Things To Consider in Mind While Starting an HVAC Cleaning & Maintenance Business

Did you know that the HVAC market was valued at $16.54 billion last year, and the number is estimated to grow by 2025?

So we can say it’s a great time to start your HVAC business. 

Do you love to work outdoors and have an entrepreneurial spirit? Then starting an HVAC air duct cleaning and maintenance company is a good place to start with.

You might ask why I should start with an HVAC cleaning business; let’s clarify it. 

According to recent research, some studies conclusively demonstrate that there is a rise in disposable income among middle-class families. So, the demand from both residential and commercial buildings to maintain good air quality has peaked. This has led to the global HVAC cleaning services market’s growth in the coming years, from 2023 to 2027. 

But starting any HVAC business is hard work, and there’s no substitute. At times, running a business might be overwhelming. However, you can streamline the process and run the business smoothly if you have a solid business plan. 

To help you out, we have done extensive research and have come up with the seven best tips to consider while starting an HVAC air duct cleaning company. Let’s dive into learning. 

7 Things to Keep in Mind When Starting HVAC Cleaning and Maintenance Business

1. Plan your business

Every business starts with a business plan. So, your HVAC cleaning and maintenance business must also start with the same.

Your business plan must have the following:

• Clear details of the startup and ongoing costs
• Target market
• Your cleaning and maintenance fee
• Name of your business

Let’s check each topic in detail now.

How much does it cost to open an air duct cleaning business? You must have a basic idea. On average, starting a residential air duct cleaning business costs $5500. At the same time, a commercial air duct cleaning business costs about $10,000. 

Most of the cost is spent on equipment to clear air ducts. 

Ongoing expenses: Ongoing expenses are nothing but the operating costs required to run a business daily. An HVAC company would include fuel expenses to get to and from on-site, maintenance for the company’s vehicles, supplies, and others. These costs are fairly minimal. 

Target market: Who is your target market? Some HVAC duct cleaning businesses take on residential cleaning projects, but their ideal customers are commercial buildings. Because cleaning large commercial building systems costs high. When you solely start a business on cleaning and maintenance, you need that price to sustain the business. Long story short, your target market must be commercial buildings. 

How much do you charge customers?

Most HVAC duct cleaning services costs between $250 to $500. On average, HVAC vent cleaning costs $25 per vent. However, it is essential to compare the HVAC cleaning price with competitors and market price.

How much profit can you reap?

First, know the time to complete a typical air duct cleaning work. On average, it consumes three hours, and you can do two daily cleanings. So, with the costs given above, and if you work for a full-booked business, you can generate a revenue of $3000 and $5000 each week. The net profit after all the other expenses are settled is also decent.

Here is a brownie point: Check if there is any other way to make your business profit. For example, you can increase your air duct cleaning business’ revenue by offering additional HVAC services or tying up with a local business. 

The best thing is you can tie with an HVAC company in your area as they will be willing to pay a commission for any work referred to them.

Name your business: Only after discussing the expenses, you must name your business. You can’t keep a random or favorite name for your business. Because choosing the right name is crucial as it is the face of your business brand. 

When registering a business name, check if the name already exists. You can verify it by checking:

• Your state’s business records
• Federal and state trademark records
• Web domain availability
• Social media platforms

With this step, the duct cleaning business plan is done. Now, let’s get to the legal formalities. 

2. Form a legal entity for your business

How are you planning to register your HVAC system cleaning business? The common business structure types are sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company(LLC), and corporation. 

We recommend you establish a legal business entity such as LLC or corporation. Because these two types protect you from being held liable if your duct cleaning business is sued.

You can either form an LLC on your own and pay the minimal state LLC costs or hire the best LLC service to get the work done. 

3. Register for taxes

Business taxes are inevitable. You must register for different kinds of state and federal taxes before you can open a business. To register for taxes, you must apply for an EIN (Employer Identification Number), which is like a social security number for your business.

Small business taxes: Your HVAC duct system cleaning business will be taxed based on your chosen business structure. Also, you need to pay specific state taxes that might apply to your business. 

