Most roofing companies that run short on cash are not losing money on the roof. They are financing the homeowner. A 50% down, 50% at completion schedule means you pay for the material delivery, the tear-off crew and the dry-in inspection out of your own pocket, then spend two weeks after the final inspection asking for the second half. This guide lays out a draw schedule that matches money to milestones, the contract language that goes with it, and the collection habit that keeps you from chasing checks.
The problem with 50/50
On a typical residential re-roof, the expensive part of the job happens in the middle. Material lands on the driveway. The tear-off crew is paid on Friday. Rotted decking gets replaced. By the time the dry-in inspection passes, you have spent well over half the job's cost, and under a 50/50 schedule you have collected exactly half of the price.
Then the job finishes and the homeowner has the roof. Your leverage is gone. The final check comes when they get around to it.
A four-draw schedule that tracks the cost curve
This is the structure we run on retail re-roofs. The percentages are a starting point; the milestones are the part that matters.
| Draw | When | Share | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Contract signed | 30% | Permit, engineering or product-approval package, material deposit, scheduling |
| 2 | Dry-in inspection passed | 40% | Tear-off labor, decking repairs, underlayment, the bulk of the material bill |
| 3 | Roof covering complete | 20% | Shingle, tile or metal installed, flashings and penetrations done |
| 4 | Final inspection passed | 10% | Walk-through, punch list, cleanup, warranty delivered |
Two things make this work. Every draw is tied to something the homeowner can see, and every draw lands before you spend the money for the next stage. The 40% dry-in draw is the one that saves companies. It arrives right after your heaviest cash outlay, and it comes with an inspection approval the homeowner can look at.
Wood replacement: never estimate it, unit-price it
The single most common payment argument on a re-roof is the wood bill. You find rot after tear-off, replace it, and the homeowner hears about the extra cost for the first time on the invoice.
Solve it in the contract, before you ever get on the roof:
- Put a unit price in the agreement. "Plywood decking replaced as needed at $X per 4x8 sheet. Fascia replaced as needed at $Y per linear foot. Billed as found after tear-off."
- Photograph every sheet before it comes out and after the new one goes in. Number the sheets in chalk so the photos and the invoice match.
- Bill the wood on the dry-in draw as its own line, with the photos attached. Not at the end of the job.
When the homeowner sees six photos of six rotted sheets alongside a line that says six sheets at the price they already agreed to, there is no argument. There is a bill.
Florida rules that shape the schedule
If you work in Florida, two rules affect how you structure and collect payments.
The 10% deposit rule. Under Florida Statute 489.126, if you collect more than 10% of the contract price up front on a residential job, you must apply for the permit within 30 days of receiving that money and begin the work within 90 days after the permit is issued. A 30% first draw is fine, but it starts a clock. Keep permit applications moving and document the dates.
Insurance jobs run on a different schedule. On a claim, the carrier pays actual cash value first and releases recoverable depreciation when the work is complete and invoiced. Your draws follow the carrier's payments, and the homeowner's deductible is due to you in full. Never advertise or agree to absorb a deductible. Florida treats that as insurance fraud, for the contractor and the homeowner.
Trade every check for a lien release
Florida lien law lets subs and suppliers file against a homeowner's property if they go unpaid, and homeowners who have been burned once know it. Hand over a partial waiver and release of lien with every draw, and a final release with the last one. Florida publishes statutory forms in Chapter 713.20 and they take two minutes to fill in.
Offering the release before you are asked does two things. It reassures the homeowner that paying you is safe, and it removes the last reason to delay a draw.
Collect the day the milestone lands
A schedule on paper does nothing if the office sends the invoice a week later. The habit that makes this work:
- Request the draw the same day. The dry-in inspection passes at 10 a.m. The draw request goes out by noon with the inspection approval and the deck photos.
- Make paying a link, not a chore. Card or ACH, from the phone, in under a minute. A homeowner who has to find a checkbook and a stamp will pay next week. One who taps a Pay button pays today.
- Show the milestone with the ask. The question behind every late draw is "is it really done?" A photo of the finished stage answers it before it gets asked.
- Remind at 48 hours, not two weeks. A short, friendly reminder two days later collects most of the stragglers. Waiting two weeks turns a reminder into a collection call.
- Hold the next stage on an unpaid draw. If the dry-in draw is not in, the covering does not start. Say so in the contract, and say it kindly when it happens. It rarely has to happen twice.
Sample contract language
Adapt this to your own agreement:
Payment schedule: 30% upon signing; 40% upon passing dry-in inspection; 20% upon completion of roof covering; 10% upon passing final inspection and walk-through. Decking and fascia replacement billed at the unit prices above as found after tear-off and documented by photograph. Each payment is exchanged for a partial waiver and release of lien; the final payment for a final release. Work on the next stage begins when the prior draw is received.
Where a customer portal fits
Everything above works with a clipboard and a phone. It works better when the homeowner has one place to see the stage the job is in, the photos from that stage, the documents they have signed, and the draw that is due, with a Pay button next to it. That is what the homeowner portal is for: the draw shows up the moment the milestone lands, the receipt shows up when it clears, and nobody has to call anybody to ask what is happening.