Need help selecting report software

[Gary Mann]

I used Reporthost for over a year. It was ok until the internet goes down and then you are in trouble. I was working on a report that my clients was waiting on and reporthost was having trouble. It took 5 hours to upload my photos. Time is money. So I call Dominic at Home inspector pro set up with him and redid my entire report over with hip software before reporthost emailed me back and fixed the trouble. Also the price with Dominic can't be bet. The software is very easy to use and my clients love the report and the agents like it better then reporthost. I can customize it the way I like very fast. This is the smartest thing I have done for my business this year.
I looked at others but didn't like the price. And also customer service is awesome. No more resizing my photos first.

Gary Mann
Madison's Home Inspections
www.clarksvilletennesseehomeinspector.com

[mlehman]

I used Inpect Now from ITA until Jeff and his former company got a chance to make it the best and made it the worst. After months of constantly calling for help because it just didnt work, I switched to Inspector FX. It has alot going for it. Check it out.

[Michael Vanek]

I use Report Host Love it. I have used it now for past 3 years and the best is I can go back and print reports any time with pics. They are there forever.

www.FloridaInspectorCertified.com

Mike

[rmaday]

Originally Posted by mlehman

I used Inpect Now from ITA until Jeff and his former company got a chance to make it the best and made it the worst. After months of constantly calling for help because it just didnt work, I switched to Inspector FX. It has alot going for it. Check it out.

If I ever have a problem with the software I use I send an email, make a call or live chat and the issue (100% of the time my not following directions) is fixed in minutes and I learn how to do it right.

Yes, Dominic, I'll read the tutorials some day.

[Jeff Knight]

Originally Posted by mlehman

I used Inpect Now from ITA until Jeff and his former company got a chance to make it the best and made it the worst. After months of constantly calling for help because it just didnt work, I switched to Inspector FX. It has alot going for it. Check it out.

Richard,
I am confused since InspectNOW was the new product from my old company and when you say UNTIL makes no sense unless you mean since I left the company things have gone downhill with the software.

Maybe you mean you were using the old Matrix system based on FileMaker Pro that you were using before we got involved. One of the reasons we became involved was because of all the issues ITA had with their Matrix system. Yes..there was a couple hiccups at the beginning...but EVERY software has hiccups at the beginning.

Jeff

[rmaday]

Originally Posted by Jeff Knight

Richard,

You mean Matthew, right?

[mlehman]

Thanks Rick, Yes Jeff I was using the old Matrics software. I never had any problems with it.
There were more than a few hiccups with it. First I was told that I had one of the first 10 copies and there was a problem with them. I never got and email about the problems. The way I found out was at the ITA conference in Vegas that year I walked up to Mitch Study and told him my software doesnt do any of the things that was being told at the conference. Once I got a new disk from them than I started having the same problems that other inspectors were having. I do 10 inspections a week and I just couldnt rely on inspect now from that point on. ITA was telling me that they would no longer support matrix and I had to call Borialis for support on the problems with Inspect now. I think they lost alot of inspectors because of this.
I have started a new thread asking about the new version of Inspect Now that is now out on the market. If you now of anybody using it I could use some feed back.

[Jeff Knight]

Matthew,
I know there were some issues with the first few copies sent out of the first InspectNOW version that came out of ITA way back 3 years ago. But I also know that it was based on the same software we used over 5 years on a handheld device with literally thousands of inspections done everyday on it. There were no problems with the handheld software. The main differences between the original Borealis software and the InspectNOW software was that the InspectNOW software was REQUIRED to create the checksheet formatted Matrix form. This form was filled with issues of duplicate data in wrong areas, no flexibility of having the data for an inspection item flow to another page, data that did not need to be on the form at all...etc...etc...etc... We wanted to get ITA to abandon their checksheet formatted Matrix form because of all these problems but we knew that would be a huge step for them. (This was the bread and butter of their business for many years under Mr. O'Malley).
Some inspectors that used the first version of InspectNOW understood the limitations that the Matrix form created and quickly converted over to a free flowing form that only printed the items that pertained to the inspection and printed right on site from the handheld. Some previous Matrix users wanted to still use the old Matrix checksheet form and had some issues since they did not understand the concept of using data collection software compared to reporting software. They did not understand why they would want to use a handheld bacl at the office to create a report ...of course not.

