Guides

Customer Financing for Contractors: Fees, Rules and Math

How customer financing works for HVAC, plumbing, electrical and roofing shops: what lenders charge you, why 0% plans cost more, the federal rules on ads and contracts, and when a deposit plan is cheaper.

Ijharul Islam October 21, 2026 9 min read

Customer financing for contractors, in short: a lender approves the homeowner and pays you, and you pay a merchant or dealer fee on each financed job. Wisetack, for example, lists a flat 3.9%, with higher fees for longer 0% plans. On a $12,000 HVAC job, a 6% fee costs you $720. CrewRobin doesn't offer customer financing.

More on this topic: Pricing, estimates and getting paid, every guide in one place.

A $12,000 system or a $15,000 roof is a hard yes for many homeowners on the spot, and monthly payments make it easier. Offering financing doesn't make you the lender: a finance company approves the customer, pays you, and collects from them. But it isn't free, and once you offer it, federal rules on advertising, contracts and in-home sales apply to what you say and sign. This guide covers how programs work, what they cost you, the rules, and a worked example against a deposit plan. It isn't legal advice.

Key takeaways

You pay the fee, the customer pays the lender. The fee comes off what the lender sends you.
0% plans cost you more. The lender earns no interest, so it charges a bigger fee; Wisetack's 0% options carry higher, variable fees.
Get the fee schedule in writing for every plan you'll offer. Many lenders don't publish theirs.
Ads have rules. “$99 a month” or “no interest if paid in full” trigger required disclosures under Regulation Z.
Contracts have rules. If you refer customers to a lender, the loan must carry the FTC Holder notice; in-home sales carry a 3-day right to cancel.
CrewRobin doesn't offer financing. It takes deposits and invoice payments by card through your own Stripe account, or PayPal.

How does customer financing work for contractors?

You enroll with a lender or a platform that works with several lenders.
You offer it at the quote, ideally with a prequalification link that uses a soft credit check.
The lender approves the homeowner and sets the APR and term. Wisetack, for example, lists 0% to 35.9% APR and terms of 3 to 120 months, based on credit.
You do the work. At Wisetack the customer confirms the job is done and funds reach you in 1 to 3 business days.
The homeowner repays the lender, not you.

That's different from letting customers pay you over time. Under Regulation Z, a business that regularly extends credit with a finance charge, or payable in more than four installments, and to whom the debt is owed, is a creditor with disclosure duties. “Regularly” means more than 25 times in the preceding calendar year (more than 5 for credit secured by a home).

What do financing programs cost the contractor?

Costs come in three shapes. Here is what each provider's own pages say:

Provider	How you pay	What its pages say
Wisetack	Fee per financed job	Flat 3.9% per transaction, no setup or subscription fee; jobs $500 to $65,000; a higher, variable fee if you opt into extended 0% plans
Hearth	Annual subscription	No per-loan dealer fee; a flat subscription its page lists at $1,499 to $4,999 a year; works with 18+ lenders
Service Finance Company	Dealer program	More than fifty plans, including promotional and standard installment terms; fees not published
Others (GreenSky, Synchrony and more)	Varies	No contractor fee schedule on pages we could access; ask for it in writing

A per-job fee is cheap if you finance a few jobs a year. A subscription can win if you finance many large ones. Do the math on last year's jobs over $5,000.

Why do 0% financing plans cost contractors more?

Because someone has to pay for the money. On a 0% plan the lender collects no interest, so it charges you more up front, and the longer the 0% period, the bigger the fee. The CFPB's 2024 report on solar loans found hidden dealer fees typically ran 10% to 30% of the cash price and sometimes over 50%, and were often left out of the stated APR. Solar is an extreme case, but the lesson carries over: know your fee for every plan and every term before you show a customer a monthly payment.

Can you charge financing customers more than cash customers?

Be careful. Regulation Z separates charges paid in a comparable cash sale (not finance charges) from charges imposed because of the credit (finance charges). It also excludes “seller's points” from the finance charge, even if passed on to the buyer. Yet the CFPB's solar report criticized fees folded into the price of credit sales. Your lender agreement and state law may add their own rules. The simplest, cleanest approach is one price for everyone, with the expected cost of financing built into your normal margins, and no hidden markup. If you want a cash discount or a financing surcharge, ask a lawyer first.

What laws apply when a contractor offers financing?

