Compare the Name on Each Roofer's Contract, Truck and Invoice

Three documents tell you who will be on your roof: the proposal you sign, the name on the truck that backs into your driveway, and the invoice that arrives after the last nail is driven. On a clean job those three show the same business name, the same address and the same phone number. When they do not match, the mismatch is the first thing to ask about. Asking takes a phone call before the crew starts. Sorting out the wrong payee after the final check is cut can take weeks.

Missouri does not license roofers at the state level, so a bid cannot carry a state roofing license number that you can look up. A roofing company can be a sole proprietorship, a limited liability company or a corporation, and any of those can work under a trade name that differs from its legal name. That arrangement is legal and common. The question is which name is on the contract, which name is on the truck doors, and which name will be printed on the lien waiver and the final invoice. You need all three to point at the same business.

Roofer comparison

Put the names for each bidder on one line. Start with the legal name in the contract's signature block. Add the name on the proposal header, then the name on the truck, the yard sign or the crew shirts. A roofer who works under a trade name should be able to tell you the legal entity behind it without looking anything up. A roofer whose legal name shifts between the proposal and the signature page has changed something, and you should ask what changed before you sign.

Next, check the entity itself. The Missouri Secretary of State offers a free business entity search online. Type the legal name from the contract. A registered entity returns a status and the name of its registered agent. If the search returns nothing close to the name on the contract, ask the roofer which entity they mean, and ask for the exact spelling in writing. A search can also show that an entity is dissolved, and a dissolved entity is a reason to stop the conversation until it is explained.

Then check the permit. In St. Louis County, and in the cities and villages that issue their own permits, the permit desk keeps a record of the contractor who pulled the job. The name on that record should match the contract. If the permit was pulled under a different company, or by a person who is not the entity signing your contract, that is a question for the roofer, not for the permit desk.

Keys Roofing, the contractor behind this site, can answer these questions at its office number, (314) 220-2333. Keys installs Atlas and Malarkey shingles only, so the spec on any Keys proposal should name the product line and the mat. Ask the same questions of every bidder, including us. A name that matches across the contract, the truck and the permit is the baseline. Everything else in the comparison builds on it.

What it costs

A name mismatch has no line item on a bid, but it shows up later in money and time. The lien waiver that closes out your job should name the entity that was paid. If a check or bank transfer goes to a name you cannot match to the contract, you have to stop and sort out who received it before the closeout paperwork is complete. An unpaid subcontractor or supplier can file a lien against the property, and the lien waiver is how you show that the people who worked on the house were paid.

Keep the cost of checking low by doing it first. Compare the name on the contract with the name on the bid before you discuss price. The phone call to confirm the legal entity takes minutes, and the online search takes a few more. The expense that matters is the repeat work: a second conversation, a corrected contract, and a new lien waiver when the first one names the wrong company. Each of those adds days of waiting on paper, at the point when you want the roof finished and the file closed.

Pay the company named in the contract, by a method that shows that name. A check payable to the legal entity, a transfer into an account in that name, or a card receipt that lists the same company makes a clean trail. A request to pay a person, a personal account or a different business is a reason to stop and read the contract again. A roofer with nothing to hide should have no objection to a homeowner matching the payee to the signature block.

What to ask

Send these questions to each bidder in writing, then compare the answers side by side. A written reply is the record you will want at closeout.

1. What is the exact legal name of the company that will sign this contract, and is it a corporation, a limited liability company or a sole proprietorship?
2. Do you use a trade name on your trucks or proposals, and which legal entity owns that trade name?
3. Which name will appear on the lien waiver, the final invoice and the certificate of insurance?
4. What does the Missouri Secretary of State business search show for your legal name, and who is your registered agent?
5. Under which name will the permit be pulled, and will the permit record match the contract?
6. If a subcontractor will touch the roof, what is that subcontractor's legal name, and who pays them?
7. If the company name changes during the job, how will you tell me before the next payment is due?

Pay attention to how the answers are given. A roofer who gives the same legal name as the contract, the truck and the permit has done the work already. A roofer who needs a day to find out the legal name has told you something about the paperwork that will follow. A roofer who asks why you want to know should be given a plain reason: the name has to match the payee and the lien waiver. Write down each reply with its date, and keep it with the contract.

Check the signature block once more before the first payment. The name there should match the name on the contract's first page, the proposal header and the check you write. If it does not, correct it on paper before any money moves.