> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kordless.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Maintenance contracts
> How recurring service agreements work: activation, pause, and renewal.
Maintenance contracts are Kordless's recurring revenue engine for pool service. When a homeowner signs up for weekly maintenance, a contract is created — it manages the first payment, the recurring service schedule, and the pause/resume cycle that follows the seasons. You stay in control: every contract starts as pending, and the first charge activates it.
## How contracts work
A maintenance contract is the bridge between a one-time project bid and an ongoing service relationship. Here's the lifecycle:
1. **A homeowner requests maintenance.** The agent qualifies the pool (size, type, equipment) and bids from your rate card. Weekly maintenance is priced as a fixed per-pool-size table — near-zero variance, so the bid goes out instantly.
2. **The contract is created as pending.** When the homeowner accepts, a contract record is created with the service, property, and first-charge amount. No money has moved yet.
3. **The first charge activates the contract.** The homeowner pays the first recurring charge through a Stripe Checkout link. When the payment lands, the contract moves to **active** — this is the billable event that carries the one-time contract activation fee.
4. **Service begins.** Weekly visits appear on your [Service calendar](/pool-spa/day/service-calendar). The contract stays active until you pause or cancel it.
5. **Seasonal pause.** When the pool closes for the season, pause the contract. No charges run while paused. Resume when the pool reopens.
6. **Cancellation.** If the homeowner cancels, the contract moves to **canceled**. If they cancel before the second payment, the activation fee is refunded to you.
## The contracts list
Open **Contracts** from the sidebar to see every maintenance contract. The list shows each contract's homeowner, property, service, first-charge amount, successful charge count, and state.
| State | What it means |
| ------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Pending** | Contract created, waiting for the first charge to activate. |
| **Active** | First charge collected, service is running. |
| **Paused** | Seasonally paused — no charges, no service visits. |
| **Canceled** | Contract ended. No further charges. |
## Activate a contract
When a homeowner accepts a maintenance bid, the contract is created as pending. To activate it:
Find it in the Contracts list, or from the property's record in [Properties](/pool-spa/day/properties).
The contract's first-charge amount is shown. Click **Send activation link** to have the agent deliver a Stripe Checkout link to the homeowner. Alternatively, click **Copy** to send it yourself.
When the homeowner pays through the Stripe Checkout link, the contract moves to **active**. The first charge is collected, the one-time activation fee is taken as a Stripe application fee, and weekly service visits begin appearing on your Service calendar.
The \$29 contract activation fee is charged once, on the first successful payment only. Later charges never carry a Kordless fee. If the contract is canceled before the second payment, the activation fee is refunded to you.
## Pause a contract
When the pool closes for the season — or the homeowner goes on vacation, or any reason — pause the contract:
Open the Contracts list and locate the contract.
The **Pause** button appears next to any active contract. Click it to pause immediately.
While paused:
* No recurring charges run.
* No service visits are scheduled.
* The contract stays linked to the property and keeps its charge history.
The contract state changes to **paused**. The homeowner is notified that service is paused.
## Resume a contract
When the pool reopens or the homeowner is ready to resume:
Open the Contracts list and locate the paused contract.
The **Resume** button appears next to any paused contract. Click it to reactivate service immediately.
The contract returns to **active**. Service visits resume on the schedule, and recurring charges continue. There is no second activation fee — the contract fee is charged once, on the first payment ever.
## Cancel a contract
If a homeowner ends the service relationship:
Cancellation is handled through support to ensure any fee refund is processed correctly. Contact [support](https://kordless.ai/form/contact) with the contract ID.
When canceled:
* The contract moves to **canceled**.
* No further charges run.
* If the contract had only one successful charge (the activation payment), the \$29 activation fee is refunded to you automatically. If two or more charges have been collected, the fee is not refunded.
Kordless takes no percentage of contract revenue. The one-time activation fee covers the cost of setting up the recurring relationship. If that relationship doesn't last beyond the first payment, the fee comes back to you. If it does last — even one more charge — the fee stays. This is the no-take-rate invariant: Kordless never takes a cut of your recurring revenue.
## How contracts connect to the rest of Kordless
* **Bid Desk** — maintenance bids in the [Bid Desk](/pool-spa/bidding/overview) create contracts when the homeowner accepts. The bid and contract are linked.
* **Properties** — each contract is linked to a property. The contract's state appears on the [property record](/pool-spa/day/properties).
* **Service calendar** — active contracts generate recurring service visits on your [Service calendar](/pool-spa/day/service-calendar).
* **Money** — the first charge and activation fee appear in your [ledger](/pool-spa/money/ledger) alongside project deposits and balances.
* **Today** — contract activations appear in the overnight ledger summary.
## Next steps
How Kordless brings homeowners back for seasonal service and equipment maintenance.
The property records where contracts live alongside jobs, equipment, and warranties.