Contractor financing tools let homeowners pay for a project in monthly installments while you get paid in full at completion. The platforms split into two fee models: flat annual subscriptions (Hearth, from $1,499 per year per its published pricing) and per-transaction dealer fees (Wisetack at 3.9 percent, GreenSky at roughly 2 to 12 percent depending on the plan). The right choice comes down to financed volume: past roughly $46,000 of financed work per year, a subscription usually costs less than paying a fee on every job.
Key takeaways
- Financing platforms use one of two fee models: a flat subscription (Hearth runs $1,499 to $4,999 per year) or a dealer fee deducted from each funded job (Wisetack charges a flat 3.9 percent).
- At a 3.9 percent transaction fee, about $46,000 of financed volume per year costs the same as Hearth's $1,799 Pro subscription. Above that line, subscriptions win; below it, pay-per-use wins.
- Promotional 0 percent APR offers are paid for by the contractor. GreenSky's true 0 percent plans have historically carried dealer fees in the 10 to 15 percent range, per its published rate sheets.
- Lender-network platforms approve more credit profiles than single-lender programs. Hearth advertises a 550 FICO floor across its network of 18 lenders.
- Dealer fees must be priced into the job, not absorbed after the fact. A 6 percent fee on a $40,000 remodel is $2,400 off your margin if you ignore it.
What contractor financing tools actually do
A contractor financing tool is point-of-sale lending software: you send the homeowner a link or QR code, they apply on their phone in a few minutes, a lender approves and funds the loan, and you receive the full contract amount (minus any dealer fee) when the work is done. The homeowner repays the lender in monthly installments. You are never the lender, you carry no repayment risk, and you do not service the loan.
The tools differ on three axes that matter more than any feature list:
- Fee model. Either you pay a flat subscription regardless of usage, or a percentage of every funded job. This single variable drives most of the cost difference between platforms.
- Lender structure. Single-lender programs (GreenSky, Synchrony HOME, Service Finance) route every application to one balance sheet with one credit box. Marketplace platforms (Hearth, Acorn Finance) shop the application across multiple lenders, which generally approves a wider range of credit scores.
- Where it lives. Some tools are standalone apps; others embed inside software you already run. Wisetack, for example, operates inside Jobber, Housecall Pro, and other field service platforms rather than as its own app.
The two fee models, and the math that decides between them
The fee model is the first filter, because it changes what a platform costs by thousands of dollars a year depending on your volume. Here is how the major contractor financing tools charge as of mid-2026:
| Platform | Fee model | What you pay | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hearth | Annual subscription | $1,499 (Essentials) to $4,999 (Elite) per year plus a one-time $99 setup fee; no per-loan dealer fee, per Hearth's published pricing | Contractors financing $50,000+ per year who want predictable costs |
| Wisetack | Per transaction | Flat 3.9 percent of each funded amount; no signup or monthly fee, per Wisetack's site. A higher fee applies only when the customer takes an extended 0 percent APR promo | Lower-volume shops and anyone already on Jobber or Housecall Pro |
| GreenSky | Per transaction (dealer fee) | Roughly 2 to 12 percent depending on the loan plan, with true 0 percent promos historically 10 to 15 percent; a $35 monthly fee applies under $3,500 in funded volume, per GreenSky's merchant fee documentation | High-ticket trades that want big loan sizes and promo offers |
| Service Finance, Foundation Finance, FTL | Per transaction (dealer fee) | Dealer fees vary by promo plan and trade; quoted at enrollment rather than published | HVAC and exterior contractors with dealer-program relationships |
The break-even is simple arithmetic. Hearth Pro at $1,799 per year divided by Wisetack's 3.9 percent equals about $46,000 of financed volume. Finance less than that in a year and the subscription costs you more than paying per transaction. Finance $150,000 (four or five mid-sized remodels) and the same volume through a 3.9 percent fee would run about $5,850, more than three times Hearth Pro's price.
Dealer fees also compound quietly. We ran the numbers on what dealer fees actually take from a year of financed jobs, and for a busy shop the annual total regularly clears five figures.
Promotional 0 percent APR: who really pays for it
Zero percent financing is a sales weapon, but it is never free: the contractor funds the homeowner's interest through a larger dealer fee. GreenSky's own historical rate sheets show standard installment plans costing the contractor 0 to about 3 percent, while true 0 percent APR plans ran 11.5 to 18.5 percent. That spread is the cost of the promo.
The math can still work. On a $25,000 HVAC replacement, a 12 percent dealer fee is $3,000. If the 0 percent offer closes a job you would otherwise have lost, or lets you hold price instead of discounting $4,000 to win it, the fee paid for itself. If the customer would have signed anyway, you gave away $3,000. The discipline is offering promo plans selectively, not as the default. Our breakdown of how 0 percent APR contractor financing actually works covers the plan types and scripts for presenting them honestly.
Subscription platforms handle promos differently: because Hearth charges no dealer fee, the rates its lenders offer are standard consumer rates, and true 0 percent promos are generally not part of the model. That is the trade-off you accept for flat pricing.
What financing does to close rates and ticket size
Financing changes the conversation from "$38,000" to "around $410 a month," and that reframing is why contractors bother with any of this. Monthly-payment pricing keeps prospects in the conversation who would otherwise stall at the total, and it removes the most common exit line in home improvement sales: "I need to think about it," which usually means the total stunned them. Financing is the most direct fix.
