How to Invoice Roofing Jobs (Including Insurance Claims)

Retail and insurance roofs are billed differently

Decide which kind of job you have when the contract is signed, because the payers, the timing and the paperwork all change.

On a retail roof, the homeowner pays your price on your schedule. On an insurance roof, the homeowner is still your customer and signs your contract, but most of the money comes from the insurer's settlement, the scope is tied to the adjuster's estimate, and a mortgage company may control when the money is released.

Put the payment terms for both cases in your contract before work starts: what the homeowner pays and when, who pays for hidden damage the claim doesn't cover, and how upgrades are billed. Rules for contracts tied to insurance claims vary by state (Texas, for one, requires a deductible notice, covered below), so have a local attorney review yours.

Tip: Emergency tarping before the adjuster's visit is a separate job. Invoice it on its own, with dated photos, so the homeowner can show it to the insurer.

Invoicing a retail roof

Bill a retail roof in two or three payments, and make the final invoice settle every allowance in your estimate.

A simple structure is a deposit at signing, to cover materials and hold the date, and the balance at completion. On larger or multi-day jobs you might add a payment when materials are delivered. How much to ask for up front, and whether your state limits down payments on home improvement work, is covered in how much deposit to ask for.

Nobody sees the deck until the old roof is off, so a good estimate prices that unknown as a decking allowance: a set number of sheets at a per-sheet price, with extra sheets at the same price (how to write a roofing estimate covers the wording). The final invoice is where that allowance meets the actual count.

Example: Your contract price is $14,000, including 4 sheets of decking at $75 per sheet installed, with extra sheets at the same price and unused sheets credited back. At tear-off you photograph and replace 9 sheets, and the homeowner approves the 5 extras. The final invoice shows the $14,000 contract price plus 5 sheets at $75 ($375), a revised total of $14,375, less the deposit you collected. Had you replaced only 2 sheets, it would credit 2 sheets ($150) instead, for a revised total of $13,850.

Anything outside the allowance language, such as a second layer of old shingles you didn't price or rotted rafters, is a change order. Get written approval before you cover it up. If your contract allows approvals by text or email, a message with photos and the price keeps the job moving while the roof is open. How to handle change orders covers the rest.

A retail final invoice should show:

• The scope as installed: squares, layers torn off, underlayment, ice barrier and drip edge where installed, flashing, vents and ridge
• The product installed (manufacturer, product line and color), which you'll want for warranty questions and future repairs
• The allowance reconciliation, with photos, and each approved change order by date
• The permit number and final inspection date, if the job had a permit
• Disposal, if you price it separately
• Payments received, the balance and its due date
• Your workmanship warranty terms, and who registers the manufacturer's warranty if it requires registration

How insurance money moves on a roof claim

On a replacement cost policy the insurer pays in pieces, and your invoices have to follow those pieces.

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) explains it this way for homeowners: with replacement cost coverage, the insurer pays with two checks. The first is the estimated cost of repairs minus depreciation and the deductible. The insurer pays the amount it kept for depreciation after it gets the bill for the finished job ¹. Policies and state rules differ, so confirm the payment terms on each claim from the insurer's paperwork.

Actual cash value coverage pays replacement cost minus depreciation, which TDI describes as a decrease in value because of wear and age ³. Put together, the first check on a replacement cost claim is the actual cash value minus the deductible, and the amount held back is recoverable depreciation, which your final invoice releases.

Before you order materials on a claim job, ask the homeowner for the insurer's estimate and payment paperwork, and write down five things: the replacement cost, the depreciation held back, the deductible, the amount of the first check, and whether a mortgage company is named on it.

Example: An adjuster's estimate puts a roof replacement at $18,000 replacement cost, with $4,000 of depreciation held back and a $1,000 deductible. The first insurance check is $18,000 minus $4,000 minus $1,000, or $13,000. The homeowner owes you the $1,000 deductible directly. When the roof is done and the insurer gets your final invoice, it releases the $4,000. Your $18,000 arrives as $13,000, then $1,000, then $4,000, and the last $4,000 only comes after the roof is finished and invoiced.

Collect the deductible and show it on the invoice

The deductible is the homeowner's share of the claim. Collect it from them, record it, and never waive or hide it.

On the invoice, the deductible isn't an extra charge. It's a payment toward your price that comes from the homeowner instead of the insurer. Show the full price, then the deductible as a payment received from the homeowner with its date and method, and give them a receipt.

Texas shows why the paper trail matters. It's illegal there for a contractor to offer to waive, rebate or absorb a policyholder's deductible. Insurance Code Chapter 707 requires the policyholder to pay it, and Business and Commerce Code Section 27.02 prohibits waiving or rebating it and requires contracts of $1,000 or more that involve an insurance settlement to include a notice that the policyholder must pay the deductible ⁴. TDI says violators could face a fine of up to $2,000 and up to six months in jail ⁵.

Texas insurers can also ask the policyholder for proof the deductible was paid before paying the full claim. TDI lists a canceled check, a money order receipt, a credit card statement or a copy of a payment plan with the contractor as examples ⁵. Your dated receipt and the deductible line on your final invoice make that proof easy to produce.

TDI also warns about the workaround of writing an estimate higher than the real cost and using the extra insurance money to cover the deductible ⁴. Don't pad a supplement or a line item to make up for a deductible you didn't collect. Rules in other states differ, so check with your state's insurance department or attorney general before you finalize your contract and invoice templates.

