Zuper Webinar Series: Week 3 – Contracts
Join us for our weekly Zuper webinar, where we’ll focus on a different feature or workflow inside the platform each session. These trainings are designed to help your team get the most out of Zuper and showcase new features when they launch!
In the third session of our Zuper webinar series, we introduced and explored the new contract billing feature, which enables generator dealers to move beyond traditional “time of service” billing. This session highlighted how contracts can streamline revenue, improve customer experience, and automate recurring maintenance.
Introduction to Contract Billing
Zuper’s new contract billing system accommodates flexible billing structures such as annual, quarterly, or monthly cycles, instead of limiting users to time-of-service charges. This feature is designed to improve efficiency for businesses offering ongoing service agreements.
Attendees were encouraged to schedule personalized setup sessions before rolling it out, ensuring proper configuration for their dealership’s unique needs.
Billing Options: Zuper vs. QuickBooks
While contract billing can integrate with QuickBooks, the system functions most smoothly when billing is handled directly through Zuper using payment processors like Stripe or Square. Using QuickBooks alone delivers only partial functionality.
Contract billing settings can be customized directly in Zuper, allowing businesses to align billing cycles—annual, quarterly, or monthly—to their service offerings.
Contract Templates and Packages
Templates serve as the customer-facing documents outlining service plans. These are fully customizable for different offerings, such as annual maintenance or fleet monitoring.
Once templates are created, they can be packaged into service tiers—for example, “Silver” or “Gold” plans—with different levels of service and pricing. Packages can include multiple visits per year, additional monitoring services, or other upgrades, making it easy to align with customer expectations.
Contract Configuration and Application to Customers
Contracts can be configured with specific terms:
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Duration (annual, multi-year, or extended terms)
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Line items such as parts or services
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Flexible billing periods (monthly, annually, etc.)
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Automatic invoice generation and sending options
Applying a contract to a customer pre-fills their details from the customer record. Users can then configure job recurrence (e.g., annual maintenance each spring) and link associated equipment such as generators.
Customer Approval and Automation
Once saved, contracts can be set to require customer approval, which triggers an email with a secure review and acceptance link. Upon approval, Zuper automatically:
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Sends an invoice for payment (with a “Pay Now” link).
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Updates the system once payment is completed.
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Generates the associated job, ensuring scheduled work is never overlooked.
This automation minimizes administrative follow-up and secures reliable recurring revenue.
Renewals and Long-Term Contracts
Contracts can be set to auto-renew, with reminders sent 30 days before expiration. Customers can approve renewal for the next term directly from the notification.
Multi-year and even decade-long contracts are supported. For example, a 36-month contract can automatically generate three annual invoices, eliminating the need for yearly renewals. Long-term contracts (e.g., 10 years) only need to be deactivated manually if they end early.
Payment and Approval Workflow
The approval process generally has two steps:
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Contract approval by the customer.
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Invoice payment via email link, credit card, or other integrated methods.
However, the contract approval step can be disabled if desired. Invoice statuses (drafted, sent, paid) are tracked in Zuper, with updates also reflected on the contract record.
Post-Payment Documentation
For completed contract jobs, businesses can avoid confusion by sending a job card or a $0 invoice rather than generating another payment request. Notifications can also be configured to state clearly that no additional payment is needed because the customer is on contract.
If additional work arises outside the contract scope (e.g., installing a new battery or cold weather kit), Zuper generates a separate invoice for those extra services, functioning like standard time-of-service billing.
Next Steps
The session closed with a preview of the next webinar, which will cover:
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Inventory tracking
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Consumption
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Bundles
These topics are closely tied to contracts, as they directly affect the line items included in contract invoices.
Key Takeaways
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Zuper now supports recurring billing through contracts, reducing reliance on time-of-service charges.
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Templates and packages allow flexible service tiers tailored to customer needs.
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Contracts can automate invoices, payments, job creation, and renewals.
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Multi-year contracts ensure predictable revenue with minimal administrative effort.
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Post-job documentation avoids duplicate invoices while keeping customers informed.
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Add-on work outside contracts can be billed separately as needed.