Guide / HVAC and trade
Inventory software for HVAC businesses
HVAC stock lives in three places — the store, the vans, and the installations — and dies in the gaps between them. What a record must hold, what BSimple covers, and the limits stated plainly.
The key facts
- The HVAC problem set: high-value equipment, small high-turn parts, van stock that walks away, and warranty/service history tied to installations.
- BSimple's coverage: multi-location quantities (store and vans), multi-level units, reorders, and a projects layer that groups installed assets under a customer with service history.
- Stated plainly: no technician scheduling, no quoting/CRM layer, no GPS fleet tracking — operations record, not a field-service suite.
- Accounting boundary: invoices push to Xero and MYOB (US integrations rolling out); compliance stays with the accountant.
- Context: the full inventory system holds the wider system, this page one stop in it.
- 01The key facts
- 02The three places HVAC stock lives
- 03What BSimple covers — and what it does not
- 04The test for any HVAC inventory system
The three places HVAC stock lives
The store/warehouse. Equipment and parts held as live quantities with reorder levels — compressors, coils, filters, refrigerant by the box and the single. Purchasing from demand matters here: the reorder view works from current stock and what is already incoming, so a busy week does not become a back-ordered month. The purchasing flow is the mechanism.
The vans. Each technician's van holds real quantities that belong to the record, not to memory. Vans as locations means the counter can see what van 2 holds before promising a part, and restocking the van is a recorded transfer rather than a mystery. The van-as-location pattern is the same machinery as the automotive-parts case.
The installations. A system installed at a customer site is the stock record's most valuable history: what unit, installed when, serviced when, parts consumed. This is where BSimple's projects layer is built for the trade: group inventory and on-site assets under a customer — reserve items without consuming stock, install and consume on invoice approval, and keep warranty/service history per job.
What BSimple covers — and what it does not
We build BSimple, so weigh that. Covered: live multi-location quantities, multi-level units, reorders and purchase orders with supplier reconciliation (GST-inc/ex-GST pages), batch tracking where serials and lots matter, stocktakes that survive a trade business's pace, and the installation/projects layer above. Invoicing pushes to Xero and MYOB with payment status mirroring back — US accounting integrations rolling out.
Not covered, plainly: technician scheduling and dispatch, quoting/CRM, GPS fleet tracking, and job-costing timesheets — the field-service-suite layer. HVAC businesses often pair an operations record with a field-service tool; the boundary keeps each honest. The hardware-and-tools angle covers the parts-half detail, and the vet-clinic comparison is a useful contrast for businesses straddling service and stock.
The test for any HVAC inventory system
Three scenarios, one afternoon, on the trial: restock a van (watch the transfer land on both locations), install a unit at a customer (reserve → install → consume on invoice, then find the service history six months later), and run a week of parts sales against the reorder view. If all three feel natural, the record fits; if any is a workaround, the field-service layer you were considering just became more necessary — better to know now.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can BSimple track stock in each technician's van?
Yes — vans are locations with real quantities; moving stock from store to van is a recorded transfer visible to the counter and the warehouse. What the van holds stops being memory.
Does it keep warranty and service history per installation?
Through the projects layer: installed equipment is grouped under the customer with its transaction history — what was installed, when, and which parts were consumed. It is record truth, not a service-scheduling calendar.
Does BSimple handle scheduling and dispatching technicians?
No — scheduling, dispatch and quoting are field-service-suite territory, stated plainly. BSimple holds the stock and installation record those tools usually lack.
We also sell parts over the counter — covered?
Parts sales as orders against live quantities: yes. Counter POS — the till itself — is not BSimple; retail-heavy businesses typically pair a POS with the stock record behind it.
What does it cost?
$180/$250/$399 per month AUD with the core — including vans, projects and reorders — in every plan. The trial runs your parts list and one installation before any commitment.
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