Thread: Software

I'm new in the business, was looking at Report Host because it appears to be user friendly with a mobile application and affordable pricing. An one using or used this software? I appreciate any feedback. Thank you!

Oscar, I use ReportHost and I really like it. I like the fact that I can easily customize it and because it is a web based software you do not have to pay for upgrades.

Check out Whisper Solutions. Great support and free upgrades. Able to support the Eye-Fi card for your camera

Check out fast forms from Carson Dunlop. It's looks really nice for $395 per year and includes a PDF copy of their home reference manual for your client. I use their Horizon system ($795 per year) for homes and commercial inspections. I hate the horizon mobile app and do report writing in the office on the laptop version of the software. The fast forms is a separate, less detailed system but the work flow and detail look very nice and I hope they integrate the forms into horizon. The horizon system includes business reporting, online scheduling, agent tracking, data export and cloud back up of all your reports. My clients love the look and so do I. I do spend more time writing reports than I would like, but my fees reflect the average field and report writing. I do think any system is ideal for everyone but Horizon is the best one I have used out of several others.

Check out Spectacular. I have been using it for over a year & a half & it's by far the most cutting edge software on the market. It's all IPad based & backs up all your files to dropbox if you wish when you send the report. I have been in the business for 7 1/2 years & have used 4 different software companies. The nice thing is that if your having issues, the actual developer is who you talk to, plus it's very user friendly & completely customizable.

Spectacular Home Inspection System | Home Inspection Software iPad app

Originally Posted by Tim Stolba

Check out Spectacular. I have been using it for over a year & a half & it's by far the most cutting edge software on the market. It's all IPad based & backs up all your files to dropbox if you wish when you send the report. I have been in the business for 7 1/2 years & have used 4 different software companies. The nice thing is that if your having issues, the actual developer is who you talk to, plus it's very user friendly & completely customizable.

Spectacular Home Inspection System | Home Inspection Software iPad app

It looks like a decent system. Every time I get really busy I wish I had a good mobile app for homes. The horizon mobile app adds about an hour to my field time for a nice home and at least a couple for foreclosure, which I do a lot of for investor clients. It's down right painful to use if the home has a lot of defects. I used it for a month and decide I would rater be in the office doing the report. It's more work but my fee reflects that. I am 70% commercial which horizon does well. My average commercial inspection fee is pretty high so doing three homes a day is something I would rather not do.

Horizon is cloud based and I simply send a PDF download link to the client. The report is saved for several years on their servers and I copy my self as well. The system basically does what the inspection support network does and is included in the annual cost. You can also integrate ISN into the system as well as recall check. It has many features that support business activities, marketing and contact management. It is also multi-inspector and I can administer what other inspectors have access to and provide them with separate logins. The really great thing is that many of the Carson Dunlop illustrations are automatically inserted into the report if a defect is found. This and my liberal use of photos produces a very graphic rich report that clients love.
The support is fantastic and I never have problems related to the software. If I leave a message or send an email I hear back from them that day. A couple minor annoyances I reported were fixed in updated versions. Most of my calls are related to my "wish list", but I suppose it would be too difficult to implement every inspectors wish list.

I am also trying some commercial PCA narrative applications that run $100-$150 per report (add that cost to my fee if they want it) that do a better job of distributing information and capital needs costs throughout the report. So far, everyone has loved the horizon home and commercial reports. $795/ year isn't bad considering the number of recommendations I get from clients.

Between Spectacular and ISN, I'm pretty much set. Going with ISN changed my life. The support at Spectacular is spectacular to say the least. Aaron, is always tweaking things to improve performance and add features.

Any one else using HORIZON?
First one that Ive used and I think its pretty good but have no frame of reference.

Kyle Turner
Forces Home Inspections, Veteran Owned
forceshomeinspections@gmail.com

I have used HomeGauge for the last 11 years, and their mobile app for last 2+years. In my opinion it's the best and most robust report writing software on the market. However no program is perfect and nothing is ready to use out of the box.

Originally Posted by Trent Tarter

I have used HomeGauge for the last 11 years, and their mobile app for last 2+years. In my opinion it's the best and most robust report writing software on the market. However no program is perfect and nothing is ready to use out of the box.

True for sure. I have it all setup that switching anyway would be to daunting.

Many software companies can transfer your Library to the new program. Much less learning curve that starting from scratch.

Originally Posted by Kyle Turner

Any one else using HORIZON?
First one that Ive used and I think its pretty good but have no frame of reference.

Hey Kyle,

So many options, with each having their following. You just have to give them all a test drive and see which fits your needs provides the user experience you're looking for! Takes time!