When an adjuster finishes a roofing scope in Xactimate, the software saves it as an ESX file — a proprietary format that stores every line item, quantity, sketch, and pricing note in a structured, machine-readable file. When that same adjuster emails you the scope, you get a PDF. Not an ESX. A PDF. That distinction matters more than most contractors realize.
What the ESX file is
The ESX (Xactimate project file) is the native file format of Xactimate software. It contains all of the estimate data in a way the software can read, edit, export, and re-price. An adjuster with Xactimate can open an ESX and see every line as a live, editable item. They can change quantities, add lines, recalculate totals, and re-export.
ESX files are not a carrier secret — they are just proprietary. Carriers do not typically share them because adjusters do not offer the ESX, and contractors do not know to ask for it. In some cases, asking for the ESX as part of the claim file is a legitimate request, but the answer is often no.
What the PDF actually contains
The PDF you receive is a formatted printout of the estimate — every line item, quantity, RCV, ACV, and depreciation is there, but it is locked into a static document. You can read it and print it, but you cannot sort it, sum a column, or compare it against another document without retyping it into a different tool.
Xactimate PDFs follow a consistent layout: a header with property and claim info, a body with the line-item grid (code, description, quantity, unit, price, RCV, depreciation, ACV), and a summary page with totals, O&P, tax, deductible, and net payable. That consistency is what makes them parseable.
Why roofers almost always get the PDF, not the ESX
- Adjusters use Xactimate as a carrier-side tool; sharing the raw file is not standard workflow
- The ESX contains adjuster notes and internal fields not intended for the contractor
- Most carriers' claims portals only generate a PDF download option for contractors
- Requesting the ESX is possible but uncommon — and often denied
What this means for working the claim
If you only have the PDF, every analysis task — checking quantities, finding missing items, building a supplement, generating a material list — requires either retyping the data into a spreadsheet or working from the PDF directly. Both are slow and error-prone.
The ESX gap is why scope-to-spreadsheet conversion exists. By reading the carrier PDF and extracting every line item into a structured spreadsheet, you recover the analytical power of the underlying data without needing access to Xactimate or the ESX. You get sortable, filterable, summable line items — the same information, in a format you can actually work with.
How conversion recovers the data
GetToRoofing reads the carrier PDF, identifies each line in the estimate grid, and outputs a .csv and .xlsx with every column preserved: code, description, quantity, unit, unit price, RCV, depreciation, ACV, and tax. It also math-checks each line (quantity × unit price vs the line total) and flags anything that does not reconcile, so you catch PDF scanning errors before you use the data.
No Xactimate license required. No manual retyping. The data you need is already in the PDF — this just gets it into a form you can use.