Contractor Financing Guide · Consideration

ROI of Offering Financing to Customers

By the Hearth team · Last updated: July 2026

TL;DR

The short answer

The ROI case for financing rests on three levers: winning bids that would otherwise die at the lump-sum price, protecting scope on the jobs you win (homeowners finance the full project instead of value-engineering it down), and larger average tickets on financed work. Hearth's national funded-loan data shows financed projects routinely run five figures — roofing averages $12,618 and interior remodels $19,230.

The cost side is easy

A flat-fee platform typically runs $2,000–6,000/yr depending on the level of service. One incremental five-figure job usually covers the year. That's the whole affordability analysis — the real question is whether financing actually produces incremental jobs and scope.

What we can prove

Three things are measurable in Hearth's national data today. First, offer breadth drives funding: homeowners shown 4–5 loan offers fund at 6.7% versus 3.6% with one offer — a marketplace structurally outperforms single-lender programs on approvals. Second, financed tickets are large: $8,819 (HVAC) to $19,230 (interior remodeling) on average across tens of thousands of funded loans. Third, from a July 2026 within-contractor analysis of 249,000 quotes: among contractors who use both, jobs won with financing offered average 15%+ larger than the same contractor's wins without — descriptive, not causal. What we will NOT tell you: that offering financing closes X% more estimates. We ran the controlled study, and the honest finding is that contractors attach financing selectively to bigger, harder deals — a causal close-rate number can't be measured observationally, and any vendor quoting one is selling the statistical artifact we rejected.

How to measure YOUR roi in 90 days

Track four numbers before and after: close rate on quotes over $8K, average approved ticket, percentage of quotes sent with a payment option, and financed share of revenue. If close rate on big tickets moves even 2 points at typical margins, the subscription pays for itself several times over — run your own arithmetic on your ticket size.

FAQ

How fast does financing pay for itself?

At typical home-improvement margins, one incremental job above ~$8K generally covers a flat annual subscription. Your break-even is your margin on one job versus the fee.

Does financing increase average job size?

Jobs won with financing offered average 15%+ larger than the same contractor's wins without (descriptive within-contractor analysis, 801 contractors, trailing 24 months). Financed projects also carry large averages: $12,618 roofing, $19,230 interior remodeling.

What if my customers don't ask about financing?

Uptake follows presentation. Homeowners rarely ask — contractors who put a payment on every quote see the option get used.

See your financing options

Takes 60 seconds. No commitment required.

Start free

No commitment. No hidden fees. Just more closed jobs.

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