You can offer customer financing in your first year as a contractor, but the list of platforms that will take you is shorter than most guides admit. Hearth states it applies no underwriting, revenue, or time-in-business requirements, and Acorn Finance is free to join for licensed contractors. Wisetack, often recommended to beginners, lists a real gate in its partner documentation: roughly $150,000 in annual revenue, or $15,000 a month for the last three months. GreenSky wants 2 to 3 years of operating history. Here is who accepts new businesses in 2026, what each one costs, and the order to add them.
Key takeaways
- Hearth has no underwriting, revenue, or time-in-business requirements, so a week-old contracting business can sign up; plans run $1,499 to $1,799 per year plus a $99 setup fee as of 2026.
- Wisetack is not a true day-one option: partner help centers (Housecall Pro, Workiz, Jobber) list eligibility of about $150,000 annual revenue or $15,000 per month over the last three months.
- Acorn Finance is the free entry point: no setup cost, no monthly fee, and it works with licensed contractors in good standing.
- GreenSky requires 2 to 3 years in business, so plan around it until year three rather than waiting on it.
- Once you qualify for both, Wisetack's 3.9% per-job fee beats Hearth Pro below roughly $46,000 in financed volume per year; above that, Hearth's flat fee wins.
Why the big financing programs shut out new contractors
Most established consumer financing programs treat business age as a proxy for stability. GreenSky's contractor program requires 2 to 3 years in business, along with bank statements and a registered business with an EIN or license, according to GreenSky's own merchant requirements and NerdWallet's coverage of the program. The lender's logic is simple: a three-year-old company is less likely to vanish mid-project than a six-month-old one, and mid-project failures are where financed jobs go bad.
The result is a catch-22. Financing helps you close bigger jobs, and closing bigger jobs matters most in years one and two, exactly when the legacy programs will not have you. The fix is not waiting. The fix is knowing which platforms verify your identity and license instead of your operating history.
Which platforms accept a new contracting business in 2026
Four names come up in every financing conversation: Hearth, Acorn Finance, Wisetack, and GreenSky. Their entry requirements differ far more than their marketing suggests. Here is the verified picture as of mid-2026.
| Platform | Minimum to join | What you pay | Consumer loan range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hearth | No underwriting, revenue, or time-in-business requirements (per Hearth's pricing page) | $1,499 to $1,799 per year (Elite $4,999) plus $99 setup; $0 dealer fees | $1,000 to $250,000, terms 2 to 12 years, FICO floor around 550 |
| Acorn Finance | Licensed contractor in good standing; credentials verified at onboarding | $0: no setup, monthly, or dealer fees | Up to $100,000 through its lender marketplace |
| Wisetack | About $150,000 annual revenue or $15,000 per month for the last 3 months (per partner help docs) | 3.9% flat fee per financed job; no subscription | $500 to $25,000 (up to $65,000 rolling out), 3 to 60 month terms |
| GreenSky | 2 to 3 years in business, bank statements, registered business | Dealer fees per transaction, varies by loan plan | Up to $65,000 for home improvement |
The surprise in that table is Wisetack. Plenty of older advice, including the earlier version of this article, framed Wisetack as the obvious day-one choice because it has no published time-in-business minimum. That is technically true and practically misleading: a revenue bar of $15,000 a month sustained for three months is a bar many first-year contractors have not cleared yet. If you have, Wisetack is excellent. If you have not, start elsewhere.
Hearth: the platform with no underwriting at all
Hearth is the cleanest answer to the new-business problem because the company says so directly: contractors who use Hearth "are not subject to any underwriting or revenue requirements," per the FAQ on Hearth's own pricing page. You connect homeowners to a marketplace of 18-plus lenders, pay zero dealer fees regardless of the customer's credit tier, and lending partners work with FICO scores as low as 550. Loan amounts run from $1,000 up to $250,000 with terms from 2 to 12 years, which covers everything from a water heater swap to a full remodel.
