How Offering Financing Increases Contractor Close Rates (the Data)
A homeowner loves your proposal. Then they reach the total at the bottom, and they go quiet. That pause is the most expensive moment in your sales process. It is where good deals stall, not over the work or the warranty, but over one big number.
You have probably heard that offering financing fixes this. The question most installers actually want answered is simpler: does the data back it up? This post is the proof, not the pitch. It lays out the conversion numbers behind financing, a before-and-after chart on close rate and ticket size, and what those figures mean for installers selling essential projects in 2026.
> Key Takeaways
> - Close rates increase 11% when contractors offer financing, according to ACCA's Contractor of the Future study of more than 1,000 contractors (ACCA, 2025).
> - Customers using embedded lending spend about 20% more per visit, and point-of-sale financing lifts checkout conversion 20 to 30% (McKinsey, 2024).
> - The residential clean-energy credit (Section 25D) ended December 31, 2025 (IRS), making a monthly payment the main affordability lever you control.
> - US residential storage reached 2.7 GW in 2025, up 92% year over year (Wood Mackenzie, 2025), expanding the pool of financeable projects.
See how Eos Loan financing helps you close more projects
Does offering financing actually increase sales?
Yes, and the effect is measurable. Customers using a large-ticket retailer's embedded lending spend about 20% more per visit than other customers, and point-of-sale financing lifts checkout conversion by 20 to 30% (McKinsey, 2024). The reason is mechanical: financing reframes a lump sum as a monthly payment, and a payment is far easier to say yes to.
Price, not interest, is what kills most big-ticket deals. A homeowner staring at a single large number is doing affordability math in their head, and that math usually ends in "let me think about it." Put a monthly figure next to that number and the question changes. It stops being "can I cover the whole thing?" and becomes "can I fit this payment into my month?"
That second question gets a yes far more often. According to McKinsey, point-of-sale financing drives a 20 to 30% increase in checkout conversion and an even larger lift in basket size, and roughly 60% of consumers say they are likely to use point-of-sale financing in the next six to twelve months (McKinsey, 2024). When demand for the payment option is that broad, not offering it leaves deals on the table.
There is a catch worth naming. The lift only shows up if the customer sees the option at the point of sale, inside your conversation. Send them off to find their own bank loan and you hand the deal to delay, and delay is where deals die. For the full playbook on building this into your sales process, see the full 2026 contractor financing guide.
How much does financing lift a contractor's close rate?
Close rates increase 11% when contractors offer financing, per ACCA's Contractor of the Future study of more than 1,000 HVACR contractors (ACCA, 2025). That is the single most defensible close-rate figure in this space, because it comes from a named industry association surveying real contractors, not a vendor estimating its own product's effect.
An 11-point swing sounds modest until you run it across a pipeline. On 100 qualified proposals, that is roughly 11 more jobs you would otherwise lose, each one a full ticket plus an install slot plus the referrals that customer would have sent. A walked deal costs you all three. A financed deal recovers them.
The same ACCA research found that how contractors offer financing matters as much as whether they offer it. Contractors who present financing on every job finance 35% of their sales, versus 17% for those who offer it only when a customer flinches (ACCA, 2025). Offering it as a default, not a rescue, is what moves the number.
A quick note on a number you may see elsewhere. Some write-ups cite a 49% close rate with financing versus 38% without. Those specific percentages appear in secondary trade coverage; the figure ACCA states plainly in its own primary summary is the 11% lift, so that is the one we stand behind here. When the source is conservative, so are we.
Does financing raise average ticket size?
It does, in two ways at once. A business's average transaction size rises about 15% when it offers financing (Financeit, 2024), and ACCA found that contractors presenting four or more options push their premium-equipment mix from 26% to 42% of total sales (ACCA, 2025). Monthly framing makes a bigger system feel reachable.
Here is the mechanism. Without a payment option, a customer anchors on the cheapest thing that solves the problem, the base unit, the smaller battery, the minimum scope. With financing, the gap between the base option and the better one shrinks to a few dollars a month, and that small monthly delta is much easier to approve than a large upfront one.
That is where multi-vertical selling compounds the effect. The customer financing battery energy storage is the easiest customer to sell an EV charger to, and water filtration reaches households that never asked about energy at all. Each added vertical raises the ticket without adding a new lead. For the deep dive on this, see how financing raises ticket size.
> Our finding: What I'm seeing across the Eos Loan partner base is that installers who put a monthly payment next to the cash price on every quote lose fewer deals to price hesitation, and their average system size tends to creep up over a season. I frame that as a pattern we observe, not a guaranteed result for any single shop.
Why the 2026 tax-credit change makes financing the affordability lever
The residential clean-energy credit (Section 25D) ended December 31, 2025 (IRS, 2025). For residential buyers, the federal credit that used to soften a project's net cost is gone. The affordability work it did now falls to the one lever you still control at the kitchen table: the monthly payment.
This is the angle most "does financing increase sales" content misses. The case for financing did not just stay the same in 2026; it got structurally stronger for residential essential projects, because the cushion that competed with the monthly payment as an affordability story has been removed. Financing is no longer one option among several. It is the option.
A point of caution on language. The commercial clean-electricity path (48E) generally remains available through 2032, attributed to the IRS and underlying statute, but that is a commercial path, not a residential one. And never describe Eos Loan financing as a tax credit, rebate, or incentive: it is a loan that lets your customer pay over time. This is general information, not tax advice. Consult a qualified tax professional.
Add financing to your installs, talk to our team
What does the demand data say about financeable projects?
The pool of projects worth financing is growing fast. US energy storage installations reached 18.9 GW in 2025, up 52% year over year, with the residential segment hitting 2.7 GW, up 92% (Wood Mackenzie, US Energy Storage Monitor, 2025). More installs at higher tickets is exactly the demand a financing offer is built to capture.
