xactparse

Extract and total Xactimate estimate line items from PDF.

Purpose

Construction contractors use this tool to quickly answer:

• How much is my initial check? (ACV - Actual Cash Value)
• What's the total job value? (RCV - Replacement Cost Value)
• How much is being held back? (Depreciation)

Usage

xactparse estimate.pdf output.xlsx

Output

Console Summary

============================================================
CONTRACTOR SUMMARY
============================================================

💰 INITIAL CHECK (ACV):        $21,893.11
💵 TOTAL JOB VALUE (RCV):      $21,893.11
⏳ HELD BACK (Depreciation):   $0.00
   ✅ No depreciation - Full replacement cost coverage

📊 BUDGET (60% of RCV):        $13,135.87
============================================================

Excel File

• Totals sheet: Trade-by-trade breakdown with RCV, ACV, Depreciation
• Master sheet: All line items with full details
• Trade sheets: Individual sheets per trade category
• Pie chart: Visual breakdown of costs by trade

Features

• Multi-pattern regex parser with fallback logic for format variations
• AGE/LIFE and CONDITION support - handles depreciation columns
• Automatic trade categorization (17+ categories)
• Multi-line descriptions - combines continuation lines intelligently
• Smart content filtering - skips dimensions, totals, and notes
• Depreciation warnings - shows % held back if applicable
• Budget calculation - 60% of RCV estimate
• Excel formatting - totals, charts, and trade breakdowns
• Clear contractor-focused display

Format Support

Supported Formats (67% success rate on real-world estimates)

✅ Text-based PDFs - Estimates with extractable text layers:

• American Family (AmFam)
• RC Estimates (most formats)
• Most contractor-generated estimates
• Digital Xactimate exports

✅ Format Variations Handled:

• Full format with AGE/LIFE and CONDITION columns
• Simple format without age/condition
• Alternative depreciation notation (parentheses or angle brackets)
• Multi-line item descriptions
• Special characters (dashes, quotes, ampersands, parentheses)

Limited Support (requires OCR - not yet implemented)

⚠️ Image-based PDFs - Scanned or image-rendered estimates:

• Some Allstate estimates
• Some Liberty Mutual estimates
• Some State Farm estimates
• Photocopied or faxed estimates

Note: OCR support coming soon using pytesseract/OCRmyPDF

Requirements

python3 -m pip install --user pdfplumber pandas openpyxl

Installation

# Clone or download
cd ~/github/xactparse

# Create wrapper script (already done if using from ~/bin)
chmod +x xactparse.py
sudo ln -s $(pwd)/xactparse.py /usr/local/bin/xactparse

Trade Categories

Automatically categorizes line items into:

• Baseboards, Trim, Casing
• Cabinets
• Carpet
• Cleaning
• Content Manipulation
• Doors
• Drywall
• Electrical
• Floor Protection
• HVAC
• Insulation
• Labor Minimums
• Painting
• Plumbing, Toilets, Sinks
• Showers, Tubs, Tile
• Tile Flooring
• Vinyl Flooring
• Laminate
• Mitigation
• Other (unmatched items)

Related Tools

• xactdiff: Compare two estimates to find missing line items

Technical Details

Parser Architecture

The parser uses a multi-pattern fallback system to handle format variations:

1. Pattern 1: Full Format with AGE/LIFE

   NUMBER. DESCRIPTION QTY+UNIT UNIT_PRICE TAX O&P RCV AGE/LIFE [yrs] Text COND% (DEPREC) ACV
   Example: 1. Remove charge... 13.49SQ 7.27 0.00 9.80 107.87 9/NA Avg. 0% (0.00) 107.87
   

2. Pattern 2: Simple Format

   NUMBER. DESCRIPTION QTY+UNIT UNIT_PRICE TAX O&P RCV (DEPREC) ACV
   Example: 52. R&R Vinyl window... 3.00EA 895.87 195.90 288.36 3,171.87 (951.56) 2,220.31
   

3. Pattern 3: Angle Brackets

   NUMBER. DESCRIPTION QTY UNIT UNIT_PRICE TAX O&P RCV <DEPREC> ACV
   Example: 10. Paint door... 2.00 EA 45.00 1.50 5.00 103.00 <10.30> 92.70
   

Content Filtering

The parser intelligently skips:

• Dimension headers and dimension lines
• Total/subtotal/grand total lines
• Section headers (CONTENTS, SUMMARY, etc.)
• Instruction text (receipts, documentation requirements)
• Non-line-item content

Multi-line Handling

Descriptions can span multiple lines. The parser:

1. Detects numbered items (e.g., "52. Description...")
2. Combines continuation lines until next numbered item or skip pattern
3. Preserves special characters and formatting
4. Cleans excessive whitespace

Testing

Test against sample estimates:

./test-all-samples.sh

Current test results on 12 real-world estimates:

• ✅ 8 successful (67%): AmFam, RC Estimates, WEBER
• ❌ 4 require OCR (33%): Some Allstate, Liberty Mutual, State Farm

Privacy Note

This tool processes PDFs locally. No data is uploaded or transmitted. Keep PDF estimates secure - they contain customer names, addresses, and financial details.