Kestrel Roofing and Gutters: a quote builder

The problem

A roofer measures a roof on Monday and writes the quote at night, at the kitchen table, with a calculator. By the time it goes out, days have passed and the customer has asked someone else. The quote is a page of numbers the homeowner has to guess at.

What we built

For Kestrel Roofing and Gutters, a made up roofing company, we would build a quote builder for the crew. The roofer enters the roof size, picks the material and the extras, and the total adds itself up. The customer's copy takes shape beside it, ready to send.

Problem and answer

• Quotes get written at night, days after the visit.

  The roofer builds it on the driveway, with the customer in front of them, before the roofer has left the site.

• The sums go wrong when the tired person adds them up.

  Every line is worked out from the owner's price list. Roof size, gutter length and skylights each change the total as they move.

• Customers do not understand a list of codes and parts.

  Each line is said in plain words, such as Take off the old roof, stripped down to the boards.

• Different roofers charge different rates for the same job.

  Prices live in one list the owner controls. The crew choose from it and cannot change it.

• A quote goes out and then nobody knows where it stands.

  The owner has one list of quotes sent, with the date, so it is clear which ones are worth a follow up message.

How it works

1. 01The roofer starts a new quote and enters the customer's name and the roof size.
2. 02They choose what goes on the roof, then switch the extra jobs on or off.
3. 03The customer's copy updates as they go, with a plain explanation for each line.
4. 04The roofer checks it and sends it. The quote stays good for the period the owner sets.

Works with

• Google Sheets, where the owner's price list lives and can be edited
• Gmail or the company's own email, to send the quote from the usual address
• QuickBooks, so a quote that is accepted can become the invoice
• Stripe or Square, if the owner wants the customer to pay a deposit by card

The plan we would follow

1. Week 1We go through the last few paper quotes with the owner and agree what goes into a price.
2. Weeks 2 and 3We build the quote screen, the customer's copy and the price list.
3. Week 4The crew quote real past jobs side by side with the old way, and we correct what differs.
4. Week 5We connect the email and the books, and set up the owner's view of sent quotes.
5. Week 6Launch, with the owner's price list handed over.

What the owner keeps

• The tool's code and designs
• The price list and every quote
• The email, books and payment accounts, in the owner's name
• The domain name and the hosting account