Job costing software for roofing contractors
Roofing jobs are counted in squares and billed by phase. Retainage can wait on a manufacturer's inspection. CFOS ties QuickBooks Online job costs to your estimate by cost code.
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How roofing bills and where the money leaks
Roofing bids come from a takeoff in squares, and the billing follows the phases of the roof: tear-off, insulation and substrate, membrane or shingles, flashing and sheet metal, and closeout. Commercial work goes on a schedule of values with a monthly pay app and retainage. Residential and repair work may bill on completion, and service calls bill as T&M.
Money leaks in a few predictable places. Material gets ordered and delivered long before it's installed, and tapered insulation cut for one building is hard to use anywhere else. Price letters from your suppliers can change cost before your subcontract does. Punctures from other trades, extra fasteners at corners and perimeters, and weather days all cost labor that the original square count doesn't cover.
How roofing costs split and what CFOS tracks
A roof splits into labor, material, dumpsters and hauling, equipment and sheet metal. Labor is the largest piece and it's worth tracking by phase, because tear-off crews and install crews don't produce at the same rate. Material is bought in big drops, so what was delivered and what was installed are two different numbers.
CFOS compares your estimate by cost code to actual cost from QuickBooks Online every hour. You can budget in squares and see what each phase actually cost per square when the job closes. Bills emailed to your bills inbox are read and checked against the PO, so a material drop gets coded to the right roof.
Workflow from the field to the office
The foreman files a daily with the crew, equipment and photos, which gives you a record of weather days and what was torn off and installed. If the GC asks for extra work, like a new curb or added drains, the T&M ticket rides on the daily and the GC signs it on site. It turns into a change order draft for the next pay app.
Crew time is entered in the field, approved, and goes to QuickBooks Payroll with the job and cost code. The PM bills the phases complete on the pay app, adds stored materials where the contract allows, and sends it to the GC from QuickBooks. Punch items are tracked, so closeout doesn't stall on a list kept in somebody's truck.
What the owner sees every month
The PM enters cost to complete on each open roof every month, and it gets approved. The WIP schedule then shows over and under billing, which is important when you've bought material for a job that hasn't started. You'll see which roofs are funded by the GC and which ones are funded by your credit line.
Retainage on roofing can wait until a warranty inspection or the end of the whole project. CFOS keeps retainage by job in view, and the 13 week cash forecast reads your pay apps so you can see when it's expected. Your CEO Report compares gross margin, overhead and net profit before taxes to the published average and the CFOS target for roofing.
Roofing cost codes, matched to QuickBooks
Each group below is one set of cost codes in CFOS. Bills, time and equipment post to them. QuickBooks keeps the books underneath, so your bookkeeper sees the same numbers.
| Cost code group | What goes on it |
|---|---|
| Tear-off and demolition | Removing the existing roof, labor and disposal, tracked apart from the new install. |
| Insulation and tapered systems | Polyiso, tapered packages and cover board, including material bought ahead of install. |
| Membrane and shingle install | Labor and material for TPO, EPDM, modified bitumen, shingles or metal panels. |
| Flashing and sheet metal | Edge metal, copings, curbs, gutters and details done by the shop or in the field. |
| Fasteners, adhesives and accessories | Plates, screws, adhesives, sealants and drains. |
| Dumpsters, hauling and cranes | Disposal, material hoisting and delivery fees. |
| Equipment and safety | Lifts, kettles, hot work gear, fall protection and trucks charged to the job. |
| Warranty and inspection | Manufacturer inspections, warranty paperwork and any repairs before sign off. |
| Service and repair T&M | Leak calls and repair work billed on T&M, kept apart from contract jobs. |
| Change orders | Added scope with its own coding, tied to the signed T&M ticket. |
How roofing contractors do, by revenue
Each row shows the all-trade average, this trade's average and the CFOS target where one is published. These are the numbers your own job costing gets graded against. Net profit is before taxes in every row.
| Revenue | Overhead | Gross margin | Net profit, before taxes |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1M to $5M | 15.1% all-trade average 15% Roofing 14.1% CFOS target | 22.1% all-trade average 22% Roofing 25% CFOS target | 7% all-trade average 7% Roofing 11% CFOS target |
| $5M to $10M | 14.1% all-trade average 14% Roofing 13.1% CFOS target | 23.4% all-trade average 23% Roofing 26% CFOS target | 9.4% all-trade average 9% Roofing 12.9% CFOS target |
| $10M to $25M | 13.1% all-trade average 13% Roofing 12.1% CFOS target | 24.6% all-trade average 24% Roofing 27.1% CFOS target | 11.5% all-trade average 11% Roofing 15% CFOS target |
| $25M to $50M | 12.1% all-trade average 12% Roofing | 25.7% all-trade average 25% Roofing | 13.7% all-trade average 13% Roofing |
Gross margin and overhead come from figures CFMA, Jones Maresca and other sources publish by trade and size. Net profit is computed, not surveyed: net profit = gross margin minus overhead. Nothing comes out for taxes, interest or other income and expense, so it is a before tax figure, on the same basis as CFMA's net income before taxes.
CFMA's 2025 medians are 7.1 percent before interest and taxes and 6.7 percent net income before taxes. Gross margin minus overhead leaves out interest and other income and expense, so a figure here can come in a little above or below a reported net income on the same business.
Above the $10M to $25M band the gross margin and overhead rows are a modeled extension of the same curves. They have not been reconciled against the licensed CFMA Benchmarker, so read those bands as a model and not as a survey result.
Problems roofing contractors write to us about
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We email you when CFOS for QuickBooks opens, plus a few updates before then. Your address stays with Run On CFOS. One click unsubscribes.
30 days free, a 90-day money-back guarantee, and cancel anytime. It opens January 2027. We email you the day it opens.
What roofing contractors ask
Can I budget a roof in squares?
Your estimate imports as the job budget by cost code, so you can bring in the quantities and costs from your takeoff. After the job you can compare actual cost to budget phase by phase. Then you can work out what each square cost you.
How does CFOS help when I buy material before I can bill it?
Stored materials go on the schedule of values where the contract allows it. The WIP schedule shows over and under billing every month. If you've bought a tapered package for a job that hasn't dried in, you'll see you're funding it.
What about retainage that waits on a warranty inspection?
Retainage is tracked by job, and the 13 week cash forecast uses your pay apps. You can see what's held and which jobs it's on. Then you can plan around it instead of counting on it.
How do service calls and repairs fit?
Keep them on their own jobs or cost codes so T&M repair work doesn't blend into contract jobs. The ticket rides on the daily, and the GC or owner signs it on site. It then becomes a change order draft if the work is added to a contract.
Do I have to leave QuickBooks Online?
No. CFOS reads from and writes to QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks keeps your books. It doesn't work with QuickBooks Desktop.
- Job costing software that runs on QuickBooks
- One price. Every module. Priced by your revenue.
- Use all of it, or just the part you need
- Job costing software that runs on QuickBooks
- One price. Every module. Priced by your revenue.
- Use all of it, or just the part you need
- Roofing benchmarks
QuickBooks is a trademark of Intuit Inc. Run On CFOS isn't affiliated with Intuit.