Using AI to Understand Your Roofing Business Numbers

The real power of AI for roofers: understanding your own data

Most roofing businesses run on gut feel. You know which months are busy, which types of jobs pay well, and which customers are a headache. But you probably can't quantify it. AI changes that — not by writing emails, but by reading your actual business data and telling you what's happening.

What AI can analyse for you

Job profitability

If your job data is in Excel, Google Sheets, or a job management tool, you can ask AI:

With Copilot in Excel: "Analyse my job costs for the last 12 months. Break down by job type (re-roof, repair, maintenance). Show me which type has the highest profit margin and which has the lowest."

With Claude Cowork: Point it at your quote spreadsheet and your actual job cost spreadsheet. Ask: "Compare what I quoted vs what each job actually cost. Where am I consistently underquoting?"

This is the kind of analysis that would take an accountant 3 hours. AI does it in 30 seconds. And it's reading YOUR numbers, not giving generic advice.

Quote conversion

With Claude Cowork or Copilot: "Here are all my quotes from the last 6 months — which ones converted to jobs and which didn't? What's different about the ones that converted? Is it price, job type, area, or timing?"

You might discover that your residential re-roof quotes convert at 45% but your commercial quotes only convert at 15%. That tells you where to focus your effort.

Seasonal patterns

With Copilot in Excel: "Show me my revenue by month for the last 2 years. What's the pattern? When should I schedule my quiet periods for maintenance contract outreach?"

NZ roofing is seasonal — winter slows down. AI can tell you exactly when to push marketing, when to schedule maintenance work, and when to take holidays.

Customer value

With Claude Cowork: "Here are all my customers from the last 2 years. Which ones gave me repeat business? Which ones referred other customers? What do my best customers have in common?"

Most roofers don't track this. AI reads your data and tells you. You might find that body corporate work is 3x more valuable than one-off residential repairs.

Tools to use for this

The workflow

1. Export your data — from Xero, your job management tool, or wherever it lives. CSV or Excel format.
2. Open it in Excel with Copilot (or feed it to Claude Cowork)
3. Ask a real question about your business — not "write me a quote" but "what patterns do you see?"
4. Act on what you learn — raise prices where margins are thin, focus on the job types that convert, push marketing before your quiet season

What this replaces

Before: You guess. You feel like commercial jobs don't pay well but you're not sure. You think winter is slow but you don't know exactly when it starts.

After: You know. You have the numbers. You make decisions based on data, not gut feel. And it took 5 minutes, not 3 hours with an accountant.

Common mistakes

• Don't put customer personal data into free AI tools. Use paid Copilot/Claude which have data protection.
• Don't accept the analysis blindly. AI can misread your data. Check a few numbers yourself.
• Don't ask vague questions. "Analyse my data" gives you nothing. "Which job type has the best margin?" gives you an answer.
• Don't do this once. Run the analysis quarterly. Your business changes.

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Key Takeaways

• AI's real value for roofers is analysing YOUR business data, not writing generic text
• Copilot in Excel reads your spreadsheets and gives you job profitability analysis
• Claude Cowork can compare your quotes vs actual costs across files
• Quote conversion analysis tells you which jobs to focus on
• Seasonal analysis tells you when to push marketing and when to take holidays
• This replaces 3 hours with an accountant — takes 5 minutes

Disclaimer: This is general information about using AI tools with business data. Always verify AI-generated analysis against your own records. Protect customer personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020.