How to follow up on an estimate when the customer is waiting on financing?
By the Escloser team · Last updated
Park the estimate on the date they named for the financing decision. Call that day. Ask whether they applied, and whether it came back approved, pending, declined, or short of the quoted amount. Approved books the job. Pending gets another date. Declined stays open as a smaller option, a repair, or a different lender the shop already offers.
This is the callback for a 2-to-10 truck HVAC, plumbing or electrical shop whose change-outs, water heaters, and panel upgrades stall after the homeowner says they are waiting on financing.
What “waiting on financing” actually is
Waiting on financing is a parked estimate with a next date. It is still open. The reminder the field-service app already sent does not book the install.
| Status | Follow up? | On the open list? |
|---|---|---|
| Have not applied yet | Yes. Send the payment options from the visit | Yes |
| Applied, pending | Yes, on the date they named | Yes |
| Approved for the quoted amount | Book the install | No. Sold |
| Approved short of the quoted amount | Yes. Smaller option, or a different lender the shop already offers | Yes until they pick |
| Declined | Yes. Smaller option, repair, or they say no | Yes until they pick or decline the work |
| They asked you not to call, or STOP | Never | Honor it the same day |
On r/HVAC, shops still watch the install board go empty the week credit apps come back declined. Keep those rows tagged financing until they pick a smaller option, a repair, or they say no.
How to track why customers turn down estimates is the reason you write when that row finally ends. Financing is the hold-up, not the ending.
What to send right after the visit
Leave the payment options the estimator already put on the estimate. The same-hour call confirms the quote and the payment options landed.
Do not invent a monthly payment on the phone. Read what is on the ticket.
ServiceTitan’s GreenSky help for the Field Mobile App (updated 2026-08-06) says a prequalification request gets a decision without impacting their credit, and the request comes back Approved, Declined, or Pending. The GreenSky overview (updated 2026-08-18) says customers who apply through ServiceTitan Mobile get a loan decision in seconds. If this estimate is still “waiting” days later, look at the ticket: they have not applied yet, the request is Pending, or they went to their own bank or credit union.
When to call
How soon should you call a customer back after sending an HVAC estimate? is the first hour. Their named date replaces that slot. How many times should a contractor follow up on an estimate? is the rest of the cadence when they never named a day.
| Situation | When you call | What you are trying to learn |
|---|---|---|
| Estimate just went out | Same business hour | Did the file and the payment options arrive |
| They named a day | That day | Applied? Approved, pending, declined, which amount |
| They never named a day | Days 2, 4, 7 and 14 | The same four answers |
| Pending after you asked | The next date they give you | Still pending, or a decision |
| Sent after hours | Next morning, after 8 a.m. their local time | Same receipt check, inside calling hours |
If nobody answers, leave a short voicemail with your name, the shop, the address, and a callback number. Do not pitch into the mailbox. If they already gave you a date, that parked call replaces the next slot. It does not reset the five.
What to ask, and what to do with the answer
Call as the shop, by the company name. Read the estimator’s notes first. This is a check-in on the date they set.
The day they named. “Hi, it’s Maya from Northside Heating and Air. Luis was out at 18 Maple last Tuesday. You said financing would land today. Did you apply, and did it come back approved, pending, or declined?”
Then stop talking. Write the answer and the amount.
| Answer | Next step | Who owns it |
|---|---|---|
| Have not applied | Resend the payment options from the visit. Park a date | CSR, from the notes |
| Pending | Write the next date they name | CSR |
| Approved, amount matches the quote | Book the next two open install slots | CSR. Estimator only if the scope moved |
| Approved short | Offer the smaller option already on the estimate | Estimator writes any new price |
| Declined | Smaller option, repair instead, or a different lender the shop already offers | Estimator for price. Lender for why |
| Spouse or co-signer still has to apply | Time when both can talk | CSR parks that time |
| They said no, hired someone else, or STOP | Log the reason and dismiss | CSR, that day |
Have not applied. “The payment options Luis left are on the last page of the estimate. I can resend that page. When should I call back?”
Approved. “We have [Tue 8-12] and [Thu 1-5] open for 18 Maple. Which one works?” Book it while they are on the line. Do not start the change-out until the lender has approved this amount on this estimate.
Declined, or short. “Luis left a smaller option and a repair on the same visit. I can have him walk you through those. We also have [the other lender the shop already offers], if you want to apply there. Which do you want?”
Tonnage, line-set, permit, or a different outdoor unit goes back to the comfort advisor. Do not drop the price on the phone.
