2024: HVAC-Industry Financing Providers

Below is a rundown of twelve HVAC-industry financing providers. It includes a quick overview of each, who they integrate and partner with, dealer fees, and some chatter from around the web.

Note: The dealer fees listed are from the most recent publicly available rate sheets (and may vary depending on the dealer program); comments were pulled from contractor Facebook groups; and the integrations/partners listed are those relevant to HVAC — not necessarily all partners.

This will be a living, constantly updated article. If there’s anything we missed, any comments you’d like to add, or if you’d like to share your approval rates with a given company, shoot us an email: [email protected]

In the Mix

• Service Finance
• Greensky
• Synchrony
• EnerBank
• Wells Fargo
• Ally Lending
• OPTIMUS
• Hearth
• Goodleap
• Fortiva
• Wisetack
• FTL Finance

Service Finance

Snapshot: Owned by Truist Bank, Service Finance offers 50+ financing options including promotional and standard installment loans for contractors in HVAC, Plumbing, Roofing, Windows, Doors, and more.

Integrations/Partners: Payzer, Sera, ServiceTitan, Leap, Lennox/Armstrong

Dealer fees: Range from 1.25% to 24%, depending on the loan — based on publicly available rate sheets here and here.

Chatter: “We use them hardcore. When we get our funding report, we get paid the next business day… Typically if we hit the payment authorization button by 2 pm we get paid the next day. After 2, it may be the following day we get the funding report.”

• “Service Finance is terrible with communication. It’s been 6 months and we’re still not fully enrolled with them.”
• “Once you work with them a bit, you will get paid next day no matter if it’s phone verified. Typically it’s 72 hours minimum after signed documents, but we are where I can have it signed at noon, job completed at 1, and paid next day. They have been good with it.”
• “Service Finance did what I feel is a questionable practice. So we have always used an 18 month interest free program. Without us being notified, they started counter offering to our customers for say, 6 months (higher dealer fee). We got caught with a situation because my sales guy didn’t realize they changed it.”

Website and FAQs

Greensky

Snapshot: Currently owned by Goldman Sachs, Greensky offers fixed-rate installment and promotional loans up to $100,000 for home improvement projects — and approves homeowners based on creditworthiness, not just job amount.

• Meaning, if an install is worth $10,000, a homeowner might get approved for $15,000, giving the contractor $5,000 worth of credit to up-sell into.

Integrations/Partners: FieldEdge, Payzer, OnCallAir/CreditForComfort, Leap, EGIA/Optimus, ServiceTitan, Certified Contractors Network

Dealer fees: Range from 0% to 26.6%, depending on the loan — based on publicly available rate sheets here and here.

Chatter: “I love GreenSky, fast and easy.. I know if you’re approved in less than 1 minute.”

• “GreenSky customer service seems a little lost a lot… that being said, we use them because, on the plus side, they integrate well with our field software. We have looked into other options but we stick with them.”
• “Greensky will close your account with no notice and they will conversely tell you they are going to close your account without actually closing it (both have happened to us at different times).”
• “We have used them for years and it’s been the best so far. We offer the plans that cost us very little.”

Note: Greensky used to process loans through a “virtual credit card”, charging dealers an additional processing fee, but this isn’t the case anymore — they fund directly through ACH.

Website and FAQs

Synchrony

Snapshot: A standalone public company, Synchrony offers standard installment loans and private-label credit card programs to contractors/homeowners.

Integrations/Partners: Rheem/Ruud, LG, York/Coleman, Samsung, Luxaire, Mitsubishi Electric, Generac

Dealer fees: Range from 0.99% to 15%, depending on the loan — based on publicly available rate sheets here and here.

Chatter: “Been with them for 3 Yrs now and have never had a single problem”

• “We use synchrony… have great luck with synchrony. I don’t think their denials are as much about credit score as they are debt to income ratio.”
• “Have used Synchrony Bank in the past with success, but it seemed like their standards for approval were higher than Service Finance.”
• “We use them also, you need to contact your dealer, some manufacturers kick in on the fees, for example, Mitsubishi, 36-month interest-free, & no cost to me”

Website and FAQs

EnerBank

Snapshot: Owned by Regions Bank, EnerBank offers contractors a number of financing options for homeowners, including installment, zero interest, and “YES” loans for less creditworthy customers.

Integrations/Partners: Leap, Certified Contractors Network, Johnstone Supply, EGIA

Dealer fees: Range from 0% to 24.5%, depending on the loan — based on publicly available rate sheets here and here.

Chatter: “Very simple process, easy to work with, reasonable dealer fees.”

• “It’s our go to. Just about the only thing we use. Client signs the documents online when job is done and we submit it for payment”
• “Been using EnerBank, but they don’t want my business because of the low credit score customers!”

Website and FAQs

Wells Fargo

Snapshot: Through its Home Projects Program, which includes partnerships with key manufacturers, Wells Fargo allows HVAC contractors to offer competitive financing options to homeowners.

Integrations/Partners: Trane, American Standard, Carrier/Bryant, Payzer, Lowe’s, Home Depot

Dealer fees: Range from 0% to 15.18%, depending on the loan — based on a publicly available rate sheet here.

Chatter: “From my experience, It’s hard to beat how easy Wells Fargo makes the process for both the client and merchant.”

• “​​We use Wells Fargo as a Carrier dealer and are paid next day after we submit invoice. The fees are steep on our end this year compared to the last 10.”
• “Wells Fargo buy down, conference, first 90-day failure unit replacement, the “do the right thing” credits for MBUs helped us in 2 funky situations last year.”
• “Yes and then they [Wells Fargo] have the customer sign and fax a copy of completion to them before we get paid. Which usually the homeowner drags their feet a day or so, then WF is super slow to send out funds.”

