Xactimate Reprice: What Happens When You Import an ESX File
Repricing is a line-by-line event inside Xactimate, not a flat percentage. Here is the mechanism, how much a real file moves, and how to check yours before import.
When you import an ESX file, Xactimate reprices it. It reads each line item, looks up its code in the price list installed on your machine, and applies that list's unit price to every line it recognizes. The file you built from a carrier PDF keeps the PDF's prices until that moment of import. After import, recognized lines carry the receiver's prices, and unrecognized lines keep their PDF price, flagged for review. This page explains the whole mechanism, shows how much a typical file actually moves, and lets you check a specific file before Xactimate ever opens it.
By Chaz Jaco, Co-Founder & Software Architect, ESXPress - Last updated:
What "reprice" means in Xactimate
A reprice is the moment of import. The file arrives, Xactimate reads it, and the price list loaded on the machine does the pricing. Nothing about the conversion decides a reprice; the receiver's environment does.
Two price environments, and which one wins
Repricing exists because two price environments are always in play. The first priced the original carrier scope that produced your PDF. The second sits on the machine that receives your ESX. The receiving environment decides the price. Xactimate does not honor a stamp inside the file; it prices for the present, against the list that is loaded when the file opens. That is the whole reason a total can move between the PDF you were sent and the estimate you import.
The mechanism: code by code, not a flat percentage
A reprice is not one percentage applied to everything. It is a line-by-line event. Xactimate takes each line's code and activity variant, install, removal or add, looks it up in the loaded price list, and writes the new unit price for that line alone. Some lines move, most stay. The direction is not random either: lines priced on an older list tend to move up when costs have climbed since, and hand-keyed or inflated specialty lines move down to list. The same mechanism produces both outcomes, which is why a reprice feels unpredictable until you know what is happening underneath.
What reprices, and what stays from your PDF
A line reprices only if its code resolves in the receiving price list. The conversion preserves every PDF price first, then the import decides which of those prices the receiver can replace.
Lines that carry a code Xactimate recognizes
A line reprices only if its code resolves in the receiving price list. The conversion preserves every PDF price first, then the import decides which of those prices the receiver can replace. If a line's code is recognized, the receiver's list prices it. If the code is not recognized, nothing changes for that line. Knowing the share of recognized lines is the same as knowing, in advance, roughly how much of a file can move.
Lines that keep their PDF price (flagged, never guessed)
The rule has a sharp edge that gets missed: an unrecognized code keeps its PDF price and the line is flagged. The total never silently changes for those lines. No code is invented, no price is estimated into existence. The flag is how you find them, and the original PDF is how you verify them. An unrecognized code is an unresolved code: visible, reviewable, never silently priced.
How much actually reprices: what 289 real files show
Across 289 real files and 7,525 line items, 2,756 lines, 36.6%, carry a code our catalog recognizes. The rest keep their PDF price. In the population we measured, most line items do not reprice at all.
The per-file view matters more: the median file moves 17% of its lines, and 39 files move none. Roughly one file in six changes a meaningful share on import, and about one file in seven changes nothing. Coverage varies file to file, so do not assume this file behaves like the last one.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Files measured | 289 |
| Line items measured | 7,525 |
| Lines carrying a recognized code | 2,756 (36.6%) |
| Median file: share of lines that move | 17% |
| Files that move nothing on import | 39 |
| Claims data behind coverage | 33,076 line items, 6,648 distinct codes (Aug 2026 wave) |
Xactimate repricing in 2026: what changed this year
2026 changed how fast a stale list hurts. Three shifts matter to anyone importing an older file into a current environment.
Labor rates now move every month
Xactimate hourly billable labor rates now update monthly, where they used to lag. A file priced a couple of months ago is now more likely to reprice than it would have been a year ago, because labor has more chances to move. Estimating off a stale list in 2026 means eating documented wage inflation on every job. Third-party price-list trackers dated July 2026 report the change.
