

1. The tech finishes the flush and the inspection checklist.
2. The tech taps Complete on the phone.
3. The invoice is created from the job's line items, with sales tax if you charge it.
4. The card on file is charged.

By the time the van backs out of the driveway, the visit is paid. The office does not touch it, and the member gets the invoice in the customer app.

Getting the Card in the First Place

Auto-charge only works if the card is on file. There are a few ways it gets there:

• The sign-up form captures the card when the customer signs up for a plan. See The Maintenance Plan Sign-Up Form: Card Captured Before the Plumber's First Visit.
• A previous job. A customer who paid for a repair by card can have that card kept on file.
• The customer app. Members can add or update their card themselves.

Make card on file part of what joining the plan means. Members who sign up without one are the ones who end up with unpaid visits.

Per Visit or On a Schedule

Charging at completion is the simplest approach for yearly plans. The member pays when they get the service, and there are no prepayments to refund when someone cancels.

Some shops prefer to bill on a schedule instead, such as a monthly charge that adds up to the yearly price. PlumbingBossPro can auto-charge on a schedule too. If you go that way, decide in advance what happens when a member cancels partway through the year, and put it in your sign-up terms.

Either way, tell members clearly when they will be charged. Surprise charges cause more cancellations than price does.

When a Card Declines

Cards expire, get replaced after fraud, or hit a limit. When a charge fails, the invoice stays open. Past-due follow-up reminds the member, and the invoice is in the customer app where they can pay online or update their card.

A short personal text from the office often works faster: “Your card on file didn't go through for today's water heater flush. You can update it in the app or reply and we'll call you.” Two-way texting keeps that conversation in one place.

Before the busy season, it is worth looking at members whose cards are close to expiring and asking them to update ahead of time.

What Shows on the Invoice

The invoice comes from the job's line items, which come from your service list. A plan visit might show “Yearly water heater flush and inspection” as one line. If the tech also replaced a T&P valve with the member's approval, that is a second line. If the member gets a member price on the repair, that price is on the line.

Clear line items prevent disputes. A member who sees exactly what they were charged for does not call the office to ask.

Extra Work on the Same Visit

Members will sometimes ask the tech to fix something while they are there: a running toilet, a dripping faucet. If the work is small and the member agrees, add it to the job and it becomes a line on the same invoice and the same charge. For anything bigger, send an estimate first so the member approves the price before the work and the charge.

Less Collecting, More Scheduling

Auto-charge at completion is one of those changes that sounds small and changes the whole week. The office stops chasing small invoices and spends that time filling the Waiting List. To see how billing fits with plans, reminders and the checklist, visit the water heater service software page on PlumbingBossPro.