How does it handle a surge of calls after a storm?
Storm-driven inspection requests go onto the same schedule as routine work instead of a callback pile, so a busy week after a storm is still a booked week rather than a stack of missed calls.
Does it separate inspections from repair or replacement work?
Yes. An inspection visit is booked on its own, and the estimate it produces stays tied to the inspection findings, so crew scheduling only happens once a job is actually accepted.
Is the roofing software really free?
Core is $0 forever for CRM, customers and jobs, a basic pipeline, basic booking and calendar, and one production employee. Business phone and AI Receptionist start with Copper; Smart Dispatch and technician workflows are paid-tier capabilities.
What does it replace?
The separate scheduling and estimate tools a small roofing company ends up paying for. It is not an aerial-measurement or material-ordering platform; it is the office side of getting from the inspection call to the closed job.
Can it keep a leak call apart from an inspection request?
Yes. When the office books the call, a booking for water coming through a ceiling says it is an active leak, so it does not sit in the same queue as a pre-sale inspection or a replacement quote. Whoever plans the day can see which roofs are leaking now and send someone with a tarp before the routine visits.
What goes on the record from a roof inspection?
Whatever the inspector writes down: roof type and pitch, the number of layers, the state of the flashing around chimneys and skylights, soft decking, missing shingles, gutter damage. Those notes stay on the inspection visit, and the estimate built from it sits on the same property record, so nobody has to re-walk the roof from memory when the homeowner calls back.
How are crew days scheduled around the weather?
A tear-off is booked on the calendar as a crew job with the crew assigned to it. When rain or high wind closes the roof, the office moves that job to the next open day, and the inspection and estimate visits around it stay where they were. The software does not forecast weather — whether a roof is workable is still your call.
Does it help with insurance work after hail or wind damage?
It keeps the office side in order. The adjuster meeting is booked as a visit at the property, the inspection findings and the storm sit on the record, and the estimate stays tied to that inspection. It does not file claims, talk to the carrier or produce an insurance estimate format — those stay with you and the homeowner.
What happens to an estimate the homeowner has not answered?
It stays on the pipeline as an open estimate instead of vanishing into a sent folder. The office can see every replacement quote still waiting on a yes and which inspection it came from, and book the follow-up call from there. A declined estimate stays on the property record too, so the next storm call from that address starts with what was quoted last time.
Can it tell a small repair from a full replacement?
The booking and the estimate say which it is. A few lifted shingles or a cracked pipe boot is a repair visit with a small estimate; a worn-out roof over soft decking is a replacement estimate that becomes a crew job, with the tear-off, underlayment and materials in its notes. Keeping them apart stops a quick repair from taking a whole crew day on the calendar.
Where do material and warranty details go once the job is done?
They stay with the address. The shingle line and colour, the underlayment, the flashing replaced, the manufacturer warranty and your own workmanship warranty are notes on the closed job. When that homeowner calls about a leak years later, the office can read what was installed and whether it is a warranty visit before anyone climbs a ladder.
Does it work for commercial flat roofs as well as residential shingle work?
Yes — the record is the property and its roof, whatever the roof is. A TPO or EPDM membrane on a warehouse, a metal roof on a barn and asphalt shingles on a house each carry their own roof system notes, inspection findings and estimates. A commercial reroof is a crew job on the schedule like any other; it does not calculate squares or material quantities for you.
Does the AI receptionist answer storm calls on the free plan?
No. The free roofing software is the office side: customers, jobs, the pipeline and the calendar. Answering the phone through a storm surge, checking the service area and booking the inspection is the AI Receptionist, which comes with Copper. Until then, the calls your office takes go onto the same schedule by hand.
