Set up the years that follow
Write the maintenance contracts
Why this step
Installation ends; the relationship does not. A maintenance contract is what turns a finished project into recurring revenue and a customer who calls you rather than a competitor.
What this does
Manages annual maintenance contracts: what is covered, when the visits fall due, and what has been done — so renewals are sold on evidence rather than on hope.
Steps
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01
Create the contract against the customer and the project.
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02
Set the period and the visit frequency.
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03
List what is covered — and, just as importantly, what is not.
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04
Record the contract value and how it is invoiced.
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05
Let the schedule raise the visits as they fall due.
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06
Record each visit against the contract as it is completed.
Running it well
- A visit that is not recorded cannot be invoiced or renewed against.
- Work outside the scope should be quoted, not absorbed — that is what the exclusions list is for.
- Review the service history before renewal: a building that consumed twice the visits should not renew at last year's price.
Example
A contract covering quarterly adjustment across a tower shows nine visits in a year — three of them chargeable callbacks outside the scope. At renewal that history is the argument for the new price.
Common mistakes
- Contracts with no defined exclusions, so every callback becomes an argument.
- Visits done but not recorded, leaving the renewal unevidenced.
- Letting a contract lapse silently — the building keeps calling, and nobody is billing.
Checkpoint
A signed job can carry a maintenance contract with its own scope and period.