Who on the shop can answer what
The CSR or office manager can run this call when the notes are in the ticket. The comfort advisor who was in the house wins it when they can make it. Terms, rates, and approvals belong to the lender.
| Question | CSR, from the estimator’s notes | Lender |
|---|---|---|
| Did the estimate arrive | Yes | No |
| What payment options were left on the visit | Yes, from the ticket | No |
| Monthly payment, APR, or term | No | Yes |
| Why the application was declined | No. Point them at the notice the lender sends | Yes |
| Book the two open install slots | Yes | No |
| A new price or a different unit | Back to the estimator | No |
If a lender rejects the application, the CFPB (last reviewed 2024-12-31, page modified 2026-02-20) says the lender has to send an adverse action notice with the main reasons, or tell the applicant how to get those reasons. The shop does not explain the decline. This is not legal or credit advice. Check with your own counsel.
How to log it so the row stays real
Log financing as financing, with a next date. Do not file it under thinking, and do not dismiss it as lost while the application is still open.
- ServiceTitan: Follow Up, then the next date on the estimate. Write applied / pending / approved / declined and the amount in the follow-up note.
- Jobber: Quote awaiting response. Put the date on the quote reminder that reminds you to call.
- Housecall Pro: Pipeline. Keep it on a follow-up step until they pick or decline.
- Workiz: Pending. Note the date and whether they applied, and whether it came back approved, pending, or declined.
After day 14 with no answer, dismiss it as no-answer so the office stops calling. A year-old quote they bring up later is a new estimate. Pricing may have moved.
How to follow up on HVAC estimates that haven’t closed has the rest of the scripts. This page is the financing date.
When to stop
Stop the day they decline the work, hired someone else, reply STOP, or ask you not to call. Honor a do-not-call request the same day.
The FCC (updated 2026-02-27) prohibits telemarketing calls to the home before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. local time, and says telemarketers must comply immediately with a do-not-call request. This is not legal advice. Check with your own counsel.
Four ways shops actually keep financing moving
1. Run the FSM as designed
Work Follow Up, quote reminders, Pipeline, or Pending every morning. Call the financing dates first, highest dollar first. Right answer when someone is at the desk. It breaks the first week the dates go blank.
2. The estimator calls from the truck
Same-hour check-in from the person who ran the application in the house. Best first call. It stops the afternoon they have three more houses.
3. Hire someone whose job is the list
Job posts from 2025 list a sales VA for estimate follow-up at about $700 a month and an estimator or lead converter at about $400 a month. You still hire, train them, and check that financing is a date.
4. Put the financing rows on a daily call list
The open estimates are already in the FSM. Someone still has to dial the ones tagged financing on the date in the notes. We make Escloser, which does this, so weigh that suggestion accordingly. Ask who is on the phone, and whether every financing row keeps a next date until it is sold, declined, or they ask you to stop.
How to tell this week
Financing follow-up is working when yesterday’s “waiting on financing” rows have a next date, approved jobs are on the board, declined jobs have a smaller option or a logged no, and Friday’s financing pile is shorter than Monday’s. If the list only grows, the reminders are sending and nobody is asking whether they applied.
Filter this week’s open estimates for financing. Call the ones whose date is today. Those rows are already in the FSM.
Frequently asked questions
Should I mark an estimate lost while the customer is waiting on financing?
Keep it open. Financing is a next date. Log it as financing, with the day they said the decision would land. Stay on the cadence if they never named a day. Mark it lost when they decline the work, hire someone else, or ask you to stop. Silence through day 14 is no-answer, a different reason.
Can a CSR answer rates and approval questions on the callback?
The CSR answers from the estimator's notes: the estimate arrived, the payment options from the visit, and the two open install slots. Monthly payment, APR, term, and why an application was declined belong to the lender. The CFPB says the lender sends the adverse action notice. Point the homeowner there. Check with your own counsel.
What do I do if financing comes back declined or short of the quoted amount?
Call. Offer the smaller option already on the estimate, a repair instead of the change-out, or a different lender the shop already offers. The estimator writes any new price. Rates stay with the lender. If they decline all of that, log the reason and dismiss the row.
When should I call if they never named a day the decision would land?
Stay on the same-hour call, then days 2, 4, 7 and 14. Each call asks the same four questions: applied yet, approved, pending, or declined, and for which amount. If they name a day, that date replaces the next slot. Stop if they say no or ask you not to call.