Purchasing home inspection software for your home inspection business is no easy task. It's easy to be swayed into using what the competition is using, but you may end up paying more than you need to. So what should you do?
First of all, it is important to understand that with software there is often no correlation between price and quality. In fact, some of the best software is free. Good software does not have to mean expensive software. Expensive software may or may not have features that are available in less expensive software. Usually the price of software reflects the amount of overhead a company has. And don't let unnecessary bells and whistles sway you into paying more than you need. Home inspection software is a tool that should make your job inspecting houses and producing inspection reports easier and less time-consuming. So, before making a software purchase for your inspection company, consider the following:
What do you need the software for?
What is the main reason behind your decision to purchase home inspection software? Are you buying it mainly for creating inspection reports, or do you need features such as time management, appointment scheduling, car mileage, roadmaps, etc? What are the necessary features the software must have? What are optional features that could be useful? Are they worth the extra price? What is your budget? Will you need to pay for additional licenses? What about upgrades? Are they free or will you need to pay a yearly subscription? Does the software require you to download blank reports and pay for each one you use?
What type of inspection report do you want to create?
Essentially there are three types of home inspection reports: Narrative, checklist, and a narrative/checklist hybrid. Checklist-type software certainly makes the job of creating a report much easier for the inspector, but usually limits the amount of information they can provide to their clients. This in turn increases their liability and exposure to litigation. The narrative/checklist hydbrid is more flexible than the checklist in that it usually provides extra space for additional comments or narratives, but still has limitations that could get you into trouble. Narrative reporting software produces reports that are all narrative (devoid of check boxes), and typically gives you free reign to write as much - or as little - as you think is necessary. For a host of reasons, most established and experienced inspectors (and real estate agents) prefer a narrative style inspection report over all others.
Pictures
Do you want to include pictures in your home inspection reports? This can be a good way to document problems, but pictures can be used against you if you miss something obvious that is visible in a picture. However, the majority of home inspectors use pictures in their reports. If you decide you want to include pictures, how easy is it to include them in the report? Is there a limit to how many you can insert for any given problem or defect? Can you import all the images from an inspection into the program at once so that you can instantly select the ones you need, or do you have to hunt them down, one by one?
Compatibility
What operating systems will the home inspection software run on? If you have an Apple Mac in the office and use a Windows PC in the field, or vice versa, will the software run on both computers? If so, does it allow you to easily transfer the inspection file from one to the other? Will you need to upgrade your computers or purchase more memory? Be sure to try a demo of the home inspection software you want before you purchase it. Most software companies allow you to download a fully-functional demo from their websites. Ultimately, only you will know if you can run the software on any given computer and if it will do all that you want it to.
Is Technical Support Provided?
Is help available by phone, fax, email or regular mail? Is help available around the clock? Is there a charge for technical support and, if so, how quick (or slow) is the response time?
Ease of Use
Perhaps the single most important factor to consider when evaluating home inspection software is ease of use. That is, how easy is the software to use when you are on the job and trying to perform a thorough inspection while also creating an inspection report that will be well received by your clients and their agents? Do you have to jump around the screen, opening and closing windows all the time? Does the program allow you to use the entire screen? How easy is the software to use on a laptop or a Tablet PC?
Another important consideration is the learning curve and set up time. How long will it take for you to get to know the software so that you are confident enough to use it? That is, how much time will you need before the software is ready to go out in the field with you during a home inspection? Is the software so complicated that you'll need to take the manual with you?
Ultimately, poorly designed software that does not meet your needs will result in a waste of the precious, and often very limited, time that you have to spend in the field. If the software is overpriced as well, then that is simply a waste of good money.
Following are some other home inspection software companies that we found on the Internet on January 16, 2008. By checking out the competition for yourself, you can then make an informed decision as to whether or not InspectMaster offers more value for your money.
InspectMaster
3-D
InspectNOW
Inspection Report Creator
InspectVue
Inspector FX
Palm-Tech
HomeGauge
Horizon
AHIT
Home Inspector Pro
InspectExpress
Nspector
First Choice
Home Inspection Software
