As the roofing busy season comes to an end and winter approaches, roofing companies begin looking forward and planning for the coming year. Many roofing companies receive rebates this time of year from vendors or suppliers. Any company hoping to streamline operations, elevate their work, and grow their business should consider these rebates a crucial factor in their plans. Rebates can give way to some exciting purchases, but more importantly they provide promising opportunities to reinvest into your organization.
A Quick Recap on Rebates
Generally, a rebate occurs when part of the purchase price is returned by the seller to the buyer after they have bought a specific quantity of goods within a specific period. However, there are several different kinds of rebates available and they vary by vendor. Some rebates come in the form of a check, while others come by way of incentive programs. For example, GAF runs regular rebate promotions in addition to its rewards program that awards “GAF Reward Bucks.” Contractors participating in GAF Rewards can redeem their GAF Reward Bucks into a variety gift cards, or pay for purchases through partner companies such as Loveland Innovations.
Invest in Your Company’s Future
Regardless of how they come, reinvesting rebates back into your company is a fantastic way to boost its value. Though new power tools, copiers, or computers can be necessary upgrades around the office, their payoff might be limited compared to other, more worthwhile additions. Namely, digital tools and drone technology. By pouring that extra cash into cutting edge tech, you will see a greater return on investment through increased efficiency, and you will reap the benefits for years to come.
Drones – On average, a manual roof inspection can take over an hour to complete, not including the time it takes to create a bid. Drone roof inspections all but eliminate the manual component and give estimators full visibility of a roof from the ground, allowing them to capture images, check for damage, and perform assessments without the risk of injury. There is a fee required to obtain Part 107 Certification for commercial drone flight, but this is a one-time fee. After initially becoming certified, employees will only have to take a Recurrent Knowledge test every 24 months. Many roofing companies are already using drones in their workflows, but it is important to note that most have also adopted drone platforms to support them.
Drone Platforms – Drones pack the most punch when paired with the right software. Roof measuring apps such as IMGING provide the whole data package from capture to analysis. With features such as automatic flight, damage detection, 3D modeling, and sharable reports, drone platforms like this work to augment labor and drive profitability through faster, better work. With a user-friendly platform like IMGING, a roof inspection can be done, and a roof inspection report generated in under ten minutes. By helping you gather more dependable data and create more accurate bids in far less time, drone roofing will refine your roofing sales and aid you in securing more roofing leads. In short, roofing companies that invest in a drone strategy will be able to overcome some of the industry’s biggest challenges and take their business to the next level.
Bonus Benefits
Aside from the obvious functional benefits, there are other areas of your business that will be positively affected by investing rebates in digital tools and drone technology. For one, the pain of trying to scale-up your staff during a labor shortage will no longer be a concern. Automated drone technology gives you an advantage in attracting and retaining talent. Drone roofing allows you to augment your teams and focus on more strategic tasks to improve overall efficiency. With winter on its way, now is the ideal time to begin training employees. This way, they will be fully adapted and prepared to meet the demands of spring and summer. Most importantly, this type of investment also qualifies as a tax write-off for your business.
Final Thoughts
One and done purchases for your roofing company are tempting and exciting, but ultimately trivial when compared to the value of technological investment. Your rebates can serve to enhance and advance your business in more ways than one. Investing them in drone technology means investing in the growth, adaptation, and success of your company in the long run.
