Aerial measurement

Satellite or drone-derived roof takeoff producing square footage, pitch and facet counts. The basis of accurate material ordering and of costing a job before it is sold.

Class code 5551

The NCCI workers’ compensation classification for Roofing — All Kinds and Drivers. Among the highest-rated classifications in construction, reflecting fall claim severity. Rates commonly run $15 to $35 per $100 of payroll.

Cost per sold job

Marketing spend divided by signed contracts, not by leads generated. A channel producing $80 leads that close at 5% costs $1,600 a job; a channel producing $300 leads that close at 40% costs $750.

Days sales outstanding

Receivables divided by revenue, multiplied by 365. Falls from 19.8 to 10.7 days as the consumer-financed share of jobs rises from 28% to 55%.

Experience modification rate

A multiplier applied to workers’ compensation premium reflecting a contractor’s claims history against the class average. A single serious claim resets it for three years.

Gross margin

Revenue less materials and crew labor, as a percentage of revenue. Not to be confused with net margin — the confusion is widely reported as the core error in the trade.

Net margin

Profit after tax as a percentage of revenue. The NRCA reports an industry average of 2.8%; well-run shops reach 10 to 15%.

SBA 7(a)

The Small Business Administration’s principal loan guarantee programme. Up to $5 million for almost any business purpose, requiring trading history and a minimum 1.10x debt service coverage ratio on loans of $350,000 or less.

SBA Microloan

Up to $50,000 through nonprofit CDFI intermediaries, explicitly designed for start-ups. Average loan around $13,000; many intermediaries accept credit scores from 575.

Square

The roofing unit of area: 100 square feet. Labor for basic asphalt shingle installation runs $150 to $300 per square; specialty systems exceed $300 to $600.

Supplier trade credit

Distributor credit lines on materials, extended on payment behaviour rather than financial statements. $346,000 by Year 5 at no interest cost — the largest working capital facility in the business and the one that never appears in a funding table.

Work in progress

Jobs started and not yet invoiced, carried at accumulated cost. A material balance in a trade where a replacement is completed in days but invoiced at completion.