As Sue Drummond, Solutions Delivery Manager for Residential Exteriors, shared from her years of working directly in the roofing industry and helping contractors adopt technology, "I've heard the stories. I've heard it in the pop-ups. And I'm honestly telling you that a lot of them are the same. It's the same story. And it starts with a lack of efficiency."
The problems plaguing roofing contractors are systemic and predictable:
Duplication of work - Multiple team members collecting the same information in different ways. For example, the salesperson notes the shingle color, but then the production team enters it again elsewhere—sometimes with discrepancies that create problems down the line.
Gaps in workflow - On the opposite end, critical tasks fall through the cracks due to a lack of accountability. This leads to reactive management, where production teams spend their time problem-solving on job sites instead of proactively preparing for the next project.
Technology fragmentation - Teams end up using seven different apps that don't communicate with each other, creating gaps in information flow and eliminating any central source of truth.
Complete and Accurate Information
At Pantheon 2025, Drummond emphasized a fundamental truth that drives profitability: "We really need to be generating our estimates with complete and accurate pricing. And if we're doing that, then we're going to be able to ensure that we've got stronger margins."
Complete information means your sales team collects everything your production team needs to know on the first visit. As Drummond explained: "If they didn't note that it is a custom-sized skylight on the estimate, then your production team doesn't realize they need to order that six weeks in advance. And that's going to cause you problems down the line in production."
Historically, the challenge has been asking sales teams to invest this effort on jobs they might not even win. "The salesperson rushes through things, loses information, or is simply just more focused on building a relationship with the homeowner sitting at the table rather than spending the time that they should on proof or drawing up the estimates."
Spec-Based Estimating: From 30 Minutes to 4
The breakthrough solution Drummond and Lioy demonstrated is spec-based estimating—a system that reduces estimate creation time from 30 minutes to just 4 minutes while improving accuracy and consistency.
Ryan Lioy, Manager of Enterprise Residential Exteriors Success, explained the technical foundation: "In ServiceTitan, we have what are called forms. These are fillable fields that exist at both the office level and on the mobile tablet. And it's basically collecting information you need to use in a lot of different ways."
The system works through three integrated components:
Customizable forms - Forms tailored to specific services, such as reroofing, with fields designed to capture precise measurements and job details.
Automated calculations - The "magic," as Lioy described it, lies in Excel files integrated with templates that house rules and calculations. When a customer needs 20 squares of roofing, the template automatically calculates the required shingles, underlayment, and other materials.
Multiple option generation - The system automatically creates good, better, best scenarios, leveraging the ServiceTitan principle that offering multiple options naturally increases the average ticket without additional cost.
Advanced Form Optimization
Drummond shared specific strategies for maximizing spec-based templates:
Conditional logic - Use qualifying questions to streamline the form experience. For example, "Is there a skylight on this roof?" If yes, additional skylight-specific questions appear. If no, those questions remain hidden, keeping the workflow focused.
Strategic field types - Use manual entry for measurements that require specific inputs, but leverage dropdowns and radio buttons for standard selections to make choices quick and easy.
Complete scenario planning - Consider every possible situation salespeople might encounter and build qualifying questions for each scenario.
Eliminating Manual Effort
Lioy highlighted ServiceTitan's partnerships with the three major measurement providers: GAF QuickMeasure, EagleView, and HoverView. This integration streamlines the measurement process by allowing contractors to:
Order measurement reports directly within ServiceTitan
Automatically save photos to jobs
Receive measurement PDFs attached to jobs
Pull measurements directly into spec-based forms.
The result is the elimination of manual measurement effort while maintaining accuracy and creating a complete digital record tied to both the job and location for future reference.
Real-Time Cost Management Through Supplier Integration
Drummond addressed one of the most critical aspects of accurate estimating: current material costs. "If we are multiplying that quantity by an inaccurate cost, then we're throwing off everything. Your estimate is not accurate, and you cannot predict those margins."
Dynamic Pricing Integration
ServiceTitan's integration with major suppliers (SRS, ABC Supply, and Beacon) provides several advantages:
Automated price updates: Material pricing updates nightly, ensuring estimates reflect current market conditions.
Account-specific pricing: Integration pulls contractor-specific pricing negotiated with supplier representatives.
Complete material specifications: Items are accompanied by detailed descriptions, product images, and current pricing.
Procurement Workflow Automation
The integration extends beyond estimating into procurement. When jobs are won, the estimate automatically generates procurement lists. With one click, estimate items become purchase orders, sorted by:
Materials from warehouse inventory versus supplier orders
Items shipped to the shop versus direct delivery to job sites
Default settings that can be customized per material type
The Reporting Imperative
Lioy's passion for reporting was unmistakable: "I was a reporting specialist in a previous life, and if you ever come see me, I'm going to bring the conversation back to reporting. I don't care what your favorite feature is in ServiceTitan. I guarantee the reporting touches it."
Lioy emphasized that contractors generate massive amounts of data—from leads and calls to marketing attribution, estimates, revenue, and accounts receivable. "If you're not using these data points, you're not going to get the maximized value that you need to actually use ServiceTitan the way that it was meant to be used."
Critical Reporting Categories for Exteriors
Project reporting - Essential for managing complex exterior workflows involving permits, subcontractors, and material orders. Custom project statuses and sub-statuses help teams understand project stages and required next actions.
Gross margin reporting - Available at both job and project levels, factoring in revenue, material costs, inventory expenses, and technician costs (whether payroll, commission, or timesheet-based).
Budget vs. actual analysis - Compares estimated projections with actual costs throughout project completion, enabling analysis by business unit, sales representative, or other pivot points.
Estimate and purchasing analytics: Granular analysis of estimate performance, sales representative effectiveness, vendor cost comparison, and material sourcing optimization.
Building Predictable Profitability
The ultimate goal of complete information gathering extends beyond individual job success to business-wide predictability.
Drummond explained: "When you are doing that consistently, from customer to customer, from salesperson to salesperson, then you can predict your margins, which means that you can offer discounts, you can stay competitive in your market, and know that you can drop your points on that job because you're still going to make money."
Implementation Strategy: The System Approach
Lioy emphasized thinking about these features as components of a larger system: "The features that we're going to show off today are meant to fit together to provide a seamless experience across the lifecycle of the company."
The integrated approach means:
Spec-based estimates feed directly into procurement systems
Measurement integrations populate forms automatically
Supplier integrations ensure current pricing at the estimate and purchase stages
Reporting systems track performance across all touchpoints
Mobile accessibility ensures field teams can execute efficiently
The session featured a testimonial from WeatherPro: "The ServiceTitan platform has been a game-changer for our growth. Since adopting the platform, we've increased our revenue by 25.4% and boosted profitability."
This result reinforces Lioy's core principle: "Just because we're increasing revenue doesn't mean we're making more profit. That's why we have to look at our margins."
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