As a roofing contractor who’s used to handling manual takeoffs instead of using estimating software, you’ll know how time-consuming a process it can be to put together an accurate quote to bid on a project.
You have to chase architects or potential clients for copies of plans, sort through and print what you need, and then start a time-consuming manual process.
Drawing, measuring, scaling and calculating areas – making sure to take and keep notes at every step of the way. Then you need to create a spreadsheet, input the values, the correct sums, and your own rates. Finally, you need to double check everything to make sure you’ve not made a mistake.
Roofing contractors claim this process can take up to five hours. Independent tests have verified that number, and we agree that this process is far too time-consuming. So we developed RapidBid roofing estimate software to speed up the process. Here’s how it works:
- Download a PDF plan from your client, or use an aerial view from Google Maps or Apple Maps
- Use RapidBid’s suite of easy to use tools to measure areas and scale them automatically, taking into account pitches as well as waste.
- Finalize your quote by using RapidBid to automatically generate a spreadsheet using the totals from the takeoff and your pre-loaded prices and rates
- Send the final price to your client.
You don’t need to visit a site to use RapidBid. From the comfort of your chair, you can calculate the areas of any roofing project you’re bidding on. Areas, hips, valley and ridges – all without having to leave the office.
It’s no wonder that RapidBid is faster than a manual takeoff, especially when pre-programmed assemblies to calculate the components you need for your project.