Yes, of course. We can rush your estimate for an additional fee equal to 50% of your ordinary fees if you need your estimate sooner than our current average turnaround time (Contact Us anytime to inquire). Our estimates will be prioritized and completed as quickly as possible within our ability when this option is requested, although we cannot guarantee any specific turnaround time. Please contact us for additional information if you would like to create a new order.

See Pricing.

The charge for an estimate is determined by the end total.

If you ask us, we’ll do it. Our team will keep an eye out for any items that might be overlooked or missing from your Scope Sheet and the adjuster’s estimation, and we will include them in your Preview Estimate so that you can review them. Your finalized estimate can include or exclude them. Although we will do our best to find every overlooked or missing item, please keep in mind that because we are estimating from a distance, we will not be intimately familiar with your project as you are. We will be able to find overlooked or missing items in your project better if you provide us with more detail in your Scope Sheet, your list of missing items, and your photos, videos, etc.

We can determine your scope of work using most 3d imaging platforms. Having “before” and “after” scans is always a good idea. It is still helpful to have one scan at least. You should use unlisted links instead of password-protected links when sharing your imagery (i.e. unique links that nobody can guess, but anyone can view).

A Preview Estimate is an emailed link that provides a draft of your estimate. A pop-up window appears in your browser, but the document can only be viewed in a web browser due to its watermarking, download protection, and expiration date. Neither a Preview Estimate nor any other document outside of your organization should be submitted to your customers, adjusters, insurance carriers, nor anyone else outside of your organization – only for yourself to review and give us feedback so that we may fine-tune the estimation.

You may sometimes find that we have written your Preview Estimate exactly how you would like it. We’ll send you an updated Preview Estimate if you provide us with some further instructions after receiving a Preview Estimate that needs minor changes.

The Preview Estimate will be finalized once it meets your approval, we will calculate and bill you for the balance owed, we will put your Letterhead on the estimate, and we will send you the completed copy. If you are working with an insurance carrier, an adjuster, or a customer, you can then submit your completed estimate to them.

We’ll prepare the completed copy of the estimate on your letterhead once your Preview Estimate has been approved and we’ve calculated and billed any remaining service fees. After completing the estimate, you can send it to your customer, an insurance carrier, or an adjuster.

With Xactimate letterheads, you can include up to eight lines of information, along with an image of your logo. The cover page of your Xactimate estimate can also contain a custom Opening Statement.

Including a logo image and up to four lines of company information is possible on Symbility letterheads.

If you sign up for an account, you will be able to add all of this information to your profile.

Yes, of course. There are times when you may need to revise an estimate to satisfy a customer or to compromise with an adjuster, even if it’s the perfect estimate in your eyes. Upon receiving a finalized estimate, we will honor a reasonable amount of revisions (‘reasonable’ will be determined at our discretion). In the event that any revisions result in an increase in the estimate’s total, the difference will be subject to additional billing.

Each estimate we provide is written with the utmost accuracy. Errors may, however, occur occasionally. Any errors we may have made will be promptly corrected at no charge if this occurs. Error corrections can result in unnecessary charges if submitted through the order form. Send us an email instead if you have a problem.

Estimates that include overhead and profit are usually reserved for projects with general contractors. For a total markup of 20%, overhead is usually 10% and profit 10%. Some U.S. locations charge even higher markups for overhead. There is a range of opinion among adjusters when it comes to whether overhead and profit are justified in certain projects. Overhead and profit on a project with three or more trades and a complexity that would motivate a reasonable person to hire a general contractor would be justified, according to the unwritten ‘rule of thumb’. It seems that case law precedents regarding overhead and profit differ from state to state, so there are no guarantees an adjuster will agree with this so-called rule of thumb. It has also been known that some adjusters are known to exclude overhead and profit from certain trades such as roofing even if they agree to pay it.

The pitch of a roof indicates how steep it is. Roofs are measured by their vertical rise or run over their horizontal run (or span). It is expressed in inches. Roofs with 6 inches of rise per 12 inches of horizontal run are said to be 6:12 pitches. A steeper roof has a greater rise number. Roofs with 12:12 pitches, for example, are twice steep as those with 6:12 pitches. Most modern roofs have a pitch no greater than 12:12. The rise number is always a variable number, while the run number is always a constant number.

The Preview Estimate (the draft estimate) can be completed within one to three business days and can be finalized on the same day as your approval. It is important to remember that turnaround time is dependent on the complexity of the order, the level of completion of Scope Sheets (this is only applicable to estimates created from scratch), and our current order volume. Your Preview Estimate will be completed within three business days if we expect it to take longer than that. You can withdraw your order at this time if you wish. Please contact us if you would like more information about turnaround time.

Usually, Replacement Cost Value is calculated based on the full cost of replacing an item with another of like kind and quality.

ACV is often defined as the full cost of replacing a particular item with one of similar quality and kind, minus depreciation.

According to common definitions, depreciation is a reduction in the value of an asset over time. Depreciation is usually determined by considering age, condition, wear and tear, deterioration, usage, obsolescence, and expected useful life.

Generally, adjusters include depreciation in their estimates only for items they are replacing, not for items they are repairing. A repair does not usually result in betterment, which is why depreciation is applicable only when betterment occurs. Depreciation is estimated at 50% for a 15-year-old shingled roof with a warranty for 30 years. It is possible to expect depreciation to be less than 50% if the roof is in great condition for its age. The depreciation would, however, be greater than 50% if the roof was extremely poor.

The Xactimate software estimates the costs of repairing, rebuilding, and cleaning commercial and residential structures. As well as inventorying, packing, moving, cleaning, and storing personal property and other contents items, it is capable of estimating costs. For determining fair market pricing on such projects, the software is used by most insurance adjusters and restoration contractors in the United States. More than 14,000 unique line items are available in Xactimate, so almost anything you can imagine can be estimated.

Every one of its 470 geographic regions is served by Xactimate, which collects cost data from actual completed bids. This information is updated monthly in its Price Lists.

Xactimate and Symbility are both software applications that estimate the costs of repairing, rebuilding, and cleaning structures and components. As well as estimating inventory costs, packing costs, moving costs, cleaning costs, and storing costs, it can estimate costs for packing, moving, cleaning, and storing personal property. Xactimate is losing market share to the software, but it still isn’t as widely used as other software.

It is the minimum wage a particular tradesperson will charge for showing up and performing a small job. Whenever a painter paints a wall, he or she charges $0.50 per square foot. You would have a hard time finding a painter willing to do the work for only $40 (80 square feet x $0.50) if only 80 square feet of wall surface needs to be painted. Painting involves mobilizing, setting up, performing the work, cleaning up, and tearing down equipment. A tradesperson would charge a minimum amount for a small job, which is what Labor Minimums are for.

Roofs that are 2 stories or higher are charged a ‘high charge’ by both Xactimate and Symbility. In general, all floors above ground level are considered to be stories in a structure. Basements are not usually considered stories unless they are walk-outs or shallow basements that are well above ground level.