Why CAT volume changes the ordering workflow
Ordering one roof report at a time works fine for a handful of claims a week. It stops working once a CAT assignment puts forty, one hundred, or three hundred addresses on your desk at once. The failure points are predictable: an address gets typed wrong in a hurry, a file comes back named nothing useful, a delivery gets missed and nobody notices until an estimator asks where it is.
The fix is not a different ordering process, it is the same process with three things added: a scrubbed address list before anything is submitted, a naming convention every order follows, and a tracker that gets checked daily against what actually arrived.
Build the batch before you submit the first order
- Address list scrubbed for full street address, city, state, and ZIP
A partial or approximate address is the single most common cause of a delayed or misdirected order at any volume.
- Format decided per property, not per batch
A CAT batch is rarely uniform. Some properties need ESX for Xactimate®, some need XML for Symbility®, some just need the PDF for the file. Deciding format up front avoids a second round of orders.
- Claim or file number attached to every address before ordering
This is what lets the delivered file be matched to the right claim without opening it first.
- One point of contact named for revisions
When a batch this size comes back, corrections should route through one person, not whoever opens the email first.
A naming convention that survives 200 files
Pick the convention before the first order goes out, not after the first fifty files land in one folder with generic names. The convention only needs three elements: claim number, property identifier, and format tag.
| Element | Example | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Claim number field | Entered in the order's reference field at submission | Carries through to the delivered file name automatically instead of being added by hand later |
| File name pattern | ClaimNumber_StreetAddress_Format | Lets a folder of 200 files be sorted and searched without opening any of them |
| Folder structure | One folder per adjuster or team, one subfolder per storm date | Keeps deliveries traceable back to who ordered them and when |
| Format tag | ESX, XML, or PDF appended to the file name | Prevents the wrong format being pulled into the wrong estimating platform |
Ordering the batch, address by address
Reports are still ordered one property at a time even in a CAT batch; there is no bulk upload published on the order pages as of this writing. The discipline is in how you work the list.
- Confirm each address against the loss run
Check the address on the order form against the claim system before submitting, not after. The map pin should land on the correct structure.
- Choose format per property
Standard ESX for a typical roof, Complex-roof ESX for heavy cut-up roofs with many facets, PDF-only if the estimate is already done and you just need the exhibit, ESX + PDF if you want both from one order.
- Enter the claim number into the order's reference field
Go to the sponsor's order a roof report by address page and put the claim number where it will carry through to the delivered file name.
- Submit in scrubbed sub-batches
Work the list in groups of twenty or thirty rather than one long unbroken run, so a single bad address does not stall the whole group behind it.
- Log the order the moment it is submitted
Record address, claim number, format, and submission time in a shared tracker before moving to the next address, not at the end of the day.
Tracking deliveries against the batch
- Match delivered file count to submitted order count daily
The gap between orders placed and files received is the first sign of a missed or delayed delivery, and it is easiest to fix the same day.
- Confirm the file name carries the claim number
A file that arrives unnamed or misnamed has to be matched by hand, which is where files get attached to the wrong claim.
- Confirm the format matches what was requested
An ESX ordered for Xactimate® is useless to a desk running Symbility®, and the reverse.
- Flag anything ordered before the 6 PM Eastern cutoff that has not arrived
Same calendar day delivery is the published turnaround for orders before that cutoff; anything outside it is a follow-up, not a wait-and-see.
QA sampling before reports go into the estimates
Do not wait for an estimator to catch a measurement problem inside Xactimate®. Before a batch is released to the estimating team, pull a sample, roughly one in ten files across a large CAT batch, and check pitch, facet count, and ridge and valley calls against a quick visual gut check of the property.
If a sampled file looks wrong, request a correction from the delivery email for that specific address rather than re-ordering it from scratch or holding up the rest of the batch. Corrections and revisions are available directly from the delivery email under the sponsor's published terms.
Same-day delivery does not change with batch size
The published turnaround is same calendar day for orders placed before the 6 PM Eastern cutoff, and that applies per order, not per batch. A batch submitted at 4 PM and a batch submitted at 7 PM the same day are on two different clocks even if they were built from the same address list. Splitting a large CAT list into a pre-cutoff wave and a next-day wave, and noting that split in the tracker, avoids confusion about why half the batch arrived today and half arrived tomorrow.
For CAT-specific ordering context and terms, see the sponsor's Sketch My Roof roof measurement reports page for adjusters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a bulk discount for ordering roof reports at CAT volume?
Can I mix formats within one CAT batch?
What if an address in the batch turns out to be wrong after ordering?
How do I keep a 200-file delivery from becoming unmanageable?
Does the same-day cutoff still apply when I am ordering in volume?
Sources
- Published residential menu: Standard ESX $19; Complex ESX $25; PDF-only $25; ESX + PDF $29; ordered by address; no subscription; no minimum: Sketch My Roof residential order page (as of August 2026)
- Same calendar day delivery for orders before the 6 PM Eastern cutoff; corrections and revisions available from the delivery email: Sketch My Roof roof measurement service facts (as of August 2026)
- CAT-relevant ordering context for adjusters: Sketch My Roof roof measurements for adjusters (as of August 2026)
- ESX files are imported into Xactimate® via the Sketch import option; menus vary by version, verify in your build: Xactware Help Center (as of August 2026)