When an installer thinks about the value of their business, they think about the truck, the tools, the order book. Almost never about the pile of invoices from the last 10 years. Yet it is often the most under-used asset in the company. Let's do the math, cautiously.
The three revenues sleeping in an installation invoice
| Revenue | When | Order of magnitude (Quebec) |
|---|---|---|
| Periodic maintenance | Every year | $150 to $350 per visit |
| The maintenance contract | Recurring, annual | $250 to $600 per year per customer |
| The replacement | At 12-15 years of life | $5,000 to $15,000 per unit |
The cautious calculation, on an example
Take a company that has completed 800 installations since it started. Let's be pessimistic: 40% of the contact details are dead (moves, changed numbers). That leaves 480 reachable customers. If only 15% of them accept an annual maintenance at $250, that is already $18,000 per year — every year. Add a handful of recurring contracts and two or three replacements captured before the competition ($10,000 to $20,000 more), and the order of magnitude exceeds $30,000 to $50,000 per year for a registry of that size.
No software can guarantee these figures — not even ours. Your results depend on the quality of your data, your customers and your prices. But the reasoning is solid: every past installation is a paid maintenance visit, a warranty to track and a replacement to come. The only question is: who will make the call — you, or the first competitor who picks up the phone?
Why that value evaporates on its own
A client history depreciates every month it sleeps: contact details age, the customer forgets who installed the unit, and above all, the first one who calls wins the relationship — for the next ten years. Conversely, a registry that is worked on gains value: every appointment updates the file, every contract makes revenue predictable, and a business with documented recurring revenue sells for noticeably more on the day you retire.
Three mistakes that waste this asset
- Waiting for the customer to call. They call when something breaks — often another installer, the one whose ad runs that day.
- Reminding everyone at the same time. A reminder has a moment: before the season, on the installation anniversary, as the warranty end approaches. Off-season, it ends up in the trash.
- Writing nothing down. Without a history, every visit starts from zero and no promise (warranty, contract) can be proven.
Want the number for YOUR company? The calculator on the site gives an order of magnitude in 30 seconds, and the free analysis of your history gives it with your real data — no commitment.
Calculate my potential Analyze my historyPublished on 2026-09-20 · This guide is informative and general; it replaces neither the manufacturers' documents nor legal or accounting advice.