Your first 90 days in Idaho, step by step — from filing your Idaho LLC to landing your first paying customer. We've pulled Idaho's LLC costs, Secretary of State filings, and HVAC licensing reality into the panel below, then the full checklist follows.
Idaho-specific costs and licensing for a new HVAC business. This panel reflects the state you selected and is the authoritative source for Idaho.
LLC filing cost
$100
Annual / ongoing fee
$0 (annual report required but free)
File your LLC
HVAC license reality
State-level. HVAC apprentice/journeyman/contractor licensing; compliance bond required
Going solo is the best raise you'll ever give yourself — but the paperwork, pricing, and "where do I even start" can stall you for months. This is the exact checklist we'd hand a tech leaving a shop to go out on their own.
Work through it in order. Each step says why it matters and how to do it, with real costs and time estimates. When you're ready to run the business — invoicing, scheduling, payments, your price book — it's all waiting in LaunchMyHVAC, already wired to this plan.
Note: the checklist below uses Indiana figures as a worked example. For Idaho, the Starting in Idaho panel above is the authoritative per-state source for LLC cost and licensing.
Local/municipal licensing and permits may apply even where there's no state license, and EPA Section 608 certification is a federal requirement nationwide.
Before you take a dollar from a customer, you need this paperwork done.
Separates your personal assets from business liability. If a customer's compressor explodes and they sue, they sue the LLC, not your house.
File online through your state's Secretary of State website. Indiana costs $95 + $32/year. Most states are similar. Avoid LegalZoom — they charge $400 for the same form.
Required to open a business bank account, hire anyone, or file business taxes. Free.
Apply at irs.gov directly — takes 10 minutes, you get the number instantly. Do NOT pay any third-party site for this.
Operating without one is a fine + a customer can refuse to pay. Some cities also require a contractor registration.
Check your city's economic-dev or licensing office. State HVAC license requirements vary — most states need ~5 years of experience + a passing exam.
If you scratch the floor, break a window, or worse — start a fire — this covers it. Most jobs over $5K also require proof of insurance to start.
Call THREE independent agents (not just one). Compare quotes. Typical small HVAC shop premium is $750-1500/yr for $1M/$2M general liability + property.
Required by law in most states if you have ANY W-2 employees, even part-time. Solo? You can usually exempt yourself.
Same agent as general liability — they bundle it. Indiana solo-prop exemption form is online.
Personal auto WILL deny a claim if you wrecked while on a service call. They check.
Same agent — bundle it with the general liability. Personal-policy-with-business-use rider is a denial trap; get a real commercial policy.
Get paid like a business, not a guy with Venmo.
Co-mingling personal + business is the fastest way to lose the LLC liability shield (called 'piercing the corporate veil') and a tax nightmare.
Bring LLC paperwork + EIN to a local bank (NOT a credit union — most credit unions don't do business accounts). Look for no-fee + free wire transfers.
Once it's connected, customers pay by tapping a button in the invoice email — money lands in YOUR account, not ours.
Settings → Payments → Connect Stripe → finish the onboarding (5 min). You'll need your SSN/EIN + bank routing number.
Some customers refuse cards (afraid of fees) or don't carry checks. Having alt-pay options closes 5-10% more invoices same-day.
Venmo Business is free for receiving from friends/family — 1.9%+$0.10 for business-tagged payments. Cash App Business is similar. Zelle is bank-direct (no fee, no Cash App-style limit).
60% of HVAC payments still happen face-to-face. Don't make grandma type a card number into her phone — tap her card to your reader. No-typo, faster, and customers tip more on tap-to-pay.
Order from Stripe ($59). Pair in the LaunchMyHVAC mobile app. iPhone 13+ also supports Tap-to-Pay without any extra hardware.
Create a free account and these checkboxes save as you go — then run the whole business from the same app.
Save my progress free →If you don't have a price book, you'll lose money on every job.
Going-rate in most US markets is $95-150/hr labor + 1.5x for after-hours + 2x for true emergency (Sunday 2am).
Look up 3-5 local competitor rates by calling their dispatch. Set yours 10-15% under the average if you're new; raise after 6 months of reviews.
Tire-kickers cost you 2 hours of windshield time per call. A $89-129 diagnostic fee filters them out AND gets you paid for the drive.
