One way in, one gate out

Nine ways in, nine ways of working

Trucks everywhere, crews busy, Google and referrals sending more work than the office could track. The owner thought he needed more office staff.

Every channel had its own workflow. Website leads went into the CRM. Referrals were texted to a rep. Phone leads went on paper. Canvassers sent addresses on WhatsApp. Each estimator kept jobs in his own calendar, phone or spreadsheet.

The CRM held 1,500 opportunities and nobody trusted it. So the company ran on phone calls: owner to sales manager, sales manager to reps, reps to production, production to the supplier.

One way in, eight questions

Every lead, from every channel, now enters one intake and answers the same eight questions.

Who are you? Where is the property? What work? Roughly how big? Insurance or cash? When? How did you find us? Do you already have other estimates?

A lead is no longer a note on someone's phone. It has a state, an owner, a deadline and a next action.

Routing by rule

Staff used to ask “who should take this one?” all day. Each time, someone stopped working to answer.

Now the rules answer. Roofing goes one way, commercial another. Small repairs get their own queue. Postal codes go to set estimators. High-value jobs go first, past customers are recognised and emergencies are flagged.

A clock on every lead

Some leads were called in ten minutes. Some waited until tomorrow. Some got two calls, some got none. A $2,000 repair got the same treatment as a $35,000 exterior.

Now assignment starts a response timer. No response, and the lead escalates. A missed call sends a text right away. Reminders go out, confirmations are tracked and reschedules go back into the calendar.

The numbers nobody could see

With every lead in one place, management sees contact, booking, show, estimate and close rates, by rep and by source. Revenue by source. Average job size. Days from lead to signed contract.

The channel that sends the most leads is not always the one that closes. A rep who looks great may just be getting the best leads. Now it shows.

The packet before the drive

Salespeople used to drive out with thin information. Photos existed but were not passed on. Someone had already measured. Some jobs were outside scope.

Now every rep leaves with one standard packet: customer, project type, address, source, intake notes, photos, measurements if available, past messages, property details, special requirements and expected scope.

Packages, not five ways to sell a roof

Every rep sold a slightly different company. Now there are defined roofing packages, A, B and C, and a set list of options: upgraded shingles, decking, ventilation, flashing, skylights, gutters, insulation and warranty tier.

Reps still use their judgement. The routine choices are already made, so their time goes to the property and the homeowner.

Sold is not scheduled

A rep closed a $24,000 roof. Production got a signed PDF, six photos, a text, a handwritten note and an email. No colour, no permit, no deposit. It was a busy week, so the job was scheduled anyway.

Then the crew arrives. Wrong shingles. No dumpster. No permit. Each mistake looks small. Across the company, they eat the margin.

Now a sold job passes a production gate first. Contract, deposit, financing, scope, measurements, selections, special orders, permit, crew, equipment, access and the homeowner's dates are all confirmed. One job record holds it all.

Materials tied to the calendar

A roof booked for Wednesday used to find out on Tuesday afternoon that a material was not in.

Now the schedule sees material status, ordering sees job status and supplier confirmations update the job. Long-lead items show up early. One view shows which jobs are safe to send tomorrow.

A rain day moves the affected jobs as a set, customers get a standard message and freed crews pick up small repairs.

Change orders priced on site

A crew finds rotten decking. The homeowner says “just replace it.” They do. Accounting never hears. Paid work becomes free labour.

Now the crew documents it, photographs it and routes it. The scope is adjusted, the price is set and the homeowner approves before the work goes on. Accounting knows straight away.

Billed when the job is really done

“Job's done” used to send the invoice, even with cleanup unfinished, photos missing or a complaint open.

Now completion is a gate too: final photos, inspection, cleanup, scope checked, changes confirmed. Then the invoice. After payment, warranty documents, a review request and maintenance reminders go out on their own.

From the first call to the last payment, every job moves through one system.