Price List Commentary & New Line Items - June 2019
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Price List Commentary
Some line items are bigger than others. Some line items that seem small can have a large impact. One acute example of this is a new line item CPSTAG Evaluate, tag, & inventory miscellaneous. What could this line item be for? Is this material? Is this labor or is this a mix a both?
Let’s start by ‘unpacking’ the additional item info:
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Okay, so it appears this is a labor only line item. Now the question becomes, what Trade Codes is this line item tied to? With the CPS category, the trades codes are not a given. When I say “a given”, what I am referring to is the fact that and ELE (Electrical) category line item is nearly always tied to the ELE (Electrician) trade code. Plumbing and other traditional trades follow suit. Now back to CPS category line items:
THERE IS NO CONTENTS TECHNICIAN/SUPERVISOR TRADE CODE(S)! There probably should be, however, the Pricing Department has yet to create contents specific trade codes. As such, the CPS line item rolls up to a mix of the following 3 trade codes:
● CLN Cleaning Technician
○ (e.g., Molly Maids)
● CLN-S Cleaning – Supervisory/Administrative
○ (e.g., Seasoned Lead Tech for the Water/Contents department)
● LBR General Laborer
○ (e.g., Labor Ready – right-on-time contract labor)
A common misconception is that CLN-R Cleaning Remediation Technician is inherently assigned to many of the CPS line items, but that is not in fact the case. Some might argue that CLN-R is a more suitable trade code that more accurately represents the labor overhead/labor burden associated with a credible contents technician. We don’t have the quantitative numbers on this, but it is our qualitative assessment that 70% of the labor associated with contents rolls to LBR (unskilled and untrained labor). I am sure readers have their own opinion about this matter, but I digress. How did we get here? Oh yeah, the new line item CPSTAG (Evaluate, tag, & inventory miscellaneous). Let’s examine what trade code(s) are inherently assigned to this line item. First off, here are our trade codes associated with this line item:
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Now to dissect this a little further, what is the “Components Build-Up” for the CLN trade code? The ‘Components Build-Up”’ assumes that a Cleaning Technician can tag an average of 12 pieces of furniture per hour prior to the inefficiencies from the Supporting Events being applied. The inefficiencies associated with the CLN trade code are not particularly favorable for the contractor and result in only a ~14% reduction in efficiency. For perspective, Supporting Events applied in a restoration environment range between 11% for CON (Content Manipulation) and 37.5% for FNC (Finish Carpentry/ Trimwork). In a “New Construction” environment, the Supporting Events are retarded back to 5.2% and 12.5% respectively.
If you’re curious about new construction, this is the checkbox that will inform the Supporting Events (or inefficiency that is applied and represents the delta between the Yield and the Direct Yield). This New Construction button is often checked when a loss is regarded as a scraper – a fire loss where the property is so catastrophically damaged that the slab is scraped and the structure is rebuilt from the ground up.
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Thus, after the Supporting Events are applied, the “Direct Yield” is 10.25 (i.e., a Cleaning Technician would be able to tag ~10 pieces of furniture per hour).
As it relates to the CLN-S Cleaning – Supervisory/Administrative trade this line item affords the user a direct yield of 18 and a Yield of 16.687. Thus, the Supervisor can evaluate ~17 pieces of furniture per hour.
That all seems reasonable on the surface, but here’s the rub. The large majority of contents labor is invoiced on a time-and-material basis by hour via CPSLAB (Inventory, Packing, Boxing and Moving charge – per hour) and CPSLABS (Contents Evaluation and/or Supervisor/Admin – per hour). These contents invoices are generated based on actuals that are derived via a materials checklist and digital timesheets. The reasoning behind this is the fact that the labor associated with travel, cartage, packout/packback remains infinitely variable and it is nearly impossible to arrive at quantitative collection of components that would inform an accurate line item that would universally represent the cost of performing the unique function at hand.
That being the case, it would be really easy to double-dip when using this line item to account for activities that are performed on site. The double-dipping would occur when a Contractor totalled up their on-site hours and invoiced for said hours, and subsequently augmented those hours with CPSTAG – this is because their labor is already satisfied via CPSLAB and CPSLABS.
