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When a disaster causes property damage in Dallas, TX it’s in everyone’s best interest for repair work to begin quickly. Before work can start, the restoration company must survey the damage and create a cost estimate, and then the property owner’s home insurance company must review and approve the estimate. Xactimate estimating software streamlines this process. Use these tips to maximize the benefits of working with Xactimate.
Taking lots of photos is key to getting estimates approved quickly. Gone are the days of print photos, limited disk space and slow upload speeds: today, there are virtually no limits to the number of high-quality photos you can add to an estimate in Xactimate, so snap away. You certainly don’t want to return to a site for photos you forgot the first time.
Be sure to label all those photos in in a way that’s useful to you and to the home insurance adjuster. With a high number of photos, it can be tempting to skip labeling or leave auto-generated labels such as “Image 001,” but doing so will only cost you time when you have to go back and explain what’s in a given photo. Descriptive labels like “Water damage to kitchen ceiling” are a better choice, especially for close-up shots of specific damage.
The F9 notes in Xactimate are a great communication tool. These notes can be used to add a description or explanation to a line item or to differentiate between similar items. F9 notes can also be used to break line items into smaller categories, making it easier to understand the estimate at a glance.
Xactimate simplifies the estimating process and dramatically reduces the time it takes to get estimates approved by home insurance companies. It’s no surprise that so many restoration companies either use Xactimate in-house or contract with a 3rd party billing service to take advantage of Xactimate’s benefits.