It also protects margin. A homeowner negotiating a lump sum asks for $2,000 off; a homeowner looking at monthly payments asks whether it can be closer to $350 than $400, which a longer term answers without touching your price. And it lifts ticket size, because the jump from the base option to the premium option shrinks to a few dollars a month. Bath remodelers in particular have used this to move buyers up entire package tiers.
The reverse is also true: not offering financing has a measurable cost in lost jobs and shrunken scopes. We did that math in the true cost of not offering financing. And the tool only pays off if your crew actually presents it on every estimate, which is a habit problem more than a software problem; our kitchen-table guide to pitching financing covers the exact wording.
How to evaluate a contractor financing platform
Run every candidate through this sequence before you sign anything:
- Estimate your financed volume first. Take last year's revenue, assume 20 to 35 percent of customers will finance when offered, and multiply. This number decides subscription vs per-transaction before any demo does.
- Get the full fee schedule in writing. Subscription price or dealer fee by plan, setup fees, monthly minimums (GreenSky's $35 low-volume fee is the kind of line item that hides), and what a promo plan costs you per funded dollar.
- Check the credit box against your customer base. Ask for the minimum score and typical approval rate. A platform that declines a third of your applicants costs you jobs no fee schedule shows. Marketplace models with multiple lenders generally approve deeper.
- Confirm loan sizes match your ticket. Wisetack tops out at $25,000 per its site, fine for service work, thin for a $60,000 kitchen. GreenSky and Hearth's lenders go well into six figures.
- Test the homeowner experience yourself. Run a prequalification on your own phone. If it takes more than a few minutes or demands a hard credit pull upfront, homeowners will abandon it at the kitchen table.
- Check integration with your existing stack. Financing inside your CRM or invoicing flow gets offered on every job; a separate app gets forgotten. If you run Jobber or Housecall Pro, embedded options deserve extra weight.
- Confirm funding speed and paperwork. Ask when money lands after completion certification and what documentation each funded job requires from your office staff.
If your business is young, add one more filter: some programs want two years of history, others do not. Our guide to offering financing as a new contractor without two years of history lists which platforms are realistic on day one.
Common mistakes contractors make with financing tools
The mistakes below cost real money and show up constantly in contractor reviews of these platforms:
- Absorbing dealer fees instead of pricing them in. If your average dealer fee is 6 percent, your book pricing needs to carry it across the board (most states restrict surcharging the individual financed customer, so it goes into base price, not a line item).
- Buying a subscription before proving usage. A $1,799 subscription that finances two jobs a year is an expensive habit. Start per-transaction if you are unsure your team will present financing consistently.
- Offering only one promo plan. Presenting a single 0 percent option with a fat dealer fee on every job burns margin. Match the plan to the customer: standard APR for payment-focused buyers, promo plans for rate-focused ones.
- Leading with the application instead of the payment. The pitch is "this project runs about $410 a month," not "want to apply for a loan?" Sequence matters, and so does having answers ready for the standard pushbacks; we collected the 10 most common homeowner financing objections with exact responses.
- Ignoring what prequalification does to the customer's credit. Reps who cannot explain soft versus hard pulls lose trust at the table. Our explainer on how contractor financing affects homeowner credit scores gives your team the two-sentence answer.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best contractor financing tool in 2026?
There is no single best tool: Wisetack is the strongest pick for lower-volume shops (flat 3.9 percent, no subscription), Hearth for contractors financing $50,000+ per year (flat subscription, no dealer fees, 18-lender network), and GreenSky for high-ticket trades that need six-figure loans and promotional 0 percent plans. Decide by financed volume, average ticket, and whether you need promo offers.
How much does it cost a contractor to offer financing?
Either nothing upfront with a per-transaction fee, or a flat subscription. Wisetack costs $0 to join and takes 3.9 percent of each funded job, per its published terms. Hearth lists subscriptions from $1,499 to $4,999 per year plus a $99 setup fee, with no per-loan cost. Dealer-fee programs like GreenSky run roughly 2 to 12 percent per transaction depending on the loan plan.
Who pays for 0 percent APR contractor financing?
The contractor pays for it through a higher dealer fee, and the lender uses that fee to cover the interest the homeowner is not paying. GreenSky's historical rate sheets put true 0 percent plans at 11.5 to 18.5 percent dealer cost versus 0 to about 3 percent for standard loans. Price promo plans into the job or reserve them for deals that need the push.
Can a new contractor with no business history offer financing?
Yes, several platforms enroll new businesses: Wisetack and Hearth both onboard contractors without requiring two years of operating history, though they verify licensing, identity, and banking. Some dealer programs (particularly single-lender HVAC programs) are stricter. Expect any platform to review complaint history and hold funds on your first few jobs.
Does offering financing hurt my customer's credit score?
Prequalification does not: on the major platforms it is a soft credit pull that shows the homeowner real offers with no score impact. A hard inquiry only happens if they proceed with a specific loan, and it typically costs a few points, the same as any installment loan. On-time payments thereafter can help their score.
Do financing platforms make me responsible if the homeowner stops paying?
No, the loan is between the homeowner and the lender, and the contractor keeps the funded amount. The exception is disputes about the work itself: if a customer claims the job was not completed as contracted, lenders can withhold funding or claw back payment until it is resolved, so completion certificates and photos matter.
Next step: pull last year's jobs, estimate how many would have financed, and run that volume through the fee math above. If it lands under about $46,000 a year, start with a per-transaction platform and prove the habit; if it lands over, price out subscriptions and read our four-way platform comparison before you commit to a year.