Roofing Company Bookkeeping: Why Your Money Comes From the Insurance Company, Not the Customer
On this page
- Who Owes You on a Florida Insurance Job
- When Florida Law Releases the Insurance Money
- One Claim, Split by Who Pays
- The Deductible Is the Customer’s, and Florida Enforces That
- Supplements, and Where the Contractor’s Role Stops
- Recording a Claim Job
- Why Storm Seasons Strain Cash
- Before Signing the Next Claim Job
Florida law now decides how insurance money reaches a roofer, and the change reaches into how a claim job should be recorded. For residential and commercial property policies issued on or after January 1, 2023, a policyholder may not assign post-loss insurance benefits to a contractor, and any attempt to do so is “void, invalid, and unenforceable” under section 627.7152(13), Florida Statutes. On those policies the money still originates with the insurer, but it reaches the roofer through the customer, under the roofer’s contract with the customer. Keep two questions apart from the first estimate: the source of the funds, which on a claim job is mostly the insurer, and the party legally responsible for paying you, which on a post-2023 policy is the customer who signed your contract. A roofing company’s books have to be built around that path: who owes you, when the insurer releases funds, and which part of the job only the homeowner can pay.
Who Owes You on a Florida Insurance Job
Before 2023, a Florida roofer could work under an assignment of benefits (AOB): the homeowner signed over the claim, and the contractor dealt with the insurer for payment. The assignment statute still carries a long list of requirements for those agreements, and the first of them, in subsection (2)(a)1, is that the agreement be executed under a policy issued on or after July 1, 2019, and before January 1, 2023. For anything issued from 2023 on, subsection (13) bars the assignment entirely, with narrow exceptions in subsection (11) for a later buyer of the property, a power of attorney under chapter 709, and liability coverage.
The practical consequence for the books is simple to state. On a job tied to a policy issued in 2023 or later, your receivable is from the customer. The customer’s ability to pay depends on the insurer’s payments, but the insurer is not your debtor, and an invoice addressed to the carrier does not change that. The policy’s issue date on the declarations page is the first fact to capture in the job file, because it tells you which set of rules applies.
If an older policy is still the one that applies to a claim and an assignment was signed under it, the statute’s own terms matter. Under subsection (4)(c), the assignee may not seek payment from the homeowner exceeding the applicable deductible, unless the homeowner chose to have additional work performed at their own expense. Under subsection (7)(b), the named insured remains responsible for the deductible, any betterment the insured approved, and contracted work performed before a rescission. A roofer holding a pre-2023 assignment should not book a receivable from the homeowner beyond those items.
| Policy issue date | Can the claim be assigned to the roofer? | Who the roofer bills |
|---|---|---|
| On or after January 1, 2023 | No, under section 627.7152(13), outside the subsection (11) exceptions | The customer, under the roofing contract |
| July 1, 2019 through December 31, 2022 | Only by an agreement that meets subsection (2), or it is invalid under (2)(d) | The insurer, with the roofer as assignee; the homeowner owes the deductible and the items in (7)(b) |
| Before July 1, 2019 | Not covered by this table; a policy that old needs a separate legal review | Confirm with a Florida attorney |
When Florida Law Releases the Insurance Money
The second fact to capture is how the policy values the loss. For a dwelling insured on a replacement-cost basis, section 627.7011(3)(a), Florida Statutes sets the payment rhythm. The insurer “must initially pay at least the actual cash value of the insured loss, less any applicable deductible,” and it “shall pay any remaining amounts necessary to perform such repairs as work is performed and expenses are incurred.”
Read that second sentence slowly, because it rules out treating the holdback as one check that can only arrive after the job is finished. On a Florida replacement-cost dwelling claim, the remaining amount is tied to work performed and expenses incurred, not to a single release at the end. How often the insurer pays and what proof it asks for still depend on the policy and the claim handling, so the bookkeeping question is not “when does the second check come” but “what documentation releases each next payment, and who sends it.”
The same subsection carves out the roof deductible. If a roof deductible under section 627.701(10) applies, the insurer may limit the roof payment to its actual cash value until it receives reasonable proof that the policyholder paid that deductible. The statute’s examples of reasonable proof include a canceled check, a money order receipt, a credit card statement, or a copy of an executed installment plan contract or other financing arrangement that requires full payment of the deductible over time. That makes the deductible receipt a release document, not just a collection.
For a total loss of a dwelling, the subsection requires the insurer to pay replacement cost “without reservation or holdback of any depreciation in value.” None of this applies to a dwelling insured only at actual cash value, which is why the valuation basis belongs in the job file next to the issue date.
One Claim, Split by Who Pays
Take a hypothetical replacement-cost claim to see the split. Assume replacement cost of $20,000 for the roof, depreciation of $8,000 held back at first, a $1,000 deductible, and a roofing contract with the homeowner for $20,000.
| Line | Amount | Paid by |
|---|---|---|
| Replacement cost value | $20,000 | |
| Less depreciation held back at first | ($8,000) | |
| Actual cash value | $12,000 | |
| Less deductible | ($1,000) | |
| Initial insurance payment | $11,000 | Insurer, to the policyholder |
| Held-back depreciation, paid as work is performed | $8,000 | Insurer, to the policyholder |
| Total insurance payments | $19,000 | Insurer |
| Deductible | $1,000 | Homeowner, from their own funds |
| Roofing contract price | $20,000 | Homeowner, to the roofer |
The insurer’s payments total $19,000, not $20,000. The last $1,000 exists only if the homeowner pays it. A bookkeeping system that treats the claim as a $20,000 insurance receivable will show money the insurer was never going to send.
