Which Xactimate Price List to Use for a Water Damage Estimate
How to pick the right Xactimate price list for a water loss: reading the region and month code, matching the property zip, what the XactAnalysis checkpoint price list compares against, and what a wrong list costs on per-24hr equipment lines.
A water damage estimate should be written on the Xactimate price list that matches the loss property's postal code and the month the mitigation work was actually performed. Picking a list from a neighboring region or an older month reprices every single line on the estimate without changing a word of the scope, and XactAnalysis compares the selected price list against a checkpoint list for that area before a reviewer reads the first line item.
What an Xactimate price list actually is
A price list is a geographically and temporally specific database of labor, material, and equipment rates. Verisk builds one for each covered region and republishes it on a monthly cycle. According to Xactware's own documentation, general quote prices are updated monthly and downloaded with the new monthly price lists, while vendor-specific pricing data refreshes nightly. Price lists are also area-specific down to the postal code so that local data, including sales tax rates, is correct for the property being estimated.
The estimate carries the price list name on its summary page, so the adjuster, the reviewer, and anyone who later disputes the file can see exactly which list was used.
How to read the price list code
Price list names follow a fixed pattern: state, region, version, then month and year. An example:
OHCO8X_APR24
- OH is the state, Ohio.
- CO is the region within that state, Columbus.
- 8X is the price list version. 8X is the common contractor version. A different number in that position means a variable or custom price list, which is worth investigating before writing on it.
- APR24 is April 2024, the month the pricing data reflects.
Reading this backwards on a carrier estimate is the fastest way to spot a repricing problem. If an estimate on a Cleveland loss came back written on a Columbus list, or on a list five months stale, the line-item argument is secondary to the price list argument.
Match the region to the property, not the office
Xactimate does not force the correct region on a new project. Restoration companies that run crews across two or three metros are the most common source of the error, because whatever list was set as the office default follows every new estimate until someone changes it. Labor and material rates diverge meaningfully between metros in the same state, and sales tax is carried in the list, so a mismatch distorts both the labor lines and the material tax at once.
Set it explicitly, per project:
- For the default applied to new projects, go to Preferences > Pricing and select the list icon next to the Price list field.
- For a single estimate, open it and go to Claim Info > Parameters tab, then select the list icon in the Price List section.
- In the REQUEST PRICE LIST dialog, filter by City, Name, or Zip Code. Zip Code is the least ambiguous of the three.
One setting interaction catches people: the default price list option can only be selected if Default price list is chosen rather than Property zip/postal code matching. With zip matching enabled, a price list gets chosen individually for every new project instead of inheriting an office-wide default.
Which month to use on a mitigation file
Match the month the work was performed. Water mitigation compresses into a short window, but equipment days routinely straddle a month boundary, and files sometimes sit for weeks before anyone writes them up.
Two practical rules cover almost every water file:
- Drying that runs across the end of a month. Pick the list for the month that carries the majority of the equipment days and note the date range in the estimate notes so the choice is visible rather than inferred.
- A file written months after the work. Do not write it on the current month's list because that is what opened by default. Request the list for the month of the work. Writing a February job on an August list is the same category of error as writing a Cleveland job on a Columbus list, and it is just as easy for a reviewer to see.
What the carrier compares it against
XactAnalysis organizes postal codes into areas, and each area has a designated checkpoint price list. When an assignment is submitted, reviewers can compare the price list selected on the estimate against the checkpoint price list for that area. The comparison happens on the platform side rather than in the adjuster's head, which is why a mismatch generates a review cycle so reliably. Setting the list correctly at the start avoids the flag entirely.
Why this hits water losses harder than reconstruction
Water mitigation is unusually exposed to price list drift because the scope is built from repeating unit-price lines rather than a handful of large assemblies. A drying scope stacks per-24hr equipment lines (WTRDRY for air movers, WTRDHM for dehumidifiers), per-square-foot extraction (WTREXT), tear-out (WTRDMO), and antimicrobial application (WTRGRM), each multiplied by quantity and duration.
A two dollar per day difference on the air mover line looks like nothing on the screen. Across 12 air movers and 4 drying days, it is 96 dollars on a single room-and-a-half job, before the dehumidifier lines, before the extraction square footage, and before tax computed at the wrong local rate. Across a month of files, price list drift moves real money without a single disputed line item.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does Xactimate update its price lists?
General quote prices are updated monthly, and price changes or new items arrive with the new monthly price list download. Vendor-specific pricing data updates nightly.
What does 8X mean in an Xactimate price list name?
8X is the price list version, and it is the standard version most contractors write on. A different value in that position indicates a variable or custom price list, which may carry rates negotiated or modified by a specific program or carrier.
Should the price list match the date of loss or the date the work was performed?
Match the month the work was performed, since that is when the labor, material, and equipment costs were actually incurred. On files where drying crosses a month boundary, pick the month carrying most of the equipment days and document the date range in the estimate notes.
Can the wrong price list get a water mitigation invoice sent back?
Yes. XactAnalysis compares the price list on the submitted assignment against the checkpoint price list designated for that postal code area, so a region or month mismatch is visible immediately on review and commonly produces a repricing request or a return for correction.
Getting the price list right takes thirty seconds and is one of the few estimating decisions that changes the entire document at once. Wave automates the estimate build itself by turning voice notes from the jobsite into a full Xactimate estimate in minutes, with the property zip and job dates carried through from the field. Learn more at buildwithwave.com.
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