Where O&P actually sits in Xactimate®
Xactimate® stores unit prices for individual line items (a square of shingles, a linear foot of drip edge, a roll of felt) and none of those unit prices carry a built-in overhead and profit markup. O&P is calculated separately, as a percentage applied against the subtotal of the line items marked eligible for it, and it prints as its own line or lines on the estimate, usually labeled Overhead and Profit.
That calculation only runs if the estimate's profile or settings turn it on. An estimator can build a complete, accurate estimate with the correct quantities and pricing and still see zero O&P on the printed total, because nothing in the file told the program to add it. This is the detail that generates most of the forum confusion: the software is capable of the calculation, but capability is not the same as an automatic default.
Who decides whether O&P applies to a given roof claim
The decision to include O&P, and at what percentage, comes from outside the estimating software. It is set by the adjuster working the file, by the carrier's written claim handling guideline, or by whatever profile the desk has standardized on for that carrier. Xactimate® is the calculator; it is not the party that decides coverage or claim handling policy.
You will see the phrase three trades used informally in adjuster forums as a rule of thumb for when O&P becomes appropriate on a repair. That is an industry convention some carriers reference in their guidelines, not a rule Xactware enforces in the software, and it is not universal across carriers or states. Treat any specific O&P trigger, percentage, or eligibility rule as a claim handling and coverage question, answered by the carrier's guideline and the policy language, not by this article.
How O&P prints on the estimate
| Line | What it represents | Where the number comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Line item extensions (materials, labor, equipment) | Direct cost of each measured quantity times its unit price | Quantities entered or imported, unit prices from the price list in use |
| RCV subtotal | Sum of the line item extensions eligible for O&P | Adds automatically as line items are entered |
| Overhead | Percentage applied against the eligible subtotal | Set in the estimate profile/settings or entered per the carrier's guideline |
| Profit | Percentage applied against the eligible subtotal | Same source as overhead; the two are independent settings |
| Tax | Applied per the tax settings for the jurisdiction | Estimate settings, separate from O&P |
Menus vary by version; verify the exact settings location in your build against Xactware's documentation before changing anything on a live claim.
How measured quantities feed the base O&P sits on
Because O&P is a percentage of the eligible subtotal, and the subtotal is built from quantities times unit price, the accuracy of the quantities determines the accuracy of both numbers at once. A roof's quantities come from its footprint and pitch: area equals footprint times the pitch multiplier, and one roofing square equals 100 square feet. The table below applies that formula to a single footprint at four common pitches.
The point for O&P purposes: if the squares feeding the subtotal are wrong, the direct cost line moves, and the overhead and profit lines calculated as a percentage of that subtotal move with it. A 2-square gap does not cost you 2 squares of shingles; it costs 2 squares of shingles plus whatever O&P percentage was set to run on top of them.
| Pitch | Multiplier | 2,000 sq ft footprint, area | Squares |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4/12 | 1.054 | 2,108 sq ft | 21.08 |
| 6/12 | 1.118 | 2,236 sq ft | 22.36 |
| 8/12 | 1.202 | 2,404 sq ft | 24.04 |
| 12/12 | 1.414 | 2,828 sq ft | 28.28 |
Checklist before you apply or dispute an O&P line
- Confirm whether O&P is turned on in the estimate's profile or settings
A missing O&P line is often a settings issue, not a decision anyone made on the claim.
- Check the carrier's written guideline for the applicable percentage and eligibility rule
The percentage and the trigger for using it are claim handling decisions, not defaults in Xactimate®.
- Verify the quantities behind the subtotal before arguing about the O&P dollar amount
A disputed O&P figure is frequently a downstream symptom of a disputed quantity higher up the estimate.
- Keep any O&P eligibility question separate from a coverage question
Whether a repair method or scope is covered is a policy question; whether O&P applies to a covered scope is a claim handling question. Treat both as outside the scope of this article and route them to the applicable guideline or counsel.
The same mechanism in Symbility®
Symbility® claims estimating handles O&P the same way in principle: it is a settings-level calculation applied against an eligible subtotal, not a value embedded in individual line items. If your desk moves files between Xactimate® and Symbility® through XactAnalysis® or a comparable workflow, confirm the O&P settings independently in each platform rather than assuming one file's setting carried over with the import.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Xactimate® factor in overhead and profit automatically?
What percentage does Xactimate® use for overhead and profit?
Does every roof estimate get O&P, or only jobs with several trades?
Does the O&P percentage apply to each line item or to the whole estimate?
Can someone change the O&P percentage in the estimate file?
Sources
- Xactimate® applies overhead and profit as a settings/profile-level percentage against an eligible subtotal rather than embedding it in individual line-item unit prices: Xactware Help Center (as of August 2026)
- One roofing square equals 100 square feet; area equals footprint times the pitch multiplier: Xactware Help Center, measurement conventions (as of August 2026)
- Symbility® claims estimating applies overhead and profit through a comparable settings-level calculation against an eligible subtotal: CoreLogic Claims Documentation (as of August 2026)
- Roof measurement reports are delivered as ESX for Xactimate®, XML for Symbility®, or PDF, ordered by property address: Sketch My Roof for adjusters (as of August 2026)
