A service contract usually starts from a condition. Some contracts cover the unit as it was when coverage began, some exclude faults that were already present, and some require the provider to inspect the unit before accepting a claim. Which rule applies depends on the paper you signed, not on what you expected. The record you make before any work starts is the only proof of that starting point that you control.
What the baseline record holds
Write down the make and model, and the serial or identification label as it appears on the unit, with the label photographed in place. Record the age shown on the unit or its paperwork, the faults you already know about, and any repair done before you bought it, with the name of whoever did it if you know it. Photograph the unit from every side you can reach and the control panel. Keep the photographs with their original file times, and store the record in the same folder as the signed contract, the quote, and any warranty card.
If you will do the repair yourself
A self-repair is the path where the record is most easily lost, because the first step you take can be the one the contract cares about most. Before you remove a panel, cover, or part, finish the record and note the exact step you are about to take. Then read the contract for any clause that says what owner work does to the cover and what it asks you to keep afterward. The owner-repair terms deserve their own careful reading. Here the point is the order of steps: record, then read, then touch.
If you will hire it out
Ask the provider in writing whether it requires its own inspection before the contract starts, and whether it accepts a condition report made by you or by an independent shop. Ask what it counts as a pre-existing condition, and whether that answer appears in the contract or only in a sales conversation. Ask who receives the record and whether a copy goes into the claim file. A shop that inspects the unit at intake may write a finding that becomes the baseline, so read that finding before you sign the work order, not after the bill arrives.
Waiting periods and the starting line
A waiting period is the stretch after a contract begins during which some failures are not yet covered. The baseline record is what lets you show that a fault existed before that stretch ended, or that it appeared afterward. Check whether the waiting period starts at the sale, at activation, or when the buyer takes possession of the unit, and check whether the contract defines that moment in its own terms. If the contract does not say, ask in writing and keep the answer with the record.
Cancellation and transfer
Many contracts let the holder cancel, and many let the holder transfer the contract when the unit is sold. Both steps depend on what the record shows. A cancellation is usually settled under the terms the contract states, and a transfer may require the new holder to accept the same starting condition. Keep the record with the contract so a buyer or provider can see the baseline without asking you to reconstruct it. Read the cancellation and transfer clauses before you write the record, because they tell you what the record needs to prove.
Questions to take to either path
Ask the provider, or your own repairer, which of these they need before work starts: a photograph of the rating label, a written list of known faults, a statement of past repairs, and a dated inspection. Ask whether the contract requires the unit to be in working order at the start, and who decides what that means. Ask where the signed copy of the record will be kept, and whether you will receive a copy too.
Checking the rules for your state
Service contract and warranty rules differ by state. Each state page on this site names the statute or program that governs these contracts, says whether the state publishes a roster, and gives the as-of date printed on that roster. The pages are built from government rosters. They do not rank providers or describe any state's rules as strict or weak. Where a state page says this edition has not read a state's rules, use the statute that page cites and read it yourself. If your state is one the site covers, such as Florida, read its page's roster section against your own paper, using the Florida service contract rules and roster as the starting point.
What this guide does not settle
This guide does not say whether any particular contract is a sound purchase, and it does not say that any record will secure a claim. It describes the order of steps. A written baseline makes the terms easier to check, but it does not decide how a claim will be handled.