Charge it. Apply it to the repair if they hire you. 'Free estimates' is a fast way to bleed cash.
Quoting hourly on a capacitor swap = customer assumes you're slow on purpose. Flat-rate ($189 for a capacitor) makes you look professional and the customer knows the price upfront.
Start with: capacitor replacement, contactor replacement, condenser fan motor, blower motor, control board, thermostat install, condensate pump, drain cleaning, refrigerant leak search, refrigerant recharge (per lb), TXV replacement, heat exchanger inspection, gas valve replacement, ignitor replacement, flame sensor cleaning, hard-start kit install, capacitor + contactor combo, full PM (cooling), full PM (heating), heat-pump defrost board
You can't sell a part you can't get tomorrow.
ONE account = one bad day when they're out of stock. TWO = always a Plan B. Net-30 = parts on your invoice get paid before your bill is due.
Call your local Johnstone, Ferguson, RE Michel, United Refrigeration, or ABCO branches. Bring LLC paperwork + EIN + bank letter.
When the local counter closes at 5pm and you need a part for tomorrow morning, SupplyHouse ships overnight for $9. Lifesaver.
Free signup at supplyhouse.com. Free shipping on orders over $99.
Every callback because of a missing tool = a callback that costs you money. The list is short.
Checklist: digital manifold gauges with vacuum + micron, vacuum pump (6 CFM minimum), recovery machine, recovery tank (50 lb), Fieldpiece SC480 / Fluke 117 multimeter, clamp meter, combustion analyzer (gas furnace work), brazing torch + nitrogen tank + regulator, vacuum-rated charging hoses, leak detector (electronic + dye injector + UV), insulated screwdrivers + nut drivers, refrigerant scale.
Stop building infrastructure. Get jobs.
70% of HVAC customers find their tech via Google search. No GBP = invisible.
google.com/business → claim → upload 10+ photos of your truck/uniform/finished jobs → set service area to 25 miles → add hours.
Facebook is where neighborhood word-of-mouth happens. 'Anyone know a good HVAC guy?' — you want to show up tagged.
facebook.com/business/pages/set-up → use business email → invite your existing personal-Facebook friends to like the page → ask 5 friends to leave a review.
Customers don't trust a profile with 0 reviews. 5 is the threshold where Google starts ranking you.
Personal friends + family who you've helped (legitimately). Don't fake reviews — Google catches them and suspends profiles.
Realtors hear 'I need an HVAC guy for the home inspection' every week. One realtor referral = 5-10 jobs/year.
Buy a tray of cookies from a local bakery, attach your business card + a $50-off-first-service flyer, walk it in person to the front desk at 10 brokerages. Repeat monthly.
A small property manager with 50 rentals will give you 20-30 service calls per year on autopilot. Bigger contracts come from bigger PMs.
Walk in with: your business card, GBP showing 5 reviews, your liability cert, a 1-page rate sheet. Offer net-30 billing and 24-hour response.
If you don't build these systems early, you'll burn out by month 6.
1 PM customer = $200/yr of guaranteed revenue + first dibs when their system breaks. 100 PM customers = $20K/yr of off-season cash flow.
Start at $149/yr per system — 2 visits (spring + fall), 10% off repairs, no diagnostic fee. Use LMH's maintenance reminders to auto-schedule the visits.
30% of $5K-15K install quotes close because financing is offered. Without it, you lose to the competitor who has it.
GreenSky dealer agreement = 5-10 days. Affirm merchant account = 1-2 days. Both are bake-in fees (3-8% of the job) — price your jobs to cover it.
Tax surprise in April is the #1 reason new shops go under. Monthly reconciliation = no surprise.
Pick ONE day per month (1st of the month, or a Sunday). Categorize every transaction in your business checking. LMH's merchant-fees report makes the Stripe portion easy.
One broken truck + one big customer who won't pay = the end. 30 days of cash = survive both.
Pull 10% of every paid invoice into a separate savings account until you hit ~$10K-15K. Don't touch it.
LaunchMyHVAC turns this plan into the tools — invoices, scheduling, your price book, card payments, and built-in bookkeeping. Built for the solo tech, not the 50-truck fleet.
Start free — keep this checklist →