Estimating
Building the Estimate
How the project estimate is built from the labeled roof, what each cost line means, and what you can adjust before sending it to the client.
The Estimation tab turns a labeled roof into a client-ready proposal. Once the roof area is known, it seeds a cost breakdown across four lines — Materials, Labor, Permits & Fees, and Contingency — that you can fine-tune before saving or sending.
Every estimate you save becomes a version, so you can build multiple options (for example a premium vs. economy package) and switch between them from the Select Estimate Version picker.
The cost breakdown
- Materials — standing seam panels, underlayment, and fasteners. This is the number you can pull straight from the Bill of Materials so it tracks the labeled roof.
- Labor — installation and removal, scaled to the project's square footage shown beside the field.
- Permits & Fees — building permits and inspections for the job.
- Contingency — a percentage buffer for unforeseen conditions. Drag the slider (0–20%) and the dollar amount recalculates against the Materials + Labor + Permits subtotal automatically.
What you can adjust
- Each cost line is an editable dollar field — type over the seeded value to match your own pricing.
- Changing Materials, Labor, or Permits re-derives the Contingency dollar amount from the current percentage.
- The Total Project Cost updates live and is the figure that prints on the PDF proposal (valid 30 days by default).
- Add client-facing notes, exclusions, or special conditions in the Additional Notes box.
Save a separate version for each option you want to present. The client only sees the version you share, so you can keep working drafts alongside the one you send.
Sending it out
- Save Estimate stores the current version; Download PDF generates a branded proposal using the company details from Settings.
- Send to Client creates a share link the client can view and approve (and even sign) without an account.
- Export CSV pulls every saved version out for your own records.
If the cost lines still show the default seeded amounts, the estimate has not been tied to the actual roof yet. Label the roof and pull the material cost from the BOM before sending.