Have you ever wondered how to pay for your roofing job? Are you stressed about what options you have and not knowing when you’ll be expected to pay?
At RoofSmart, we do hundreds of roofing jobs per year, and we have walked customers through the payment process with every single job. We believe that everyone should have access to a clear explanation of all the big questions about paying for a roof.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- Which payments RoofSmart accepts
- How our financing programs work
- When you’ll be expected to pay
- Where you can see how much you owe
You’ll walk away knowing your payment options and how the payment process works. You’ll be fully prepared to choose how you’d like to pay for your roof and will breeze through the payment process with ease.
How can I pay for my roof?
The payment methods that we accept are:
- Cash
- Check
- E-check
- Credit card
- Financing
- Bitcoin
Excluding Bitcoin, these are all pretty standard payment options in the roofing industry. The most common payment methods our customers use are cash, check, and financing.
When you get an invoice from us, there will be a link to pay electronically using an e-check or a credit card. Using an e-check is a popular option because there are no extra fees associated with it.
When paying with a credit card, you will be charged the processing fee that the credit card company requires. This is usually about 3% of the purchase price.
You must pay in person to use cash, but there are no fees associated with it.
We are still eagerly anticipating the first customer to pay for a roof with Bitcoin. If you’re interested in paying with Bitcoin, be sure to mention it during your roof inspection and we will provide more information and arrange for a wallet address for your transaction.
How does financing work with RoofSmart?
You will have plenty of options to get qualified for financing because we have multiple banks to choose from. Generally, to get approved for financing you must have a credit score of at least 630 and about a 45% debt-to-income ratio.
The application process only takes a few minutes to complete. You simply click the link that we will send you via email and then you’ll enter your information into the online form. The main things that the banks want to know are your annual income and your credit score.
For more information on this process, check out our page on financing with RoofSmart.
Most of the time, you can see right away if you’ve been approved. If your application needs to be reviewed further, it will tell you and you’ll typically hear back in about an hour.
There can be some flexibility regarding the credit score and debt-to-income ratio, but that depends on your individual circumstances. If you’re looking for some flexibility here then make sure that either your credit score or your debt-to-income ratio is really strong.
The most common financing program that customers use is 0% interest for 18 months. Some go for shorter periods as well. With these programs, you’ll have a certain amount of time to pay off the loan without interest. If you do not pay in full by the end of that window, the bank will go back and charge you interest for that entire window of time.
If that program won’t work for you, you can choose to pay off the loan with a low fixed interest over 180 months. This is a good way to keep your payments relatively low and you do not have the pressure of paying the loan quickly over 18 months or less. We have other programs too. And depending on your personal situation we can typically customize a payment plan that best enables you to get your project completed as easily as possible.
When should I pay for my roof?
Once you accept the proposal you and your estimator (also known as a Meticulous Roofing Nerd), your roofing job will be added to the schedule and then send out an invoice asking that you pay the initial deposit (if you haven’t already), which is ⅓ of the project’s total cost, before the job begins.
After the roof is completed, you will receive the final invoice to make the rest of your payment. You can pay right away if you are using cash, e-check, or a credit card. There’s a link in the invoice for these electronic payment options.
If you are financing the roof, then you will not pay until the roof is complete and your payment plan is set up. With a financing plan, you are not required to pay the initial deposit, but sometimes our customers choose to pay it because it will make their future payments lower.
In most situations, you will pay a portion at the beginning and the rest upon completion, but if the job is going to take a lot longer than usual (up to several weeks or months) then we will ask that you make progress payments throughout the time that we are working on your roof. The frequency and amount of these payments vary depending on what the remodeling project or roof job will require and how long it will take. Each situation is unique.
Finding an issue that adds several weeks to the project is very rare. A roofing job will take longer if you choose a more complex project that requires more time and a higher level of expertise to install, such as getting a new roof deck.
Where can I see payment information for my roof?
The best way to check your balance is to look at the invoices that we send you. The first invoice will have the entire payment that you owe us at the top, including the amount you’ll need to pay for taxes (this varies from city to city) at the bottom.
The amount you’ll pay for the initial deposit will be calculated for you. You can find that number in the body of that first invoice.
Our standard amount for an initial deposit is 1/3 of the total price on the proposal, but some customers choose to pay up to 50% for their initial deposit. This is something that you can discuss with your Meticulous Roofing Nerd as you are crafting the proposal together.
When you pay the initial deposit, that will be taken off of your total balance. This will be reflected on your final invoice.
If the project is longer than usual, we will send invoices throughout the project. The quantity of payments you make and their amounts will vary depending on what work we do to your roof. This will all be discussed with you ahead of the roof job so there are no surprises.
It is possible that while we work on your roof we may discover an issue that we could not see during the inspection. In these cases, we will typically go through a standard change order procedure, which often means we’ll call you to discuss solutions and how much they will cost. As needed, change orders will be sent out and the added cost will appear on your final invoice.
If you are financing your roof, you will easily be able to see how much you owe each month when the payment plan is finalized and you are issued a statement with your balance each month.
How to get started with RoofSmart
Instead of feeling stressed and unsure about what you’ll be asked to do when the time comes to pay, you’re now familiar with options for paying for your roof and how that process works. And since you’ve had time to consider which payment method will work best for you, when the time comes to pay for your roof you’ll be ready.
Now that you’re familiar with our process, the next step is to get started with an inspection: simply give us a call at (206) 487-4877 or fill out this short form to contact us and get the process started today. We look forward to helping you with your roofing needs!
Jim Singleterry
Jim Singleterry is the founder of RoofSmart™ and a leading authority in the American roofing and gutter industry. A second-generation builder, Jim was raised on his father’s job sites in California, developing a foundational "boots-on-the-ground" expertise before earning a Computer Science degree from Washington State University. Jim is what happens when you combine technical, data-driven precision with the grit of a master tradesman. While he spent years in leadership at industry giants like LeafFilter® and founded the Seattle market's premier gutter company, Leafless in Seattle®, his true differentiator is his relentless commitment to the field. Over the last 15 years, Jim has personally consulted on over 3,000 individual projects—maintaining a staggering pace of 200 personal site visits per year. This deep, hands-on data set allows Jim to provide homeowners with "expert-biased" advice that most contractors simply cannot match. He doesn't just manage projects; he diagnoses them with a level of technical accuracy rarely seen in the trades. An Amazon Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Jim co-authored Empathy and Understanding in Business with legendary FBI negotiator Chris Voss, bringing the art of tactical empathy to the home improvement experience. As a member of the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) and the Roofing Contractors of Washington (RCAW), Jim continues to lead RoofSmart™ with a simple, uncompromising mission: providing the Competence, Integrity, and Value that every homeowner deserves.
