Renewal date passed, same price as three years ago
A contract for a group of retail units renews automatically each year. Since it was priced, the client has added systems, your labour costs have risen, and the engineers have spent far longer on the sites than the price assumed, because two older condensers need attention every visit. Nobody noticed the renewal date. The contract rolled over at the old price, again.
No view of what each contract costs to serve
Contract renewal is a commercial decision that needs data: how many visits happened, how long they took, what the asset list looks like now, how many breakdowns were attended and whether they were chargeable. That data exists in your job system, spread across jobs. Nobody assembles it per contract, and the renewal date is in a PDF.
Account managers also avoid renewal conversations when they have nothing to back them. Raising a price without evidence feels risky, so it is easier to let the contract roll over and hope the next year is quieter. It rarely is, because the plant is another year older.
- Renewal and notice dates are not tracked.
- Time spent per contract is not totalled.
- Asset changes since pricing are not compared.
- Breakdowns included in the contract are not counted.
- Renewal letters are written from scratch.
The cost of silent rollovers
Contracts that lose money year after year without anyone noticing. Missed chances to offer clients a better service level or to add systems formally. Clients surprised by a large increase when someone finally reviews, instead of a steady, explained adjustment. And account managers with no evidence to support a conversation.
Breakdowns inside the contract are the usual blind spot. If the contract includes a number of reactive visits, or none, and nobody counts, the client may be getting far more attendance than they pay for, and your engineers know it before the office does.
The renewal pipeline we build
- Each contract's key dates (renewal, notice periods your team records, price review terms) are held in the pipeline, with reminders at points you choose.
- Ahead of renewal, a contract review is produced from your job system: visits made, time on site, parts used, breakdowns attended and how they were charged, and changes to the asset list.
- The review is compared with the contract price and your current rates, so the account manager sees whether the contract is covering its costs.
- Your team decides the renewal terms. A proposal is drafted from a template with the evidence summarised in plain language for the client.
- The client receives the proposal with an online accept option, and the outcome is recorded.
- A pipeline view shows renewals coming up, under review, sent, accepted and lost.
| Renewal step | Now | With the pipeline |
|---|---|---|
| Knowing it is due | Found after the date | Reminders ahead |
| Cost to serve | Unknown | Review from job data |
| Asset changes | Not compared | Listed against the contract |
| Proposal | Written from scratch | Template with evidence |
| Outcome | Not tracked | Pipeline with status |
Pricing and terms are your commercial decisions. The pipeline puts the evidence in front of you in time to make them.
Renewals as a conversation, not an accident
Account managers approach renewals with evidence, well before the date. Clients see why a price changes and what they get for it. Loss-making contracts are spotted and discussed. Assets added since pricing are brought into scope. And the pipeline gives you a forward view of contract revenue.
Contracts that are costing you more than they earn can be discussed honestly, with the client able to see the reasons: extra systems, older plant or a pattern of breakdowns, rather than a bare price rise.
Signs your renewals need attention
- Contracts have renewed without review.
- You do not know which contracts cover their costs.
- Asset lists have grown without the price changing.
- Renewal letters are written from scratch each time.
- Clients have been surprised by large increases.