Roofing Estimate Template: Free, Fill In Online, Download PDF, Word or Excel

This roofing estimate template is built around how roofers actually measure and price a job. Enter the roof area and convert it to squares, add pitch, the layers to tear off and your waste factor, then price tear-off, underlayment, shingles, flashing, drip edge, ridge vent, dumpster and permit. The preview beside the form is what your customer receives, as a PDF, a Word file or an Excel sheet. There is no account and no email step, and the same engine has an Invoice tab for when the job is done.

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How to Write a Roofing Estimate

1. Add your business once. Logo, name, phone, and contractor license number. They stay saved in your browser for the next estimate.
2. Describe the roof. Customer, property address, roof area, pitch, layers to tear off and the shingle type. If the work is an insurance job, add the claim number now.
3. Measure and convert. Take the roof area in square feet and let the template convert it to squares, then apply your waste factor. The next section covers both.
4. Price the lines. Enter materials at what you pay, then your markup. Enter labor as a flat price or as hours at your rate. Add the dumpster, disposal and permit as separate lines.
5. Set the terms. Choose the tax treatment, the deposit to start, how long the price is valid and your workmanship warranty. Add optional lines, like replacing damaged decking per sheet, so the customer can approve them when they sign.
6. Download and send. Send the PDF. If you want to adjust the scope text first, use Word instead.

Which file to send depends on what you need. The PDF looks the same on every phone and cannot be edited by mistake, so it is the one to email or text. Word suits a job where you want to rewrite the scope or add a page of photos, and it opens in Google Docs and Apple Pages. Excel keeps every amount as a number, which helps if you track bids and win rates in a spreadsheet. You can also print a paper copy at US Letter size for a walkthrough on the roof or at the kitchen table.

A good estimate also says what is not included. Interior repairs, gutter work and structural carpentry beyond the decking lines are common examples. Write the exclusions in the scope of work so the customer reads them before they sign, not after the crew arrives.

No preset fills in a price. Labor rates, material costs and markup differ by market and by crew, and only you know yours.

Measuring in Squares

Roofing is priced in squares, and the estimate is only as good as the measurement behind it. Get the area wrong and every line below it is wrong too.

Converting Square Feet to Squares

One square is 100 square feet of roof surface. To convert, divide the area in square feet by 100. A roof of 2,400 square feet is 24 squares, and one of 3,150 square feet is 31.5 squares.

The area has to be the surface of the roof, not the footprint of the house. A pitched roof is larger than the floor plan under it. Measure the roof itself with a tape, a wheel or measurements from the ground or satellite, then enter the total in the Roof area field. The template does the conversion and shows the squares under the roof fields and on the estimate.

Pitch and Waste

Pitch is how steep the roof is, written as rise over a 12 inch run, such as 6/12. A steeper roof has more surface than a flat one covering the same footprint, so if you measured from the footprint you need to adjust the area for pitch. The template has a pitch multiplier you can edit: enter the factor you use for that pitch and it applies it to the footprint area. As a check, it also shows the plain geometric factor for the pitch you typed (the slope length over the run), but it only applies a factor you enter yourself, because your method and charts may differ.

Waste is the extra material you order to cover cuts, hips, valleys and mistakes. It depends on the roof shape, the shingle and your crew, so the field starts empty. Enter your percentage and the squares figure rises to match; use it as the quantity on your shingle and underlayment lines. Complicated roofs with many hips and valleys usually need more waste than a simple gable.

Line Items Every Roofing Estimate Needs

These are the lines the roofing preset loads. Each one answers a question the customer would otherwise ask.

• Tear-off and disposal of existing roof. What comes off, how many layers, and who hauls it. More layers means more labor and more disposal, so the layer count belongs on the estimate.
• Underlayment. The layer under the shingles that sheds water if one gets past them. Name the product so the customer knows what is going on the deck.
• Shingles. Type, brand and color, with the quantity in squares after waste. This is the line customers compare between bids, so be specific.
• Ice and water shield. The self-sealing membrane at eaves and valleys. List where it goes and where it does not.
• Flashing. The metal at chimneys, walls, vents and valleys, where most leaks start. Say whether you reuse or replace it.
• Drip edge. The metal along eaves and rakes that directs water into the gutter. Many customers never see it, which is why it deserves a line.
• Ridge vent. Ventilation along the peak. List the length so the customer sees it is in the scope.
• Dumpster and disposal. Separate from labor, so a change in the number of layers changes one line, not your whole price.
• Permit. The fee and who pulls it. Keeping it as its own line shows the customer the job is done by the book.
• Optional lines. Replacing damaged decking per sheet, or upgrading to impact-rated shingles. Decking is usually found only after tear-off, so pricing it per sheet up front avoids an argument later.

Insurance Jobs

Many roofing jobs follow storm damage and go through an insurance claim. For those, the estimate usually carries the claim number and the policy holder’s details, so the document can be matched to the claim file. Add the claim number in the job fields and it prints in the header of the estimate and the invoice. The template only records the details you enter. What goes in your estimate and how you work with an adjuster is between you, your customer and the insurer.

Turning the Estimate into an Invoice

When the customer signs and the job is done, switch to the Invoice tab. The business details, the customer, the address and the line items carry over, so you only change the quantities and prices that moved during the job and add any approved extras, such as decking. The deposit already paid shows as a credit, and the invoice shows the balance due.

If you want the same layout for other trades, the general estimate template has the full trade menu. For a project with phases and progress billing, use the contractor estimate template and the contractor invoice template.

Roofing Software

A template is enough for a few estimates a week. If you send more than that, or lose track of which ones are signed, field service software can send estimates from your phone, let customers approve them online and turn an approved estimate into an invoice without retyping. We compare the options for roofers in best roofing software.