Pillar and Pine: Making Financing Part of Every Customer Conversation

Pillar and Pine is an exterior contracting company based in Hoover, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, serving the greater Birmingham area. Founded five years ago, the company operates with a lean internal team supported by subcontractor crews.

Composite decking and screened porches are the company's bread and butter, and what it leads with in advertising. From there, the team also takes on siding, exterior painting, and remodel work, typically for customers they already have a relationship with.

The challenge: Pillar and Pine needed a flexible, simple payment solution to assist customers without straining its small team

Pillar and Pine’s signature projects—composite decks, screened porches, siding, and remodeling—can represent a significant investment. Before offering Wisetack, customers who wanted to spread out the cost of a larger project typically relied on a credit card, a home equity line of credit, or another form of financing they arranged separately.

Payment could become especially challenging when the work was urgent or an unexpected expense disrupted a customer’s plans. Pillar and Pine needed a flexible option that could help customers move forward without making the process more complicated for its lean internal team.

How Wisetack fits into a Pillar and Pine job

Pillar and Pine discovered Wisetack through its integration with Jobber. In fact, the availability of customer financing was one of the reasons the company chose Jobber as its CRM. After an initial ramp-up period, Pillar and Pine activated Wisetack and has used it as its primary financing provider.

Owner Brandon Kunze doesn’t wait for customers to ask about financing. Pillar and Pine includes a prequalification link in the first automated response sent to a prospective customer, then reinforces the option in appointment confirmations and other communications throughout the project. “We don’t want them to be like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know about it,’” Brandon said.

That consistent visibility appears to be getting customers’ attention. Brandon estimates that about 40% of prospects click the prequalification link and roughly 20% complete the process. Not everyone ultimately finances the project, but customers can explore their options on their own device before deciding how they want to pay.

The flexibility goes beyond a simple yes-or-no on financing. Brandon's team will adjust the deposit structure customer by customer — some cash up front, the rest financed — or help a customer finance just the upgrades and niceties beyond their original budget. For Brandon, the goal is to make customers aware of their options early—and keep those options available if their needs or circumstances change.

Brandon says customers have told him that financing helped Pillar and Pine stand out from competing contractors, including in cases where its quote was not the lowest.

The moment it became personal

Brandon's favorite use case, and the one that sold him on Wisetack from day one, happened during the company's very first financed job. Pillar and Pine’s Wisetack account went live in the middle of an active project. That same week, the customer experienced an unexpected air-conditioning failure that changed their payment plans. With children at home during the Alabama summer, repairing the AC had to take priority. Brandon offered another option: finance the remaining project balance so the customer could address both needs.

“I think people generally want to do the right thing. They may not always have the resources in that moment, but they don’t want to leave their contractor unpaid—they’re simply trying to figure it out. It was like a weight was lifted off their shoulders,” Brandon said.

Brandon says that pattern has shown on occasion with other customers mid-project — a family emergency or a big unplanned expense comes up partway through a planned home improvement, and financing becomes the tool that lets the customer keep cash on hand for the emergency while still finishing the job they wanted.

Expanding access across greater Birmingham

Brandon also credits financing with helping Pillar and Pine serve a broader range of homeowners throughout greater Birmingham. By giving customers the option to pay over time, financing allows more homeowners to consider quality exterior improvements while selecting a project scope and payment plan that fit their needs.

Financing as a growth lever, not just a safety net

A recent increase to Wisetack's lending limit — up to $65,000 — has changed how some customers think about scope. Brandon described a customer who started with a modest plan and added upgrades once they saw what they could pre-qualify for.

Pillar and Pine also uses financing as an active marketing tool, not just a payment option. The company runs seasonal promotions — extending their standard 12-month interest-free offer to 24 months around the Fourth of July or Black Friday — as an excuse to re-engage past leads. "Even if the people don't use the financing, they're like, 'oh, that's cool,' and then they'll reach back out and get us to do the job," Brandon said.

Brandon's advice to other contractors

“What I love about Wisetack is how easy and straightforward it is for both us and the customer. It gives homeowners another way to move forward and keeps financing available throughout the conversation without making the process complicated. It’s like having a second salesperson attached to every quote we send. If I were speaking to myself when I was first considering it, I’d say: stop worrying about it, get out of your head, and just try it.”
— Brandon Kunze, Owner, Pillar and Pine

About Pillar and Pine

Pillar and Pine is a Hoover, Alabama exterior contractor serving homeowners throughout the greater Birmingham area. The company specializes in composite decks, covered and screened porches, fencing, siding, painting, roofing, and other exterior improvements. Learn more at thepillarandpine.com⁠.

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