Preventative maintenance keeps things running smoothly. Whether it’s an annual health check-up for our personal health or regular oil changes for our cars, the key to avoiding major issues is routine care. Applying the same logic to HVAC, plumbing and other expensive systems has proven to have significant financial benefits for businesses and homeowners. But what are the benefits of offering a preventative maintenance program if you are a maintenance contractor? Learn how preventive maintenance pays off for you and your clients below.

Preventive maintenance benefits contractors

According to the Building Owners and Managers Association, repair and maintenance accounts for about 15 percent of property management’s total expenses. Between 30 to 50 percent of that amount goes to preventive maintenance, which totals about 4.5 to 7.5 percent of the annual operating costs. For homeowners, experts recommend setting aside 1 to 4 percent of the home’s purchase price each year for maintenance, though Glasshouse says homeowners often overlook this important expense.

While the proactive plan doesn’t pay as much as reactive services generally do, there is a lot to be said for the relationship-building aspect preventive maintenance plans provide. When you regularly perform maintenance on a company’s equipment or in someone’s home, you know them and their systems. Because of this relationship, they are more likely to call you when something goes wrong.

Building relationships with clients also helps when it comes to referrals and your online reputation. By building strong relationships and providing quality service, your clients are likely to recommend you to their peers and/or write a positive review for your business online.

Having preventative maintenance contracts with your clients also gives you and your techs consistent work on the calendar.

Preventive maintenance benefits homeowners and business owners

Reactive maintenance, or fixing problems as they come, can be quite costly. Emergency service typically costs more than regularly scheduled maintenance. A preventive maintenance plan saves money. While there are fees involved in the maintenance, a regular maintenance program improves the performance and extends the lifetime of equipment. This helps businesses avoid costly breakdowns, which can lead to a loss of productivity during that downtime, missed deadlines and even a damaged brand for consumer-facing industries.

According to a study by Jones Lang Lasalle, the return on investment for preventive maintenance can be as high as 500 percent for property owners. Mintek says every dollar spent on preventive maintenance saves a business owner five dollars on other expenses.

Making sure equipment is in working order provides a safer work environment overall.

When it comes to homeowners, preventive maintenance saves the day again. Experts estimate that 94 percent of all emergency heating and air conditioning repair calls could have been avoided with proper preventive maintenance. Homeowners can save up to 20 percent in expenses if their plumbing system is checked regularly.

Best of all, when homeowners and business owners experience a malfunction, they know a reliable company to call for the repairs, and will often get a faster response time due to the existing relationship.

Preventive maintenance plans are a win

In the end, preventive maintenance plans are a win-win situation for both the clients and the contractors. It allows both parties to form a solid working relationship. If you are not doing so already, make sure to include information about your preventive maintenance plans in your marketing materials and mention it to your customers at each site visit.