The roofing company launch plan
Every step from deciding to opening, in the order it happens, shaped to your situation, with your own numbers beside it. About 49 steps in 8 phases, 25 of them specific to a roofing company. Free to read; ticking steps off and putting in your own numbers come with membership.
The plan49 steps
- 01Not started0/6Fold
Decide with the numbersa week or two
Before a dollar is spent. Most expensive mistakes happen here, and this phase costs nothing.
A roofing company sells projects, estimated one bid at a time, and a single roof is a high-ticket job.
Typical for one unit is $1,000,000 to $3,000,000 a year; the owner keeps 8 to 15% of it before paying themselves. If that band does not cover what you need, that is the signal to pause and look again.
~50% survive 5 years. Roughly half of all new U.S. employer businesses are still operating after five years.
Twelve questions about your money, time, experience and temperament, scored. Then the 5 questions this business asks of its owner, about the hours and the work. Answer both before you spend a dollar.
Rule of thumb: buy an established shop with real commercial accounts, a clean claims process, and a retainable crew when you want cash flow and lower risk; build from one crew when you can ... Answer it in your situation above and the plan reshapes.
Customers, prices, rent, staff pay, what it costs to open. We filled in typical numbers; change what you know and everything on this page follows.
- 02Not started0/5Open
Plan the moneya week
What it costs to open, where the money comes from, and the cushion that keeps you alive until the business pays for itself.
A roofing company needs more gear than most trades but no storefront: the money goes into crew trucks and dump trailers, each crew’s nailers, compressor, tear-off tools and fall protection, the...
The itemized cost to open8 lines
- Crew trucks (lease down payments) & dump trailers: $29,500 to $51,600Three pickups leased and one to three 14,000 lb dump trailers; buying the three trucks new costs about $138,000 to $171,000 instead
- Nailers, compressors, tear-off & metal roofing tools, ladders & hoist: $9,200 to $40,200Pneumatic nailers and a gas compressor per crew at the low end; cordless nailers, metal tools and a ladder hoist per crew at the high end
- Fall protection, safety gear, uniforms & office and yard setup: $6,200 to $17,900A fall protection kit for every roofer in every tier
- Tablets, inspection drone, logo, website & truck graphics: $3,300 to $38,000Door signs at the low end, full truck wraps and an enterprise drone at the high end
- Licensing, bonding & setup fees: $600 to $5,000State or city roofing license, contractor bond and entity setup
- Insurance (liability, auto, workers’ comp & tools): $10,400 to $31,200First premiums and deposits; workers’ comp runs about $15 to $35 per $100 of payroll in most states, so get a quote on three full crews
- Launch marketing: $2,500 to $15,000Yard signs, door hangers, calls on property managers and insurance agents, and the first 60 days of local ads
- Initial working capital: $60,000 to $180,000Payroll and shingles carried until homeowners and insurers pay (insurers often hold back depreciation until the job is done), through the first 3 to 6 months;...
Costs start on day one; customers take months. Map the first twelve months of cash so the business does not run out of money while it is getting going.
The business has to earn your pay like any other bill. Set it in your numbers and watch the month it move.
How deals in this business are financed5 lines
- SBA 7(a) loan (Up to $5M · 10 yr (25 with real estate) · 85% guaranteed up to $150k, 75% above)The workhorse for buying an existing roofer or funding a startup’s trucks, trailers and working capital.
- SBA 504 loan (Up to 25 yr · owner-occupied real estate & major equipment)For buying the yard or warehouse you work from.
- Vehicle & equipment financing (Secured by the trucks & equipment)Lease or finance the trucks, dump trailers and hoists, secured by the equipment itself, so cash stays free for payroll and shingles.
- Seller financing (Often 5-20% of price · 3-7 yr)Common when buying a roofer.
- Supplier credit & working-capital line (Revolving · secured by receivables)Shingles and payroll are due long before insurance money arrives; on replacement-cost claims the insurer often pays the actual cash value first and releases the held-back...
Most new shops pair an with 10 to 20% of your own cash. Know the monthly payment before you look at a single space.
Before you shop. A lender tells you what they would fund, what they need from you (credit, your cash in, a plan with numbers), and a pre-qualification letter makes a landlord or a seller take you seriously.
- 03Not started0/4Open
Set up the companya day or two
A day of paperwork, and it has to come before the space: a lease, a loan application and every permit are in the company’s name.
Your state’s business name search, the trademark register, and the domain, before the name is on a sign, a van, or a lease.
A , an , and the S-corporation election each change what you keep and what you are exposed to. Compare them with the numbers, confirm with a CPA and an attorney, then file with your state.
