Hello all,

Just recently signed up on this site, great stuff on here.

I work for a roofing company in San Jose, CA. We created a roofing estimator program for in house use purposes. Showed it to a few people in the industry and the constant thing they said was can I buy a copy? We decided to make the product more professional and offer it to the roofing community. Here's what I'd like to hear from you guys.

What pains in your estimate process would you like a roof estimation software, if you used one, to help rid you of?

I'm not trying to use this as SPAM message so I'm not going to into details on what it can do on here. If anyone has questions feel free to PM me and I'll be happy to answer all questions. My goal is simply to gather up information on what the roofing industry needs on an estimating tool.

I look forward to input from you all.

Hi there,

I use Xactimate, and have no complaints.
_________________
-Jason

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http://www.ARCTulsa.com
http://www.myspace.com/arcroofing
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Broken-Arrow-OK/ARC-Roofing-and-Construction/171700931140

Agape wrote:

Hi there, I use Xactimate, and have no complaints.

Thanks for the reply. Is it targeted primarily at the insurance repairs market?

We're more focused on re-roofs/new construction type roofing jobs. From what I can see on their website we're kind of an apples & oranges comparison.

Yes it is. But it is also very easy to build estimates in, has a 3D program allowing you to measure a roof from the ground and get an accurate diagram and measurements.

And most insurance companies recognize and accept it.

If all I did was new construction and cash deals, I'd be broke.
_________________
-Jason

______


http://www.ARCTulsa.com
http://www.myspace.com/arcroofing
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Broken-Arrow-OK/ARC-Roofing-and-Construction/171700931140

My opinion is that satellite imagery with drawings and all dimensions is the way of the future. As for new construction you have a blueprint to do a take off on what more could a roofer want.
If a roof is a lower pitch it's me and my stanley.
_________________
Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.
Mark Twain

I use Xactimate also. Writing roof estimates is very easy. 1,300,000 plus line items with price updates monthly.

It's not cheap though.

Well i have always done it the old fashion way with hand written measurements, a laptop and a portable printer, but what do i know im just dumb
_________________
Taking one day at a time.
A Roofing Sales Professional
If you need sales help just ask and you will recieve

gtp1003 wrote:

, but what do i know im just dumb

Fricken STOP it!!!
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WHATS A HOUSE WITHOUT A ROOF!?!
Steeper The Better!!

gtp1003 wrote:

Well i have always done it the old fashion way with hand written measurements, a laptop and a portable printer, but what do i know im just dumb

Your post is satire right?
I seem to have trouble associating Old Fashioned with a laptop and portable printer. I was roofing before calculators were used and available to everyone. Now "that's" Old Fashioned.
_________________
Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.
Mark Twain

As mentioned, Xactimate works just fine. Assuming one can sketch properly, you get an accurate estimation for the size from Xactimate.

The majority of our work is insurance but when we run across a cash bid job, I do use a spread sheet I developed to determine my cost (which Xactimate doesn't do). In fact, I put together an entire Excel Workbook where I plug in the information and it fills in everything from the material order, roofer instructions sheet, certificate of completion, Customer final invoice, Insurance final invoice, warranty paperwork, etc.. It really saves me a ton of redundant data entry. Once I have the data (square footage, pitches, two story, vents, ridge, etc.), takes me about 10 minutes of data entry to determine what my cost is accurate to +/- $50 to $100.

dougger222 wrote:

I use Xactimate also. Writing roof estimates is very easy. 1,300,000 plus line items with price updates monthly. It's not cheap though.

What does Xactimate cost?

Agape wrote:

Yes it is. But it is also very easy to build estimates in, has a 3D program allowing you to measure a roof from the ground and get an accurate diagram and measurements. And most insurance companies recognize and accept it. If all I did was new construction and cash deals, I'd be broke.

Out here in CA, we do mostly re-roofs, repairs and new construction. We don't get the insurance claims nearly as often since we don't really get the extreme weather.

We always walk the roof unless it's really steep mostly because we just simply might miss something doing it just from the ground. Then again, most of the homes we do out here are going to fall into the 4/12 to 7/12 pitch so it is much easier.

If you purchase it with a one year license fee upfront, it is $1,600 per year I believe. That's per seat.

I believe what he meant by measuring from the ground is by using the sketch tool, if you have the slope pitch and perimeter measurements, you can get the square footage of the roof. In other words, Xactimate will automatically do the geometry calculations. Therefore, you don't have to get the slope measurements from on the roof.

Authentic_Dad wrote:

As mentioned, Xactimate works just fine. Assuming one can sketch properly, you get an accurate estimation for the size from Xactimate. The majority of our work is insurance but when we run across a cash bid job, I do use a spread sheet I developed to determine my cost (which Xactimate doesn't do). In fact, I put together an entire Excel Workbook where I plug in the information and it fills in everything from the material order, roofer instructions sheet, certificate of completion, Customer final invoice, Insurance final invoice, warranty paperwork, etc.. It really saves me a ton of redundant data entry. Once I have the data (square footage, pitches, two story, vents, ridge, etc.), takes me about 10 minutes of data entry to determine what my cost is accurate to +/- $50 to $100.

Sounds similar to what we've done as well. We generate an RFQ, a PO and a job cost sheet. When I get back from measuring a roof and I have my area, ridge, eave, hip, valley #'s, jacks/vents it take me about 2 minutes to produce an estimate of 12 different products. There is no limit on how many products one can offer. Out here we offer a Tile alternative, a couple of Wood Shake alternatives multiple Asphalt shingle alternatives and multiple raingutter alternatives. Like you mentioned the redundant data entry that takes time and is error prone is reduced significantly.

Xactimate is $250 per month, $650 for three months, or $1400 per year.