Thus, it could be argued that this new line item CPSTAG should be primarily utilized only once the contents are back at the warehouse and being cleaned, restored etc. Once the contents are within the contractor’s warehouse, it is customary to transition away from the time-and-material model and begin invoicing for dynamic line items like CGNBXBM (Clean bric-a-brac per Med box). Another way to look at this is that CPSLAB and CPSTAG are mutually exclusive line items. It is true that these line items can be applied accurately within the same invoice, however, it is incumbent upon the user to define how these two mutually exclusive line items have been thoughtfully applied.
Note 1: The supporting events often deviate from their trade code. There are a number of reasons for this that we explore in greater detail during our private training engagements. Here is an example:
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Note 2: One odd limitation of Xactimate is that the trade codes cannot be updated for line items that are composed of two or more trade codes. See how the “Trade” is greyed out in the image below? We know of no way to resolve this outside of creating a completely customized price list.
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Now let’s switch gears to temporary fencing. If you’re a contractor, things are about to get more complex and less profitable. On the upside, temporary fencing can now be invoiced more accurately. Let’s examine this before and after the June 2019 price list update:
Pre June 2019 | Post June 2019 | |
Line Item | TMPFEN (Temporary Fencing) | TMPFEN (Temporary fencing – 5-8 months (per month) |
Additional Item Info | Includes: Temporary fence rental charge including labor to set up and take down.
Note: Priced per lineal foot of fencing, per month, based on 5 to 8 month rental. Pricing for temporary fencing can vary depending on several factors including length of rental, availability, location, company, etc. Xactware recommends users verify costs with local rental companies and make any changes if warranted. No life expectancy data |
Includes: Temporary fence rental charge and labor. Labor cost to remove temporary fencing.
Note: Priced per lineal foot of fencing, per month, based on a six month minimum rental period. No life expectancy data |
Search Results | ![]() |
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Calculation for (10) LNFT of Temporary Fencing for (5) months | ![]() |
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TMPFEN has morphed into three new line items:
● TMPFEN > Temporary fencing - 1-4 months (per month)
● TMPFEN < Temporary fencing - 5-8 months (per month)
● TMPFEN Temporary fencing - 9+ months (per month)
With this line item being split into three separate line items, it is now incumbent upon the user to invoice for the fencing on a monthly basis as outlined in the table above. After running some models between the old line item and the new line items, a consistent pattern that maintained a strong bias towards managed claims cost emerged. That said, Actionable Insights loves the fact that these three new line items definitely increase the ability for users to estimate more accurately. Another line item that may eventually be changed in this way is TMPTLT Temporary toilet (per month). Details to follow...
In addition to these 4 new line items, the Pricing Department has adopted two new solar panel line items. They were probably difficult to incorporate into the price list and their efforts should be applauded. The other line items are nothing burgers, just another payload of third-party independent material source line items for appliances. Shipping a gas range to Itel should prove interesting… We have an idea of what is going on with the addition of all these independent material source line items but are curious to see what you think the future holds in this regard - please comment below and weigh-in.
Price List Update Summary
New items added for the June 2019 price lists
1. APPNAPMW Microwave oven w/built-in range hood – per ind. mat. source
2. APPNAPRF Refrigerator – per specs from independent material source
3. APPNAPRF> Refrigerator – large – per specs from ind. material source
4. APPNAPRG Range – freestanding – electric – per ind. mat. source
5. APPNAPRGG Range – freestanding – gas – per ind. mat. source
6. APPNAPRGG> Range – freestanding – gas – large – per ind. mat. source
7. CPSTAG Evaluate, tag, & inventory miscellaneous – per item
8. ELSSOLARP> Solar electric panel – 200 to 350 watt
9. ELSSOLARPB Solar battery backup and converter
10. TMPFEN< Temporary fencing - 1-4 months (per month) 11. TMPFEN> Temporary fencing – 9+ months (per month)
Price list items modified for the June 2019 price lists
1. FEEASBTS Modified Notes field of (+) definition to clarify factors such as expedited laboratory test fees may affect the component pricing of the test fee.
2. DRYLF Modified text in Note field of (+) definition to clarify assumptions are included for basic finishes/textures for the area being replaced and the initial feathering.
3. DRYLF> Modified text in Note field of (+) definition to clarify assumptions are included for basic finishes/textures for the area being replaced and the initial feathering.
