What are the main parts of an Xactimate estimate?
Short answer: Job information, line items grouped by room or area, the sketch, notes, and summary pages.
How a report looks depends on its settings, but most include:
- Job and claim information at the top: the property, the date of loss, the type of loss and the price list used
- Line items, grouped by room, area or phase of work
- The sketch, which shows the rooms and drives most of the measurements
- Notes on individual line items that explain or justify them
- Summary pages that total the estimate and may break it down by room or by trade
How do I read a line item?
Short answer: Each line is one task: what's being done, how much of it, and what it costs.
| Column | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Description | The task, such as removing drywall or running an air mover |
| Quantity and unit | How much: square feet (SF), linear feet (LF), each (EA), days and so on |
| Unit price | The price per unit from the price list for that location and date |
| Tax | Sales tax on materials, where it applies |
| O&P | Overhead and profit on that line, if it's included on the estimate |
| RCV | Replacement cost value for the line |
| Depreciation and ACV | What's held back for age and condition, and the value after it |
Not every report shows every column. Behind each description is a category and selector code, such as WTR for water extraction and remediation, DRY for drywall or PNT for painting, plus an activity that tells you whether the item is being removed, replaced, or detached and reset. The Xactimate glossary explains these terms.
Where do Xactimate prices come from?
Short answer: From a regional price list for the job's location and date.
Xactimate price lists are built for specific areas and updated regularly, so the same line item can price differently in different markets or months. When you compare two estimates, check that they use the same price list first. A difference in totals is sometimes just a different price list, not a different scope.
How do I read the totals?
Short answer: Line items add up to a subtotal, then tax and any O&P are added to reach the RCV, and depreciation is subtracted to reach the ACV.
- RCV (replacement cost value): the cost to repair or replace without any deduction for age or condition
- Depreciation: a reduction for age, wear and condition on items it applies to. Whether any of it can be recovered later depends on the policy and the carrier
- ACV (actual cash value): RCV minus depreciation
- Deductible: often shown on the carrier's estimate and subtracted from what the carrier pays, depending on the claim
What any of these means for a particular claim depends on the policy and the carrier's decision.
What should I check first?
Short answer: Quantities, missing tasks, and whether the documentation backs up each line.
Rooms and areas.
Is every affected room on the estimate?
Quantities.
Do the square and linear footages match the sketch and your measurements?
The full sequence of work.
For each material, look for the removal, the replacement and the finish work, plus the prep, protection and cleaning around it.
Equipment and monitoring.
On water jobs, do equipment lines and days match your drying records?
Notes.
Do unusual items have notes that explain why they're needed?
Price list.
Is it the right location and date?
How do I compare my estimate with the carrier's?
Short answer: Go room by room and line by line, and sort every difference into scope, quantity or price.
Put the two estimates side by side, ideally both as imported files in Xactimate, or as PDFs if that's what you have. For each room, note lines that appear on one estimate and not the other, lines with different quantities, and lines with different unit prices. Scope and quantity differences are usually where documentation matters most. Where your documentation supports work that isn't on the estimate, that's what a supplement is for (see how insurance supplements work). Any discussion with the carrier about the estimate is yours to have as the contractor.
When does it make sense to have someone else write or review it?
Short answer: When estimate writing is slowing you down or you think scope is being left out.
Redefined Restoration writes complete Xactimate estimates from your documentation on our own license, and supplements existing estimates by adding what your documentation supports. You review and approve everything before it's submitted under your company's name. Estimating is $150 or 1% of the approved estimate, whichever is higher. Supplements are $150 or 1% of only the new money we add.