A third labor-efficiency tier, and the "Total Rebuild" relabel
Verisk added a third labor-efficiency model, Large Restoration/Remodel, sitting between the Restoration/Service setting and a full rebuild. The old New Construction setting was relabeled Total Rebuild or Similar, and the three-tier setup requires a 2026-or-later price list. The practical effect: a one-page tier justification now belongs in the estimate package, and older lists cannot carry the new tier at all. Importing a pre-2026 file into a 2026 environment is exactly the case most likely to move.
Price-list month, date of loss, date of repair
A price list is stamped with its market and its month, in a code like OKAD8X_SEP24: state, region, version, month and year. That stamp records what the file was priced on. It does not control the reprice. The recurring disagreement is date of loss versus date of repair. A policy pays the cost of repair, and repair costs are incurred when the work is performed, not when the damage happened. When a claim sits for months, locking the estimate to the loss month quietly misprices every line. The honest move is to confirm the list matches the loss location and the current month, then compare the two totals rather than argue the point.
Check before you import: the reprice checker
The reprice checker answers the question before Xactimate opens the file. It shows which lines carry a code our catalog recognizes and which fall back to their PDF price. If most lines are recognized, expect the receiver's list to move a meaningful share of them. If the recognized share is thin, the file arrives mostly as the PDF priced it. The check is free, runs in the browser, and needs no signup.
Pair it with the code dictionary: when a line is flagged, look the code up, confirm what it is, and decide whether you want the receiver to price it at all.
How to handle a reprice without surprises (5 steps)
- Run the reprice check. Run the reprice check on the exported file before you open Xactimate. Read the recognized share.
- Let Xactimate reprice. Open the file and let Xactimate reprice. Note the new total and the lines that changed.
- Review flagged lines. Review the flagged lines first. Every unrecognized code kept its PDF price, so this is your shortlist.
- Compare totals. Compare the imported total against the original PDF. If a large share was recognized, expect real movement.
- Confirm the price-list stamp. Confirm the price-list stamp matches the loss location and the current month before anything reaches the adjuster.
Related
- ESX reprice checker
- How a carrier scope becomes a Xactimate ESX
- Xactimate code dictionary
- ESX validator
- Why Xactimate reprices your estimate
- Xactimate pricing guide 2026
- The pricing gap and roofing margins
- The O&P true-budget trap
- Reprice for full margin
- See how a reprice affects profit
- Recover the reprice delta with a supplement
- Reprice plus supplement workflow
- What an ESX estimate file is
- Glossary: reprice
- Glossary: price list
- Glossary: price override
- Glossary: per-line pricing
- Glossary: price-list region
Frequently asked questions
What does "reprice" mean in Xactimate?
It is the moment of import: Xactimate looks up each line's code in the price list loaded on your machine and applies that list's unit price to every line it recognizes. The PDF's prices hold until then.
Why does Xactimate reprice my estimate at all?
The file carries no price-list identity, so the receiver's list applies by design. We do not pick a list for the file, because a price list is a local decision for the estimator's machine, region and company.
Does repricing change the total?
It can, in either direction. Recognized lines take the receiver's price and the total recalculates. Unrecognized lines keep their PDF price, so the system never silently changes their number.
Which lines reprice and which stay?
Lines whose codes resolve in the receiving list reprice. Lines with an unrecognized code keep the PDF price and are flagged. In our measured run, 36.6% of lines carried a recognized code.
How do I know if a file will reprice before I import?
Run the free reprice check. It reports the share of lines carrying a code the catalog recognizes: that share is how much of the file can move on import.
How many files actually change after repricing?
Across 289 files, the median file moves 17% of its lines and 39 files move none. Most measured line items keep their PDF price.
Can I stop Xactimate from repricing on import?
No converter can. What we control is the file's content: the PDF's prices, quantities and codes, with a flag wherever a code is unresolved. Review flagged lines before import and compare after.
Do Xactimate price lists change often in 2026?
Yes. Price lists publish monthly, and hourly billable labor rates now update monthly. A newly added third labor-efficiency tier requires a 2026-or-later list, so older files are more likely to move.
Is the reprice check free?
Yes. It is one of the public tools, alongside the free code search, the ESX validator, the profit calculator and the glossary. No signup required.