Public Adjuster Claim Tracking Spreadsheet: Columns and Free Template

Almost every small public-adjuster firm runs on a claim spreadsheet at some point. It is free, everyone already knows how to use it, and it answers the first question an owner asks every morning: which claims are open, who has them, and what is due.

A good tracker is worth building well even if you plan to move to software later. Clean, consistent columns make the sheet useful today and make an import much easier when the firm outgrows it. The template below is the structure we recommend: one row per claim, one fact per column.

Firms add their own columns over time, but most trackers settle on the same core set. Keep the identifiers, the people, the loss facts, the status, and the next date that matters. Anything that needs a paragraph of explanation belongs in a notes column, not squeezed into a status cell.

Create a new sheet and type the column names above into the first row. Freeze that row so the headings stay visible. Keep everything on one tab; separate tabs for open, closed, and pending claims tend to drift out of sync as claims move between them.

Format the date columns as dates and the claim number columns as text. Add a drop-down list for stage and loss type so the values stay consistent, and avoid merged cells, colour-only status, and formulas in the core columns. A plain, consistent sheet is easier to sort, filter, hand to a new team member, and import later.

Deadlines are usually the first problem. A spreadsheet holds a date, but it does not warn anyone when the date is close or has passed. Most claims have more than one date that matters, and a single "next deadline" cell only shows one of them. Unless someone sorts and reviews the sheet every day, an overdue proof of loss looks exactly like every other row.

Documents are the second. Photos, estimates, carrier letters, and the signed retainer live in email, phones, and shared drives, and a link in a cell is not the same as the file sitting with the claim. Follow-ups are the third: when someone overwrites the "next action" cell, the history of what was done, when, and by whom disappears. Copies of the sheet, unclear edit access, and nobody owning the update make all three worse as the firm grows.

AdjusterDesk includes a claim importer in the Firm Migration Desk. A firm owner or administrator chooses an Excel (.xlsx) or CSV file, picks the sheet and the row that holds the column headings, and matches each column to an AdjusterDesk field. An optional AI suggestion can propose the matches; it sends the column headings only, not claim rows, and every match can be changed by hand.

Client name, property address, carrier, loss type, and date of loss must be matched, and each claim needs an assigned adjuster, either from a column or a default you enter. Rows without a claim number are given an IMP- number. Columns that do not match a field, such as custom columns or your own deadline notes, are preserved in the claim notes rather than discarded. One optional next task per claim, with a due date, can be imported too.

Nothing is created until you review a preview. It shows how many rows will become new claims, how many match claims already in AdjusterDesk and will be skipped, and which rows have problems, with a row-by-row report you can download. You then confirm and create the claims. Each import handles up to 250 claims, 100 columns, and a 2 MB file. Existing claims, including archived ones, are skipped by claim number and never overwritten, so you can fix a row in your sheet and import it again without creating duplicates. Formulas are not run, so export calculated values first, and save older .xls workbooks as .xlsx.

After the import, add the dates that matter to each claim's Deadline Tracker so overdue and upcoming deadlines are highlighted instead of sitting in a notes column.

Start an AdjusterDesk trial, 60 days free with no credit card required, and walk through the sample workspace first. When you are ready, an owner or administrator can open the Firm Migration Desk, import a clean list of active claims, and review the preview before anything is created.