Service Agreements

Service agreements let you lock in recurring work with customers — maintenance contracts, annual inspections, seasonal tune-ups, or any scheduled service you provide on an ongoing basis. They give customers peace of mind and give your business predictable, recurring revenue.

What Is a Service Agreement?

A service agreement is a signed contract between you and a customer that covers recurring work over a defined period. Common examples for contractors include:

• Annual roof inspection and maintenance — Visit once a year, clear debris, check flashing and sealants.
• HVAC maintenance contract — Two visits per year, filter changes, system tune-up.
• Seasonal gutter cleaning — Spring and fall cleanings on a set schedule.
• Commercial property maintenance — Monthly or quarterly visits covering a defined scope.

An agreement in ContractorScope AI includes the terms of service, the customer's signature, the service schedule, and a record of every service visit performed.

Creating a Service Agreement

From a Contact

1. Open the contact in Contacts & CRM.
2. Click the Agreements tab.
3. Click New Agreement.

From the Agreements Section

1. Go to Agreements in the left navigation.
2. Click New Agreement.
3. Select the contact this agreement is for.

From the Agreements Wizard

The wizard walks you through four steps:

Step 1 — Agreement Details

• Agreement name — A short description (for example, "Annual Roof Maintenance — 2025").
• Contact — The customer this agreement is for.
• Property address — The location where service will be performed.
• Start date — When the agreement becomes active.
• End date — When the agreement expires. Leave blank for open-ended agreements.
• Agreement value — The total price for the agreement period (used for invoicing).

Step 2 — Scope of Work and Terms

This is the meat of the agreement — what you agree to do and under what conditions.

• Scope of work — A clear description of what is included in the agreement. Be specific: list the services, materials, and visit frequency.
• What is not included — Explicitly call out what is outside the agreement scope. This protects you if a customer asks for something extra and expects it to be covered.
• Terms and conditions — Payment terms, cancellation policy, liability limitations, and any other legal language. You can type custom terms or use a template (see below).

warning

Have your terms and conditions reviewed by a lawyer before using them with customers. ContractorScope AI provides a default template, but your specific business situation, trade, and state may require customized language.

Step 3 — Service Schedule

Define when visits will happen:

• Frequency — One-time, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Twice a year, Annually, or Custom.
• Schedule dates — For custom schedules, specify the exact dates or months when visits should occur.
• Visit duration estimate — How long each visit typically takes. This feeds into Calendar scheduling.

ContractorScope AI generates a list of upcoming service dates based on your schedule. You can adjust individual dates after the agreement is created.

Step 4 — Invoicing

Set up how and when the customer is billed:

• Billing frequency — Bill upfront for the full year, monthly, quarterly, or per visit.
• Payment terms — Net 15, Net 30, Due on receipt.
• Auto-generate invoices — Turn this on to have ContractorScope AI automatically create invoices on the billing schedule. You review and send each one, or set them to send automatically.

tip

Billing annually upfront is the most cash-flow-friendly option for your business and reduces administrative work. Many customers prefer it too because they do not have to think about it for a year. Offer a small discount (5–10%) for annual prepayment to incentivize this.

Agreement Templates

Instead of building every agreement from scratch, create templates for your most common service types.

1. Go to Settings → Agreement Templates.
2. Click New Template.
3. Give the template a name (for example, "Standard Annual Roof Maintenance").
4. Fill in the default scope, terms, schedule, and billing settings.
5. Save.

When creating a new agreement, click Apply Template and select the appropriate template. All the standard fields populate automatically, and you can adjust any details specific to this customer.

Collecting Customer Signatures

Agreements require a customer signature before they become active. ContractorScope AI handles the entire signing process digitally.

Sending for Signature

1. After completing the wizard, review the agreement summary.
2. Click Send for Signature.
3. The customer receives an email with a link to review and sign the agreement in the customer portal.

The Customer Signing Experience

In the customer portal, the customer can:

1. Read the full agreement, including scope and terms.
2. Ask questions by clicking Contact Us (this sends you an email).
3. Sign the agreement by typing their name or drawing a signature on a touchscreen.
4. Click Sign and Accept to finalize.

You receive a notification immediately when the customer signs. The agreement status changes from Pending Signature to Active, and a copy of the signed agreement is stored permanently in ContractorScope AI.

info

Signed agreements are stored with a timestamp and the customer's IP address for legal validity. Agreements signed in the portal constitute an electronic signature under most jurisdictions' e-signature laws.

In-Person Signing

If you are meeting with the customer in person, you can present the agreement on your tablet:

1. Open the agreement.
2. Click Sign In Person.
3. Hand the device to the customer.
4. They review and sign directly on the screen.
5. Click Confirm Signature.

Recurring Service Schedules

Once an agreement is active, the service schedule appears on your Calendar automatically. Each scheduled visit shows up as an event linked to the agreement and the contact.

Completing a Visit

When a scheduled visit is done:

1. Open the calendar event or the agreement.
2. Click Mark Visit Complete.
3. Optionally add notes about what was done, any findings, or follow-up items.
4. Upload photos if relevant.

The visit is logged in the agreement's service history. The next visit date is automatically calculated and added to your calendar.

Skipping or Rescheduling a Visit

1. Open the upcoming visit on the calendar or the agreement's Schedule tab.
2. Click Reschedule or Skip.
3. Enter a note explaining why (customer request, weather, etc.).

Agreement Renewals

When an agreement approaches its end date, ContractorScope AI sends you a renewal reminder 30 days out (configurable in Settings).

To renew:

1. Open the expiring agreement.
2. Click Renew Agreement.
3. Set the new end date and adjust pricing or scope if needed.
4. Send the renewed agreement to the customer for signature.

Renewal history is linked — you can see that this agreement is a continuation of the previous one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I have multiple agreements with the same customer? Yes. A customer can have as many agreements as needed — for example, a roof maintenance agreement and a gutter cleaning agreement.

What happens if a customer cancels mid-agreement? Change the agreement status to Cancelled and note the reason. Any auto-generated future invoices are cancelled. Outstanding invoices for work already performed remain active.

Can I use agreement templates from past jobs as starting points? Yes. When creating a new agreement, click Duplicate on any existing agreement to start from a copy of it, then adjust as needed.

Do service agreements connect to invoicing? Yes — see Invoicing for how invoices are generated from agreements. With auto-billing enabled, ContractorScope AI creates invoices automatically on your billing schedule.

What Your Customer Sees

When you send a service agreement for signature, your customer goes through these steps:

1. Email notification — The customer receives an email with the agreement summary and a "Review & Sign" button
2. Agreement review — They see the full agreement terms including scope of work, pricing, schedule, and any recurring billing details
3. Electronic signature — The customer signs electronically by typing their name or drawing their signature on any device (phone, tablet, or computer)
4. Confirmation — Both parties receive a signed copy via email. The agreement status updates to "Active" in your dashboard automatically
5. Recurring billing — If the agreement includes recurring charges, the customer is notified before each billing cycle

Send a Test Agreement

Create a test agreement and send it to your own email first. Walk through the customer experience yourself so you know exactly what they see and can answer their questions confidently.

Next Steps

Ready to put service agreements to work? Consider these next steps:

• Invoicing — See how recurring invoices are generated from your agreements.
• Contacts & CRM — View all active agreements tied to a customer from their contact record.
• Projects — Create a project for each agreement to track work and communication in one place.