The cost is the catch for a brand-new operation. Capterra's 2026 listing puts Hearth Essentials at $1,499 per year and Pro at $1,799 per year, and Hearth adds a one-time $99 setup fee. That is real money before you have financed a single job. Our full breakdown of Hearth's fees covers what each tier includes, and the short version is this: the subscription only makes sense if you will actually present financing on most estimates. If you will, the flat-fee model means your cost per financed job falls with every job you close. The dealer fee math is where subscription platforms quietly win over per-transaction ones at volume.
Acorn Finance: the free way to start on day one
Acorn Finance removes the cost objection entirely. Signing up is free, with no setup cost, no monthly fee, and no commitment, and Acorn states it works with licensed contractors in good standing, verifying business credentials during onboarding. You get a personalized financing link you can drop into texts, emails, estimates, and your website, and homeowners prequalify through a lender marketplace without a hard credit pull.
For a contractor in month two with an unpredictable pipeline, free is the right price. The tradeoffs are a hands-off model (Acorn is a referral marketplace, not a sales workflow tool) and less contractor-side tooling than Hearth provides. We compared the two head to head in Hearth vs Acorn Finance. A sensible pattern for a cash-tight first year: launch with Acorn at zero cost, and move to Hearth once your estimate volume proves homeowners are using the option.
Wisetack: great economics, but check the revenue gate first
Wisetack's pricing model is the most beginner-friendly in the industry: a flat 3.9% fee per financed transaction, no setup cost, no subscription, and no monthly minimums. Homeowners see up to six payment options on invoices from $500 to $25,000, with APRs from 0% to 35.9% and terms of 3 to 60 months, and amounts up to $65,000 are rolling out to qualifying accounts, according to Wisetack's partner documentation.
The eligibility bar is the part most roundups skip. Housecall Pro's Wisetack signup guide, along with the Workiz and Jobber help centers, lists the same requirement: a US-based business with annual revenue of at least $150,000, or at least $15,000 in monthly revenue for the last three months. About 74% of merchant applicants get approved per Housecall Pro's documentation, so the bar is not brutal, but it exists. Treat Wisetack as a milestone: the month you can show three consecutive $15,000 months, apply. Our step-by-step Wisetack application walkthrough covers the process, and the Hearth vs Wisetack comparison covers which to lead with once you hold both.
What every platform verifies instead of business age
No-history platforms still verify that you are a real, legitimate contractor. Before applying anywhere, have these four things in order:
- An active business bank account. Not just opened, but showing transactions. Platforms use bank activity to confirm you are operating, and some want to see a few months of history.
- A current contractor or business license. Acorn says it plainly: licensed contractors in good standing. Lender networks require it even where the platform is flexible.
- An EIN. Some platforms accept a sole proprietor on a SSN, but an EIN separates business identity from personal credit and speeds up verification. The IRS issues one online in minutes at no cost.
- A verifiable business footprint. A real address, a business phone, and a Google Business Profile, even a young one with five reviews, all help a reviewer confirm you exist.
The first-year cost math: per-job fee vs flat subscription
Once your revenue qualifies you for both models, the decision is arithmetic. Wisetack costs 3.9% of financed volume; Hearth Pro costs $1,799 per year flat. The crossover sits at about $46,000 of financed volume ($1,799 divided by 0.039), or roughly $48,700 in year one once you include Hearth's $99 setup fee.
| Annual financed volume | Wisetack cost (3.9%) | Hearth Pro cost (flat) | Cheaper option |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $390 | $1,799 | Wisetack |
| $25,000 | $975 | $1,799 | Wisetack |
| $46,000 | $1,794 | $1,799 | Break even |
| $75,000 | $2,925 | $1,799 | Hearth (saves $1,126) |
| $150,000 | $5,850 | $1,799 | Hearth (saves $4,051) |
Notice the irony in the bottom row. By the time Wisetack's own revenue requirement says you definitely qualify ($150,000 in annual revenue), a contractor financing a third of that volume is already past the point where Hearth's flat fee is the cheaper structure. The per-job model fits contractors with low or uncertain financed volume, which is exactly the group Wisetack's eligibility bar filters out. Acorn, at $0, sidesteps the whole equation for the months when your volume is too small for either math to matter.
