What supplement software actually does, and what it doesn't
Every product in this category says it automates supplements. Almost none of them write one. The gap between those two things is where contractors waste money, so it is worth being precise about what each kind of tool actually does.
ScopeGap is one of these tools and this is our own site, so read accordingly. We have tried to describe the categories as they are rather than as they flatter us, and where a competitor does something better we have said so.
The four categories
1. The estimating platform
Xactimate, and to a lesser extent Symbility. This is where the estimate lives, it is what the carrier reads, and for most contractors it is not optional, carriers, TPAs and preferred vendor programmes generally require it.
What it automates: pricing. It holds the regional price list and does the arithmetic.
What it does not do: tell you that something is missing. Xactimate prices what you put in it. If you do not know that the carrier forgot the starter strip, Xactimate will not mention it either.
Published pricing varies widely between sources and changes often. Get it from Verisk directly rather than from a comparison article, including this one.
2. Job management with an estimating integration
AccuLynx, Albi, Cotality DASH, Xcelerate and others. These run the business, scheduling, crews, documents, job costing, and connect to the estimating platform to varying degrees.
What it automates: the administration around the claim, and moving data between systems so you are not retyping it.
What it does not do: scope analysis. An integration that pushes line items into Xactimate is moving your numbers faster, not finding ones you missed.
Integration depth differs a lot between these products and some tie their integration to a specific seat tier, so confirm what you are getting on the plan you would actually buy.
3. Field documentation
SupplementSnap and similar. Photographs, moisture readings, sketches, the evidence file.
What it automates: capture and organisation. This matters more than it sounds, most supplements fail on documentation rather than on merit.
What it does not do: decide what to claim.
4. Outsourced supplementing
A person or a firm writes and negotiates the supplement for a percentage or an hourly rate.
What it automates: all of it, by not being software.
The thing to check first: in many states, negotiating a claim on a policyholder's behalf for a fee is public adjusting, and it is licensed. A contractor supplementing their own job is in a different position from a third party doing it for a cut. This is genuinely state-specific and genuinely worth a lawyer's opinion before you sign anything. The restoration legal blogs have been writing about this for years for a reason.
Where ScopeGap sits
We do one thing in that list: the gap between "the carrier sent an estimate" and "here is the supplement letter."
You upload the carrier's estimate as a PDF. We read the line items, compare them against what the loss needs, and show what is missing or underpaid, with the IRC section or IICRC standard behind each one where a code actually exists. Then we write the letter on your letterhead with a numbered photo appendix, and export the gap items as a table you can key into Xactimate.
What we do not do, and will not claim:
- We do not replace Xactimate. You still estimate the way you do now. We read the carrier's estimate and hand you items to add.
- We do not negotiate. We are documentation software. Not legal advice, not public adjusting, and we do not speak to your adjuster.
- We do not guarantee an outcome. Nobody can. Anyone quoting you an approval percentage is quoting their own marketing.
The questions to ask any vendor, including us
- "Which specific steps does it automate?" Not "it automates supplements." Which steps. If the answer is vague, the answer is none of them.
- "Does it find items, or only price them?" These are completely different products and both get described as supplement software.
- "Where do the suggestions come from?" A rule you can read, a standard you can look up, or a model's guess. All three are legitimate; you are entitled to know which one you are getting.
- "What happens to my claim data?" Photographs of someone's damaged home are not nothing.
- "What does it cost when I actually use it?" Per seat, per claim, per month, and what tier the feature you want is really on.
On approval rates
You will see numbers quoted in this category, carrier offers as a percentage of invoice, approval rates on documented supplements. We looked for independent sources for the common ones and could not find them. They trace back to vendor blogs citing other vendor blogs.
That does not mean they are wrong. It means nobody has shown their working, and you should treat them as marketing rather than as data, including when the number flatters the argument you already wanted to make.
The honest version is simpler: a supplement with a quantity, a reason and a photograph for every line gets approved more often than one without. Everybody in this industry knows that already. The tools differ only in how much of that work they do for you.