Another "defensible number for newer estimators" tool ships, Helixco's ROM Wizard
Helixco released ROM Wizard, a cloud tool inside its commercial platform that walks an estimator through guided questions and loss measurements and auto-generates a rough-order-of-magnitude scope and estimate, including equipment selection, power distribution, and generator fuel math. CEO Mike Allred frames it as removing "a barrier to entry for newer estimators." The release names no Xactimate integration and doesn't call itself AI, it's a guided workflow with automated calculations.
Why it matters
The commercial large-loss ROM is where inexperienced estimators lose money fast, and vendors keep racing to productize that judgment. Whether it plugs into your Xactimate workflow or forces a parallel one is the unanswered question that decides if it's useful or just another silo.
The read
Another guided estimating tool sounds like more automation, which the trade generally treats as progress. The question is not whether it produces a number. It is whether it produces the file a carrier's software will read, because a standalone wizard that does not export into your estimate workflow just adds a screen. Before you buy, ask for a sample export and open it in the platform you bill from.
How we got here
Storyline: software platforms 3 stories so far
What changed the estimating land grab moves from free scoping tools and AI first-look (JobSightAI, TM+/Vigilince) to guided commercial ROM builders aimed at newer estimators.
- Capabuild is now "TrueRestore", the rebrand we called
- The software land grab goes free
- Another "defensible number for newer estimators" tool ships, Helixco's ROM Wizard You are here
Read next
Sources C&R Magazine, Helixco Launches ROM Wizard for Defensible Commercial Restoration Estimates (); Restoration & Remediation, Helixco Launches ROM Wizard, a Standards Based Tool for Building Defensible Commercial Restoration Estimates ().
Vendor / Press wire (product launch carried by two trade outlets) Medium confidence
Terms in this story: Xactimate