Blue Collar Trade Manager helps roofers convert an approved estimate straight into an invoice, split payment into a deposit and final draw, and collect both by card or ACH through a click-to-pay link. It fits both retail re-roofs and insurance-claim jobs where paperwork has to line up with what the adjuster approved, while job notes, photos, crew assignment, and milestone invoices stay connected.
Roofing sales cycles run longer than most trades: inspection, estimate, sometimes an insurance conversation, then the job weeks later. BCTM keeps the customer, their property address, notes and every estimate and message thread in one record, so the follow-up call picks up where the inspection left off.
How the contractor CRM worksCreate an estimate for the roof job from scratch or pull line items straight from your roofing price book, then send it for approval by text or email.
The customer reviews and approves the estimate online or by replying to a text — no printing, no in-person signature required.
Tear-offs and repairs are scheduled as jobs with the property address, window and assigned crew. Crew members clock in and out and add photos of the deck and finished work to the job. Deposits collected at approval are credited on the final invoice, and multi-day jobs can be billed in milestones.
Jobs, crews and calendarsTurn the approved estimate into an invoice in one step, so line items, pricing, and job details carry over without retyping anything.
The invoice goes out with a public click-to-pay link so the customer can pay by card or ACH from their phone, without creating an account.
If the invoice sits unpaid, automated payment reminders go out on a schedule you set, instead of you having to remember to chase it.
Paid, unpaid, and overdue invoices roll up into reports so you can see outstanding balances across every customer at a glance.
$0/mo — no subscription and no per-user seats. Card payments: 3.9% + $0.30 (1% BCTM platform fee + 2.9% + $0.30 Stripe). ACH bank payments: 1.8% (1% BCTM platform fee + 0.8% Stripe, Stripe portion capped at $5.00). Cash and check: no fees. Full fee breakdown.
When a job is paid through a homeowner's insurance claim, the invoice needs to reflect the same line items and amounts the adjuster approved — otherwise it raises questions during the insurer's payout. Custom fields for claim number and adjuster reference, plus itemized price book line items, keep the invoice aligned with the approved scope.
Roofing material costs are a major up-front expense before a single shingle goes down. Sending a deposit invoice before ordering materials, then a final invoice after completion, means you're not fronting the full material cost on your own credit.
A rain delay can push a two-day job into a two-week job, and customers sometimes want to hold payment until the whole thing is actually finished. Recurring reminders on the outstanding invoice, plus a clear record of what's been completed versus what's pending, keeps the conversation grounded in the paperwork rather than memory.
Nobody's carrying a laptop up a ladder. Mobile invoicing lets a roofer build the estimate standing in the driveway after the inspection, and the offline PWA covers drafting in areas with weak signal, though sending and payment collection need a connection.
Itemize the invoice to match the insurance adjuster's approved scope, and use custom fields to record the claim number, so the paperwork lines up with what the insurer is paying for.
Insurance-claim roofing jobs move faster when the invoice mirrors the adjuster's line items rather than presenting different totals or categories. BCTM's price book and custom invoice fields support that alignment, but BCTM doesn't interact with insurance carriers directly or determine claim scope — that's between you, the homeowner, and the adjuster.
Many roofers collect a deposit before ordering materials to cover that up-front cost, but the specific percentage is a business decision, not something BCTM sets for you.
Because shingles, underlayment, and flashing are usually purchased before the crew shows up, a deposit invoice sent right after the estimate is approved protects your cash flow. BCTM supports deposit and final-payment invoices on the same job; how much to collect up front is up to you.
Fifty percent upfront is common on larger remodel and construction jobs generally, but the right number for a specific roof depends on material cost and your relationship with the customer.
BCTM doesn't dictate a required deposit percentage — it just makes it easy to send a deposit invoice for whatever amount you decide, followed by a final invoice once the job's done.
Residential contractors overall get paid within 30 days only about 48% of the time, according to a 2022 Levelset survey — insurance-claim jobs in particular can take longer due to adjuster timelines.
Foundation, structure, and exterior contractors — the category roofing falls into — average 63 days Days Sales Outstanding (Level — Construction Cash Flow Crisis in Numbers). Sending a click-to-pay link the moment the final invoice goes out, rather than waiting on a mailed insurance check, is one of the more direct ways to shorten that wait on the homeowner's portion.
You can configure a late fee on an invoice, but whether it's enforceable depends on your state's usury and consumer-protection laws.
Late fee amounts and disclosure requirements vary by state. This is general information, not legal or tax advice — check with a licensed attorney or CPA in your state before relying on it.
Send the estimate for online or text approval instead of requiring an in-person signature — homeowners can review and approve from their phone the same day.
A digital approval flow removes the delay of scheduling a second in-person visit just to get a signature. Combined with SMS reminders if the estimate sits unapproved, this shortens the gap between quote and go-ahead.
Retainage — typically 5–10% withheld until the job is fully complete — can be tracked in your reports and invoiced separately once the job wraps.
Commercial roofing contracts sometimes withhold retainage the same way general construction contracts do. Average retainage runs around 7.59% on private projects and 5.56% on state projects (Levelset — Retainage in Construction; Clemson data via Billed). Track the withheld amount in your reports, then send a final retainage invoice once the job is signed off.
$0/month software subscription. You pay a per-transaction fee only when a customer pays you electronically.
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