Aloha All
I am getting increasingly busy and need to speed up my reports. I currently do a narrative but they take such a long time. I use a basic template I created.
Do any of you have suggestions on software to do reports? 
Mike - KHIS
You should buy inspectit. Especially if you like getting frustrated, slamming your computer shut, or just wanna excuse to buy a new computer after you’ve thrown it out the window. It’s a word based program that boasts powerful features such as… copy & paste. Adding pictures is a breeze, all you have to do is insert them 1 by 1, resize them so they fit the page in an organized manner, change the heading and font size, then individually caption them. Like videos? That’s awesome, because inspectit doesn’t have video support, so since you don’t have to take videos, you can save more time.
I’m playing with trial versions of home gauge and HIP pro. I’ve been going back and forth and my mind changes daily. They’re both top notch.
They both have mobile apps but require a cloud service subscription so you can upload the reports. Hip pro supports Apple, but HG isn’t there yet. Supposedly that’s gonna happen in the very near future.
I’d download both of them and take them for a test drive. Of course, there’s other software, like report host that you can pay per report. But HG and hip seem to be the best if you’re looking to purchase.
I was obviously being sarcastic when I was referring to inspectit. Please, please don’t buy it.
HIP looks the best to clients …Nough said.
HG looks the best to clients, and is the most user-friendly. Nuff said.
I use Palm tech (which is way better now since they fixed a whole bunch of stuff). My other inspection company uses HIP and loves it. Just preference
3D auto populates the narrative.
Feel free to view a sample at my website.
I will say it’s not cheap, but, as is the case with everything else, you get what you pay for, and really, report software is one area you don’t want to skimp on.
Most have free trial versions, play around with them and see what you like.
Its very subjective. What I think is great everyone else might hate and vise versa.
Nuff said!
What is this auto populate you speak of?
Hey buddy. You should check out TAP Inspect. It is the best template report writing system i have used. It is compatible with Apple products. I use it on an ipad mini but can be used on iphone also. It acts as a check list, nothing gets missed and i email the reports directly from the property. No waiting or typing inspections all night like the old days. Templates are completely costomizable. Its a life saver. You pay $5 per report or $60 a month for unlimited.
Marc
Marc- Why don’t you post one of your inspection reports using Tap inspect to show how awesome it is…bet you won’t…
I can set the software up to auto-populate up to 4 different summaries if I like.
For example, I can have one summary section for maintenance issues and another for mechanical defects.
This is all set up in the software beforehand.
I use a note II to do my reports in the field, let’s say I find a hose bib that’s not properly attached to the structure, I see this often so I have a canned statement for this defect, I click on the canned statement, it populates that field in the report, but I have it set up to also auto-populate in the summary.
Another thing I can also do if I choose, is while I am in that field and auto-populate everything with the click of a button, I can also take a picture with my note II and it will place the picture in that field as well, so there is no downloading from the camera to the desktop and then uploading pictures into the report.
3D has many Youtube videos that you can watch to pick up different ideas and comparisons with other software.
LOL…
Home Inspector Pro is the “Be All and And End All”, “The Alpha and Omega” of inspection software.
And they have the best support too! 
Thanks Thomas 
The “Alpha” AND “Omega”…pretty impressive !!! 
Do not forget to check out us also…there is a reason why the biggest franchise and biggest school in the country have chosen us.
Even though I highly recommend 3D, I would like to add that I’ve heard nothing but good things about Jeff Knights software, and I’ve been in this business a long time.
Thanks for the info guys! I downloaded HG for my PC., yet I use an IPad for Pics.
• Use whatever device you prefer - or multiple devices
• You choose how you work in the field: using your mobile device, or with pen and clipboard to finish online back in your office
• Robust content and multiple templates - use ours, modify them as you wish, or write your own
• No up-front investment ever - free reports to start that never expire (15 for InterNACHI members)
• No hidden costs ever - you pay only for published reports - no fees for Cloud access, mobile device, multiple devices or users, backups, upgrades, templates, customer support etc.
• Unlimited users per company account
• Streamlined report writing for team inspections
Then why in the world would you use HG ?
Go to HIP .