Battery energy storage is the anchor of that growth, and it is also where flexible terms matter most. With Eos Loan, battery energy storage terms range from 6 to 240 months, so the same project can fit a customer who wants to pay it down fast or one who needs the lowest possible monthly payment. EV chargers and water filtration round out the financeable mix with flexible terms.
Growing demand and a payment option are a strong pairing. The customers entering the market now are the ones a monthly payment converts. To see how the post-credit landscape reshapes the residential pitch, read our financing after the solar tax credit playbook.
How do you turn this data into a close-rate gain?
Turn the data into a gain with one habit: present a monthly payment beside the cash price on every quote, not just the ones that stall. ACCA found only 28% of contractors lead with the monthly payment (ACCA, 2025), which means the practice that moves close rate is still the exception, and that gap is your opening.
Make financing the default, not the rescue. When the payment is always on the proposal, customers self-select into it without you having to sell financing as a separate step. Pre-qualify early, subject to approval and eligibility, so you design a system the financing can actually support instead of one the customer falls in love with and then cannot reach.
The partner you choose decides how clean this stays. Eos Loan is a direct lender: we fund the loans we offer, which is why we charge no dealer fees and keep terms consistent. We are not a marketplace, a broker, or a platform that routes your customer to third-party lenders. To date we have originated $4B+ across 30k+ proposals, so the volume behind that model is real, and approval is always subject to eligibility.
!A contractor presenting financing options to a homeowner on a tablet in a bright living room.
What this means for your business
The conversion case is settled by the numbers. Offering financing raises close rates by 11% (ACCA, 2025), lifts average transaction size by roughly 15% (Financeit, 2024), and the demand worth financing is climbing, with residential storage up 92% in 2025 (Wood Mackenzie, 2025). The lever is yours to pull on every quote.
The contractors who win this in 2026 are not the ones with the lowest price. They are the ones who make the payment visible, lead with it instead of the sticker, and finance more than one essential project so every customer can become the next sale. With the residential 25D credit gone, that monthly payment is the affordability story that still works. For the broader picture, see how energy financing works.
Become an Eos Loan financing partner
Or call +1 833-989-3737 to talk through a financing program for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does offering financing really increase sales?
Yes. Customers using embedded lending spend about 20% more per visit, and point-of-sale financing lifts checkout conversion 20 to 30% (McKinsey, 2024). Financing works by reframing a lump sum as a monthly payment, which more customers can say yes to. It is most effective offered at the point of sale, inside your sales conversation.
How much can financing raise my close rate?
ACCA's Contractor of the Future study of more than 1,000 contractors found close rates increase 11% when financing is offered (ACCA, 2025). The lift is largest when you offer financing on every job rather than only when a customer hesitates. Results vary by shop, and any loan approval is subject to eligibility.
Does financing increase average ticket size?
Yes. A business's average transaction size rises about 15% when it offers financing (Financeit, 2024), and ACCA found premium-equipment mix climbs from 26% to 42% when contractors present four or more options (ACCA, 2025). Monthly framing makes a larger system or premium tier feel reachable.
Is Eos Loan a lender or a marketplace?
Eos Loan is a direct lender. We fund the loans we offer ourselves, which lets us charge no dealer fees and keep terms consistent across battery energy storage, EV chargers, and water filtration. We are not a marketplace or broker that routes you to third-party lenders. To partner, you contact our team directly; there is no self-serve signup, and approval is subject to eligibility.
The bottom line for 2026
The data points one direction. Offering financing measurably raises both your close rate and your average ticket, and the 2026 tax-credit change makes that monthly payment the affordability lever residential buyers respond to. The moves that capture it are simple:
- Present the monthly payment beside the cash price on every quote, not just the ones that stall.
- Offer financing on every job, since that is where the 11% close-rate lift and the higher financed share show up.
- Go multi-vertical across battery energy storage, EV chargers, and water filtration to raise ticket size without new leads.
- Pick a direct lender with no dealer fees so your customer's total price stays honest.
- ACCA (Air Conditioning Contractors of America), Contractor of the Future study (survey of 1,000+ contractors; close rates increase 11% when financing is offered; financed share 35% on every job vs 17% selectively; premium-equipment mix 26% to 42% with four or more options; 28% lead with monthly payment), retrieved 2026-06-05, https://hvac-blog.acca.org/inside-the-contractor-of-the-future-study-key-findings-from-1000-contractors/
- McKinsey & Company, Buy now, pay later: Five business models to compete (embedded lending customers spend ~20% more per visit; POS financing lifts checkout conversion 20-30%; ~60% of consumers likely to use POS financing in 6-12 months), retrieved 2026-06-05, https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/buy-now-pay-later-five-business-models-to-compete
- Financeit, Home Improvement Financing guide (average transaction size increases ~15% when financing is offered), retrieved 2026-06-05, https://www.financeit.io/home-improvement-financing/
- Wood Mackenzie, US Energy Storage Monitor (2025 installations: 18.9 GW total, +52% YoY; residential 2.7 GW, +92% YoY), retrieved 2026-06-05, https://www.woodmac.com/
- Internal Revenue Service, Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D ended December 31, 2025), retrieved 2026-06-05, https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/residential-clean-energy-credit
Eos Loan is built for exactly this: a direct lender with no dealer fees and battery energy storage terms from 6 to 240 months, all subject to approval and eligibility. If you want to add financing to your installs, talk to our team about adding financing.
---
Sources
About the author: Eduardo Donadi is the CEO of Eos Loan, the fintech built to finance essential projects (battery energy storage, EV chargers, and water filtration) for installers, contractors, and resellers across the United States.