4. DRYLF>⅝ Modified text in Note field of (+) definition to clarify assumptions are included for basic finishes/textures for the area being replaced and the initial feathering.
5. DRYLF5/8 Modified text in Note field of (+) definition to clarify assumptions are included for basic finishes/textures for the area being replaced and the initial feathering.
6. ELSSLRP* Modified labor component yield in (+) assembly.
7. ELSSOLARP Modified item based on review. Removed assumptions for solar battery and converter (i.e. removed material components and modified labor component in [+] and [-] assemblies) and added new item for these.
8. FCCBW Modified labor component yield in (+) assembly.
9. FCCSTP Modified labor component yield and added material component FCCTACK to (+) assembly.
10. FCCSTP+ Modified labor component yield and added material component FCCTACK to (+) assembly.
11. FCCSTPEW Modified labor component yield in (+) assembly.
12. FCCSTPOR Modified labor component yield and added material component FCCTACK to (+) assembly.
13. FPLAVZW+ Modified labor component yield in (+) assembly.
14. HVCDCT Modified yield for material component HVCCA in (+) assembly.
15. PLMFAU+ Modified Quality field of (+) definition to clarify high grade faucet may include touchless features etc.
16. PLMFAU++ Modified Quality field of (+) definition to clarify premium grade faucets will include designer styles and finishes and may have touchless features.
17. PLMFAU+++ Modified Quality field of (+) definition to clarify deluxe grade faucets will include designer styles and finishes and may have touchless features.
18. TMPFEN Modified item based on review. Removed (-) activity and labor component from (+) assembly; modified description and (+) defintion to represent a 5 to 8 month rental period.
Material components added for the June 2019 price lists
1. APPNAPMW Microwave oven – w/built-in range hood- per ind. mat. source
2. APPNAPRF Refrigerator – per independent material source
3. APPNAPRF> Refrigerator – large – per independent material source
4. APPNAPRG Range – freestanding – electric – per ind. material source
5. APPNAPRGG Range – freestanding – gas – per ind. material source
6. APPNAPRGG> Range – freestanding – gas – large – per ind. mat. source
Equipment components added for the June 2019 price lists
1. TMPFENCE< Temp fencing - 1-4 month with setup/takedown 2. TMPFENCE> Temp fencing – 9+ months with setup/takedown
Equipment components modified for the June 2019 price lists
1. TMPFENCE Modified description to reference component is based on 5 to 8 month rental, including setup and takedown.
Green items added for the June 2019 price lists
1. APPNAPMW Microwave oven w/built-in range hood- per ind. mat. source
2. APPNAPRF Refrigerator – per specs from independent material source
3. APPNAPRF> Refrigerator – large – per specs from ind. material source
4. APPNAPRG Range – freestanding – electric – per ind. mat. source
5. APPNAPRGG Range – freestanding – gas – per ind. mat. source
6. APPNAPRGG> Range – freestanding – gas – large – per ind. mat. source
7. ELSSOLARP> Solar electric panel – 200 to 350 watt
8. ELSSOLARPB Solar battery backup and converter
Miscellaneous changes to the June 2019 price lists
● After a comprehensive review and national equipment survey of our existing temporary fence (TMP FEN) item, this item was modified and 2 new items were created to address different price levels and scenarios. For the existing TMP FEN item, the labor component in the (+) and (-) assemblies was removed and the equipment component for temporary fencing rental was modified to include fence rental with setup and takedown. Equipment component pricing was also updated based on the survey and the other items/components added to represent 3 different breakdowns (1 to 4 months, 5 to 8 months, and over 8 months), each priced per lineal foot per month.
● For Texas pricelists, all Residential Mixed (“Res Mixed”) sales tax jurisdictions were modified. The job type within these specific jurisdictions formerly titled “Carpet dis-Water” was renamed to “Disposal Total Tax” for more clarity and to encompass more disposal options that could possibly need to be taxed. This job type allows the user to apply a total tax on any disposal activities that they determine would need to be taxed as such in their estimate.
Future changes and additions to look for in upcoming price list publications
1. Item(s) for commercial air curtains.
2. Item for finishing stair tread with one coat of urethane.
* Signifies changes to multiple items with similar selectors.
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