Website and Contact Page

Ally Lending

Snapshot: Launched in 2020 and soon to become part of Synchrony, Ally Lending provides flexible, personalized financing options to contractors/homeowners.

Integrations/Partners: Authority Brands (parent of One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning)

Dealer fees: There are no publicly available rate sheets, however, Ally notes on its website that it offers plans with no dealer fees — see here.

Chatter: “Having been using Ally financing for 2 years to great success, but they are tightening the belt and our declines are skyrocketing on lower FICO clients.”

• “Ally is the best….”
• “Currently using Ally and Greensky, neither have an option to show a down payment.”

Website and FAQs

OPTIMUS

Snapshot: OPTIMUS is the exclusive lending platform of EGIA Finance, giving contractors access to prime, near prime, and subprime options via lending partners to offer homeowners.

Integrations/Partners: EGIA, The New Flat Rate, FieldEdge, Greensky, FTL Finance, Microf

Dealer fees: Range from 0% to 16.4%, depending on the loan — based on publicly available rate sheets here and here.

Chatter: “I have good luck with Optimus financing. It’s a 2 look program. 97.8% approval rating right now.”

• “OPTIMUS via EGIA is brand agnostic and does prime, sub-prime, and credit challenged lending as well as leasing.”

Website and FAQs

Hearth

Snapshot: Hearth is a technology company that, along with invoicing and estimating tools,  offers financing options up to $250,000 via lending partners for a monthly/annual subscription — there are no per-project dealer fees.

Integrations/Partners: Hatch

Dealer fees: None — Hearth charges a monthly/annual subscription fee

Chatter: “Their 0% options are credit cards, which I don’t love. But its an easy platform to use and much more cost effective than a lender who charges dealer fees.”

• “High start up fees, customer receives funds and pays you when job is complete which puts alot of risk on contractor.”
• “Their CS is great. They are always checking on you and your business. They provide marketing materials too with your company brand. They walk you through everything.”
• “I used them last year and one customer had an 832 credit score, low debt in income ratio, and excellent income and they got approved for 12.5% interest for 84 months. The customer gave me a dirty look and I told them let’s use someone else.”

Website and FAQs

Goodleap

Snapshot: A privately held company, Goodleap is a point-of-sale platform focused on sustainable home solutions financing, including HVAC, solar, and more.

Integrations/Partners: ServiceTitan, Daikin/Goodman/Amana

Dealer fees: There are no publicly available HVAC-related rate sheets.

Chatter: “The team was outstanding, we’re about to finish our onboarding and look forward to see what happens next week; we have high hopes the process was simple, the guys were awesome, it’s the personal touch that makes the difference.”

• “Like everyone has said, they are awesome, but they do require all paperwork to be in order to fund, so make sure you understand up front what they need. It’s a pain going back to a customer to get additional paperwork signed if it isn’t all done up front.”
• “Great rates and very good user portal. We’re just getting rolling with them, but first deal was pretty smooth.”
• “The loan amount needs to be correct. Example – if the customer adds something they need to call and make sure it gets updated. The 3 Day Notice to rescind needs to be completed during the loan application process, and the final proposal needs to be signed by the customer.”

Website and FAQs

Fortiva

Snapshot: Owned by public company Atlanticus, Fortiva is a leading second-look provider of financing options in home improvement, dental, auto, and more.

Integrations/Partners: Payzer, Synchrony, ServiceTitan, OnCallAir/CreditForComfort

Dealer fees: Range from 6.5% to 9.9% based on one publicly available rate sheet here.

Chatter: There weren’t many comments in contractor groups other than that it’s reliable as a second-look option.

Website and FAQs

Wisetack

Snapshot: Wisetack offers homeowners financing options up to $25,000, claims an 80% approval rate for borrowers, and focuses on home services, auto, dental, and more.

Integrations/Partners: Jobber, Housecall Pro, FieldPulse, Thryv

Dealer fees: There are no publicly available rate sheets, however, on its website, Wisetack mentions that for certain loans, dealer fees range from 3.9% to 10% — here.

Chatter: “If you can get on board with wise tack most fees are close enough to cc processing fees”

• “Only issue I encountered is they’re qualifying for less then what the project is. Ex. Project is 13k and they qualify for 7-8k”
• “Wisetack gets far more ppl approved. But the soft pull will help since it can tell you pretty reliably if the customer will be approved and it’s not a hit on their credit”
• “The only downside is on longer projects. I reached out to them to see if they are able to do progress payments and they do not. They mentioned that what you can do however is that if you typically get paid 3 times on a project for example – you can make 3 segments and the customer would basically take out 3 loans. The customer can set it up for payment on their end to pay all 3 at once so there isn’t 3 payments at 3 different times.”

Website and FAQs

FTL Finance

Snapshot: FTL is a financing company that prides itself on easy registration, simple payment options, and good customer service, and offers several options for homeowners with lower credit scores.

Integrations/Partners: EGIA, select distributors

Dealer fees: Range from 3.25% to 12% based on publicly available rate sheets — here and here.

Chatter: “FTL for those with poor to decent credit. Closed an $11,000 job yesterday with a customer who was FTL financed with no contractor fee. Paid in 24hrs.”

• “Super easy. Just have to give them info on systems installed (M#/S#) and description of scope of work and you’re all set. The only thing I’d say to be aware of is that you’ll want to get them approved for the exact amount you’re trying to finance because FTL will pay you exactly what you’ve allotted for. We ended up with an overpayment because we guesstimated the $$ to have her approved for in case the customer decided to go with a more expensive unit, so have all that decided before applying for credit with them.”

Website and FAQs

If there’s anything we missed, any comments you’d like to add, or if you’d like to share your approval rates with a given company, shoot us an email: [email protected]