Acorn Teams up With Contracting Platform Joist

Home improvement lending marketplace Acorn Finance is working with Joist — an estimating and invoicing app for contractors — to embed financing offers into the Joist platform.

The companies say the partnership, announced in a news release Tuesday (March 1), will help home improvement contractors who use Joist improve sales by “putting competitive financing offers in the hands of prospective clients at the point of sale,” with no cost or on-boarding effort for the contractor.

Based in Sacramento, California, Acorn Finance offers a network of 12 lenders who bid to finance home improvement projects. Last year, the number of customers applying for loans through its platform rose by 800%, the company said.

Joist is offered by EverPro, a digital solutions provider for home service home improvement and remodeling professionals, and itself part of EverCommerce, a global service commerce platform that also operates the EverHealth, EverWell and EverConnect brands.

“Joist and EverPro are ideal partners for Acorn Finance,” said Giri Addanki, founder and CEO of Acorn Finance. “EverPro is driving digital transformation across multiple industries in the service profession, and Acorn is making financing simple, hassle-free and digital. By embedding our financing solution, Joist is putting an easy-to-use, no fee option in its user’s hands to provide homeowners more choices and better offers.”

Read more: Big Retailers Cater to Home Improvement Pros as Remodeling Trend Keeps Building

Last year was a big one for home remodeling, as PYMNTS noted at the end of 2021, with major retailers vying to grab more of the professional market, taking steps such as building new distribution infrastructure catering to pros.

For example, Home Depot invested in distribution centers focusing on larger orders placed by contractors, while Lowe’s unveiled its Pro Pulse survey designed to gauge the needs of professionals in the contracting space.

It found that “there is an increased demand for professional help with home improvement projects, with 80% of survey respondents saying now more than ever there is a need for home improvement professionals.”