Recoverable depreciation is an amount identified in a property claim estimate that may be released under the policy and claim process after required conditions are met. The carrier document and policy control the actual amount and requirements.
Operationally, recoverable depreciation is easy to lose because the construction work and the payment work finish at different times. The crew closes the job. The office moves on. The completion package, release request, or final invoice remains incomplete.
The solution is not another reminder with no context. It is a case that preserves the estimate, customer, related invoices, opportunity amount, status, documents, and eventual conversion into collectible accounts receivable.
Start with a bounded opportunity
The recoverable depreciation printed on the estimate is not automatically the amount your company should expect to collect. First compare it with the approved scope and the invoices already created for that customer and job.
A conservative operating ceiling is:
Use the lower of the recoverable depreciation shown on the estimate or the remaining approved scope that does not yet appear in the confirmed job invoices.
This keeps the opportunity tied to the unbilled gap. It does not determine coverage, interpret the policy, or state that a carrier owes the amount.
The recovery workflow
| Status | What must be true | Artifact to preserve |
|---|---|---|
| Job not complete | The work or completion evidence is not ready. | A case linked to the estimate, customer, invoices, and opportunity. |
| Complete, documents not sent | The work is complete and the office needs to assemble or transmit the release package. | Submission checklist, missing document list, and release request draft. |
| Documents sent | The package was submitted through the company’s normal claim process. | Submission date, channel, recipient, and copies of the documents. |
| Depreciation approved | The carrier response supports moving to invoicing or collection. | Approval evidence and the expected payment or invoice action. |
| Resolved | The related invoice and payment are confirmed in QuickBooks. | Conversion record tying the case to the final invoice. |
What belongs in the completion package
Requirements vary by carrier, policy, lender, and claim. Your internal checklist should still make the common evidence visible:
- Final invoice showing the work your company billed.
- Completion date or certificate used by your normal process.
- Before and after photographs when requested.
- Signed contract or work authorization.
- Approved supplement documents that changed the final scope.
- Any lender inspection or endorsement requirement connected to the proceeds.
The checklist is a preparation tool. It does not replace the carrier instructions or professional advice.
Do not create the release draft too early
A release request normally states that the work is complete. That draft should not exist while the case is still marked “Job not complete.” Creating it early turns an internal convenience into a false statement.
The safe trigger is the status change to “Complete, documents not sent.” At that point the system can generate a reviewable draft tied to the claim number, property, completion statement, and bounded opportunity. Nothing should be sent automatically.
Close the loop in QuickBooks
The case is not financially resolved just because a release was approved. When the final invoice appears, confirm that it belongs to the same customer and job, falls within the expected amount range, and was actually surfaced by the detection process.
That confirmation converts a tracked claim opportunity into collectible AR without letting an arbitrary invoice close the case.
How Odyssey handles the handoff
Odyssey Claims reads the carrier estimate, asks a person to confirm the customer and exact invoices, then opens a recovery case. The case stores the opportunity, status, checklists, draft, and later conversion evidence. The estimate file itself is processed and discarded.