Where does a roofing company store materials between delivery and install?
Often in the yard, a rented container, a shop, or on the customer’s property until the crew arrives. Where they sit affects loss, weather damage and cash tied up. Ask for a walk through the yard and a record of what is held for which job.
Shingles, underlayment, flashing and fasteners arrive before the crew does, and they have to wait somewhere. Some owners keep them in a covered yard or shop. Others have the supplier drop them on the site, sometimes the day before. Each choice has a cost.
Visit the yard. Look at how materials are covered and kept off wet ground, whether leftovers are mixed in with new stock, and whether anything is damaged or old. Ask how the company knows what belongs to which job, and who signs for deliveries. Material left on a customer’s lawn can be stolen or ruined, and the loss usually lands on the roofer.
Think about cash too. Stock bought early for a job that has not started ties up money, and a supplier account may carry balances. Ask what is owed and whether leftover material is returned or reused. Consider insurance for stored goods. If much of the inventory is leftover from finished jobs, a buyer should not treat it as full value. Your accountant can say how stored materials are handled in the books. Ask to see delivery tickets for a few recent jobs and match them to what was installed. Large gaps point to waste or leftover stock sitting unrecorded.
Key takeaways
- Walk the yard and check cover, labelling and condition of stock.
- Ask who signs for deliveries and how materials are tied to jobs.
- Find out what is owed to suppliers and what leftover stock really is.
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Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentWhat are the steps to buying a business?
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