Start with the same job and two named versions
To compare two Xactimate estimates, match the rooms and work first, then review missing items, quantities, units and pricing. A difference in the grand total tells you where to start investigating. It doesn't tell you which estimate is right.
Save both originals and label them by author, date and revision. Confirm the property and loss, then identify what each estimate covers. A mitigation estimate and a rebuild estimate may refer to the same property while describing different work. Comparing them as if they were competing versions creates a list of apparent omissions that aren't omissions at all.
Match rooms before matching line items
Map room names between the files. One writer's Living Room may be another writer's Great Room, and a hallway may have been grouped with an adjoining area. Resolve that relationship before deciding that an entire room or its work is absent.
Within a matched room, compare the described work, line-item code, activity and unit. Removal and replacement are different activities. A similar description can also hide a different material or unit. Keep those distinctions visible in the review instead of matching rows only because their wording looks close.
Give each difference a reason
A review worksheet needs enough detail for someone else to follow the decision. Record the room, both source rows, the difference, the supporting record and the action your estimator approved. The free estimate review worksheet gives your team a place to organize that work.
| Difference | What to check | Record with the decision |
|---|---|---|
| Line present in one version | Is the work documented, or included under another row? | Source row and the photo or note supporting inclusion or exclusion. |
| Different quantity | Do both writers use the same affected area and measurement? | Measurement, calculation and material boundary. |
| Different unit or activity | Are you comparing the same work on the same basis? | Unit and removal, replacement or other activity in each version. |
| Same scope, different price | Are the price lists, dates and pricing settings aligned? | The settings and source for the price difference. |
| Different total | Which scope, tax or other adjustments explain the difference? | An itemized explanation rather than only the total delta. |
Work a quantity discrepancy back to the field file
For an illustrative example, suppose one estimate removes 40 square feet of drywall and the other removes 60. Before proposing the extra 20, check the affected wall length and removal height. A 10-foot length at a 4-foot height supports 40 square feet; a different measured boundary may support another quantity. The larger number needs its own explanation.
The same review applies when a trim line appears in only one version. Check whether the trim was removed, damaged or retained, and whether another item already accounts for the work. Clear room photos and boundaries help the reviewer connect the proposed work to the actual area.
Use software to organize the review
Axiom's estimate comparison workflow helps your team examine two estimate versions and review missing or revised items with Axe. Bring the two files and the job documentation, identify their roles, and check the room matches and proposed changes before approving them.
If a source estimate needs to become editable, PDF-to-ESX conversion is a separate step. Confirm the converted rows against the original PDF before changing scope. That keeps a conversion discrepancy from being mistaken for a difference between the estimators' decisions.
For a new draft from field documentation, use data to estimate. Choosing the workflow by the file you actually have avoids rebuilding an estimate when the real task is reviewing an existing one.
Hand off the evidence with the revision
An approved revision should tell the next reader what changed and why. Keep the original versions, the reviewed comparison and the supporting records together. Identify unresolved questions rather than quietly turning them into added scope.
A comparison does not determine policy coverage or establish that a payment increase is owed. It gives your estimator a way to explain the differences that the job evidence supports. For the written handoff, see responding to estimate revisions with documentation.
