A guide to organizing your roofing office for maximum productivity

Building a successful residential roofing business is not a solo endeavor. The most productive and profitable roofing businesses are built with the help of efficient, well-organized teams who keep operations running smoothly. While every roofing business will look a little different, focusing on hiring for these core departments will help strengthen your business: 

• Sales and estimating
• Project management and production
• Accounting and finance
• Customer service and administration
• Marketing and business development 

In this blog post, we’ll discuss the key functions of each department in a roofing office and what they bring to your business, as well as how to set team members up for success using roofing software like AccuLynx.

The core departments of a residential roofing office

#1: Sales and estimating 

The sales and estimating department is where many roofing business owners first focus their hiring efforts. 

Sales Reps:

In most roofing companies, even small ones, sales reps play a critical role in managing and nurturing leads. Their main responsibility is to generate new leads, which they often do through cold calling or door-to-door outreach. Once they establish contact, sales reps work to build relationships, pitch roofing services, and guide homeowners through the sales process. In many cases, they remain the primary point of contact with the customer throughout the project, ensuring clear communication and a smooth experience from start to finish.

In some companies, sales reps also take on the role of estimator, calculating the costs, labor, materials, and time required for a roofing project. However, in other companies, estimators are dedicated employees focused solely on this task.

Estimators:

The primary responsibility of an estimator is to accurately calculate the costs, materials, and labor needed for a roofing project. Estimators take precise measurements, assess the scope of work, and create detailed estimates for the homeowner’s approval. They ensure that the project’s budget and timeline are realistic and feasible. In companies where sales reps do not handle estimating, estimators work closely with sales teams to provide them with the necessary details for the customer’s proposal.

Streamlining the sales process with AccuLynx:

Whether you’re a sales rep or an estimator, it’s easy to stay on top of your sales pipeline with a centralized CRM like AccuLynx. With all customer information in one place, sales reps can effectively track leads, ensure timely follow-ups, and keep communication consistent. 

AccuLynx’s mobile Field App further enhances this process, allowing reps to access job details, order aerial measurements, and create proposals directly from their mobile devices while in the field. This integration between sales and estimating helps teams in the field communicate more effectively with their roofing office while delivering accurate, timely quotes to homeowners.

#2: Project management and production

To keep your roofing projects organized and running efficiently, a dedicated project or production manager is essential.

Project or production manager:

This team member is responsible for overseeing job schedules, managing material orders and deliveries, and ensuring that crews have everything they need to work efficiently. The production manager is also the main point of contact for crews and subcontractors, coordinating labor schedules, availability, and providing them with the necessary information to complete the job. Without a project or production manager, it’s challenging to keep jobs on schedule and within budget.

Keeping everyone on schedule in AccuLynx:

Project managers can manage and streamline every aspect of production through AccuLynx. They have access to a centralized production calendar where they can quickly add and update appointments with just a few clicks. This scheduling system also integrates with material suppliers like ABC Supply, Beacon Building Products, and SRS Distribution, making it easy to track order status and manage deliveries. Digital work orders keep everyone on the same page and help prevent miscommunications about project details. And with the mobile Crew App, project managers can get real-time updates on the progress of each job, adjust crew schedules, and even answer questions as they arise.

#3: Accounting and finance

A strong accounting and finance team is key to helping your business grow profits and avoid budget issues. 

Roofing office manager:

This person is typically responsible for preparing payroll, invoicing and collecting payments, and managing expenses, ensuring smooth financial operations on a daily basis.

Bookkeeper:

A bookkeeper plays a crucial role in tracking profits and expenditures while maintaining your company’s financial records. This position helps ensure that your financial data is organized and up-to-date, providing a solid foundation for decision-making and reporting. 

Managing your finances in AccuLynx:

AccuLynx integrates with QuickBooks and Sage Intaact to help you manage company finances with ease. Data you enter in AccuLynx is automatically synced to your accounting software and vice versa to eliminate the need for double data entry and allow you to manage your finances from a single system. You can also use AccuLynx to build digital invoices, track payments in real time, and even collect the money from credit card payments, so you can get paid faster.

#4: Customer service and administration

The quality of your customer service can make or break your roofing company. 

Roofing office administrator:

This team member will help you provide stronger customer service and make sure nothing gets overlooked in the hectic day-to-day functions of your roofing office. Office admins answer the phones and speak to homeowners who are interested in working with your business. They also help schedule inspections and appointments, maintain customer records, and interface with your customers at many points throughout your roofing project. 

Creating efficient workflows in AccuLynx:

AccuLynx can simplify an office admin’s job by providing a centralized digital location to store all customer information. The AccuLynx job files contain documents, photos, contact information, and a record of all communications with the customer, making it easy to track interactions and see who is in need of follow-up. The Automation Manager in AccuLynx also lets roofing office admins create automated reminders for appointments and follow-ups, so homeowners never miss a meeting—and office admins can save time. 

#5: Marketing and business development

While many roofing contractors get leads from door-knocking and cold-calling, sustainable business growth requires a more robust marketing strategy. 

Marketing manager:

This specialist can help you find leads from many different sources and figure out how much to spend on advertising. Marketing managers are also usually responsible for maintaining the company website and social media, as well as helping with customer retention and outreach. 

Gain more visibility into marketing efforts in AccuLynx:

With the marketing reports in AccuLynx, marketing managers can easily see how their campaigns are performing and make smarter decisions on how to spend their budgets. AccuLynx also integrates with key marketing tools like Hubspot and Hatch, so you can manage your campaigns directly from the software. The Hubspot integration gives you access to lead tracking tools so you can measure campaign success and keep leads from falling through the cracks, while the Hatch integration allows you to deploy automated email and SMS marketing campaigns using AccuLynx. 

The benefits of using business management software like AccuLynx

In addition to helping your teams work more effectively, software like AccuLynx provides a variety of benefits to your business as a whole, including:

Improved efficiency:

On average, 10% of the work week is spent on manual data entry. Not only does AccuLynx reduce the amount of overall manual work so you can avoid costly mistakes, it also maximizes efficiency so you can focus on more mission-critical tasks. In fact, businesses that use AccuLynx save an average of 9 hours per week per employee.

Better communication:

Workplace productivity increases up to 25% when employees are able to communicate effectively. AccuLynx centralizes and streamlines your communications so that everyone stays on the same page.

Increased profitability:

The average roofing company profit margin is between 20 and 40%. Using AccuLynx can help you improve your job costing and track your expenses more closely so you can move your profit margins higher—up to 32% in the first year, on average.

Scalability:

More than 56% of roofing companies fail in their first three years. The time-saving tools in AccuLynx help you grow your business without adding additional administrative burden, so you can scale sustainably and beat the trends. 

The right tools to run your roofing office more efficiently

Running a successful roofing business requires the right structure, roles and tools. By hiring strategically for these five key departments, your roofing business will have the team members you need to scale sustainably. And by investing in the right software, you can spend time focusing on what really matters—growing your business and delivering high-quality customer service. 

AccuLynx is designed to help roofing businesses streamline operations, improve collaboration, and maximize profitability. To learn more about how our software can help you run your roofing office more efficiently, schedule a custom demo today.