Supplements: billing for what the adjuster missed

A supplement asks the insurer to add items its estimate left out. Build it so the adjuster can approve it without another trip to the roof.

An insurance supplement is a request, with evidence, to add items to the claim. Check these against the adjuster's scope on every roof:

• Decking damage found at tear-off, counted sheet by sheet
• A second layer of old roofing the estimate didn't include
• Quantities: roof area, waste on a cut-up roof, and ridge, hip, valley and eave lengths
• Steep or two-story roof work, if the scope priced the roof as walkable
• Flashing, pipe boots, vents and other accessories the scope missed
• Items your local code requires on a re-roof, such as drip edge or an ice barrier, where your adopted code calls for them
• Permit fees, if the scope left them out

A supplement package should include:

1. Line items in the same units the adjuster used (squares, linear feet, each), so they drop straight into the estimate
2. Measurements, or the measurement report you used
3. Photos for every line, taken before you cover anything: a wide shot to show where, a close-up to show what
4. For code items, the code section your building department enforces, in writing if you can get it
5. Your price for each line

Send it as soon as you find the item, with the homeowner in the loop, so the insurer can decide it before your final invoice goes out. Because you can't leave a roof open while an adjuster decides, your contract should already price hidden items per unit and say who pays if the insurer says no.

The claim belongs to the homeowner. Keep your role to documenting and pricing your work, and before you argue coverage with an adjuster, ask your state insurance department what a contractor may do on a claim.

The final invoice that releases the depreciation

On a replacement cost claim, your final invoice is the bill for the finished job that TDI says the insurer needs before it pays the held-back depreciation ¹. Make it match the claim, and send it the day you finish.

Include:

• The insurer, claim number, policyholder name and property address
• The completion date, plus the permit number and final inspection date if there was a permit
• The approved scope line by line, in the adjuster's units, and each approved supplement
• The product installed: manufacturer, product line and color
• The total for the insured work
• Payments received: the first insurance check and the deductible, each with its date
• The balance due: held-back depreciation plus any approved supplement amounts not yet paid
• Completion photos, and any completion form the insurer or servicer uses, signed by the homeowner at your walk-through

Keep upgrades and uncovered work on a separate invoice to the homeowner. If they choose a heavier shingle line than the claim covers, the difference is retail work they pay for, and mixing it into the claim invoice makes the claim look bigger than the covered scope.

Example: Continuing the claim above, the insurer approved a supplement for 6 extra sheets of decking at $80 each ($480), and the homeowner chose an upgraded shingle line for $1,200 more. The insurance invoice reads:

Line	Amount
Roof replacement per approved claim scope	$18,000
Approved supplement: 6 sheets of decking	$480
Total insured work	$18,480
Less first insurance check	$13,000
Less deductible paid by homeowner (receipt attached)	$1,000
Balance due	$4,480

The $1,200 upgrade goes on its own invoice to the homeowner.

TDI describes the depreciation check as going to the policyholder ¹, and a mortgage company may be named on insurance checks too ². Unless your name is on the check, that money reaches you only when the homeowner pays your invoice, so put a due date for the balance in your contract and on the invoice, and follow up until the check arrives and clears. If it stalls, treat it like any past-due balance: how to collect overdue invoices covers reminders, payment plans and lien deadlines.

Mortgage company checks and staged releases

If the homeowner has a mortgage, plan for the insurance money to pass through the servicer in stages.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains that a home insurer generally pays a claim with a check made out to both the homeowner and the mortgage servicer or lender, because most mortgage agreements require it. The servicer typically releases part of the money before work begins, more as work progresses, and the rest once the job is finished and the home passes inspection ².

What that means for your invoices:

• Ask at the first meeting whether there's a mortgage, and check whether the first insurance check names the servicer.
• Line up your payment schedule with the servicer's release stages, and say in writing what's due if a release runs late.
• Give the homeowner a packet the servicer can use: your signed contract, the scope and price, your company details, proof of insurance, your license if your state licenses roofers, and your schedule.
• Ask the homeowner to request the servicer's final inspection the day you finish, since the last release waits on it.

Texas adds deadlines. The Texas Insurance Code requires the mortgage company to tell the homeowner its requirements for releasing the money within 10 days after it receives the check, and once the homeowner shows those requirements are met, the mortgage company has 10 days to release the funds ⁶. If you roof in Texas, put those dates on your follow-up calendar.

Lien waivers with each payment

Trade a lien waiver for each payment, and never give up rights for money you haven't received.

A lien waiver gives up your lien rights for the amount you've been paid. Homeowners paying with insurance money, and servicers releasing it, may ask for one with each payment. A few habits keep this clean:

• Tie each waiver to one payment: the first check, the deductible, the final balance.
• If you're paid by check, give a waiver that is conditional on the payment clearing, and an unconditional one only after the money is in your account.
• Collect waivers from your suppliers and any subcontracted crews as you pay them, so you can show the homeowner that the people you paid have released their claims.

Lien rights, deadlines and waiver forms are set by state law and differ from state to state. Use your state's required form if it has one, and have a construction attorney review your templates.

A quick check before you send

• Is the invoice going to the right payer, with the claim number on insurance work?
• Are allowances reconciled with photos, and change orders or supplements approved?
• Is the deductible shown as a homeowner payment, with a receipt?
• Are upgrades on their own invoice?
• Does it show the completion date, permit and inspection details, and the product installed?
• Is a lien waiver ready for the amount being paid?