Start with your local winter, not a national average

A northern crew facing snow has a different winter from a contractor in a mild coastal market. Review your own completed jobs and weather delays before assuming a seasonal sales drop. Roofing Contractor recently explored this subject in a Watercress Financial-sponsored article. Our focus here is an operating worksheet you can adapt, not a financing recommendation.

List the next thirteen weeks. Separate cash already collected, signed work awaiting payment and unsold opportunities. Put each expense on its actual payment date. Keep payroll, insurance, vehicles and supplier commitments visible even during weeks with no installation.

Test a delayed-job scenario

Make a second version of the forecast where a scheduled installation moves and its expected collection moves with it. Do not move supplier or payroll obligations unless you have actually agreed new terms. The first negative weekly balance tells you when to act.

  • Confirm missing invoice details before payment is due.
  • Ask customers about unresolved acceptance or documentation questions.
  • Review discretionary purchases before committing.
  • Discuss timing changes with suppliers early; record the agreement.

Sell only the winter work you can deliver

Consider a clearly defined repair or maintenance offer only where your team, insurance, site conditions and manufacturer requirements support it. An inquiry is not permission to work on an unsafe roof. Use qualified supervision to decide whether the work can proceed; consult OSHA residential construction resources.

Give the office a written intake checklist: issue, location, access, reported active water entry and next review time. Avoid promising a same-day repair before the field team confirms feasibility.

Run a Friday cash and customer review

Compare forecast collections with actual receipts, then call out the next two weeks of decisions. Assign one person to every overdue question and promised callback. Track completed work, collected cash and weather-driven reschedules separately. More inquiries are useful only if the business can handle the resulting commitments.

Use our weekly cash-flow guide for the base worksheet and your accountant for company-specific financing or tax decisions.