What is an ESX file, and how do you get a Xactimate-ready roof sketch?
An ESX file carries the roof sketch into Xactimate®. Who needs one, when drawing it yourself pays, and what an ordered sketch includes, costs and leaves out.
An ESX file is a Xactimate® project file: it carries the sketch of the building and can carry the estimate written on that sketch. To get a Xactimate-ready roof sketch, you either draw the roof yourself in Xactimate from a measurement, or order the sketch as an .ESX file and import it into your project.
What an ESX file is
ESX is the file format Xactimate uses to save a project and move it from one user to another. Open one and you get whatever the sender put in it: the sketch of the roof and structure and, if one was written, the estimate with its line items.
That second part depends on who made the file. A file from another estimator may hold a full estimate. A sketch file holds the drawing and nothing to price it with until you open it in your own copy of Xactimate and apply your price list.
It isn't a PDF or a spreadsheet. A browser, a PDF reader or Excel won't open it; Xactimate is the software the format belongs to. That's why an ordered sketch should come with a PDF of the same drawing for anyone who doesn't have the software.
You'll also see .SKX in threads and listings. That's the extension for a standalone sketch file rather than a whole project. Ask which one the person on the other end expects before you send anything.
Who needs one
Insurance restoration work. If you write storm, hail or wind claims and build the estimate in Xactimate, the roof has to exist as a sketch in the project before the line items mean anything. Roof area, pitch per facet, and ridge, hip, valley, eave and rake lengths all feed the quantities, so the sketch is where a short claim starts.
If you price retail re-roofs from your own sheet or estimating software, you don't need an ESX file. A measurement report gives you the same numbers in files you can open: PDF, spreadsheet, CSV.
Way 1: draw the roof yourself in Xactimate
You need measurements first: a tape-and-ladder survey, a set of plans, or a measurement report. Then you rebuild the roof in Xactimate's sketch tool, plane by plane: outline, ridges and hips, valleys, pitch on every facet.
What it costs you is time, and the time grows with the roof. A gable ranch goes quickly. A cut-up hip roof with dormers, three valleys and a porch tie-in is where the hours go, and where a wrong pitch or a missed facet quietly shorts the claim.
Run your own number. Say a complex sketch takes you 45 minutes and your time is worth $60 an hour: 0.75 × $60 = $45 per roof, before you check it. Ten claims a month is $450 of sketching.
Drawing it yourself makes sense when the roof is simple, when you were up there with a tape, or when you're already in the project making changes.
Way 2: order the sketch
You send the address, a technician draws the roof, you get an .ESX file back and import it. With RoofStruct, it runs in four steps:
- Pin the property. Type the address or drop a pin, pick residential or commercial, and pay the flat price at checkout.
- A technician draws it. Every facet, ridge and valley, drawn by a person, not an auto-trace.
- Quality check. Every sketch is checked before delivery.
- Download the .ESX and the PDF. The .ESX imports into your Xactimate estimate; the printable PDF is for the adjuster, the homeowner or anyone without the software.
| Sketch | Price | With Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | $29 | $24 |
| Commercial | $79 | $59 |
The price is flat per property: the facet count doesn't change it, and you see it before you pay. Sketches are usually delivered within 4 hours (turnaround can vary with volume and complexity), seven days a week, Eastern Time.
Back to the math. At $29 a sketch, ten residential claims a month is 10 × $29 = $290, against $450 of your own time in the example above. If a sketch takes you 20 minutes, or your hour is worth less, the answer flips. Put in your own numbers before you decide. The full service is on the ESX sketch page.
What's in the file, and what isn't
Sketch geometry only: roof outline, facets, pitches and edge lengths. No line items, no prices, no labour or material costs, no supplement. Those come from your own Xactimate® price list and macros when you open the file.
Three more things to know before you order:
- You need your own Xactimate® licence to open the file. The PDF opens anywhere.
- RoofStruct is independent. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Verisk Analytics, Inc., the maker of Xactimate®.
- Not offered in France. ESX is a North American insurance estimating format, so the service isn't available there.
A sketch and a report in one checkout
Claim jobs often need both: a measurement report for the homeowner and a sketch for the estimate. Tick the ESX add-on during a report checkout and both are produced for the same property, so the measurements match, then delivered together in one email. The price is the sum of the two, shown before you pay: a $14 residential report plus a $29 sketch is $43. You can still order a standalone sketch any time. What to send with a report order is covered in how to order a roof measurement report.
Where you trip
- Sending the wrong extension. Confirm .ESX or .SKX with whoever receives the file.
- Expecting a priced estimate. An ordered sketch is geometry. Line items, waste, and overhead and profit are yours to write.
- Opening it without a licence. The .ESX needs Xactimate; the PDF doesn't.
- Trusting the search pin. On rural lots and new subdivisions, drag the pin onto the building on the claim.
- Skipping the check. Compare one edge you taped and the pitch from your inspection notes with the sketch before you write a single line item.
The sketch is the foundation of the estimate. Get it right once, check it, then write the claim on top of it.
FAQ
What is an ESX file?
Xactimate's project file. It carries the sketch and can carry the estimate written on it. You need Xactimate to open it as a project.
Can I open an ESX file without Xactimate?
Not in a browser, a PDF reader or Excel. That's why an ordered RoofStruct sketch comes with a printable PDF of the same drawing, readable by anyone.
Does an ordered ESX sketch include line items or prices?
No. It's geometry only: outline, facets, pitches and edge lengths. Your own price list and macros do the pricing when you open it in Xactimate.
How much does an ESX sketch cost, and how fast is it?
$29 residential or $79 commercial, $24 and $59 on Pro, flat per property. Sketches are usually delivered within about 4 hours.