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Replacing legacy programsWhat does a custom roofing app replace, and when is off-the-shelf roofing software the better pick?
A Blue Crane Roofing Division app replaces the stack most Ontario roofing offices run on: an aerial report ordered per roof, a roofing CRM, a photo app, an e-signature service, a group chat for crews and a spreadsheet for hours. Blue Crane Works, in Hamilton, Ontario, builds it around one company, with one price and no per-user fees. Off-the-shelf software is the better pick for a one-person company happy with the standard flow.
- Aerial report per roof
- Roofing CRM
- Photo app
- E-signature
- Crew group chat
- Paper timesheets
Illustration of a typical office stack
What does the Roofing Division replace, tool by tool?
Here is the stack we usually find, and what takes its place. The product names are examples of each kind, not a judgement of them; they are good products built for a very large number of companies at once. For their current prices, read each vendor's own pricing page.
| Job | What offices usually use | In the Roofing Division |
|---|---|---|
| Measuring the roof | A paid aerial measurement report per roof (EagleView, Roofr, Hover) | Measured from the address with Ontario's open lidar, no fee per roof |
| Material list | A spreadsheet, or the supplier's counter | Counted from the measure, priced at your supplier's prices |
| Leads, estimates, jobs | A roofing CRM (AccuLynx, JobNimbus) or a field service app (Jobber) | The same app, shaped to how you sell |
| Signature and deposit | An e-signature service plus a payment processor | Signed from a link, deposit into your own Stripe account |
| Photos and reports | A photo app (CompanyCam) and a phone's camera roll | The on-site report: photos with the words spoken, one PDF |
| Scheduling and dispatch | A whiteboard, a shared calendar, a group chat | A dispatch board that only takes signed work |
| Hours and payroll | Paper timesheets or a separate time clock app | The crew app's clock, hours by pay period, a payroll download |
How is a custom roofing app different from a roofing CRM?
Three ways that show up on the bill and on the screen. Whose process: a CRM has one way to move a roof from lead to paid, and you fit to it; the Roofing Division is shaped around how your company already sells, schedules and builds. Whose name: the app carries your company's name, logo and letterhead, not ours. How it is priced: one price for the company, from a $1,995 build and $249 a month, or $0 down from $419 a month for the first year, so hiring a crew never raises it. You also call the person who built it, not a support queue.
When is off-the-shelf roofing software the better choice?
When you work alone or with one helper, the standard flow suits you, and you would rather sign up tonight than spend a morning showing someone how your company works. When you need a feature on day one that we have not built, such as files written in an insurer's own estimating system. And when you are happy paying per roof for aerial reports because you sell few enough roofs that it never adds up. If that is you, keep what you have.
How does a roofing company switch without losing a season?
In the order the work moves. A call, then a morning with you and the people who do the work, mapping how a roof moves from the first call to the paid invoice. You get a written scope with the screens, who sees what, what it replaces and the price. We load your price book and your supplier's sheet, your terms and your crews, measure a few of your own past roofs so you can compare them against what you already know, and read in your open estimates rather than retyping them. Most offices run the old and the new side by side for a few weeks and stop paying for the old one when they are ready.
What does it cost compared with the stack?
The Roofing Division is from a $1,995 build and $249 a month, or $0 down from $419 a month for the first year, with no fee per user, per roof or per report. All prices in Canadian dollars, plus HST. Add up what the stack above costs your company today, including the aerial reports at your volume and every seat, and compare. We do not print other companies' prices because they change; their own pricing pages are the place to read them. The full breakdown is on the Roofing Division overview.
See it on a roof you already know
Book a 30-minute walkthrough. Bring the address of a roof you have already done, and we measure it with you so you can judge the number against one you know. Then we walk the material list, the proposal, the dispatch board and the crew app, and you tell us how your company works. You leave with a straight answer about what your own app would take and cost. Prices in Canadian dollars, plus HST.
Book a 30-minute walkthrough Call 905-570-5344