Contractor Financing Guide · Decision

Contractor Financing Fees Explained

By the Hearth team · Last updated: July 2026

TL;DR

The short answer

Contractor financing costs come in three shapes: flat subscriptions (Hearth: most companies invest $2,000–6,000/yr depending on level of service, + one-time $99, $0 per loan), per-transaction fees (commonly 3.9%–6.9% per financed job), and dealer fees on promotional loan products (from a few percent up to 12%+ on 0%-APR promos, per lender rate sheets). Which is cheapest depends entirely on your financed volume and ticket size.

The three fee models

Subscription: one flat annual price regardless of volume. Per-transaction: a percentage of every financed job — the platform earns when you finance. Dealer fee: the lender charges the contractor a merchant fee that varies with the loan product, and steeper promos (deferred interest, true 0% APR) carry steeper fees. GreenSky's September 2022 rate sheet, for example, ranged from 0%–2.75% on standard installment loans up to 11.5%–18.5% on true 0% plans.

The math that decides it

Worked example (illustrative arithmetic, not measured results): 20 financed jobs a year at a $12,000 average ticket is $240,000 of financed volume. At a 3.9% transaction fee that's $9,360/yr. The same volume under a flat subscription is typically $2,000–6,000/yr. Break-even between the models lands around 4–13 financed jobs a year depending on ticket size — below it, pay-per-use wins; above it, flat fee wins.

Where fees hide

Watch for: low-volume fees (GreenSky's 2022 sheet listed $35/mo under $3.5K monthly funded volume), consumer activation fees passed to your customer, and promo-product dealer fees that quietly reprice your bid. If a program is 'free' to join, the economics are usually in the per-loan fee.

FAQ

Can I pass a dealer fee to the homeowner?

Lender agreements commonly prohibit surcharging the fee as a line item; contractors instead price it into the bid. That's exactly why fee-heavy models make bids less competitive.

Is a flat subscription worth it for low volume?

Usually not below a few financed jobs a year — that's the honest break-even. It becomes worth it as soon as financing is a monthly occurrence.

Why do 0% APR promos cost the contractor more?

Someone funds the interest-free period — the lender charges the contractor a higher merchant fee to offer the homeowner 0%.

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Keep reading: What is contractor financing? Fees explained 2026 company guide