Roofing contractor cuts estimate time from 2.5 hours to 25 minutes with AI photo estimating

What they did

DFC, a residential roofing, siding, gutter and storm-restoration contractor, was spending two to three hours per estimate in Excel and winning under 30% of them, often because competitors' quotes arrived first. Since January 2026 the estimator uploads site photos from the truck, the AI drafts a line-item estimate in under a minute, and he reviews it on his phone and sends it. Follow-up messages go out automatically 2 and 5 days after each estimate. The founder says the AI gets line items right about 85-90% of the time and he still reviews everything.

Reported results

• Average time per estimate fell from 2.5 hours to 25 minutes
• Same-day estimate submittals rose from about 40% to about 95%
• Close rate went from 29% (Oct 2025) to 44.7% (Feb 2026); the post estimates $42,500-$51,000 in added monthly revenue at an $8,500 average ticket

Tools

Ontrakt

Cost

Not disclosed

Source

Ontrakt: https://ontrakt.com/blog/dfc-case-study

Vendor case study (results reported by the vendor). Published March 6, 2026 on Ontrakt's blog under the byline of Ezra Sopher, who is also quoted as DFC's founder. The revenue figure is the post's own estimate. Source checked 2026-11-02. Results are as reported by the source, not independently audited.

Try it yourself: starter prompt

Our suggested prompt for an AI assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, Grok or your phone-agent tool). It is not from the source.

Here are photos from a roof inspection. List the materials you can see, likely damage and scope items (flashing, decking, fascia, gutters), and draft a line-item estimate using my price list: [paste]. Flag anything you're unsure about so I can check it before sending.