4. Open an HVAC cleaning business bank account and credit card

If you use the same bank account for personal and business purposes, it will be a mess. So, it is crucial to open dedicated business banking and credit accounts. 

Another disadvantage of using the same account is that if your business gets sued under an unfortunate situation, your personal assets will also be at risk. 

Besides this, learn how to build business credit. This will help you get credit cards and other financings in your business’s name, such as better interest rates and other beneficiaries. 

Let’s summarise what you must know about a bank business account.

Open a business bank account: Opening a business bank account can make accounting and tax filing works easier. Also, it splits your personal assets from your air duct company’s assets. It protects your personal assets.

Open net 30 accounts: A net 30 account is also called a net30 tradeline or vendor tradeline. It is a 30-day trade credit on invoices for business purchases. This account simply allows businesses to buy goods and repay the balance within 30 days. 

Get a business credit card: When you get a business credit card, you will benefit from the following:

Build your air duct cleaning and maintenance company’s history, which can be useful to raise money in the future.

Also, separate personal and business expenses. Thus you can put all business expenses in one account and track them.

Brownie point: Apart from creating your business account, set up business accounting. 

How will you keep a track of your business expenses? Will you be checking your business account balance now and then for this information?

It won’t be feasible, right? So, set up business accounting. Record your various expenses and income sources to understand your financial performance of your business. Maintaining detailed accounts also helps simplify your annual tax filing. 

5. Get the necessary permits and licenses.

The permits and licenses are the next important things to consider while starting an HVAC duct cleaning and maintenance business. 

If you fail to acquire the permits and licenses, you can land hefty fines, or even it can make your business shut down. 

So, what are the permits and licenses required for your business?

State and local business licensing requirements

Most states demand air duct cleaners to obtain a mechanical contractor’s license. To obtain it, you must either have relevant education under your belt or experience in the HVAC industry. If yes, you will be eligible to take the Mechanical Contractor License Exam, which must be cleared. 

You must get more information about local licenses and permits to obtain local licensing or other regulatory requirements. 

• Check the licensing rules with your town, city, or county clerk’s office.
• Seek help from one of the local associations listed in the US Small Business Associations directory of local business resources.

Service Agreement

Any business must sign a service agreement before starting a new project. So, as an air duct cleaning business owner, ensure to sign a service agreement with your client. 

This agreement must clarify your HVAC client’s expectations and minimize the risk of legal disputes by setting out service level expectations, payment terms and conditions, and intellectual property ownership.

6. Get business insurance

Just like your business needs permits and licenses to operate safely, you also need business insurance.

Different insurance policies are created for different business types to handle the risk. If you are unsure where to start, start with General Liability Insurance.

7. Define your brand

A strong brand makes you stand out from competitors and creates loyal customers. Good branding can give a human side to your business, which your customers can relate to more than your company that talks more about business. 

Choose an eye-catching logo and use it everywhere on your business cards, website, and social media platforms to bring awareness to your business.

Promote and market your air duct cleaning business

When starting your business, you will first serve a small geographic area. So, to promote your small business, give ads in local outlets, radio stations, and newspapers.

Create your business website

Once you have defined your brand with a logo, the next step is to set up a website for your ductwork cleaning business.

This is an internet era, and everyone relies on search engines to look for services or products. So, when they search for the best duct cleaning services on Google, and if your website pops up, tada! You got a customer easily. 

So, setting up a website is essential and working on SEO to make it rank in the first position is more important. 

Set up your business phone system

Did it feel a bit weird when you read this point on a business planning thing? Getting a phone set up for your HVAC business has its benefits. It helps your business become more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and ping you. 

Conclusion

If you’re excited to help people keep their houses at a comfortable temperature, maintain good indoor air quality and save money with energy efficiency, it’s time to get into the HVAC cleaning industry.

We hope that our guide on starting an HVAC air duct cleaning and maintenance business has covered the necessary information to suffice. 

Once you learn about the day-to-day activities that need to be taken care of as a business owner, you can run the business more easily with the help of HVAC software.