Roofing estimating software that wins more jobs

A roofing price is built from four groups of work:

1. The field of the roof: tear-off, decking repair, underlayment and shingles, priced by area.
2. The edges and lines: drip edge, starter, ice and water shield, ridge, valleys and step flashing, priced by the foot.
3. The penetrations and details: pipe boots, vents, chimneys and skylights, priced by the piece.
4. Setup, disposal and cleanup: protecting the landscaping, the dumpster, and the magnetic sweep.

Measure the real roof area, plus waste

A square is 100 square feet of roof surface, not of footprint. A steeper pitch adds surface area, so measure the actual roof or apply your pitch factor.

Then add waste: a simple gable needs less than a cut-up roof with hips and valleys. Enter the quantities after waste, so the shingles you order match the shingles you price.

Price each line from your own hours

These are the common lines on a roofing estimate and what each is measured in:

• Square foot (100 square feet is one square): tear-off, sheathing, underlayment and shingles.
• Linear foot: edges, ridge, flashing and gutters.
• Each: boots, chimneys, skylights and repairs.

The hours and prices are yours to set. Your crew sets its own pace, and every line's hours are editable.

Area lines alone add up to big hours

The area lines add up quickly.

Example: The rates below are example figures; say your own records show your crew needs:

• Tear-off: 1.75 hours per square
• Synthetic underlayment: 0.75 hours per square
• Shingles: 2 hours per square

On a 24-square roof, that's 4.5 hours a square, or 108 labor hours for tear-off, underlayment and architectural shingles alone, before any edge, flashing or detail work.

That's why a per-square price that ignores the rest of the roof leaves money on it.

Your labor rate covers more than the wage

A roofer's wage isn't your labor rate. Your rate has to cover:

• workers' comp, which costs more for roofing than for most trades
• liability insurance
• fall protection and the trailer
• days lost to weather
• the hours spent measuring and bidding jobs you don't win

Then it needs a profit.

BuildWell builds the rate in three steps

1. Wage: the median roofer wage for your metro.
2. Overhead: your labor overhead, which starts at 100%, doubling the wage.
3. Markup: your labor markup, which starts at 20%.

Example: Say your crew costs you $30 an hour per roofer. Use your real number. The 108 hours of field work on that 24-square roof come to:

• Wages: 108 × $30 = $3,240
• With 100% overhead: $6,480
• With 20% markup: $7,776 for that labor

The edges, flashing and details come on top.

Put materials, decking and disposal on their own lines

• Materials: price shingles, underlayment, ice and water shield, flashing, vents and fasteners at what they cost near the job this week, plus a markup. BuildWell starts material markup at 20%.
• Decking: add sheathing replacement as an allowance, a stated number of square feet, and put the price for anything beyond it in your terms. The homeowner knows before the tear-off what rotten decking will cost.
• Disposal and permits: price the dumpster and dump fees as their own lines. Many jurisdictions require a permit for a reroof. Add your permit fee as a line; in BuildWell, a flat permit fee is added automatically when the estimate includes permits.

Set a repair minimum that covers the trip

Price repairs from the same pieces, with a minimum that covers getting the ladder off the truck. A localized shingle repair, a pipe boot or a few feet of step flashing is quick work.

Your minimum charge should cover the trip, the setup and the time to diagnose the leak, not just the patch.

What roofers earn depends on market and season

Wages vary between metro areas and with experience. Many roofing businesses have busy and slow seasons, so plan cash flow for the months when weather stops work.

Owners earn the margin between what they charge and what the work costs. That's why your labor rate and your materials markup matter more than any wage table.

Self-employment tax is 15.3% of net earnings

As a sole proprietor or single-member LLC, you pay self-employment tax on your net earnings: 15.3% in total.

• Social Security, 12.4%: applies to net earnings up to the Social Security wage base, which is $184,500 for 2026.
• Medicare, 2.9%: applies to all of it.
• Deduction: you can deduct half of the self-employment tax on your income tax return.

This is on top of federal and state income tax. Set money aside from every deposit and final payment.

Pay estimated taxes every quarter

Nobody withholds tax from your jobs, so the IRS expects payments during the year on Form 1040-ES. They're usually due in:

• mid-April
• mid-June
• mid-September
• mid-January

Set aside part of every payment so the money is there when each one is due.

Track your deductions as you go

Roofing businesses commonly deduct:

• tools, ladders and safety equipment
• the business share of the trucks and trailer
• fuel
• insurance and license fees
• dumpster costs
• phone and software

Keep receipts and log mileage as you go.

Subs paid $2,000 or more get a 1099-NEC

If you pay an unincorporated subcontractor for services, you'll generally need to send them a Form 1099-NEC. For payments made in 2026 and later, that applies once you've paid them $2,000 or more in a year, up from $600 before 2026.

Collect a Form W-9 before you pay anyone.

How you direct the work sets worker status

Whether a crew member is a contractor or an employee depends on how you direct the work, not on what you call them. Getting it wrong is expensive, especially for workers' comp.

Check your state's sales tax on materials

States treat roofing contractors differently:

• Some have you pay sales tax when you buy materials.
• Others have you charge it to the homeowner.

Check your state's revenue department. In BuildWell, sales tax applies to materials only, not labor, at the rate you set.

This is general information, not tax or legal advice. A tax professional who works with contractors can tell you what applies to your state and business.