Matthew...if you are looking for a replacement of the old Matrix Software I am not sure you will find one. HIP is like all the other current software out in the market. It is a free-flowing reporting software that does not print ALL of the options available as checklist items in the report. It only prints the items that are selected..not ALL of the possible check items in the report. It is not built to replicate a checksheet page as far as I know...am I right Dominic ? The HomePro franchise software is the only software I know of that still tries to copy the exact checksheet pages on the computer screen and mimic all the limitations of a checksheet form....even all their goofy symbols.

With support...I have only one thing to say in that Borealis was somewhat unprepared for the volume of customers we got the first month or so we worked with ITA. We literally had hundreds of new clients in a matter of a couple weeks. We did catch up with the support within the first few weeks or so.

InspectNOW 2.0 is PC based and does not run on a PocketPC as far as I know. (I no longer work at Borealis) I think they still are including the CodeCheck items in the software. I also know that it really is not an upgrade but a completely rewritten app in a database now instead of being in a core language like C++.

Jeff Knight
Knights Software Solutions, Inc.
www.knightssoftware.com
715-381-5326

[Dominic J. Maricic]

Originally Posted by Jeff Knight

Matthew,

HIP is like all the other current software out in the market. It is a free-flowing reporting software that does not print ALL of the options available as checklist items in the report. It only prints the items that are selected..not ALL of the possible check items in the report. It is not built to replicate a checksheet page as far as I know...am I right Dominic ?

Jeff

Yup, customizable, definitely not made to replicate a checksheet though some people make templates based off their old Matrix forms they used. Only prints what you want it to.

[relliott]

Checklists are easy to make and not report software dependant.
Not as if our ink pens are syncing to the program.

Now in days I see no need as a simple switch to video can record what you need on a 2 min video.Most cameras today switch from camera to video mode and can be played back with ease.

[Dennis Allen]

Originally Posted by mmonroe

I am new to the field and I am in the process of choosing a software, any suggestions / comments??

I use Palm-Tech. I wouldn't suggest that one though. I bought it mainly because there were very few applications that were compatible with a PDA, which I thought would help me inspect a property more quickly. I paid a bunch of money for it and it's really aggravating to use. I'm used to it now and even if I had the money to blow on new software, I wouldn't.

Pretty much all of the software programs will let you edit comments (which is very important). The rest of it comes down to your personal preference. Try the demos on your own house and see if you like them. Don't use a trial on a real inspection. Many of them say "DEMO" or "SAMPLE" diagonally across the page so anyone that sees it will know that you are new or too cheap to buy a program. Neither impression will generate future business.

Another thing that you could do is build an inspection report in Word or Excel. It will take some time to build it, but it will save you hundreds of dollars on software. Additionally, there won't be a learning curve because you built it yourself.

[Jeff Knight]

What is aggravating with the software ?

[Steven S. Ramos]

For those of you that have not seen the lastest version of eInspection I suggest you check it out at www.einspections.net.

The standard report format is easy to read for the consumer and realtor. I used to get calls with questions all the time about this or that - what does this mean, ect. Not now - the report and auto summary make the communications crystal the first time.

www.einspections.net

[Mark Thorman]

We created our own report format using MS Office 2000 with the auto text feature. I just didn't like the presentation value of the inspection software availible. It has been great and we get rave reviews about the report. Am I alone or does anyone else use their own report?

www.MauiHomeInspections.com

[Henry Araghi]

I have been in technical fields near three decade. I use my own designed templates for residential and commercial properties. But it has some limitations (not as pretty as it should be!) I need to learn more about what program(s) is/are out there. I am most interested in simplicity, user-friendly and can be altered to different applications. I look forward to hear from you. Thanks,