What would you change about your business to make it more efficient? Many contractors tell us they wish they had better roofing estimate templates. Whether it’s the pain of inputting measurements, the possible errors in cost calculations, or simply having to fill out the same information over and over again, on top of the rest of your many duties, there’s a lot of room for improvement.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. There are a few simple things you can do to create better, more accurate roofing estimate templates for your business.
Tip #1: Create roof estimate templates in AccuLynx
Creating roofing estimates can be a repetitive process, particularly if you’re still using a spreadsheet or Word document to put them together. Starting from scratch each time you need to estimate a project can take hours, and make the estimating process much longer than it needs to be.
By implementing roofing software like AccuLynx, you gain the advantage of creating reusable estimating templates for common types of roofs that you service. These templates are stored in your company documents library so that you can access them from anywhere (including the mobile app while in the field).
From a centralized location in your business management software, it’s easy to adjust the cost, level, profit margins, and create professional-looking estimates that are ready to be sent to your customer in minutes. (And, to save even more time, you can send your estimates electronically for customer signatures, eliminating the need for another visit to the job site.)
Tip #2: Build roofing estimate templates for your most commonly used items and trades
There are certain costs that always reoccur with particular roof types and trades. When you create an estimate, the odds are good that it includes some of these known costs. In addition, your estimates are built on previous knowledge about what it takes to run your business. From the speed of your crews to the size of your territory, the costs associated with these factors are part of what goes into building your estimates.
Read: 3 Tricks for Faster Estimates With Roofing Software
By building roofing estimate templates for your most commonly used materials, such as GAF Timberline from ABC Supply, or trade types like siding, you’ll be able to quickly identify the estimate type that best fits your project. This allows you to make quick modifications as needed and turn around an accurate quote much faster than you would by looking at spreadsheets or copying past proposals.
Tip #3: Import your aerial measurement reports
The accuracy of your roofing measurements is a major factor in the precision of your estimates. Incorrectly measuring a roof can mean discrepancies in material and labor costs, delays for the customer, and other errors. It’s essential to use the best measurement tools to avoid inaccuracies, delays, and lost revenue. Precisely measuring a roof by hand involves taking care and caution to find the dimensions and calculating the square footage accurately. This process requires significant time and energy, slowing down the progress of your jobs and extending the time it takes to complete your estimates.
Fortunately, aerial measurement services like EagleView® and GAF QuickMeasure are providing contractors with cutting-edge, precise roofing measurements that can be automatically applied to your roofing estimate templates. By ordering these reports directly through AccuLynx, your teams no longer need to rely on hand measurements; instead, they can place their orders and apply these reports directly to their estimate within their templates in just a few clicks, saving time, and ensuring accurately priced material quantities.
Tip #4: Integrate real-time material supplier pricing
Are you spending a lot of time scrambling for the most up-to-date pricing? Do you have to call your supplier every time to make sure materials are available? Using templates in AccuLynx means you have direct access to top material suppliers like ABC Supply, Beacon, and SRS Distribution’s pricing and availability. When you create your roofing estimate template, simply select the supplier, and your template will automatically apply your real-time negotiated pricing to the estimate.
Take advantage of templates
The more quickly and accurately you can estimate a job, the faster your crews can get started, the less you’ll waste materials, and the happier your customers will be. Taking simple steps to increase the efficiency and precision of your roofing estimates can make the process less painful and lead to better business outcomes. And when you use software for roofing contractors like AccuLynx, creating roofing estimate templates can be easier than ever before. Schedule a demo with AccuLynx and streamline your process.
