Free Roofing Estimate Template (PDF Generator)

How to write a roofing estimate

1. Add your business and license

   Company details, logo and the license or registration number your state requires on the proposal.

2. Enter the homeowner and the property

   Name, contact details and the job address if it differs from the billing address.

3. Number and date it, and set the valid-until date

   The number is prefilled. Shingle prices move, so keep the window short. Put squares, layers and pitch in the job line.

4. Price the roof per square and list every layer

   Tear-off and disposal, shingles by product and color (or a visible blank), underlayment, ice barrier, starter, ridge cap, flashing and ventilation — one row each, so a second bid compares line for line.

5. Add a decking allowance with a per-sheet rate

   State how many sheets are included, the rate for each extra sheet, and how extras get approved — photo plus text before the sheet goes on.

6. Set the permit, exclusions, optional add-ons and the deposit

   Permit as a pass-through; fascia, gutters, skylights and interior stains excluded in writing; upgrades marked Optional; the deposit and the warranty terms.

7. Download, send, and convert when signed

   Text or email the PDF. When the homeowner signs, untick Optional on accepted add-ons and press Convert to invoice.

What to include on a roofing estimate

What should a roofing estimate include?

A roofing estimate has to do three things a generic one does not: describe a system (not a product), fix the price of the unknown (the deck), and separate the roof from the things next to the roof that the customer assumes are included. Get those three right and the invoice at the end is a formality.

Describe the system by listing the layers in the order they go on: tear-off, deck repair allowance, underlayment, ice barrier where code calls for it, starter strip, the shingle itself by product and color, hip and ridge cap, ventilation, drip edge and flashing. A homeowner comparing two bids does not know what ice barrier is, but they can see that one bid names it and the other says 'complete roof'. The named one wins, and it also cannot be accused later of leaving something out.

Then say what is not the roof. Rotten fascia, soffit, chimney crowns and masonry, gutters, skylight glass, interior ceiling stains — each is a separate trade or a separate price. Write the exclusions as a plain list. The sample estimate does this in the notes, and it is the paragraph the customer re-reads when the fascia turns out to be soft.

How do you measure and price a roof per square?

1. Measure each roof plane from the ground plan or an aerial report, adjust for pitch, and add up the square footage. Divide by 100 for squares (a square is a 10 ft × 10 ft area, and most asphalt shingles are packaged three bundles per square, though heavier shingles run more — IKO).
2. Add a waste factor for hips, valleys, dormers and starter. A cut-up roof wastes more than a simple gable; price the waste you will actually throw in the dumpster.
3. Price tear-off separately by the square and by the layer. Two layers is more labor and a bigger dumpster, and the customer should see that as a line, not a surprise.
4. Set the per-square installed rate for the shingle you are quoting, then list the components (underlayment, ice barrier, ventilation, flashing) either inside it or as their own lines. Either works; the sample shows them as lines because that is what a second bid will be compared against.
5. Put a number on the deck. An allowance of a few sheets included, with the per-sheet rate for more, converts the unknown into a known.
6. Check the margin. Run the total through the markup and margin calculator — a per-square rate that 'feels right' is often a rate that was right two years ago.

If you have not written many estimates, the seven-step estimate guide covers the labor and overhead math; the roofing-specific part is only that the unit is the square and the unknown is the deck.

How do you handle decking, hidden damage and change orders on a roof?

You cannot see the deck until the shingles are off, so the estimate has to price it blind. The clean way is an allowance: a stated number of sheets included in the price, a stated per-sheet rate for anything beyond it, and a stated approval method — photo plus text before the sheet goes on. The sample line reads 'Decking allowance — 2 sheets included; extra sheets $95 each by approved change order'. Every word in that line is doing work.

When you find more than the allowance, write it up on the spot with the change order generator: the count, the rate, the photos, the revised contract total, both signatures. Then the invoice cites the change order number. A crew that installs first and bills later is right about the rot and still loses the argument, because the homeowner never agreed to a number.

What deposit should a roofer ask for, and what does it cover?

A roofing deposit exists to cover the material order and hold the crew's date. What is normal varies by market and by job size, and what is legal varies by state — some states cap home-improvement deposits outright, and others attach conditions to them. Florida is a good example of the second kind: it does not cap the deposit, but taking more than 10 percent of the contract price starts a clock — permits applied for within 30 days of the payment and work started within 90 days of the permits issuing, unless the owner agrees to longer in writing (Fla. Stat. 489.126). The contractor deposit guide walks through the states that cap the amount; confirm your own state before you print a percentage.

On an insurance job the deposit is usually the homeowner's first ACV check, or the deductible, or both — write down which, and remember that the deductible is the homeowner's to pay and must never be waived or absorbed (the roofing invoice page covers the Texas statute on that). The generator's deposit line accepts a percentage or a flat amount and prints 'Deposit due to schedule' under the total. If a customer balks at a deposit that covers materials, that is information — read how to vet a customer before you quote before you order shingles on their word.

How do you write a roofing estimate for a storm-damage insurance job?

Write it in the adjuster's units and the adjuster's order. The carrier's scope will be in squares and linear feet with line items for tear-off, felt or synthetic underlayment, ice barrier, drip edge, flashing, ridge, vents and disposal; your estimate should mirror that so the two can be laid side by side. Where the scope is missing a code-required item — ice barrier in a climate where the code requires it, drip edge, decking — list it on your estimate anyway with the reason, because that is the basis of the supplement you will file with photos once the roof is open.

Keep the homeowner's numbers straight on the page: the carrier's approved amount, the deductible (theirs to pay), and any upgrades they are choosing beyond the scope, which are theirs to pay too. The optional add-ons block is built for exactly that — an impact-resistant shingle upgrade goes there, priced, excluded from the claim total, one signature from yes. Roofing companies that run a lot of claims use TrustPro's roofing CRM to keep the estimate, the change orders and the final invoice in one customer record and to send each one by text — it starts at $29/month with a 14-day free trial and converts the signed estimate into the invoice in one click.

FAQ

• IKO — Bundles of shingles per square
• Florida Statutes §489.126 — Moneys received by contractors