Pitching financing from your very first estimate
Homeowners do not know or care how long you have been on a platform, only that monthly payment options exist. Bring financing up early, before the price, and defuse the credit worry in the same breath: "We work with a lender network that lets you spread the cost over monthly payments. Checking your options takes about two minutes and does not affect your credit score." Prequalification on Hearth, Acorn, and Wisetack uses a soft credit pull, so that line is accurate on all three.
Put a financing line in the estimate document itself, near the top: "Monthly payment options available, check your rate with no credit impact." A payment-framed number changes the conversation; a $14,000 roof reads differently at around $260 a month. For scripts that handle the kitchen-table moment, see our guide to pitching financing to homeowners, and if you are still deciding whether to bother at all, the math on not offering financing makes the case.
The realistic growth path for a new contractor
A staged rollout beats trying to pick one perfect platform in year one:
- Day one: sign up with Acorn Finance. Zero cost, and your estimates carry a financing option from your first job. If you would rather start with fuller tooling and can absorb roughly $1,600 to $1,900 in year-one cost, start with Hearth instead; it will not check your revenue or your age.
- Months 1 to 6: present financing on every estimate. Track two numbers: how many customers used it and total financed volume. These decide your next move.
- At three consecutive $15,000 revenue months: add Wisetack. You now meet its published bar, and its 3.9% per-job fee is the cheapest structure while financed volume stays under about $46,000 a year.
- Past $46,000 in financed volume: make Hearth primary. The flat fee beats per-job fees from here up. Keep a second platform active as a backup, since the lender networks differ and a decline on one is not a decline on both.
- Year three: reassess GreenSky and the dealer-fee programs. By then you qualify, and our GreenSky alternatives roundup covers whether you still want it.
New to how any of this works under the hood? The beginner's guide to home improvement financing covers the mechanics from application to funding. And if Hearth's no-underwriting entry fits where you are, you can get started with Hearth here.
How we put this together: we checked each platform's entry requirements against primary sources in July 2026: Hearth's pricing page and Capterra's Hearth listing, Wisetack eligibility as published in the Housecall Pro, Workiz, and Jobber help centers, Acorn Finance's contractor pages, and GreenSky's merchant requirements plus NerdWallet's review. Break-even figures are our own arithmetic from those published fees. Platform terms change; treat the numbers as accurate as of mid-2026 and confirm on the vendor's site before signing.
Frequently asked questions
Can a brand-new contractor with no business history offer financing?
Yes. Hearth states that contractors are not subject to underwriting or revenue requirements, and Acorn Finance signs up licensed contractors in good standing for free. Both verify identity and licensing rather than years in business, so a first-year contractor can offer monthly payments on the very first estimate.
Does Wisetack accept new businesses?
Only once revenue qualifies: partner help centers (Housecall Pro, Workiz, Jobber) list eligibility of about $150,000 in annual revenue or $15,000 per month over the last three months. There is no published time-in-business minimum, so a fast-starting new contractor can qualify within months, but a business with no revenue yet cannot.
What does Hearth require to sign up?
Hearth requires no underwriting, revenue minimum, or time-in-business, per its own pricing page FAQ. You pay the subscription ($1,499 to $1,799 per year for most contractors as of 2026, per Capterra) plus a $99 one-time setup fee, and you should hold a valid trade license and business bank account for lender-network verification.
Do I need an EIN or LLC to offer customer financing?
An EIN helps but an LLC is not required. Some platforms accept sole proprietors on a SSN, and none of the platforms covered here require a specific entity type. An EIN is free from the IRS, separates your business identity from your personal credit, and makes every application cleaner.
How much does offering financing cost in year one?
Between $0 and about $1,900 depending on platform. Acorn Finance is free, Wisetack charges 3.9% only on jobs a customer actually finances, and Hearth runs $1,499 to $1,799 per year plus a $99 setup fee. At low financed volume, the free and per-job models cost less; past roughly $46,000 in financed volume, Hearth's flat fee wins.
Will offering financing hurt my customers' credit scores?
Prequalification will not, because Hearth, Acorn, and Wisetack all use a soft credit pull to show options. A hard inquiry only happens if the homeowner accepts a loan and completes a full application, which is the same sequence as any personal loan.
