The Appraisal Lifecycle From Intake to Close
Walk through every status on an appraisal, what triggers the next move, and how the carrier and insured paths diverge.
You'll learn
- Every status an appraisal moves through, in order
- What you do at each step and what triggers the next status
- How the carrier path and insured path differ in practice
- Why moving a case to COMPLETE matters for revenue reporting
You are 30 days into AwardLettr. You have a handful of cases on the board and you keep second-guessing the status dropdown. Is this still IN_NEGOTIATIONS or should it be GOING_TO_UMPIRE? Did anything happen when I picked AWARD_AGREED_UPON, or is it just a label? Every appraiser hits this wall early on. Once you understand the lifecycle, the rest of the app makes sense.
Status is not just a label. Cases stuck in the wrong status inflate your pending revenue, hide finished work from your earned column, and cause workflow templates to fire at the wrong moment (or not fire at all). A case that should be COMPLETE but is still WORKING_ON_REPORT looks like open work on every dashboard. Your year-end revenue report will understate your earnings until you fix it.
This article is the map. Read it once and the My Work view, the revenue reports, and the workflow automations will all click into place. Most useful for anyone in their first month on AwardLettr, but worth a refresher any time you find yourself staring at the status dropdown wondering which one to pick.
Every appraisal in AwardLettr moves through the same lifecycle. The status on the case tells you where things stand at a glance, drives what the dashboard surfaces in My Work, and decides which workflow emails fire. Status changes are always manual. You pick the next step when you are ready. AwardLettr does not auto-advance.
Manual transitions, automated side effects
The Full Status Flow
INTAKE
New case received. You are gathering documents, confirming parties, and deciding next action.
ON_HOLD
Optional. Used when you are blocked waiting on something (signed engagement, opposing appraiser, payment retainer).
READY_TO_SCHEDULE
Intake is done. Booking link can go out. The case is ready for an inspection date.
APPOINTMENT_SCHEDULED
Inspection is on the calendar. Confirmation sent to all parties.
INSPECTION_COMPLETED
Site visit is done. Photos and notes captured. Time to write the estimate.
WORKING_ON_ESTIMATE
You are pricing the loss. Building line items in Xactimate or your tool of choice.
INITIAL_ESTIMATE_COMPLETE
Your number is set. Estimate goes to opposing appraiser to start the conversation.
IN_NEGOTIATIONS
You and the opposing appraiser are exchanging counters, walking the differences, trying to land on an agreement.
GOING_TO_UMPIRE
Negotiations stalled. You and opposing have agreed on an umpire and are sending the file over.
COURT_APPOINTED_UMPIRE
You could not agree on an umpire. A court is appointing one. Less common but happens.
AWARD_AGREED_UPON
Two of three signatures are on the award. The number is locked. Time to finalize the report.
WORKING_ON_REPORT
Drafting the final narrative report. Pulling in photos, findings, and award rationale.
COMPLETE
Report delivered. Invoice generated and sent. Fee booked as earned revenue.
Carrier Path vs Insured Path
The status names are the same regardless of who you represent, but the day-to-day rhythm and money model differ. Pick the tab that matches your assignment.
As the carrier appraiser, the insurance company assigns you and bills are hourly. Time tracked in AwardLettr at every status flows into your pending revenue calculation automatically.
- INTAKE typically starts from a carrier or TPA assignment email. Set the carrier and adjuster fields right away.
- IN_NEGOTIATIONS often runs longer on the carrier side. You are usually defending the carrier estimate and tracking every call.
- GOING_TO_UMPIRE is where carrier appraisers spend real prep time. Track that prep as billable.
- COMPLETE is when you generate the hourly invoice from your time entries and send it to the carrier or TPA you billed to.
As the insured appraiser, the policyholder or their public adjuster engaged you. Fees are often flat or percentage-based instead of hourly. The status flow is the same but the early steps differ.
- INTAKE includes confirming retention and getting your engagement letter signed before scheduling.
- ON_HOLD is more common for insured cases waiting on a signed engagement or retainer.
- INITIAL_ESTIMATE_COMPLETE is when you serve your demand on the carrier appraiser. The pace is set by the carrier side after that.
- COMPLETE triggers the fee invoice. If you flat-fee, the fee was set at intake and just needs to be billed.
Why Status Hygiene Matters
The dashboard, My Work view, and revenue reports all read off the status. A case stuck in IN_NEGOTIATIONS for four months still shows as active and inflates your pending revenue. A finished case that never got moved to COMPLETE keeps its fee in pending forever instead of counting it as earned. Pick the right status and keep it current.
| Status | What you should be doing | What triggers the next move |
|---|---|---|
| INTAKE | Gather assignment, confirm parties | Engagement is firm and you can schedule |
| READY_TO_SCHEDULE | Send booking link | Opposing appraiser picks a slot and you confirm |
| APPOINTMENT_SCHEDULED | Prep for site visit | Inspection happens |
| INSPECTION_COMPLETED | Pull photos, organize notes | You start writing the estimate |
| WORKING_ON_ESTIMATE | Build line items, price the loss | Estimate is signed off internally |
| INITIAL_ESTIMATE_COMPLETE | Send estimate to opposing | They respond with counter or agreement |
| IN_NEGOTIATIONS | Exchange counters, document calls | You agree on a number, OR you both agree you need an umpire |
| GOING_TO_UMPIRE | Prep the umpire brief, send the file | Umpire issues their decision |
| AWARD_AGREED_UPON | Confirm signatures on the award | You move to writing the report |
| WORKING_ON_REPORT | Draft the narrative report | Report is delivered to your client |
| COMPLETE | Generate invoice, send to billing party | Nothing. This is the end state. |
Common pitfalls
- •Leaving cases stuck in IN_NEGOTIATIONS when the file is really headed to umpire. Move to GOING_TO_UMPIRE so the dashboard and reports reflect reality.
- •Never moving a finished case to COMPLETE. The fee stays in pending revenue instead of earned revenue, and your reports understate the year.
- •Skipping ON_HOLD when you are actually blocked. The case ages on the active board and clutters My Work.
- •Treating APPOINTMENT_SCHEDULED as final. If a booking gets rescheduled, update the date and the status will stay correct.
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