After:The is free from the IRS in minutes once the company exists. The bank account needs both. Keep business money separate from day one.
After:Pick the accounting software and connect the bank account now, so every cost of opening is captured and the numbers you later are real.
- 04Not started0/4Open
The territory and the vehiclea week or two
A roofing company's "location" is its service territory and the storm and housing patterns within it.
What decides it for this business: active storm & hail region, older housing stock, homeowner, middle-to-high income base, access to skilled roofing crews, reasonable lead costs.
Mobile businesses still answer to city rules: where the vehicle can be kept overnight, whether you can run the business from home, and what the state licenses.
The van or truck is the shop. Price it, outfit it, insure it, and brand it before the first job. The quotes go into the loan application.
Commercial auto for the vehicle, for the work. Customers and any lender will ask for the certificate.
- 05Not started0/2Open
Get the loanfour to eight weeks
Four to eight weeks with an SBA lender, longer if the file is incomplete. Everything else waits on this, so send a complete file.
Your plan with numbers (download it as a PDF from this page), the company’s papers, the vehicle and equipment quotes, your personal financial statement, and proof of the cash you put in.
The lender funds against the quotes and the insurance; the money goes to the vendors and the build.
After:
- 06Not started0/12Open
Permits and the vehicletwo to four weeks
Roofing is licensed in some states and many cities, permitted roof by roof in most places, and governed by fall protection rules on every job and by insurance-claim rules on storm work.
Bind the policies you had quoted before a contractor, a vehicle or a customer is in play. Keep the certificates; the landlord, the lender and the city will ask.
After:With the money in hand: the vehicle, the , the branding, and the state inspection most cities require before it can work.
After:Register your or corporation and obtain a city or county operating license.
With your state, before the first taxable sale. Usually free and online; check your state.
California (C-39), Florida, Minnesota and, for larger commercial jobs, Louisiana license roofers at the state level.
Many states and cities require a license bond and proof of before they license a roofer or issue a permit; property managers and general contractors will ask...
Most cities require a permit for a full re-roof, with an inspection of the decking, underlayment or finished roof; small repairs often do not.
OSHA requires fall protection for residential roof work 6 feet or more above a lower level, through guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest; safety training for every...
Several states, Texas and Colorado among them, bar contractors from paying or waiving a homeowner’s insurance deductible, and only a licensed public adjuster may negotiate a...
Door-to-door fall under the FTC Cooling-Off Rule (a three-day right to cancel), many cities require a solicitor permit, and some states add rules for storm-damage contracts.
Parking a roll-off dumpster or a dump trailer on the street usually needs a city permit.
A pickup pulling a loaded 14,000 lb dump trailer is a commercial combination: plate and inspect the trailer, check whether your state requires a USDOT number, and keep the...
- 07Not started0/10Open
Set up to runduring the build
During the build, so the business runs from day one: the systems, the prices, the people and the routine.
Aerial measurement, estimating, scheduling, invoicing, and supplement tracking are the operational core; they drive utilization and accurate bids.
Google Local Services, reviews, canvassing, and local SEO are the lead pipeline; managing cost per acquired job is a core profit lever.
Fast field payments and financing on big jobs lift close rates and size on high-cost replacements.
Crew pay, sub payouts, and storm-season staffing get complex; you need this the moment you have a crew.
Per-crew visibility and clean books are essential for managing high material spend and financing growth.
, workers' comp, and commercial auto; non-negotiable for a hazardous, licensed trade.
See the price the the business needs implies, then check it against what the market pays.
Daily: Walk and estimate roofs, follow up on bids and claims, schedule and... Weekly: Review the bid pipeline and close rate, crew utilization and job... Monthly: Review per-project margins vs the bid, marketing ROI and close rate,...
Opening, closing, the sale, the complaint, the cash. One page each. This is the manual a franchise would have sold you.
Free, and it is how most people will find you. Address, hours, photos and the menu or price list, live before opening day; then the sign, the soft opening and the first regulars.
- 08Not started0/6Open
Open and measurethe first ninety days
You own it. Now run it on the numbers.
Friends, neighbors and a short menu or list. Find the problems while the room is forgiving.
Enter the real numbers and see every cost line against the for this business.
Underbidding and overruns; Idle or rained-out crews; Marketing efficiency (close rate).
Wages are the start: , insurance, training time and the hours you stop billing. Register as an employer and carry workers’ comp before the first payday.
Growth consumes cash before it produces it. Find the rate your own cash funds before you push.
Roofing companies sell to owner-operators, SBA buyers and larger roofing and exterior companies that want crews, reviews and repeat accounts.