How to offer financing to customers as a contractor: choosing a program, setting it up and presenting it

Most contractors know financing helps. Fewer have set it up well. The usual pattern: the rep mentions it only when a homeowner balks at the price, and the dealer fee quietly comes out of margin. Financing works better as part of how you price and present every job.

This guide covers the whole path: why it matters, how to pick a program, how to set it up, how to present it at the kitchen table, the compliance basics, and where Revcore's coming built-in financing fits.

Why should contractors offer financing?

Because a lot of your customers cannot, or would rather not, write a check for the full job. The neutral data is clear on that point.

Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies found savings covered 78% of home projects under $10,000 but only 54% of projects at $50,000 and up. The bigger the ticket, the less often cash covers it. Angi's April 2025 pulse found 71% of homeowners postponed a planned project, and of those, 65% pointed to high interest rates. Those homeowners have not decided against the work. They have decided against paying for it the way it was offered.

Financing will not save a bad presentation. What it does is turn "we need to think about it" into a monthly number the homeowner can compare to their budget today. For what the data says about close rates, and which numbers come from lenders selling financing, see does offering financing increase close rates.

How does contractor financing work?

The contractor is the point of sale, not the lender. A typical flow looks like this:

1. You enroll with a lender or a financing platform and get approved as a merchant.
2. You quote the job with a monthly payment shown alongside the price.
3. The homeowner applies, usually on their own phone, and sees their approved terms.
4. They pick a plan and sign the loan documents with the lender, separate from your contract.
5. The lender pays you, often after the homeowner confirms the job is complete, minus the dealer fee.
6. The homeowner repays the lender. If they fall behind, that is between them and the lender.

The dealer fee (also called a merchant fee) is what you pay the lender for each funded job. It is usually small on standard interest-bearing loans and much bigger on 0% promotions, because you are paying for the interest the homeowner does not. For the full breakdown, see what is a dealer fee. For when money actually lands, see when a contractor gets paid on a financed job.

How do you choose a financing program?

There are three broad routes: a single lender (GreenSky, Service Finance, Wisetack and others), a multi-lender platform that shops the application across several lenders (Hearth, or Leap SalesPro, which says one application can route to up to 12 lenders), or the lender built into the software you already use. Many field service tools now offer the third route.

For a side-by-side of the lenders themselves, see contractor financing programs compared. Whatever route you look at, ask the same questions:

• What is the dealer fee on each plan? Get the full rate sheet, not a single number. Long 0% plans cost far more than standard ones. A 2020 EGIA rate sheet for GreenSky shows fees from 0.5% to 17.5% depending on the program.
• Who gets approved? Ask about the credit range the lender serves and whether there is a second-look option for homeowners who are declined.
• What job sizes are allowed? A $65,000 cap is fine for HVAC and most roofs, tight for large remodels.
• When do you get paid? On completion, at milestones, or partially up front. This matters most on long jobs.
• Where does it show up? On the estimate, in the presentation, in the tech's app, or only as a separate link the rep has to remember.

How do you set up customer financing?

1. 1

   Pick one primary program

   Start with one lender or platform that covers your typical ticket. Adding a second lender for declines or very large jobs can come later.

2. 2

   Get the full rate sheet and decide which plans to offer

   Pick two or three plans at most: usually one short 0% promotion and one longer fixed-rate term. Too many choices slows the homeowner down.

3. 3

   Price the dealer fee into your estimates

   Decide how you will cover the fee before the first financed job, the same way you would handle card processing. Run it through a markup and margin calculator so the margin you quote is the margin you keep.

4. 4

   Add monthly payments to your estimate template

   Put an example monthly payment next to each option, using the lender's approved wording and disclosures.

5. 5

   Train every rep on one short script

   Everyone presents it the same way, to every homeowner, at the same point in the presentation. See how to present financing at the kitchen table.

6. 6

   Track it

   Log which jobs were offered financing, which applied, which were approved, and which funded. Without that, you cannot tell if it is working.

How to price the dealer fee

Here is an illustrative example on a $15,000 job. At a 3.9% fee, like the Wisetack rate Jobber and JobNimbus publish, you pay $585. On a longer 0% plan at 9.9%, the top Housecall Pro add-on rate, you pay $1,485. If you only find that out when the payout arrives, it comes straight out of profit. Many contractors raise their base prices slightly across every job so financed and cash jobs carry the same margin. Others offer 0% only on higher tiers. Check your lender agreement for any rules on pricing financed jobs differently from cash jobs. Pick one method and apply it every time.

How do you present financing to customers?

Present it to everyone, early, as a payment option, not a lifeline. Slice by FNBO's December 2025 survey of 947 homeowners planning projects over $15,000 is vendor research, since Slice sells financing, but the pattern matches what good reps see: 47% wanted financing acknowledged during the estimate process, 68% worried about hidden fees, 51% said financing options feel confusing, and 46% disengaged when financing felt pushed too aggressively.

That points to a simple rule: mention it the same way to every homeowner, show the number plainly, and let them choose. Show the monthly payment next to each Good, Better, Best option, so the step from Good to Better reads as a small monthly difference instead of a big lump.

Notice that a 12 month 0% plan on a roof is still over $2,600 a month. Short promotions suit HVAC and mid-size jobs. Longer fixed-rate terms are what make a big roof fit a monthly budget. For payment tables by roof price, see how much a new roof costs per month. For how promotions differ, see same as cash vs 0% APR vs deferred interest.

What are the compliance basics for offering financing?

You are not the lender, but you are often the one showing the terms, so a few rules touch you. In general terms:

• Advertising a payment can trigger disclosures. Under Regulation Z, the federal Truth in Lending rule, an ad that states the amount of any payment, the number of payments or repayment period, a down payment, or a finance charge must also disclose the down payment, the repayment terms and the APR. See 12 CFR 1026.24. "Only $99 a month" on a yard sign or ad is exactly that kind of term.
• Deferred interest needs care. Some "no interest if paid in full" promotions charge all the interest back to day one if the balance is not paid off in time. Never describe a deferred interest plan as 0% APR.
• Use the lender's wording. Most lenders provide approved marketing language and disclosures. Use it on estimates, ads and your website.
• Do not coach applications. Never fill in or adjust a homeowner's income or other details. They apply themselves.
• Know your state rules. Home improvement contract rules, cancellation rights and licensing requirements vary by state, and some apply to financed sales.

How will Revcore's built-in financing fit?

Homeowner financing in Revcore is coming soon, and it will be included on every Revcore plan when it launches. It is not live today, and no lending partner has been announced. Here is what is planned:

• Monthly payments shown inside the in-home sales presentation and on every estimate package, next to each option.
• The homeowner applies from the estimate on their own phone, without leaving the conversation.
• 0% promotional plans (12, 18 and 24 months) and longer fixed-rate terms.
• Funding status on the job, so the office can see where every financed job stands.

To be fair to the competition: Jobber, Housecall Pro, JobNimbus and ServiceTitan already show monthly payments on quotes. The difference Revcore is building toward is placement. The payment lives inside the iPad presentation, where the decision actually happens, in the same app the rep already uses for Good, Better, Best estimates, e-signature and the deposit at signing. You can see the financing preview now.

Until then, everything around financing is live: the presentation with e-signature, card and ACH payments with Margin Protection pricing card processing into your estimate lines, text-to-pay invoices, and automated estimate follow-ups for homeowners who want to think it over. You can pair any outside lender with that today.

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