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Catmandale
USA
67 Posts |
 Posted - 03/14/2003 : 09:48:20
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| If you no longer were able to use Xactimate, what program would you use? |
"When we thought that we had all the answers,
suddenly all the questions changed."
Mario Benedetti (1920); Uruguayan writer.
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katadj
USA
315 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2003 : 20:25:17
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What a blessing, gift, manna from heaven, boon, windfall, lottery win, that would be.
We can always wish................................... |
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jtadjuster
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 04/18/2003 : 19:20:24
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| Simsol would be a prayer answered. |
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OBHF
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 04/23/2003 : 16:58:40
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1. Xactimate is not going away. The largest carriers are committed to it and that filters down to the Adjusting companies and, ultimately, to us. If you want to work you need to know how to use it. (The same probably goes for DDS.)
2. Knowing how to use it is a moving target. What got you by last year with Xactimate probably won't be enough this year. I'm doing my Xactimate estimates with Sketch now, and working slower than ever. We can hardly wait to see what the next round of improvements will bring!
3. The final product looks good, and no examiner cares how long it took you to get the job done. (These are fee schedule adjustments, our challenge is to stay out of the sub-minimum wage pay grade.) If you grouse about how goofy-footed the system is, somebody who struggles in silence will be doing your job on the next storm. As a rule, about the time I really start to feel "comfortable using Xactimate," I'm getting ready to go home.
4. If I could, I'd like to use Simsol all the time. Unless I want to run my own business again, that's not going to happen. (Even if you opt for running your own business, you may still have to use Xactimate to get business from certain carriers. – See point 1.)
5. I like to work. The challenge is to write the best sheet you can whatever system you're using. All of the estimating software systems available today are a whole lot more robust than they were five years ago. Does anybody remember what passed for estimating programs when we were working Hurricane Andrew?
6. I guess what I’m saying is that Xactimate is like any other requirement that we have to comply with in this quirky business in which we choose to be involved.
7. Work it until it works, or work it until it breaks. It’s good to have work to do.
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Ghostbuster
476 Posts |
Posted - 04/23/2003 : 18:42:13
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Yes, everything you say is correct, but that still doesn't make it alright. Big X has reinvented the wheel and added square corners and a pretty paint job. Everything we did not want or need.
At Andrew...yeah...it was Xactimate 4.92. And, it rolled along quite well. I still have mine. It and the later DOS version 5.8 were master-pieces. What they did not have was a lot of stuff we really did not want or need. |
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katadj
USA
315 Posts |
Posted - 04/23/2003 : 21:38:43
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| I used NES a dos based estimating system, during that little tour of 18 months and the work product was admired by all those that reviewed it. |
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Catmandale
USA
67 Posts |
Posted - 04/23/2003 : 23:36:44
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I have used DDS just a little - fooling around with a demo, no under-the-gun cat work. I thought the little pictures might get wearisome.
I have used Simsol and found it fast, efficient and easy to learn. A good, solid program. Never could crash it.
Xactimate has consumed a whole hell of a lot of my time over the last 16 years. I wish I had a dollar for every call to unlock a time latch or reset a database or index.
I agree with Ghost on the DOS versions. I stil use 5.9 today. I have estimates that I need to convert from DOS to Windows. So I need Xact 99 0r 2000 to convert, then 2002 to work them as 99 and 2000 crash at will. All this in addition to the 5.9, which just hums along.
Somewhere along the line, the software providers need to produce a product that works, rather than an endless stream of beta test mongrels. Xactware will probably point the finger to Microsoft...but Simsol works!
I will use what I need to, but I'm not good at keeping my mouth shut and my head down...that's why I have scars on my noggin.
Dale Strain |
"When we thought that we had all the answers,
suddenly all the questions changed."
Mario Benedetti (1920); Uruguayan writer.
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robby
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 04/24/2003 : 07:40:54
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I have not had any problems with Power Claim. You can not beat the service with any question you want to pose them. I have used it for the last 3 years and have nothing to say for it but it works great!!!!
Robby |
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Veee
USA
3 Posts |
Posted - 04/30/2003 : 20:01:37
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| I must agree, the big X has gotten more "glitchy" in the modern form. It seems like everytime they "improve" the software it is delivered with more and more "glitches" which eat up more and more of my time and my computer tech's time trying to figure it out. Don't get me started on uploads and downloads either! I remember the old DOS based version...must have been about 11 years ago or so...that was wonderful. The DOS version did what it was designed to do and now in 2003 we have a bunch of unwanted bells and whistles that slow the system down. I would go with DDS if Xactimate left the market. The only thing that Xactimate has managed to occomplish is making all the insurance companies more uniform in their pricing, thus the contractors are more in line which benefits all. |
Talley Construction Co. |
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If Xactimate disappeared tommorrow
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