Rule	What it means for you
Truth in Lending / Regulation Z	The lender gives the loan disclosures. You owe them yourself only if you are the creditor (see above).
Reg Z ad rules (12 CFR 1026.24)	Stating a payment amount, number of payments, term, down payment or finance charge triggers more disclosures.
Deferred interest ads (12 CFR 1026.16(h))	“No interest” must be paired with “if paid in full” and the period, plus a prominent note that interest is charged from the purchase date if not paid off.
FTC Holder Rule (16 CFR 433)	If you refer customers to the lender or have a business arrangement with it, you may not accept the loan proceeds unless the contract carries the notice starting “ANY HOLDER OF THIS CONSUMER CREDIT CONTRACT IS SUBJECT TO ALL CLAIMS AND DEFENSES.” So the customer can raise claims about your work against the lender too.
FTC Cooling-Off Rule (16 CFR 429)	Sales of $25 or more made at the customer's home: right to cancel until midnight of the third business day, a cancellation notice in duplicate, an oral notice, a refund within 10 business days, and no transfer of the note to a finance company before the fifth business day.

The Cooling-Off Rule excludes a buyer-requested repair visit, but not extra goods or services you sell while there, and a true emergency only with the buyer's handwritten, signed waiver. Most lender programs build the Holder notice into their loan documents; confirm it before you take your first funded job.

How do you advertise financing without breaking the rules?

Ad wording	What it triggers
“Financing available”	Nothing extra
“Ask about monthly payments”	Nothing extra (no amount, number or term)
“Only $129 a month” or “60 months to pay”	Down payment, full repayment terms and the APR, noting if it may rise
“No interest if paid in full in 12 months”	Deferred interest disclosures right next to it, not in a footnote
“0% APR for 24 months”	Must be a term the lender actually offers; check the lender's required wording

Ask your lender for its approved ad wording and use it word for word on your website, quotes and trucks.

Financing or a deposit plan: which costs you less?

Take a $12,000 HVAC replacement. The fee rates below are examples for comparison, except where a provider's own rate is named.

Option	You receive	When	Cost to you
Lender, example 6% fee	$11,280	After the job is confirmed	$720
Lender at Wisetack's listed 3.9%	$11,532	After the job is confirmed	$468
Lender, 0% promotional plan, example 10% fee	$10,800	After the job is confirmed	$1,200
40% deposit, balance on completion	$12,000 less card fees	$4,800 at approval, $7,200 at completion	Card processing only; customer must have the cash or credit

Financing wins when it saves a job you'd otherwise lose; on a job the customer would have paid for anyway, it's a pure cost. A sensible policy is to offer a deposit plan by default and financing as an option on larger tickets. Check your state's deposit limits first (California caps most home improvement deposits at 10% or $1,000, whichever is less); see how much deposit to ask for and contractor payment terms. For pricing the install itself, see AC installation pricing.

How do you choose a financing provider?

Written fee for every plan and term you'll offer, and who pays it.
Credit range served, soft-pull prequalification, and approval in minutes at the kitchen table.
When you're funded, and whether progress payments are supported on big jobs.
Holder notice in the loan contract, and recourse or chargeback terms if a customer disputes the work.
Approved ad wording you can copy.
How the monthly payment shows on your quote, so customers compare options side by side, as in good, better, best quotes.

Where CrewRobin fits

CrewRobin does not offer customer financing and isn't connected to any lender, so if you want monthly payments you'd sign up with a provider like those above and the customer applies on the lender's side. What CrewRobin does handle is getting paid directly: on quotes and invoices you can ask for a deposit when the customer approves (a percent or a fixed amount), paid by card through your own Stripe account and taken off the final invoice. The invoice goes out by text with a pay link, paid by card through Stripe or by PayPal.

Frequently asked questions

How do contractors offer financing to customers?

Sign up with a consumer lender or a financing platform, offer a prequalification link at the quote, and let the lender approve the homeowner. The lender pays you after the work, minus its fee, and collects from the customer.

What is a dealer fee in contractor financing?

A percentage of the financed amount that the contractor pays the lender, deducted from the payout. It's usually higher on 0% and long promotional plans. Wisetack, for example, lists 3.9% standard.

Who gives the Truth in Lending disclosures on a financed job?

The lender, when a separate lender makes the loan. If you extend credit yourself, with interest or more than four installments, more than 25 times a year, Regulation Z may treat you as the creditor.

Can I advertise 0% financing?

Only terms the lender actually offers. Stating a monthly payment or term triggers more disclosures under Regulation Z, and “no interest if paid in full” offers have their own disclosure rules.

Does CrewRobin offer customer financing?

No. CrewRobin takes deposits and invoice payments by card through your own Stripe account, or PayPal. Financing would come from a separate lender.

Put it to work this week

Collect the deposit the moment a customer says yes, and the balance by text when the job is done. CrewRobin is free until your first 10 booked jobs, no card up front. Start free or see pricing.

Sources

Figures from outside CrewRobin were checked against these pages in October 2026. Most industry benchmarks come from vendors and agencies, so treat them as ranges, not rules.

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