Anyone out there made the switch from one software package to the other? If so, why’d you switch? And are you glad you made the switch?
This thread is specifically devoted to those who switched, why the switch and are you glad you switched. (All others with comments about how wonderful your software is, please refrain. Thanks.)
I just switched to Home Inspection Pro. After 5 years with another software i got tired of requesting changes and the promise of a new version for over 2 years.
Switched from Horizon which I thought was great , but Dom made so many changes that I was compelled to switch to Home Inspector Pro.
Took alot to convince me to the point I will make a presentation at our chapter meeting.
No I do not receive commission…Just that good.
Joe, not sure if this qualifies but I have both HG and IVue. To be fair, I bought HG first and then won IVue. I have found HG much easier to navigate and HG support to be better (Very rarely have I had a situation where HG has been down or have a major bug). I do think they are both great programs, HG has just found my comfort zone;)
I’ve been using InspectVue for the past 1.5 years. I have a lot of issues with it and bought Homegauge a couple of weeks ago. I’ll let you know my thoughts after I’ve evaluated HG for a bit longer. My initial impression of HG is very favorable.
I’ve done 13 reports with Homegauge. It still takes me longer than using InspectVue, but that’s due to the learning curve and the fact that half my time doing a report is putting my old narratives into the program. I think once I get my narratives in there and learn where everything is, then it will be sweet. I spent days at first just customizing it and putting in some narratives.
I like the fact that you can make one narrative do it all. “An outlet in the ___ is missing a faceplate.” Click the smart text, and fill in the appropriate room. I don’t need to keep dozens of narratives for all the different areas.
The program seems to be very flexible. It’s unlimited in the way you can set it up. Tech support is very good. The company appreciates you: I went to some free training and they fed us real well for free.
I did a typical house with it last night and probably spent 2 hours on the report, so the time is getting reasonable. I did a POS a few days ago, and probably spent 5 hours on that report. Again, I’m spending a lot of time putting in new narratives as I go.
What I love about it is that it won’t let you forget to complete an item before you send the report.
Another great feature is the website. I upload the reports there, but the client receives a link to my website, where once they log in they are directed to the HG server to retrieve their reports. I have ultimate control over who gets the reports and whether or not they can forward them. I can even lock it out and not let them view the report at all until payment is received.
This feature is great too. I also like that you can “view all events” and see each and every time someone accesses the report with a time stamp and IPP address.
Yes. I’ve made the switch to HG. I’m fed up with the “InspectVue News” articles every few days telling users we need to download an update (or a 2 part update that has to be installed with your left foot raised while holding your mouth just right) to fix some sort of bug. Or an email explaining an issue like “Why are the annotations jumping around on the annotations…”.
I have also switched from Inspecvue to Home Gauge. I was just treid of the constant update and unfilled promise of a better program (more than two years wait).