Every scope you write has the same risk hiding in it: the line items you didn't think to add. Not the big-ticket roof — the gutters on the re-roof. The step flashing at the wall. The detach-and-reset you'd normally catch, buried on page nine. Individually these are small. Together they're the difference between a claim that pays and one that comes back short — or worse, a scope the adjuster questions line by line.
If you convert carrier PDFs to Xactimate with ESXPress, the dashboard review page gives you a second set of eyes on the scope. We call it the Completeness Advisor, and — as far as we know — it's the first tool that does all three of these things at once.
What "first of its kind" actually means here
We're not going to claim no one has ever built a checklist. Plenty of people have checklists. What we built is different in three ways that we haven't seen combined anywhere else:
- It runs automatically on converted scopes. You don't upload a list and tick boxes. You convert an insurance scope to Xactimate, and the check is already there.
- Every suggestion is code-verified. The Advisor returns a real Xactimate SEL code, checked against the price catalog before it's offered. It never invents a code just because a line-item name didn't match — unresolved items keep the PDF price and get flagged rather than guessed.
- Every suggestion is cited. Each one carries a plain-English "why" plus the source — an IRC section, an IICRC standard, or manufacturer installation instructions — so you can defend it to an adjuster instead of hoping.
So when we call it "first of our kind," that's the kind we mean: an automated, code-verified, cited scope review. We haven't seen another tool that does all three. If you have, we'd genuinely like to know.
The 93 rules, and where they come from
The Advisor checks a dashboard conversion against 93 construction, code, and supplemental rules. They span the trades a typical claim touches: roofing, framing, plumbing, water damage, drywall, painting, demolition, electrical, cleaning, appliances and fixtures, siding and gutters, HVAC, windows, and skylights.
These aren't made up. They come from building code, the insurance-restoration standards we work to, and manufacturer installation instructions — the same sources a good supplement writer already leans on. We've built and refined them against the scopes we've studied, so the rules that fire reflect what actually shows up in the field rather than just the theory. Each rule is documented and versioned on our side, so the review is consistent and auditable — not a different checklist every time.
Four examples: what it flags and why it matters
Here's the kind of thing the Advisor catches. These are real Xactimate codes, and each one is the sort of item that quietly shifts a claim's outcome.
1. Ice and water shield — RFG|IWS
IRC R905.1.1 requires ice barrier in climate zones where the January mean temperature is 25°F or below — most of the northern two-thirds of the country. Adjusters commonly include it at the eaves but skip the valleys, and code requires both. Where there are sidewalls, the barrier should extend up those walls, and it's required at penetrations (skylights, chimneys, dormer intersections) per IRC R905.2.8.5. That's a few extra squares of material that routinely never make it onto the first estimate. It's the single most profitable missed item in roofing supplements.
2. Drip edge — RFG|DRIP
On a tear-off re-roof, drip edge is required in most jurisdictions — and it's one of the most commonly omitted edge items. It's a modest line item on its own, but it's code-required, and missing it gives the adjuster a clean reason to question the whole scope. The Advisor flags the eave and rake runs separately.
3. Step flashing — RFG|STPF
Where a roof meets a wall, step flashing moves water away from the transition — and it's a classic omission. It's measured in linear feet at each wall intersection, and adjusters frequently miss it or under-count it.
4. Re-nail existing decking — RFG|RNDK
IRC R905.1.1 requires existing decking to be re-nailed to meet current fastener schedules when you're doing a tear-off. It applies to virtually every re-roof and is often skipped entirely — the adjuster sees the decking as "not replaced" and moves on. It's a per-square item, and it's almost always there.
Beyond roofing, the Advisor checks water-heater hookups, smoke detectors, detach and reset on appliances and fixtures, switch plates, door hardware, and final clean — the kinds of items that are easy to miss when you're working from a PDF a carrier generated in a hurry.
It also watches grade and O&P
Two more things the Advisor does that a plain checklist won't. It reads the line description for premium-grade keywords — architectural, smooth, commercial — and, when a higher-grade variant exists in the price list, suggests the real one. And it tells you when a multi-trade scope qualifies for overhead and profit, so you don't leave O&P on the table when the job legitimately earns it.
Why it's suggestion-only
The most important thing about the Advisor is what it doesn't do: nothing auto-adds. You review each suggestion and click Add on what applies. The tool reads the scope and finds what's likely missing; you make the call. That matters — an estimator who understands why a line item is there is far more likely to write it correctly than one who clicks "accept all" on a tool that silently changes the total.
The bottom line: a supplement is a negotiation, and every unsupported line is a reason to push back. A scope that arrives with code-verified, cited suggestions already in hand is a scope that's a lot harder to argue with — and a lot more likely to pay what it should.
How to see it on your own scope
If you've converted a scope with ESXPress, the Completeness Advisor panel is right there on the review page — open any converted estimate and read what's missing. For the reference side, our full feature breakdown explains how each piece works, and the Xactimate code lookup shows the SEL codes behind any suggestion.
Want to build a better supplement overall? We've written up the most commonly missed line items and the full supplement guide. The Advisor automates a lot of that checklist — but the reasoning behind it is worth knowing.
Start free — 5 conversions a month, no card — and convert your first estimate in about two minutes →
Related: completeness advisor, and convert then run the completeness check, and check a file before you send it.