Quoting software for roofers.
A roof quote lives or dies on two numbers that are not the roof. What the access costs, and what happens when the job runs past the hire period. TradeDraft is built so both are on the quote as their own lines, priced before you start, instead of coming out of the margin in week four.
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The scaffold is part of the price, not an afterthought
Access is often the second-largest figure on a re-roof and the one most likely to be swallowed. The rate book keeps it as two separate items: supply, erect and strike, and then hire beyond the first period. They are two different risks. The first is known on the day you price it. The second is the one that costs you when the weather turns.
Both print as ordinary lines on the customer’s quote, so an overrun is a conversation about a figure they have already seen rather than an argument at the end.
Dry fix, mortar, and being specific on the document
Ridge and verge are priced separately for dry fix and for mortar bedding, because they are not the same job and not the same money. Whichever you are pricing is named on the quote, so what the customer agreed to is on the page, not in a phone call neither of you wrote down.
Insulation at rafter or ceiling level sits in the same rate book. Where it qualifies as an energy-saving material the VAT treatment differs. You pick the rate the job qualifies for, and our VAT and CIS guide sets out the conditions.
What is under the tiles, agreed before it is lifted
Nobody prices a re-roof knowing the state of the battens. The standard terms already say that where something could not reasonably have been seen when you quoted, you stop, say what you have found, and price it for approval before going on. When that happens, it becomes an Additional Works sheet with its own price and its own signature — agreed at the time, rather than argued about against the final invoice.
Solar panels are increasingly part of that: stripping and refitting them is a real cost on a re-roof and it has its own line. More on how changes are handled in handling variations. Money held back until the job is signed off is covered in retention in construction.
Staged payments, and retention where it applies
Sending one invoice when the scaffold comes down means carrying the whole roof on your own money. Payment can be split into stages against the work (scaffold up, strip and felt, covering complete) so you are paid as the job moves.
Where a main contractor holds retention, it is shown on the face of the document as a deduction with a release date, not quietly left off. It is never switched on for you: you decide whether it applies.
Weather, and not being blamed for it
The standard terms name severe weather, supply failure and utility works as things that move the dates rather than breach the contract. It is one clause, it is on every quote you send, and it is there before the week you need it.
What it has nothing to do with
It does not design scaffold, produce a working-at-height assessment, or write a CDM plan. It does not read the weather or schedule your gangs. What it holds is the roof's paperwork: the quote with the access priced, the customer's signature, what turned up under the tiles, and each staged invoice.
Questions worth asking first
Can I price the scaffold separately from the roof?
Yes, and the rate book keeps two separate items for it: supply, erect and strike, and hire beyond the first period. They are different risks, so they are different lines, and both print on the customer’s quote.
Does it handle retention on a contractor job?
Yes. Retention is shown on the face of the document as a deduction with a release date, and the payment schedule still adds up to the contract sum. It is opt-in, and a trade default never switches a holdback on for you.
How much is it?
£45 a month or £450 a year, flat, with no per-user charge. Start by 5 April and it’s £22.50 a month for your first 12 months.