I’m Kayla. I run a small roofing crew. Two trucks, six folks, and a goofy shop dog who hates nail guns. I’ve used AccuLynx for a year and a half to run our jobs. I also plug in EagleView for measurements and CompanyCam for photos. This is how it went—good, bad, and a little messy.
If you're vetting platforms yourself, this detailed AccuLynx review lays out the full feature set and real-world pros and cons.
Why I Needed Help (and fast)
We had a spring where storms hit three times in one week. Calls kept coming. Sticky notes were everywhere. I missed a permit check once. My stomach dropped. That’s when I set up AccuLynx. I needed one place to see jobs, crews, and money. Simple idea, but hard when you’re in the mud.
If you’re curious how other construction pros streamline workflows, check out the detailed playbooks on PMO Network—they break down project phases in a way even small roofing crews can steal. For a deeper, boots-on-the-ground look at roofing project management, check out my expanded case study.
Setup in Plain Talk
- I made job templates: one for tear-off and re-roof, one for repairs, one for flat roofs.
- I added “kits” for materials. Think of a burger combo, but for shingles: 32 squares, synthetic underlayment, drip edge, ice and water, vents. Boom.
- I linked QuickBooks. Invoices flow right over. Less double work.
It took me a weekend. Not fun, but worth it.
Real Job Story: The Maple Street Roof
House: 1960s ranch, 32 squares, low pitch.
Shingle: Owens Corning Duration, Driftwood.
City: Plano, Texas.
Crew: My Monday crew (they work fast, sing a lot, and need extra waters).
- Measure: I pulled an EagleView report inside AccuLynx. No ladders, no wobble. The numbers pushed into my material list. Contractors new to aerial takeoffs can skim EagleView’s integration guide to understand how those measurements drop straight into a job file.
- Permit: I set a task called “Permit uploaded” with a due date. When the city asked for a site plan, I got a ping on my phone. No more “Oops, I forgot.”
- Homeowner texts: The system sent a morning text to Mrs. Carter—“Crew arriving 7:00–7:30.” She liked the heads up. Said it calmed her nerves. Me too, honestly.
- Order: I sent the material order to our supplier with two clicks. Delivery set for 6:30 a.m. I could see it on the job board.
- Photos: My foreman used CompanyCam. Before, during, after. The ridge looked clean. The valley cuts lined up. We kept those pics tied to the job.
We finished in one day. My favorite part? The checklist hit all green. No gaps, no unknowns.
Rainy Week Test: Shifting a Calendar Without Tears
We had three days of rain in June. I opened the calendar view and dragged two jobs forward by two days. AccuLynx kicked out fresh texts to both homeowners. I didn’t call eight people. I didn’t beg. I just moved the blocks. Easy win.
Surprise Change Order: Color Mix-Up
I made a rookie mistake. I ordered white drip edge. The house had bronze gutters. Yikes.
- I added a change order on my phone.
- Price updated in the estimate and the final invoice.
- I tagged the supplier. New color. Afternoon drop.
We lost an hour, not a day. The paper trail stayed clean for the homeowner. That matters later, when folks forget what changed.
Crew Scheduling: Keeping People in the Right Lane
I color-code crews—blue for the Monday crew, green for the repair crew. It sounds silly, but my eyes find it fast. When my best shingle guy called in sick, I swapped days and moved the repair job up. The software showed which crew had open time. Less guessing, fewer angry texts. I also toyed with the idea of handing the whole schedule to an outside coordinator—here’s what actually happened when I hired a project manager.
Money Stuff: Not Fun, Still Key
I take 50% deposit, 40% progress, 10% on final walk. AccuLynx tracks that. When the middle draw hit late on a big church job, I saw it right away. I paused material orders for the next phase. No one likes that call, but it saved me from floating too much cash. Roofing can eat your wallet if you’re not careful.
When cash flow gets tight, I’ve seen contractors get creative—personal loans, equipment leasing, even tapping family or side gigs. One left-field option that crops up in forum jokes (but some folks actually pursue) is arranging a “sugar relationship” where a benefactor fronts personal expenses. If that piques your curiosity, skim this straight-shooting walkthrough on how to find a sugar daddy that explains the etiquette, safety tips, and financial ground rules so you can decide if it’s a path worth even considering.
While we’re on the subject of unconventional resources, I’ve also learned that when we travel for storm work near California’s Central Coast the crew sometimes wants intel on local nightlife to blow off steam after a 12-hour tear-off. A no-nonsense place they check is Erotic Monkey’s Salinas listings—it crowdsources honest reviews, prices, and verification so they can make adult plans safely without wasting time or money.
Things I Liked
- Job templates: Same steps, every time. My brain stopped buzzing.
- Material kits: Fewer math slips. No more “How many starter rows again?”
- Homeowner messages: Auto texts for arrival and delays. It sounds small, but trust builds fast.
- Photo logs: Great for warranty claims. We had a ridge vent complaint. I pulled the install photos, and the talk got calm.
Things That Bugged Me
- Mobile uploads can lag if the signal is weak. My foreman sat in the truck waiting for photos to post. Not fun in July heat.
- Custom forms took me a bit to set up. I wish the defaults fit small shops more.
- Price per seat adds up with larger crews. It’s fair, but it’s not cheap.
A Quick Repair Story: Fast, Clean, Done
A hail hit left a vent boot cracked. Small job. I grabbed my “repair” template.
- Same-day slot on the calendar.
- One crew member, two hours.
- Photos before and after.
- Paid on site. Receipt sent from my phone.
No paper. No chase. The homeowner left us a review the same night. I slept great.
Tips I Wish I Knew Sooner
- Make a “Rain Day” tag and filter your week by it. You’ll thank me in spring.
- Pin your permit tasks to the top of each job. Permits slip; pins don’t.
- Build three material kits: 25 squares, 32 squares, 40 squares. Tweak from there.
- Use the notes field for “home quirks” like dogs, gates, or low power lines. Crews love that heads up.
One thing that leveled me up fast was taking formal project-cycle management training—it turned fuzzy ideas into clear phases. You can read how it helped me in this step-by-step breakdown.
Who Should Use It
- Small to mid roofing shops who juggle 3–15 jobs a week.
- Owners who wear five hats and hate sticky notes.
- Teams that take lots of photos and need a clean record.
If you only do tiny repairs and one job here and there, it might feel heavy. A shared spreadsheet could be fine. But once storms hit and your phone melts, you’ll want a real system. If you juggle rental properties along with roofing work, this brutally honest look at life as a real-estate project manager will feel familiar.
My Verdict
AccuLynx kept me sane through a wild season. It didn’t make shingles lighter or ladders shorter. But it made the plan clear. Fewer “Wait, what?” moments. Fewer drive-backs. More clean handoffs.
Would I use it again? Yep. I’m still on it. And you know what? I don’t miss the sticky notes. My shop dog still hates nail guns, though. Can’t fix everything.