A roofing bookkeeper handles the books at a company that tears off and replaces roofs, often on insurance claims. They post supplier bills, match each insurer and mortgage company check to its job, track deductibles, and cost every roof so the owner can tell which jobs made money.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Manage and maintain accurate financial records for roofing projects to ensure optimal job costing and cost control. Play a pivotal role in supporting the finance team by reconciling accounts and ensuring timely data entry and reporting. Contribute to overall business efficiency by providing precise and actionable financial insights.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee the maintenance of financial records and bookkeeping for roofing projects.
Perform regular job costing analysis to track project expenses and profitability.
Reconcile accounts, ensuring discrepancies are identified and resolved promptly.
Prepare financial reports and summaries for management review.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Enter and code invoices, receipts, and payments into the accounting system.
Perform daily reconciliations of bank and credit accounts to ensure accuracy.
Monitor cost allocations on roofing projects through detailed job costing records.
Coordinate with project managers and external vendors regarding financial discrepancies and updates.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Monthly financial report delivery rate: 100% on time.
Invoice processing accuracy: >98% accuracy rate.
Reconciliation discrepancy rate: <2% per month.
Timeliness of job costing updates: 95% updates within designated timeframes.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field preferred.
Minimum of 2 years of bookkeeping or accounting experience.
Proficiency in accounting software and Microsoft Office Suite.
Strong attention to detail, organizational skills, and ability to meet deadlines.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the home services or roofing industry.
Familiarity with construction/job costing software and practices.
Background working in a small to medium-sized business environment.
Prior experience collaborating with project management teams.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to sit or stand for prolonged periods while working at a desk.
Occasional lifting of files or office supplies up to 20 lbs.
Work in a typical office environment with standard lighting and temperature controls.
Minimal exposure to outdoor conditions when meeting with project teams, if necessary.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard work hours from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
Occasional overtime required during financial closing periods.
Limited travel required for coordination with field staff or vendors.
Primarily office-based with remote work opportunities as applicable.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $45,000 to $60,000 USD per year based on experience.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses as available.
Health, Dental, and Vision insurance provided.
401k plan participation with company match and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a growth-oriented company committed to excellence and innovation in the roofing industry.
Our culture fosters collaboration, continuous learning, and professional development.
We take pride in maintaining a workplace that is inclusive, supportive, and dedicated to our customers' satisfaction.
Our team is passionate about elevating career paths and contributing to a thriving business environment.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
The basics match any trade. What sets roofing apart is that one job can be paid by an insurer, a lender and a homeowner, and the crew may be paid by the square.
Insurance jobs pay in pieces
Storm work seldom pays in one check. Texas's insurance department says a replacement cost policy pays with two checks: part up front, the rest once repairs have started. New Jersey's insurance regulator says that when there's a mortgage, the check will likely be payable jointly to the homeowner and their mortgage lender, and the lender may release the money in steps as the work moves along. The bookkeeper tracks each expected payment by job. Source: Texas Department of Insurance: Replacing your roof.
The homeowner pays the deductible
Texas law says a contractor can't offer to waive the deductible, rebate it or absorb it, and insurers there may ask the homeowner for proof it was paid. Minnesota bars contractors from paying deductibles too. So the bookkeeper posts the deductible as its own payment from the homeowner, never as a discount or write-off. A credit on an insurance job that matches the deductible gets a second look. Source: Texas Department of Insurance: Roofing and insurance, know the law.
One roof, a pile of bills
A single re-roof can draw costs from the supplier's delivery, the dumpster, the permit, the crew's pay sheet and a sub's invoice, less a credit for unused bundles sent back. A supplement the insurer approves weeks later changes the price. The bookkeeper ties each line to the job before it closes. If sales reps earn commission on job profit, a bill posted late means a commission paid too high.
Crews paid by the square
Roofing crews are often paid by the square, which is a piece rate. For employees, that doesn't end overtime. Federal rules add the week's piece earnings to any other pay for hours worked, such as hourly shop time, and divide by all hours worked. On top of that straight pay, every hour past 40 gets half the rate again. The bookkeeper checks pay sheets against hours before payroll runs. State law can add to this. Source: 29 CFR 778.111: Pieceworker (Cornell LII).
Subcontracted crews have their own trail
When sub crews work next to your own, the bookkeeper holds a sub's check until the paperwork the company requires is on file, posts each payment to the job, and, where IRS rules call for it, reports the year's total on Form 1099-NEC, the form for pay to people who aren't employees. Whether a crew counts as a sub at all is a question for the owner and CPA. Source: IRS: About Form 1099-NEC, nonemployee compensation.
Residential vs. commercial roofing bookkeeping
Both jobs keep the books and cost every job. How the money arrives is what changes.
