Leaving ACI, TOTAL or Other Desktop Appraisal Software: The Export Playbook

Leaving ACI, TOTAL or any desktop appraisal software after years of daily use is mostly an export job. The program you chose in 2012 has quietly become a filing cabinet: every report, every comp, every adjustment you defended. With UAD 3.6 mandatory for new UCDP submissions on November 2, 2026, plenty of appraisers are deciding whether to stay or go. Either way, a clean export is worth having. This playbook covers what to pull out, how to check it, and how to keep working while you move. It's a companion to our main guide, how to switch appraisal software without losing a decade of comps.

Key takeaways

• Most desktop programs, including ACI and TOTAL, can export MISMO 2.6 GSE XML. That file is your portable report data.
• Export PDFs too. XML is the data; the PDF is what the client saw.
• Separate comps databases and add-on data may not travel in the report XML. Ask the vendor.
• In a firm, every workstation is its own archive. Inventory all of them.
• Keep the old program until your UAD 2.6 revisions are done.

The one format that travels: MISMO 2.6 GSE XML

Under UAD 2.6, reports went to UCDP as MISMO 2.6 XML files. Because every vendor had to produce that format, it's the closest thing the industry has to a universal export. One XML file per report holds the subject, the sales comparison grid, the adjustments, and the rest of the form's data in tagged fields another program can read.

That's why this playbook is the same whether you're leaving ACI, TOTAL, or another desktop program. We won't describe specific menus, because they differ by product and version and change over time. The general rule: look for an export option that mentions MISMO 2.6, GSE XML or UAD XML. If you can't find a bulk version, ask the vendor's support for it, in writing.

The new format, MISMO 3.6, is a different and much larger schema. If you want to understand what changed, read MISMO 3.6 XML explained for appraisers.

Step 1: Inventory every machine and data folder

Desktop software typically keeps report data on the computer where it's installed, though some programs also sync to a vendor account. Local data is both the strength and the catch. Over the years you may have:

• A main data folder on your current computer.
• An old install on a retired desktop or a drive in a drawer.
• A data folder on each trainee's or staff appraiser's computer.
• A shared network drive or synced folder for the firm.
• Separately stored comps databases, photo libraries or sketch files.

For each, note the location, years covered and an approximate report count. This list is what you check your export against.

Step 2: Ask the vendor three questions

Before exporting, email the vendor's support. A written answer saves guesswork.

1. "How do I export all finished reports as MISMO 2.6 GSE XML in bulk?"
2. "Can I export my comps database (if I use one) and in what format?"
3. "If I cancel, can I still open and print my existing reports? For how long?"

The third question matters for record keeping. If you'll lose the ability to open old files, you need PDFs of everything first.

Step 3: Back up the raw data

Copy each data folder exactly as it is to two places you control: an external drive and a cloud storage account in your own name. Do this before any export or uninstall. If an export goes wrong, the originals are safe.

USPAP's Record Keeping Rule requires keeping the workfile for at least five years after preparation, or at least two years after final disposition of a judicial proceeding in which you testified, whichever is later, and keeping custody or appropriate arrangements for retention, access and retrieval. Check the current edition through The Appraisal Foundation and your state's rules. A backup you own keeps that obligation independent of any vendor. More on this in desktop vs. cloud appraisal software and USPAP record keeping.

Step 4: Export XML and PDF for every finished report

Run the bulk export by year, so you end up with a folder and a zip per year:

exports/
  2016/  2016.zip
  2017/  2017.zip
  ...
  2026/  2026.zip
pdfs/
  2016/ ...

For PDFs, the delivered copies in your workfile folders are best, since they're exactly what the client got. If you didn't save them, print each finished report to PDF from the old program.

Expect some exceptions. Work from before the original UAD, non-lender assignments, desk reviews and some specialty forms may not export as UAD XML. Keep them as PDFs and original files.

