Handle was founded in 2018 in San Francisco by Blake Robertson, Chris Woodard, Lucas Azevedo, and Patrick Hogan and grew out of Y Combinator into a Fortune-500-trusted credit and compliance platform. For HVAC contractors doing commercial new-construction or tenant-improvement work, Handle replaces the manual spreadsheet-and-certified-mail process with a single SaaS workflow that tracks every project's notice and lien deadlines, generates state-specific documents, and collects signed lien waivers from subs and suppliers.
HVAC shops running commercial jobs juggle preliminary notices, monthly conditional waivers, and final unconditional waivers across dozens of GCs, each with their own waiver formats and payment terms. Handle's Waiver Portal, custom waiver templates, electronic notary, and QuickBooks/Procore integrations eliminate the back-office drag that often delays progress payments. Customers report saving 10–12 hours per employee per week in credit and collections work, which is meaningful for mid-size HVAC companies that don't have dedicated credit staff.
Backed by $40M+ from Suffolk Technologies, American Express Ventures, and Y Combinator, Handle is investing heavily in AI-assisted document review and owner-verification data. That positioning makes it a good fit for HVAC contractors who want software-first lien management rather than a traditional service bureau, especially those already running Procore or QuickBooks on the accounting side.