Buyer's guide
Refrigerant compliance software for small HVAC-R shops
The 2026 rule created a new buyer: the owner of a 3-to-20-truck shop who now has federal refrigerant obligations but no compliance department. Most software wasn't built for you. Here's how to tell what is.
What you actually need — the must-have checklist
- Automatic leak-rate math on every addition, both EPA methods, with the citation shown — so the record defends itself.
- An offline field app. The record is created by a tech on a roof or in a mechanical room, frequently with no signal. If capture needs connectivity, it won't get used.
- Deadline tracking for the 30-day repair window, 10-day follow-up, quarterly/annual inspections, and the March 1 chronic-leaker report — counted down, not buried.
- The audit binder as an export, so an EPA request is a button, not a week of digging.
- Flat, predictable pricing that doesn't punish you for adding a truck.
- Tamper-evident records — an append-only log an auditor can trust.
What enterprise platforms sell instead
The established names are refrigerant-management and facilities/CMMS systems built for national chains with a compliance officer. They're capable — and mispriced and over-scoped for a small shop:
| Dimension | Enterprise platform | What a small shop needs |
|---|
| Buyer | Corporate compliance officer | The owner, between service calls |
| Pricing | Per-user / per-truck / "contact us" | One flat monthly price |
| Scope | Full field-service suite to adopt | Just the compliance layer |
| Onboarding | Weeks, often a consultant | Live the same afternoon |
| Field capture | Assumes connectivity | Must work fully offline |
Pricing traps to watch for
- Per-truck or per-user fees that turn growth into a bigger bill.
- "Request a demo / contact sales" with no public price — usually a sign you're not the target customer.
- Field-service suites where compliance is a bolt-on module you pay for a whole platform to reach.
How to choose in an afternoon
- Try the leak-rate math for free first. If a vendor won't let you compute a rate without a sales call, that tells you something. Here's a free one →
- Have a tech test the field capture — in airplane mode. If it can't log a service offline, stop there.
- Generate an audit binder from sample data and imagine handing it to an EPA inspector.
- Read the price off the website. If you can't, factor a sales process into your time.
LeakClock was built to be the answer to this checklist. from $19/mo, unlimited trucks, an offline iOS/Android field app, automatic cited leak-rate math, every deadline clocked, and the audit binder on a button — the compliance layer, not another suite to learn.
Start a 14-day free trial → or
try the free calculator first.
New to the rule? Start with the AIM Act 15-lb rule explained →