Why restoration shops switch
Why Restoration Companies Choose Claver
Restoration is the most documentation-heavy trade in the field service business. The carrier doesn't pay because you did good work. They pay because the file proves you did good work. Every photo you didn't take, every moisture reading you forgot to log, every air-mover placement you didn't document is a supplement that gets denied at month two.
The shops that win run two things differently. They document like the carrier is going to fight every line item because they will. They bill in milestones so they're not floating $24,000 of equipment and labor while waiting on a check that won't come for 90 days.
The documentation is the product. The water work is just what gets you in the door.
When the 2am pipe-burst call hits, your dispatch board shows every crew's GPS location and what's currently in their truck. Marcus has the extraction truck loaded out plus 6 air movers plus 2 dehumidifiers and is closest to the loss. Drag the job to Marcus. Customer gets an automatic text in 4 seconds. Marcus's crew is on the way. ETA 32 minutes. Bringing extraction truck plus 6 air movers plus 2 dehumidifiers. The customer stops crying. Marcus opens the app and sees the address, loss type which is Cat 2 water from supply line, affected square footage, the carrier on file which is State Farm with claim number not yet assigned, and any prior loss history at the address.
On-site, the documentation workflow is what separates a 12-day claim from a 12-week supplement battle. Marcus structures the job around 60-100 timestamped, GPS-tagged photos. You get pre-mitigation conditions per affected room, moisture readings on the subfloor and drywall and baseboards which is 28% MC on the kitchen subfloor well above the 16% standard, the source of loss which is a failed Sharkbite fitting under the sink, the equipment placement which is 6 air movers plus 2 dehus mapped to the kitchen, dining room, and living room, and the daily drying readings. Every photo and every reading saves to the customer record automatically. The PDF the adjuster opens at the end of mitigation is unfightable.
Drying logs are the part most shops underestimate. Carriers attack them first when they want to deny the supplement. Day 1: kitchen subfloor 28% MC, dining 22%, living 18%. Day 3: kitchen 24%, dining 17%, living 14% which achieved standard. Day 5: kitchen 19%, dining 14% which achieved. Day 7: kitchen 14% which achieved standard. When the carrier asks why drying took 7 days instead of 4, you pull up the log and show the kitchen subfloor was 12 points above standard on day 1. The curve was the textbook drop of 1 to 1.4 points per day with the equipment you placed. Standard of care met. Supplement approved.
The Xactimate-ready export is the part that gets you paid faster. Claver structures every line item with Xactimate codes. WTR-EXTR for water extraction, EQU-AM for air mover, EQU-DEH for dehumidifier, FRAM-LBR for framing labor. Photo packages bundle by affected room. Room sketches with dimensions auto-format to the Xactimate template. Your estimator stops spending 4 hours at midnight re-keying everything. The export goes straight to the adjuster ready for review. First-pass approval rate goes from 40% to 80%. Your A/R aging on insurance jobs drops from 67 days to 22.
Milestone billing on the reconstruction side is what keeps you solvent through the 90-day claim cycle. Mitigation invoice goes out the day drying completes. The carrier pays in 14 days. Reconstruction deposit at signing which is the homeowner deductible. Progress payments at framing, drywall, paint, and final. Each milestone auto-triggers a Stripe charge or ACH pull. You stop floating $24,000 of equipment and crew labor and materials waiting for a check that won't come for 90 days. You stop turning down the next 2am call because cash flow is tight.