Howdy all, I've been doing low-cost handyman work in my business for the last several months. I just got licensed as a roofer and would like to get started in the business. However, I want to make sure I have a good contract prepared so that when I start getting clients, I can make sure I'm protected. What would you all recommend as a starting place? Do you have templates you've used for client contracts? Thanks in advance!
Congrats! Here's a link to all of our handyman templates & forms:
https://www.homemastersmentoring.com/offers/MrrPher2/checkout
Thanks so much, ryaantuttle! I appreciate it.
Hello, if you're still looking for a contract sample, I'd be happy to share the one I've been using for the past three years. Our contracts are simple and straightforward, but they meet the minimum requirements mandated by the state. While I've come across more detailed and descriptive contracts, ours covers the essentials, and you can easily adjust it to align with your state's regulations.
For ours we partnered with our attorney! Make sure the requirements are met by the state. I recommend as an owner you that you think of potential pitfalls when roofing (broken pipes, bush damage, drywall cracks etc). After you come up with a good list of potential issues and profit drainers, START WORKING ON YOUR EXCLUSIONS to the contract to protect yourself.
For job-specific trades like roofing, especially now with all the solar re-roofs and panel removals, your contract needs to line up with what your insurance allows. That’s the first thing we look at.
Don’t just build a general contract and think you’re good. You might land a job and find out your insurance won’t cover it, or worse, you’re working outside of scope. That’s when things go sideways.
We run into this a lot in solar. So we base our contracts around:
What our policy protects
What we’re certified to do
And where the risk exposure is
The roof is no joke — it’s one of the highest liability points on a property. Make sure your paperwork reflects that and protects you from the start. If you need to see how we’ve structured our roofing-solar agreements, we are held to this MSA on our nationwide accounts, I’m happy to share.