Tip: name exported files with the file number and street if your program allows it. "2019-0412 118 Oak St.xml" is a lot easier to find in a dispute than "export_0003127.xml".

Step 5: Verify before you trust it

Compare the counts per year with your inventory. Then open a sample across years and form types in a text editor:

• You should see readable XML tags, the subject address, and comp addresses and sale prices.
• A file of a few KB is probably empty or a failed export.
• If a whole year is short, look for a second data folder or older install.

Repeat for every workstation in a firm. The most common gap is the trainee who did 300 reports on a laptop that never synced.

Step 6: Copy out your setup and boilerplate

The report XML doesn't carry your program setup. Before cancelling, save:

• Comment and addendum boilerplate, client-specific language, FHA and VA certification text.
• Firm details, every license and expiration, E&O declarations and expiration.
• Signature images.
• Client and AMC contact lists, and any client requirements lists.

UAD 3.6 structures a lot of what used to be free text, so some boilerplate won't be needed. See how one dynamic URAR replaces the 1004, 1073, 1025 and 2055 for where things land now.

Step 7: Import into the new program

What a new program does with your archive is a big part of whether switching is worth it. A list of PDFs is storage. A searchable history of your own comps is a tool.

In Carat, the legacy import takes any MISMO 2.6 GSE XML export, and ClickFORMS reports too if part of your archive came from there (see migrating from ClickFORMS). Upload the files or your yearly zips (zips are expanded on upload). Carat parses each report into a searchable comps history and builds median adjustment rates by town and price tier from your own reports, falling back to the town and then the county where the data is thin. Unclear data goes to a review queue rather than into a report.

Old reports don't become UAD 3.6 reports. They become evidence of how you've adjusted in each market, which you then check against current data on each new assignment.

Step 8: Moving a firm, not just yourself

Firms add a few wrinkles.

Move one appraiser first. Pick someone who's patient and does a typical mix of work. Let them do a week of real UAD 3.6 reports. Fix the setup issues they find (firm profile, license exhibits, client requirements) before anyone else moves.

Map roles. Decide who assigns, who reviews, and who signs. Carat organizes a firm as one organization with roles, assignment, and transfer of reports between staff and trainees, so a supervisor can hand a report to a trainee and take it back for review.

Keep supervision clean. Trainee reports still need the supervisor's review and signature under your state's rules. The software changes where the report lives, not who's responsible for it. Carat never signs for anyone.

Keep the archive in one place. Combine every workstation's exports into the firm's backup before importing, so the comps history covers the whole firm's work.

Step 9: Keep the old program for UAD 2.6 revisions

If a report was submitted to UCDP in UAD 2.6, Freddie Mac's UAD and Forms Redesign FAQ says revisions to that existing Doc File ID stay in UAD 2.6. You'll need the old program to answer those. UAD 2.6 has an exception period through February 28, 2027, reduced functionality from March 1, becomes Fatal for new submissions on May 20, 2027, and is retired June 28, 2027. The UAD 3.6 deadline timeline has the details.

When your last 2.6 revision is closed, decide whether to keep a license for opening old files or rely on your PDFs and backups. Whatever you choose, make sure you can still produce the workfile for the full retention period.

What to watch for in the first month

• Speed in the comps grid. Keyboard-first entry and fill-right matter more than any demo feature. Carat's grid handles sales, rental and GRM comps with running adjustment totals.
• The sketch. Confirm GLA calculates to ANSI Z765 and flows into the report. See ANSI Z765 and GLA under UAD 3.6.
• Compliance checks. Carat's AI-powered checks run hundreds of the GSE Appendix H-1 rules while you work, each finding linked to the field. Catch it before the AMC does.
• Delivery. You should get the MISMO 3.6 XML, the URAR PDF and images in one UCDP-ready zip. You or the lender upload it.

If you're still choosing, our buyer's guide to the best appraisal software for UAD 3.6 lays out the criteria. Carat is $99 a month per appraiser with unlimited reports (pricing), and you can create an account and start an import today.