The monthly retainer is for a heating company that does not have one urgent leak but wants a steady outside view through the year. Every month there is one review, one scorecard and a short list of priorities. It has no fixed end date, and it is worth keeping only while the decisions it improves are worth more than it costs.
Who the retainer is for
It suits owners who have outgrown making every call alone. Common examples: a company deciding when to add a second install crew, a shop moving into heat pumps alongside gas furnaces, or an owner who wants someone to read the marketing numbers every month without hiring a full-time manager.
It is less useful for a company with a single obvious problem. In that case the 90-day heating program is faster and cheaper, because it is built to find and fix one thing and then stop.
What one month looks like
Each month follows the same pattern, so it fits around dispatch and the season.
- Scorecard (first week). Ali pulls the agreed numbers: calls answered, visits booked, cost per booked job, replacement close rate, maintenance members and any marketing spend. The format is identical every month so trends are visible at a glance.
- Review call (second week). About an hour with you and whoever you want present. What moved, what didn't, and why.
- Priority list (same day). No more than three items for the next month, each with an owner. Three is deliberate. A retainer that produces a list of fifteen tasks is one nobody follows.
- In-between access. You can call, text or email Ali between reviews when a decision comes up, such as a price change from a supplier or a competitor's new offer.
How the retainer follows the heating year
The priorities change with the season, and the retainer plans one season ahead.
| Month | Typical focus |
|---|---|
| March–April | Membership renewals, shoulder-season offers, reviewing the winter's cost per booked job |
| May–July | Heat-pump and cooling demand where relevant, website and service-page work while it is quiet |
| August | Readiness for the first cold week: phone coverage, after-hours handling, ad budgets set |
| September–December | Peak: protecting booking rate, watching cost per booked job weekly |
| January–February | Replacement follow-up, planning next year's budget from this year's numbers |
Your province changes the timing. A coastal BC shop and a Winnipeg shop have very different calendars, which each region page discusses.
What is included
- the monthly scorecard and review call
- the three-item priority list
- seasonal planning one season ahead
- call, text and email access to Ali between reviews
- an annual look-back that compares this year's scorecard with last year's
Optional, and priced separately on the pricing page: running the marketing itself, including the website, local SEO and paid ads.
The retainer is consulting for the business side only. We do not install, repair, inspect or service heating equipment, and we do not give engineering, mechanical design, inspection or code-compliance advice.
How results are measured
The retainer is measured against the same scorecard every month. The honest test is a year-over-year comparison of a few numbers, adjusted for weather where that is fair: booked visits per 100 calls, cost per booked job, maintenance renewal rate and shoulder-season revenue as a share of the year.
A simple way to judge value: if the retainer costs a fixed amount per month, divide it by your average gross profit per booked job. That is the number of extra booked jobs each month the retainer has to produce, or protect, to pay for itself. If the scorecard does not show it after two seasons, cancel it.
Mistakes that make a retainer drift
- No fixed scorecard. If the numbers change each month, nothing can be compared.
- Too many priorities. Three per month, no more.
- Skipping reviews in the rush. A 30-minute peak-season review is better than none.
- Using it for a project. A one-off problem belongs in the 90-day program.
- Never asking whether it still pays. Ask every quarter. The scorecard guide shows how.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a minimum term on the retainer?
The HVAC.Agency family works without lock-in. Notice periods and the exact terms of an advisory retainer are set out in writing in your proposal before anything starts.
What if a month has nothing urgent?
Then the review is short and the priority list moves to the next season. A quiet month is the right time to prepare the hiring, pricing or marketing decision that the next rush will need.
Can the retainer include running our ads and SEO?
Yes, if you want it to. Advisory-only retainers are quoted in writing; when we also run the marketing, the published HVAC.Agency plans apply, starting at $2,998 per month plus GST/HST.
Do we need to finish the 90-day program first?
No, but it helps. The day-90 report gives the retainer a measured baseline and a list of fixes already tested, so the first monthly reviews start from facts.