Hearth vs. Wisetack: Which Financing Tool Closes More Deals?

The New Handshake: Offering Financing on the Spot

Cash and checks still work, but your customers are used to paying for everything in monthly installments. Their phone, their couch, their car—why not their new roof or water heater? Offering financing isn't a sign of weakness; it's a power tool for closing bigger deals, faster. It turns a scary $10,000 price tag into a manageable $200 a month.

Two of the biggest names in the game are Hearth and Wisetack. Both use tech to connect your customers with loans, but they work differently. Choosing the right one depends on how you run your business, how you talk to customers, and what software you already use. Let's get into it and see which one deserves a spot in your digital toolbelt.

What is Hearth?

Hearth isn't a direct lender. Think of it as a matchmaker. It's a software platform that connects your customers to a network of 17 different lending partners. When your customer applies through your unique Hearth link, their information gets shopped around to find the best possible loan options for their credit profile.

This approach has some real benefits:

• More Options: With more lenders in the network, there's a higher chance of approval, even for customers with less-than-perfect credit.
• Flexibility: Hearth offers a wide range of loan types, including 0% APR introductory offers and long-term loans up to 12 years. This lets you present different payment scenarios to fit a customer's budget.
• Marketing Tools: Hearth gives you tools to promote financing on your website, in your emails, and on social media. Their pre-qualification form lets customers see what they can afford before you even show up for the estimate. This is a big deal for pre-selling the job.

The workflow usually involves sending the customer a link to your branded Hearth portal. It happens outside your main quoting or invoicing software. It’s a solid, flexible system built to cast a wide net.

What is Wisetack?

Wisetack takes a different approach. It's built to be embedded directly inside the software you already use to run your business. Wisetack has exclusive partnerships with major field service management (FSM) platforms like Jobber and Housecall Pro.

This means financing becomes a seamless part of your existing workflow. You don't send customers to another website. You just tap a button inside your estimate or invoice that says "Offer Financing."

The key advantages here are speed and convenience:

• Seamless Integration: The financing offer is right there on the quote you're already showing the customer. There's no friction, no extra steps. Your tech can offer it in the field from their tablet.
• Speed: The application is short and simple. Customers can see their options and get approved in about a minute, often while you're still talking to them. This helps close the deal on the spot before they have time to second-guess or shop around.
• Simplicity: For you and your team, there's very little new to learn. It’s just one more feature inside the software you rely on every day.

Wisetack is a direct lender, which simplifies the process. Their whole model is built for the moment of decision, making it a powerful tool for in-person sales.

Act as a marketing advisor for my home service business. I just signed up for a customer financing platform. Write a short, direct email to my customer list announcing this new payment option. Mention that it allows for manageable monthly payments and makes bigger projects more affordable. Keep the tone professional but not corporate. My business is [Your Business Name], and we are a [Trade, e.g., HVAC, Roofing] company.

Head-to-Head: Hearth vs. Wisetack

Let's put these two tools side-by-side to see where they shine and where they fall short.

Integration and Workflow

• Wisetack: This is Wisetack's biggest strength. If you use a compatible CRM, it's the clear winner. The financing offer is part of the estimate you generate in Jobber, Housecall Pro, or another partner platform. It’s fast, clean, and requires almost no extra work. Your team can do it from a phone in the customer's driveway.
• Hearth: Hearth operates as a standalone platform. You send a link via text or email. While it's simple, it's still a separate step that takes the customer out of your branded estimate or invoice. It works with any business, but it isn't as slick.

Winner: Wisetack, if you're on a partner platform.

Loan Options and Approval Rates

• Hearth: By shopping the application to over a dozen lenders, Hearth can often find a home for more customers across the credit spectrum. They offer a wider variety of loan products, from short-term 0% deals to longer-term financing. This gives you more ammo to counter budget objections.
• Wisetack: As a single lender, Wisetack's approval criteria are what they are. While they have high approval rates for qualified customers, they may not have the same flexibility as Hearth's network for fringe credit cases. Their options are straightforward and easy to understand.

Winner: Hearth, for pure breadth of options.

Contractor Fees

This is the part everyone asks about. How much does it cost you?

• Wisetack: You pay a small percentage of the financed amount, known as a merchant fee. This fee is automatically deducted from your payout. The fee varies based on the loan your customer chooses. There are no monthly subscription fees.
• Hearth: Hearth has a tiered subscription model. You pay a monthly or annual fee to access the platform. On top of that, some of the 0% APR promotional loans require you to pay a "dealer fee," which can be a significant percentage of the job cost. Not all loans have dealer fees, but the most attractive ones often do.

Winner: It's a toss-up. Wisetack's pay-as-you-go model is simpler. Hearth's subscription might be more cost-effective if you do a high volume of non-promotional financing, but you have to watch out for those dealer fees. Always read the fine print.

Offering financing is a critical part of a modern quoting process. It's not just about the numbers; it's about giving customers control.

I'm a field technician for a plumbing company that uses Wisetack integrated into our quoting software. Give me a simple, two-sentence script I can use when presenting a quote to a customer. The script should naturally introduce the monthly payment option without being pushy.

So, Which One Closes More Deals?

The answer depends entirely on your sales process.

Choose Wisetack if:

• You already use a partner CRM like Jobber.
• Your business model relies on one-call closes.
• You want the simplest possible process for your field techs.
• You prefer a simple, predictable fee structure.

Choose Hearth if:

• You want to market financing on your website to generate leads.
• You need the widest possible range of loan options to serve diverse customers.
• You don't use a Wisetack-integrated CRM.
• You run a high-volume business and are comfortable with a subscription model.

According to Wisetack, contractors using their platform see job sizes increase by an average of 41%. Hearth reports that top contractors on their platform add over $250,000 in revenue per year. Both tools work. The key is to pick the one that fits your existing workflow like a glove.

Don't get stuck on which is "best." Think about which is best for you. Run the truck test. Ask a few real customers. Their answers will tell you everything you need to know about whether financing can help you close more, and bigger, deals.