Looking to order roofing supplies? Hold on a sec. There’s a better way.
Between supplier management, keeping crews moving, and trying to avoid material shortages or overruns, ordering roofing materials can be one of the biggest headaches in the business.
Plus, the COVID-19 pandemic taught us the supply chain doesn’t always work smoothly. Well, you can’t plan for a pandemic, but you CAN build better, more consistent time-saving workflows for ordering roofing materials.
Upgrading your material ordering is way easier than you think. With a few smart processes (and some tech to back you up), you can automate roofing material orders, streamline estimates, and save hours of wasted time. Here’s how.
Why roofing contractors struggle with material orders
Ever been short a bundle of shingles, double-ordered nails, or discovered your supplier’s out of stock on ridge caps right before install day? It’s painful.
The traditional way of material ordering creates a lot of problems:
- Paper chaos – Sticky notes, paper POs, and half-filled order forms.
- Miscommunication – The crew thinks one thing, office orders another.
- Supplier delays – When you need stuff in a hurry, everything’s backordered.
These are very real industry-wide problems which eat into profit, screw up your work schedule, and lead to pissed-off customers.
And they’re all preventable.
Why online roofing supply orders are the way to go
If you’re still placing manual orders, or calling up the same guy you’ve used since the 90s, it’s time to make a change. Here’s why:
- Easier access - Market competition between online vendors means everything’s cheaper and more available when ordering online.
- Convenience - Materials get delivered right to your client’s doorstep. No need to haul it all over yourself.
- Faster estimates - Auto-calculate quantities and costs from measurement reports to save both time and money.
- Better organization - No more messy paperwork or crossed signals. When it’s all online in one place, there’s no risk of confusion.
And that’s just scratching the surface. Once you properly set up a CRM and get into automation, you can save weeks of time.
How to order roofing supplies more efficiently
Let’s break it down now, step by step.
Step 1: Measurement reports = better material estimates
The starting point for every order is knowing exactly how much material you need. Instead of climbing roofs with a tape measure, use aerial roof measurement reports.
With Roofr, it’s as easy as this:
- Upload a property address.
- Get accurate measurements in 24 hours (or less).
- Auto-calculate material quantities based on the numbers.
Accurate measurements mean you can price jobs correctly and order supplies with confidence. No more guesswork, and no more padding estimates “just in case.”
Step 2: Keep everything digital
Paper purchase orders and scribbled notes just don’t cut it anymore. If you want to grow, you need a CRM or roofing supplies management system that tracks every order.
That way:
- Everything gets stored in one place.
- Office staff, sales reps, and crews all have easy access.
- You can place immediate re-orders when needed.
- You’ll always have the latest supplier pricing.
And best of all, proposals become the blueprints for your material orders instead of totally disconnected documents.
Step 3: Share with your crew
Ever had a crew show up with the wrong supplies, or missing just that one material they need to do the job? That’s usually a communication problem, not a supply one.
So give your team access to the digital material orders. They can double-check quantities, catch errors early, and confirm deliveries on site.
That’s the beauty of a CRM: it makes every job detail accessible and transparent, and makes everyone in your business more accountable. No hidden info, no excuses.
Step 4: Automate roofing material orders
This is the real massive time-saver.
Instead of starting from scratch every time you quote a job, integrate everything into one system that does it all for you. By using a good CRM, you can generate instant automatic material orders right from your proposals.
Roofr lets you turn measurement reports into proposals into material orders. Every stage of your process flows together automatically. No need to key it in over and over and over.
It’s fast and foolproof. It gives you your time back. And it puts you far ahead of the competition.
Plus, with live pricing and direct ordering from suppliers, you’ll never be caught off guard by a price change or a surprise backorder again.
Step 5: Build supplier relationships, not just transactions
Even with automation, suppliers still matter. So get to know your reps, ask about lead times, and negotiate better terms if you’re bringing steady volume.
The difference is, with smarter systems in place, the power is in your hands instead of the supplier’s. You know exactly what you need, when you need it, and you can hold them accountable when something slips.
The modern way to handle roofing supplies
So, how do you order roofing materials more efficiently?
- Start with accurate roof measurements.
- Keep everything digital and shareable.
- Automate everything into one workflow.
- Use a roofing CRM like Roofr to tie it all together.
Roofr helps contractors move past the manual mess. With proposal tools, supplier integrations, and built-in material ordering, you can focus on running jobs instead of chasing down missing bundles.