How to Set Up Boiler Service Plans for Your Customers: A Practical Guide
It’s easy to fall into the trap of chasing new customers and the next job, month on month. Automated boiler service reminders are a huge help for many, providing a reliable source of repeat business from loyal customers each year.
All a boiler service plan does is take this idea one step further. For your customers (landlords especially), it offers peace of mind and a 100% hands-off way to keep their heating systems working and compliant.
This guide covers the practical side of setting up a boiler service plan: what one actually is, what to put in it, how to price it, how to sell it, and how to run it without the admin becoming a second job.
What a boiler service plan actually is
A boiler service plan is a recurring agreement where your customer pays a set amount, monthly or annually, in return for their yearly boiler service and usually a few extras like priority booking or discounted repairs.
A service plan is not the same as boiler cover or insurance. Those take the idea one step further and provide coverage for parts and labour on any breakdowns or issues.
It’s worth making it clear what your pan does and doesn’t cover when you explain it to customers.
Why they’re worth setting up
The obvious win is predictable income. A hundred customers on a £12-a-month plan becomes over £14,000 a year you can count on before you’ve quoted a single new job.
But there’s more to it than cash flow:
- You keep the customer. Someone on your plan isn’t shopping around for next year’s service.
- You fill the quiet months. Spread renewals across the year to have servicing work in summer, not just when it gets cold.
- You service proactively instead of chasing. With the work is already guaranteed, you don’t have to work just to fill your calendar.
- It’s easier than winning new work. Selling a plan to someone who already trusts you beats finding a stranger every time.
What to include in your plan
The core of any plan is the annual service, but you can build it out from there:
- The annual boiler service is the non-negotiable centre of the plan.
- A gas safety check where it’s relevant, for landlords in particular. Read more about gas safety checks vs a full service.
- Priority booking so plan customers jump the queue when they need you.
- Discounted callouts or repair labour. A fixed percentage off gives them a reason to call you first.
- Breakdown and repair coverage. A boiler properly serviced and maintained is unlikely to have major faults, and customers like having one less thing to worry about.
- Automatic service reminders set up with GES so nobody’s renewal slips through.
Once you’ve got a basic plan working, you can optionally do a two-tier setup. This gives customers a choice, for example with a standard tier covering the service and reminders, and a premium tier adding priority response and breakdown coverage.
You can track jobs, invoices, and set up automated service reminders in GES
How to price it so it makes money
You should always work backwards from your own numbers. Start with your properly costed hourly rate (full guide here, or you can use our hourly rate calculator) and use that service cost as your floor.
Then add for anything else in the plan. If you’re including discounted callouts or a repair allowance, price in the risk that you’ll actually use them.
A service plan should make you more money than just a yearly service does because you’re selling peace of mind and creating an extra step in the process.
How to sell it
The best moment to offer a plan is the moment trust is highest: right after you’ve completed a service or fitted a new boiler. They’ve just seen you do good work. That’s when “shall I put you on a plan so you never have to think about this again?” lands.
Frame it around what the customer gets, not what you get. They get to spread the cost, a guarantee they’ll never forget the service, and complete peace of mind.
Put the terms in writing. It doesn’t need to be a legal document, but it should say plainly what’s included, what it costs, how long it runs, and how either side cancels. A clear one-pager prevents awkward “I thought that was covered” conversations down the line.
How to run plans without drowning in admin
Putting together a service plan isn’t the hard part. Keeping on top of who’s due, chasing renewals, and invoicing on a cycle is where it needs to stay tidy, especially once you’ve got more than a handful of customers.
After you’ve put together your plan, you need to make sure there’s a system in place to keep it running smoothly.
Job management software like Gas Engineer Software can help with this. Create jobs with due dates to keep track of customers on your service plan, book service dates in advance, and set up customisable automated service reminders to go out on their own.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Underpricing to win the sale. A plan that’s too cheap locks you into unprofitable work for a year.
- No written terms. Verbal agreements turn into disputes the first time something isn’t covered.
- Forgetting to book the work in. A plan is a promise to service the boiler. Track it or you’ll break it.
- Letting renewals lapse. The whole value is in the recurring part. Miss the renewal and you’ve just done a one-off job with extra steps.
- Over-promising response times. If you’re a one-man band, don’t promise same-day callouts you can’t deliver.