How TodayAir got its HVAC team live on Podium FSM in 10 days

TodayAir is a family-owned HVAC company serving Auburn and communities across East and Central Alabama. Chad and Stephanie Cosby built the company around straightforward service, direct owner accountability, and a commitment to doing the job right.

Chad brought nearly 20 years of HVAC industry experience to the business, including years spent working with integrations for some of the industry’s largest software providers. He had seen how difficult a software change could become. When TodayAir needed a better system for its front office and field team, Chad knew what he wanted and what he wanted to avoid.

TodayAir moved from Housecall Pro to Podium FSM and went live in 10 days.

“I spent 20 years doing integrations with ServiceTitan, so I know [what a bad experience looks like]. This has been a very good experience.”

The challenge

TodayAir needed a system that worked for a growing shop without creating more work for the people using it.

The front office needed a better way to capture demand

TodayAir first looked at Podium because it needed a stronger phone system and faster lead response. Every job begins with a customer reaching out, so the team needed confidence that calls would be answered and legitimate leads would get a quick response.

Housecall Pro also fell short of what TodayAir needed for reviews and customer communication. Those gaps led Chad to look for a system that could handle the front office while giving the business room to grow.

Field software had to be easy for techs to use

TodayAir’s techs had experience with several FSMs, including ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, and smaller systems. Each new employee arrived with different habits and expectations.

Kaidon, TodayAir’s head of field operations, wanted techs to spend less time navigating software during an already demanding workday. The team needed clear job information, manageable checklists, accurate directions, and follow-up tools in one place.

“Our job’s already hard. We need to make everything as easy as possible when it comes to using an app.”

A long implementation was not realistic

TodayAir is a growing shop without a large IT department or months to devote to setting up a new FSM. Chad and his team needed to move quickly while continuing to answer calls, train techs, and serve customers.

They were also thinking beyond the initial rollout. TodayAir wanted a system the team could continue adjusting as the company grew.

“We’re looking at it from a long-term perspective. We don’t want to switch apps again in six months.”

The solution

TodayAir moved its field service operations from Housecall Pro to Podium FSM in 10 days. The team worked directly with Podium to configure its processes, train employees, and get the new system into the field.

An onboarding experience that beat expectations

Chad expected the transition to be difficult. His experience working with FSM integrations had taught him how quickly implementations could become slow and complicated.

Podium’s onboarding team kept the project moving. TodayAir hit its deadlines, received answers quickly, and felt that its requests were taken seriously.

“The onboarding experience was better than expected. I never expect those to go well, and this one went very well.”

When the team had a question, it could email Podium and receive a response within an hour. Chad specifically called out Devin, his onboarding manager, for finding answers instead of guessing.

“Devin was just amazing. If he didn’t know an answer, he didn’t guess. He went out and found it.”

That responsiveness gave TodayAir confidence that someone was paying attention to how the shop needed to work.

“He took our asks seriously. It wasn’t like, ‘This is the way we do it, so do it that way.’”

A small team that could get set up quickly

Kaidon had seen other businesses spend months configuring their field service software. TodayAir got its core workflows running with a small internal team and direct support from Podium.

“Other companies take seven months and four people from the IT team to get set up like that. We’ve got ours set up pretty well, and we’ve only been doing it for two weeks.”

Training recordings gave the team something it could revisit after each session. TodayAir could also continue changing its setup as employees learned what worked in the field.

Field workflows that the team could shape itself

After bringing its existing checklists into Podium, TodayAir found one with 31 sections. The operations team reviewed each section and quickly decided what to keep, combine, or remove.

That flexibility helped TodayAir turn a process inherited from its previous system into one that made sense for its own techs.

“Being able to build it the way that we want it is huge.”

Kaidon also saw value in keeping job information and follow-up inside Podium. Techs could work from one app instead of learning separate systems for different parts of the job.

“The tech experience in the home is fantastic.”

A phone system built around the first customer call

Phones were one of the main reasons TodayAir started looking at Podium. After making the switch, Chad immediately noticed the difference from Housecall Pro.

“Your phone system is incredible compared to Housecall Pro.”

The phone system supports the front-office experience TodayAir wanted from the beginning: respond quickly, book the job, and give the team a clear record of the customer interaction.

Early confidence in what comes next

TodayAir knew Podium FSM would continue developing. Chad entered the relationship prepared to share feedback and help shape how the product works for HVAC contractors.

That process began during onboarding. When Podium showed Chad work underway for business reporting, he saw the kind of visibility he had been looking for as an owner.

“What they showed me they’re building is exactly what I was looking for.”

Within two weeks of going live, Chad was already telling another HVAC owner about his experience with Podium.