A roofing estimate is an itemized description of the scope and cost of a project, written so that the person paying for it can verify each line. On insurance work that means the estimate has to speak the carrier’s language: their estimating platform, their line items, their pricing database, their expectations about documentation.
Contractor Supplement Solutions writes estimates for roofing and restoration contractors who need the scope produced correctly the first time. This is the service to use when you do not have an existing carrier estimate to supplement, or when the volume of estimating work has outgrown the people available to do it.
Estimating and supplementing are different jobs
An estimate describes work before it is approved. A supplement corrects an estimate that already exists. The skills overlap, but the starting point does not, and the two services solve different problems.
- Estimating is what you need when the scope has not been written yet, or when you are producing your own number for a retail job, a bid, or a claim you are documenting from the start.
- Supplementing is what you need when a carrier estimate is in hand and the scope on paper does not match the job. That process is covered on our supplementing page.
Contractors frequently need both on the same project, and ordering them together keeps the numbers consistent.
What we produce
- Itemized scope. Every component of the work written as a separate line rather than bundled into a lump sum, so each item can be reviewed and approved on its own merits.
- Current regional pricing. Rates reflect the market the property sits in, not a national average.
- Carrier-ready formatting. Written in the platform and structure adjusters expect, which removes an avoidable reason for a file to come back.
- Supporting documentation. Measurements, photographs, and code references attached to the lines that depend on them.
When contractors hand estimating over
Most of the companies that send us estimating work are not short on skill. They are short on hours. Estimating is the task that gets pushed to the end of the day, and an estimate written at eleven at night after a full day of production is the one most likely to miss something.
The common breaking points look like this:
- Storm volume arrives faster than the office can write
- One estimator is a bottleneck for an entire sales team
- Turnaround time on estimates is costing jobs to faster competitors
- The owner is still writing estimates personally and should not be
Quality control before the estimate goes out
An estimate is only as good as the file it was built from. Before we write, we check that the documentation actually supports the scope: that the property and the type of work are identified, that measurements exist and are current, that photographs establish orientation and condition, and that there is a person we can ask when a job question comes up.
When something is missing we ask rather than assume. A line item invented to fill a gap is the item that gets flagged, and one flagged line slows the whole file.
Working inside your process
We work in your CRM with the team members you appoint and write to the standards your company already uses. The goal is that an estimate we produce is indistinguishable from one your best estimator would have written, with your naming conventions and your formatting, so nothing downstream has to be reworked.
Frequently asked questions
Do you write estimates for retail jobs as well as insurance work?
Yes. The documentation discipline is the same; the audience changes. Insurance estimates are written for an adjuster, retail estimates for a homeowner, and the formatting reflects that.
Can you write the estimate and handle the supplement later?
Yes, and it is usually the better sequence. When the original estimate and any later supplement come from the same source, the measurements and quantities agree, which removes one of the most common reasons a carrier pushes back.
How fast is turnaround?
It depends on the complexity of the scope and the completeness of the file you send. A clean file with current measurements moves quickly; a file we have to chase documentation for does not.
What do you need to write an estimate?
The property details, the type and extent of work, inspection photographs, and measurements. If measurements are not available we can produce a report first.
How do you charge for estimating?
Estimating is priced separately from supplementing, which is contingent on recovery. Contact us for current pricing on estimating volume.
Get estimating off your desk
Tell us what your estimating load looks like and we will tell you how we would handle it. See all of our services or talk to our team.