The held-back $8,000 also deserves its own treatment. Whether all of it is paid depends on the policy terms and on the documentation the insurer receives, so it belongs on the books as an amount the customer expects to receive and pass through, not as cash you can plan payroll around. Track it by claim with the date each request went in and the document it is waiting on.
The Deductible Is the Customer’s, and Florida Enforces That
Two statutes put the deductible beyond negotiation. Section 817.234(7)(d), Florida Statutes provides that a contractor “may not knowingly or willfully and with intent to injure, defraud, or deceive, pay, waive, or rebate all or part of an insurance deductible” applicable to payment for repairs to insured property, and makes a violation a third-degree felony. The criminal provision has an intent element. The licensing rules in the next statute do not depend on proving that intent.
Section 489.147, Florida Statutes governs roofing contractors’ conduct directly:
- Subsection (2)(b) prohibits offering a residential property owner a rebate, gift, gift card, cash, coupon, waiver of any insurance deductible, or any other thing of value in exchange for allowing a roof inspection or making a roof claim.
- Subsection (1)(a) defines a prohibited advertisement: a communication that encourages a consumer to contact a contractor or public adjuster to make a roof damage claim, unless it states, in type of at least 12 points and at least half the size of the largest type used, that the consumer is responsible for the deductible, that knowingly or willfully waiving or rebating a deductible with intent to injure, defraud, or deceive is a third-degree felony, and that intentionally filing a claim containing false, incomplete, or misleading information is a third-degree felony.
- Subsection (3) makes a contractor who violates the section subject to discipline under section 489.129 and a fine of up to $10,000 for each violation.
- Subsection (5) requires every residential roof repair or replacement contract to include a notice that the contractor may not engage in the practices in (2)(b); without it, the owner may void the contract within 10 days after signing.
- Subsection (7) requires a bold notice, in type of at least 14 points on the signature page, advising the owner to contact the insurer about coverage and deductibles before signing.
For the books, this turns into three rules. Invoice the full contract price, including the deductible. Record the homeowner’s deductible payment as it arrives, with the payment document, because under section 627.7011(3)(a) that receipt may be what releases the roof money. And document the reason for any price change after a claim is filed, because a reduction that happens to match the deductible invites exactly the question the statutes ask.
Supplements, and Where the Contractor’s Role Stops
An insurance scope can change once the old roof comes off and the decking, flashing, or ventilation underneath is visible. Section 489.147(2)(e) requires the contractor to give the insured a good faith estimate of the itemized and detailed cost of services and materials, and it recognizes that the actual cost may differ from the first estimate as the insurer adjusts the claim.
What the contractor may not do matters as much. Subsection (2)(d) prohibits a contractor from interpreting policy provisions, advising an insured about coverage or duties under the policy, or adjusting a claim on the insured’s behalf, unless the contractor holds a public adjuster license under part VI of chapter 626. A roofer documents conditions, scope, and cost; coverage decisions and policy advice sit with the insurer, the insured, and a licensed adjuster if one is engaged.
In the books, a supplement is a proposed change to the contract value, not revenue. It becomes part of the contract when the customer agrees to the revised scope and price in writing, and its cash follows the same payment rhythm as the rest of the claim. A useful discipline is a separate line for each supplement with three dates: submitted, approved by the customer, and funded.
Recording a Claim Job
The entries below follow the hypothetical claim above and assume the company keeps accrual books and completes the roof within a single month. A company on the cash method records the same events only when cash moves.
| Event | Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer pays from the initial insurance payment before work starts | Cash | $11,000 | |
| Customer deposits (contract liability) | $11,000 | ||
| Roof completed and accepted | Customer deposits (contract liability) | $11,000 | |
| Accounts receivable, customer | $9,000 | ||
| Roofing revenue | $20,000 | ||
| Customer pays the deductible | Cash | $1,000 | |
| Accounts receivable, customer | $1,000 | ||
| Customer pays from the released holdback | Cash | $8,000 | |
| Accounts receivable, customer | $8,000 |
The $9,000 receivable is the part that waits on the homeowner’s deductible and the insurer’s release. Aging it by claim, with the release document noted beside it, is what tells you which jobs are actually stuck and which are simply in process.
Alongside the ledger, keep a claim register with one row per job: policy issue date, valuation basis (replacement cost or actual cash value), roof deductible yes or no, deductible received and the document that proves it, holdback requested and date, supplements open, and the date the file closed. That register is what turns a pile of open claims into the collection lines of a 13-week cash forecast you can use.
Why Storm Seasons Strain Cash
A busy storm season multiplies the gap between paying for a roof and collecting the last of its price. Materials, crew wages, disposal, and permits are paid while the work is underway, and they post to each roof through ordinary job costing; the holdback and the deductible arrive as documents move. Ten jobs open at once means ten small gaps added together. The register above shows the size of that combined gap before it becomes a payroll problem, and it shows which document, on which claim, would close the most of it.
Before Signing the Next Claim Job
Settle two facts before any work starts: the issue date and valuation basis of the policy, and how the homeowner will pay the deductible. The first tells you who owes you and when insurance money is released under Florida law. The second keeps the job on the right side of sections 817.234 and 489.147 and, on roofs with a roof deductible, holds the document that releases payment. A contract that cannot answer both questions is not ready to sign.
This guide explains Florida roofing claim bookkeeping as general information, not legal, insurance, tax, or accounting advice. Statutes change and claim handling depends on the policy, so confirm how the rules apply to a specific job with a Florida attorney, a licensed adjuster, or a CPA before acting on them.