9 Things New Inspectors Should Consider When Choosing Home Inspection Software

We wanted to give you a list of things that we commonly see help new inspectors get up and running quickly. There is no shortage of home inspection software companies out there, but there are only a few modern ones that hit most of this list. Feel free to shoot us an email with anything we missed or questions.

Mobile-Friendliness

The world is increasingly going mobile and home inspection software is no different. Many experienced inspectors are making the switch to doing reports mostly on mobile to increase efficiency and spend less time writing reports in the evening.

Make sure that your software provider has:

• iOS/Android compatible apps that are kept up-to-date
• An easy-to-use design and interface (as you'll be spending hours using the mobile app)
• Solid reviews in the app stores
• Compatibility with PC/Mac (meaning you can use the Android app with a Mac, and an iPhone/iPad with a PC)

There are additional features that are nice to have like a mobile summary (to review with clients on-site), mobile search and save-as-you-go functionality.

Modern Report Format

Your home inspection report is a reflection of your brand. It's your product and what Realtors and clients will judge you on.

Modern homebuyers and agents see well-designed, responsive pages all over the internet. Your report should not be stuck in the 90s.

Buyers and agents expect an easy-to-read and easy-to-navigate reports. If your report doesn't give them the information they need quickly, then you may have trouble keeping business.

Customer Support

It's hard to get a feel for which home inspection software companies are still active and operating and which ones aren't. Send an email to the general email box if companies you're interested in and see what the response is like. Do they have an active Facebook page or YouTube channel? Do they actively return calls and emails? How are their on-boarding and training materials?

It might help to check their blog and support pages to see how quickly they respond to bugs or requests.

Additional Business Tools & Marketing

Home inspection software has evolved into needing more than just software.  As a new business owner, you'll also need to think about:

• How to get automated systems in place to send your Inspection Agreement
• How to accept payment online
• How you want to deliver reminder and follow-up emails/texts to clients and agents
• How clients and agents can schedule an inspection with you online
• How professional your website is - as in don't let it be something that loses you business
• How you'll go about setting up important accounts like Google My Business, Yelp, etc.
• How your report helps agents generate their Repair Request Document

If your home inspection software company does all of this in a package, then great. That's a bonus. But these are at least things you should be asking about and seeing if they handle for you.

Innovation

Technology moves fast nowadays. You'll want to make sure the company you go with is keeping up with the latest in technology. A few questions to ask:

What is the background of the founders? If it's in development, marketing and/or real estate, then you're in good hands.

Do they have a blog or place where you can see new features? This will show you that they're actively improving the product and you won't be stuck with bugs or poor performing software forever.

How much has the product improved over the life of the company? Some companies get stagnant and don't change with the times.

Overall Look/Feel

Simply put, does your home inspection software company pass the eye test? Do they look and feel like a company that keeps up with trends in business and software? This is typically a good indicator that their products, service, reports and business tools will be modern and up-t0-date as well.

Community

This is an underrated one. Some of the top home inspection software companies have vibrant, helpful communities that help new inspectors grow. Make sure to check out the Facebook groups (or whatever platform they use) to see if there is active, productive discussions going on.

Marketing Help

One thing to research is how much the home inspection software company is invested in your business becoming sustainable. As in, making sure they don't just want your money up-front and move on to the next. Some say this is why subscription-based companies thrive - because they are invested in your success long-term, not just an up-front license fee.

Not all companies have a competency in marketing and branding. (We actively help our inspectors with webinars and free advice in the hopes they become sustainable companies)

Who Owns Them?

With recent changes in the industry, a hot button topic is who owns who and who owns the data. Ask companies you're considering who owns the company and what happens to the data flowing through the system.

We can all agree that data is valuable and has it's uses - you just want to make sure you understand the companies stance on data.