Topic
Residential
Commercial
Who pays
Homeowners, insurers, and mortgage companies
Property owners and managers, plus general contractors
How jobs are billed
One price per roof, due at or after the install
Progress bills each month, measured against the contract's line items
Money held back
The insurer's second check and the homeowner's deductible
Retainage, kept back until closeout
Payroll extras
Piece-rate crews and sales commissions
Certified payroll each week on federal or federally assisted work
Job length
Usually days on the roof, not weeks
Weeks or months, billed as the work moves along
How much roofing bookkeepers make
The closest BLS group for roofing bookkeepers is bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for roofing contractors earned a median of $26.59 an hour ($55,300 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $50,670 median for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in all industries. About 3,320 of the 1,373,680 bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in that survey work for roofing contractors.
Hourly pay or a salary, and some owners add a bonus for clean, on-time closes. Whether overtime is owed turns on the duties, not just on paying a salary.
Roofing contractors
$55,300$55,300 median Middle half $45,200–$62,510 10th–90th $34,690–$75,840
All industries
$50,670$50,670 median Middle half $43,520–$61,470 10th–90th $36,000–$74,550
$20k$30k$40k$50k$60k$70k$80k$90k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Roofing contractors
$34,690
$45,200
$55,300
$62,510
$75,840
All industries
$36,000
$43,520
$50,670
$61,470
$74,550
BLS reports residential and commercial roofing contractors together. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Reconciling the bank, credit card and supplier statements monthly, and clearing old items
Job costing: tying every bill and pay sheet to a job
Payroll experience, including overtime on piece-rate or commission pay
Calling suppliers and project managers to clear up mismatches
Keeping customer, claim, and pay details private
Teach these on the job
Your roofing CRM and the data it passes to accounting
How insurance claims, supplements, and second checks work
Roofing terms on supplier bills: squares, bundles, underlayment, drip edge
Your sales commission plan and crew pay rates
Your supplier accounts, rebates, and return credits
Expect QuickBooks Online linked to the roofing CRM (AccuLynx, JobNimbus and similar), plus supplier portals and a payroll service. Tell candidates which ones you run, and whether supplements and payments sync into the books or someone enters them by hand.
Roofing bookkeeper interview questions
They have their own page: 6 questions that test this job, what strong and weak answers sound like, and a work exercise to run with your finalists.
The template's numbers are placeholders. Your CPA can help you swap in targets drawn from last year's closes. Expect storm season to test them.
Monthly financial report delivery rate
Log the date the income statement, balance sheet and job profit report reach the owner each month, against the deadline you agreed on. Note what held up any late month, such as a missing supplier statement.
Invoice processing accuracy
Once a month, review a sample of entered supplier bills and customer invoices for the right amount, job and account. Add in any fixes your CPA or project managers send back.
Reconciliation discrepancy rate
Count the lines on bank, card and supplier statements that didn't match the books at month-end, out of all lines. Write down why each one happened, such as an insurance check posted to the wrong job.
Timeliness of job costing updates
Measure the days from a supplier bill, crew pay sheet or sub invoice arriving to its cost showing on the right job. Review closed jobs before any commission on them is paid.
Career path
Accounts payable or billing clerkEnters supplier invoices, applies insurance checks, and learns the job codes.
BookkeeperCosts each roof, prepares payroll inputs, and closes the books monthly.
ControllerReviews the bookkeeper's work, forecasts cash through storm season, and reports to lenders.
They record what comes in and goes out for a roofing company. That covers supplier bills, crew and sub payments, reconciling the bank and card accounts, and the month-end reports. On insurance jobs they track each check, the deductible and any supplement by job. They also keep job costs current, so the owner and sales managers can see what each roof made.
How much does a roofing bookkeeper make?
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for roofing contractors earned a median of $26.59 an hour ($55,300 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $45,200 and $62,510 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Why does a roofing bookkeeper care about supplements?
When the insurer's first estimate leaves something out, such as tearing off a second layer of shingles or adding drip edge that was missing, the roofer asks for it to be added. That request is a supplement. A sales rep or a supplement specialist usually handles it, not the bookkeeper. But each approved supplement changes the job's price, so the bookkeeper updates the invoice and the payments still expected, then checks that the money arrives.
Should the roofing bookkeeper figure sales commissions?
The bookkeeper often prepares the numbers, but a manager should approve them. If your plan pays reps on job profit, the commission is only as good as the job costing behind it. One simple rule: no commission until the job is closed and paid in full. Put the plan in writing so reps, the bookkeeper and the owner read it the same way.
Does a roofing bookkeeper need construction accounting experience?
It helps more than general office experience. Someone who has costed jobs for a builder or another trade already knows how to tie bills to jobs and read a job profit report. Insurance claim payments are the part most new hires have to learn. Walk them through a few finished storm jobs, from the first check to the final payment.
Bookkeeper or controller: which does a roofing company need?
A bookkeeper records the daily activity and reconciles the accounts. A controller reviews that work, owns the close, builds the cash forecast, and works for the owner or CFO. At this revenue, a capable bookkeeper with outside CPA support often covers it until more crews and branches call for a controller.
