"We're gonna all speak a common language," Russell said. "You may get there a different way."

That distinction has become central to Canopy's approach: standardize the information needed to measure the business while leaving many decisions about how work gets done with local operators.

Building a Roofing Technology Stack

Canopy's technology overhaul began when it had six or seven businesses operating across three CRM and operating systems. Rather than immediately choosing a replacement, Russell assembled 12 people representing different roles, including controllers, sales employees and general managers. The group identified about 65 capabilities it wanted from an end-to-end system, from marketing attribution through billing and collections. Canopy then compared systems based on whether those capabilities were native, required third-party integrations or weren't available. ServiceTitan ultimately emerged as the choice. 

Russell knew the transition wouldn't be as simple as importing technology established in another trade. He was familiar with ServiceTitan from HVAC and plumbing, but roofing presented different workflows.

"The sales cycle is longer, and the production cycle is longer," Russell said.

Nina Katsman, general manager of residential exteriors at ServiceTitan, said working with Canopy as an early roofing partner helped the software company better understand those differences. Initially, the approach was to ask roofers how they operated and determine how to accommodate those workflows.

"ServiceTitan can now be more prescriptive about how roofing businesses use the platform while recognizing that operations aren't one-size-fits-all," she said.

Training Before the Switch

For contractors contemplating a major software change, Russell said one lesson stands out: Don't underestimate implementation. Many Canopy businesses have relatively small administrative teams whose employees already have full-time responsibilities. Canopy now has a dedicated three-person integration team, but Russell said each local business also needs someone willing to become its internal ServiceTitan expert.

Training before launch is particularly important. That includes working in the software's sandbox environment, running sample jobs and making sure salespeople understand tools such as the price book.

"That upfront training is critical," Russell said. "When brands lean into it, they're much more successful once the go-live happens."

One of Canopy's biggest transitions came at its Pennsylvania operation, which Russell said went essentially from pencil and paper to ServiceTitan. He said the company adapted particularly well because employees didn't have preconceived ideas about how a CRM should operate.

One Definition of a Lead

Canopy's biggest payoff isn't a single before-and-after productivity statistic. Russell is cautious about making those comparisons because reliable historical data wasn't always available. Canopy established common KPIs across its businesses, including leads, sales, close rates, demo rates and individual salesperson performance.

"A lead is a lead, a sale's a sale, close rate's close rate," Russell said.

Previously, getting Canopy's general managers together could mean first determining whether everyone calculated a metric the same way. Now the companies can compare performance using common definitions. That doesn't mean each company needs the same workflow. Call centers, lead assignments and production processes can differ. The framework is the data. Canopy now ranks sales performance monthly and tracks metrics including leads, sales, demo rates and close rates. It also runs quarterly competitions recognizing top-performing salespeople.

Russell said roughly 90% of Canopy's branches or brands are growing despite a challenging roofing environment. He stops short of attributing that growth solely to technology, but said real-time visibility gives managers information they can use to improve performance.

What Stays Local

The same philosophy shapes what Canopy does and doesn't centralize after acquiring a contractor. Canopy centralizes marketing, along with HR functions such as recruiting and benefits, finance and accounting, and technology integration. Canopy tries to take other administrative responsibilities off local management's plate so leaders can concentrate on customers and employees.

"The brand owns the talent," Russell said. "They own their culture. Local management remains responsible for daily operations and performance."

Russell said even a seemingly straightforward change, such as the shingle a contractor sells, can create substantial disruption and slow growth. That's why Canopy has intentionally resisted creating a corporate rulebook for every acquired company.

Katsman said that distinguishes Canopy from some multi-brand operators that impose a more uniform corporate playbook. Canopy's approach shows how technology can provide portfolio-level controls and visibility while preserving autonomy at the roofing company, she said. 

AI Targets Sales and Production

ServiceTitan's next phase of roofing development is increasingly focused on the field.

Katsman said one priority is simplifying the experience for roofing sales representatives. She compared ServiceTitan's capabilities to handing someone the keys to a Formula One car: power doesn't necessarily translate into results if the driver doesn't know how to use it.

Among the tools under development is a sales dashboard that gives representatives a curated daily workflow, including appointments, contracts awaiting signatures, and customers needing follow-up. AI-assisted coaching is another focus area. The second priority is production automation. The goal is to streamline the progression from selling a roof through approval, material ordering and crew scheduling. Instead of an employee manually confirming each prerequisite is complete, the system could recognize a signed contract or collected deposit and trigger the next step.

Turning Experiments Into Best Practices

Canopy isn't waiting for its software provider to deliver every innovation. Russell pointed to an employee at one brand who developed an AI-based accounts payable workflow that could compare estimates against purchase orders, validate information, flag discrepancies and help process payroll. He just took it and built it, Russell said. It is amazing. That bottom-up experimentation is another reason Russell is reluctant to over-standardize. If we had a big process policy guide, people would not think that way, he said. They would just wait for the answer. The challenge is spreading a good idea from one company to the other eight.

Canopy recently launched Canopy University and hired what it calls a "Dean of Students" to identify successful practices within individual brands, document them and make them available across the organization. Russell draws a distinction between a best practice and a Canopy standard. Not every successful idea needs to become mandatory.

''The answers are in the room, " he said.

That philosophy will matter more as Canopy expands. Russell said the company plans to remain active in M&A while opening new locations and extending existing brands into additional markets. By 2027, Canopy expects all its brands to operate on ServiceTitan, providing a common data set across the portfolio.