Ops Stack for Commercial HVAC & Mechanical Contractors

This page gives you a simple, realistic software stack for commercial HVAC and mechanical contractors.

The goal is not to bolt on more apps. The goal is to keep dispatch, techs, office, and numbers aligned so calls are covered, projects stay on track, and job performance is clear.

Who This Stack Is For

This stack is built for companies that:

Focus on commercial HVAC, mechanical service, installs, or retrofit work
Run multiple techs and crews across service calls and projects
Are tired of generic tools that don’t match work orders, PMs, and site realities

Roughly, it fits contractors in the 10 to 100 employee range—big enough that missed details hurt, small enough that leadership still feels every issue.

The Core Stack: What You Actually Need

At a basic level, a commercial HVAC & mechanical ops stack should cover:

Dispatching and work order management
Time tracking for techs and installers
Payroll and basic HR
Job costing and accounting
Project management and documentation
CRM and service agreement tracking

You can add more layers later, but if you get these six working together, most of the daily friction starts to drop.

1. Dispatching and Work Order Management

For HVAC and mechanical, everything starts with clear work orders and smart dispatch.

Your dispatch and work order tool should:

Create and track service calls, projects, and PM visits
Assign techs based on skills, location, and availability
Push job details, site notes, and equipment info to the field
Capture notes, photos, and recommendations from techs

Good signs you picked the right one:

Dispatch can see where techs are and what they’re doing
Techs know what they’re walking into before they arrive
Fewer “I didn’t know that” moments at the job site

2. Time Tracking for Techs and Install Crews

Labor is one of your biggest levers. If tech and install hours are wrong, service margins are a guess.

Your time tracking approach should:

Let techs clock time by work order, project, or task
Work on phones or tablets without being clunky
Handle travel, on-site time, and shop time if needed
Sync cleanly into payroll and job costing

Sometimes time lives inside your field service tool. Sometimes it’s a separate app. Either way, it should support accurate labor by job, not just clock in/clock out totals.

3. Payroll and Basic HR

HVAC and mechanical payroll often includes overtime, different pay types, on-call, and sometimes multiple states or locations.

Your payroll and HR tools should:

Pull approved hours directly from your time tracking or field service system
Handle overtime rules, on-call, and different roles/pay rates
Make it simple to add, onboard, and terminate employees properly
Store core HR documents and forms in one place

The goal is to move from “fixing payroll by hand every period” to verifying clean, consistent data.

4. Job Costing and Accounting

Between labor, parts, equipment, subs, and overhead, it’s easy to lose track of what you actually made on service contracts and projects.

Your accounting and job costing setup should:

Track labor, materials, subs, and other costs by job, project, or contract
Connect to your invoicing and change order process
Show estimated vs actual for service work and projects
Provide simple job and contract reports leadership will actually review

This can live in a construction/contractor-focused system or a standard accounting platform with strong job and class structures. What matters is clear, trusted numbers.

5. Project Management and Documentation

On larger mechanical projects and complex service work, documentation is what keeps you out of trouble.

Your project management and documentation tools should:

Store contracts, drawings, specs, and RFIs
Keep photos, startup reports, and test results organized
Track change orders, approvals, and punch list items
Make it easy to share clean updates with GCs, owners, and engineers

Whether this lives in a dedicated project management system or inside a well-organized drive/CRM, the key is that critical information doesn’t live inside one person’s email.

6. CRM and Service Agreement Tracking

For HVAC and mechanical, future work is often locked into relationships and service agreements, not one-off jobs.

Your CRM should:

Track property managers, facility managers, owners, and key contacts
Store site histories, equipment lists, and service notes
Manage service agreements, renewals, and PM schedules
Show opportunities and projects in a clear pipeline

It doesn’t have to be complex, but it should give your team a clear picture of what’s coming and where to focus.

How These Pieces Work Together

The best stack cuts down on double entry and missing information. A simple flow for an HVAC/mechanical contractor looks like this:

CRM and service agreements define the client, site, and contract.
Dispatch and work orders schedule techs and crews for calls and projects.
Time tracking records labor by work order or project.
Payroll pulls approved hours with minimal edits.
Accounting and job costing receive labor, materials, and other costs.
Project management and documentation hold drawings, photos, reports, and approvals.

If a tool doesn’t support this flow and constantly forces workarounds, it needs a strong reason to stay in your stack.

Small, Mid, and Larger HVAC & Mechanical Companies

You don’t need the same level of tools at every size.

Smaller teams (10 to 25 people)

Simple field service/dispatch tool with basic work orders
Time tracking tied to work orders or daily summary
Basic payroll that syncs with hours
Light CRM or even structured contact lists for key accounts

Growing companies (25 to 60 people)

Stronger field service platform with better scheduling and mobile app
Time tracking that ties cleanly into job costing and payroll
Payroll that handles more complex rules and multiple locations
Job costing with regular reviews on projects and major accounts
Clear PM tracking for large jobs and recurring service work

Larger commercial players (60 to 100 people)

Deeper integration between field service, payroll, and accounting
More formal HR with documented processes and records
Project management that supports multi-crew, multi-phase mechanical jobs
CRM that connects sales, operations, and service agreements in one view

You can grow into this stack. You don’t need to roll everything out at once.

How to Use This Page

Treat this page like a roadmap, not a shopping list.

Start by marking which tools and systems you’re already using.
Highlight the gaps that create the most pain each week—dispatch confusion, payroll chaos, or unclear job numbers.
Fix one layer at a time, starting with the part that touches the most people.

As you look at tools, keep coming back to one question:

Will this make life easier for dispatch, techs, the office, and leadership at the same time?

If the answer is no, keep looking. OpsForTrades is here to help you decide what belongs in your HVAC & mechanical stack and what doesn’t.