HVAC CRM for Katy, TX contractors

The map a Katy contractor actually drives

The City of Katy is small, and the service area is not. Old Katy, the historic downtown by the railroad, still has older houses and small commercial buildings. South of I-10, Cinco Ranch and Grand Lakes are large master-planned communities, mostly in Fort Bend County. Cross Creek Ranch, in Fulshear, is a normal west-side stop. Elyson is on the northwest side along the Grand Parkway, nearer the Cypress edge. The I-10 corridor, including Katy Mills, holds much of the light commercial work.

Fulshear is the faster-growing Fort Bend side. Brookshire is the smaller Waller County side. A shop that advertises to Katy usually crosses Harris, Fort Bend, and Waller in one day, and the county line matters for a permit or an inspection. Katy ISD reaches past the city limits, which is why homeowners use the name for neighborhoods outside the city.

What Gulf Coast weather does to the phone

Summers here are long, hot, and humid. From about May through September the phone is mostly no-cool calls: a dead condenser, a weak capacitor, a drain clogged by humidity, an upstairs that will not catch up. Many houses are slabs with the air handler in the attic, so drain pans, float switches, and sweating ducts are ordinary calls. Someone with no cooling rarely leaves a voicemail.

Winter is mild until it is not. In February 2021, Winter Storm Uri brought a hard freeze to this part of the coast. Heat pumps and furnaces that sit idle most years had to carry the house, and power was out across the Houston region. It does not happen every winter. When it does, the heat calls arrive together.

Hurricane season runs from June through November. A storm does not have to hit Katy to create work. When power returns unevenly, condensers, fan motors, and control boards are a common casualty of the surge. That same week the homeowner is also calling a roofer.

New neighborhoods, then the first replacement

These master-planned neighborhoods were not all built in one decade. An older section and a street still under a builder warranty can be a few minutes apart. Early calls are warranty visits. Later the same floor plans come back as first replacements: the original system is loud, the upstairs never caught up, or the owner is tired of repairs. Keep the address and the next step, or the quote disappears once a second company calls.

Texas licensing, stated carefully

This is not legal advice. Confirm the current rules with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation before you rely on a summary.

Texas licenses this work through TDLR and its Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors program. The public contractor application describes two classes. A Class A license covers any size unit. A Class B license, as that page describes it, covers cooling systems of 25 tons and under and heating systems of 1.5 million BTU per hour and under. Shops call a Class A number a TACLA number because the license number includes the class. Technicians who do the work are registered with TDLR and work under a licensed contractor.

TDLR lists a missing license number on an advertisement that requires one as a violation, under rule 75.71. Put the number on proposals, invoices, and the trucks, and read the current rule for any narrow exceptions. Refrigerant handling is federal. Technicians who could release refrigerant while maintaining, servicing, repairing, or disposing of equipment need the EPA Section 608 certification that matches the work. Puffly does not track licenses or 608 cards.

How Puffly fits a two-truck Katy shop

The CRM is free to start: leads, contacts, deals, a pipeline, tasks, and a branded lead form. You can import a Google Sheet of past customers so tune-ups from last year are already on the list. No card to start.

Missed-call text back is an opt-in automation, and it stays off until you turn it on. In a May heat spike both techs are in attics and the office line rings through. With text back on, the caller gets a text that you saw the call, and the call is saved as a lead. It follows the consent and quiet-hour rules already in the product.

Puff Voice, the AI receptionist, is a paid add-on. The cost depends on what you need. Choose every call, only missed calls, or only after hours. It uses the services, hours, and FAQ you write, takes the name, number, and symptom, books an open time, and texts a confirmation. You get a transcript and a summary. It can hand the call over, it does not diagnose, and a gas smell is directed to 911.

Keep maintenance customers as contacts with a task for the next visit: a cooling check before May and a heat check before the first cold night. On a paid plan, Puff drafts that reminder and nothing sends until you approve it. A replacement quote is a deal. On a paid plan, Puff drafts the check-in the same way. After a good install or tune-up you can ask for a review, and you decide what goes out.

Move each job along one list: the no-cool call, the diagnosis, the repair or the replacement quote, the scheduled install, then the maintenance plan. On a paid plan an accepted quote can become a scheduled job, and you can tell the customer you are on the way. Puffly does not send a technician and it does not route the trucks.

One hot afternoon

A caller in Grand Lakes says the upstairs has been warm since noon. You are on a tune-up in Old Katy and do not pick up. Missed-call text back says you saw it, or Puff Voice takes the address and offers a time. The lead is in the CRM before you reach the truck. The visit finds a failed capacitor and a system old enough to quote. The repair is done that day. The quote is a deal with a follow-up task. A yes becomes a scheduled install, then a fall check and a review.