I’m in the final stages of becoming licensed in Texas and considering ISN for my back end office stuff and possibly their report writer (however Spectora and Whisper are frontrunners). Just wondering if there are still issues with ISN exposing your client info. Any insight would be appreciated.
Spectora and whisper both have a small number of users compared to home inspector pro. Hip has the most inspectors using it. It’s the best in my opinion, their scheduling needs a bit of work though.
Isn report writer is about the worst out there. Go with inspector tool belt if you want simple and affordable. Go with hip if you want to use the best and most editable report writer on the planet.
But all software have free trials and most have sample reports you can view. Except ISN, no sample reports out there, that way nobody knows what a cheap report looks like before signing up. Spectora has good looking reports, but they are kind of confusing to read. No real summary page.
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You have the option to partisapate and allow ISN to share the clients information with only companies related to Porch or not. It is as simple as checking a box. We have choosen to give our clients the choice if they want to be contacted on not. We have not had any issues or complaints from our clients. That amounts to around 3500 inspections in my company since ISN started doing this.
We use ISN and HIP for our reporting software.
How come you use both Scott? Just curious because I was thinking HIP offered back office functionality now. Do you still continue to use ISN just for the back office stuff?
Thanks for the input! It seems like Inspector tool belt has a back end office as well, do you know if that is true? I did do a trial with HIP several months ago, maybe I need to try that again.
@irobertson from my research this is your company?
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@padamson That is correct! We have a full back office with agreements, email/text notifications, and a lot more. Here’s a list: https://inspectortoolbelt.com/features/
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JMHO… You are a new inspector with zero clients, thus no real need for any of these companies and their offerings. I feel that you should begin your business journey by performing these and all other services by yourself. You should know how to handle all of these tasks, at least until you are busy enough inspecting to warrant the need to hire others. What are your plans for when SHTF and systems “go down” or companies go out of business, or any of thousands of other scenario’s that can, and eventually will, strike and affect you and your business?? You need to be able to step in at moments notice and handle things. Have you owned and operated any other businesses that you can draw experience from? Just giving you some things to think about. Personal knowledge and financial security are two biggies you need to stay in business.
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I have used ISN for about twelve years and just did not want to switch when HIP came out with Hip Office. HIP office has improved a bunch over the past year and I would use it if I had not been with ISN for such a long period of time. They have similar features, but ISN does have more capability from what I understand.
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I was thinking that was the reason. I’m wondering if you could reduce costs significantly by switching to HIP office, and still keep mostly the same functionality. As I understand it, doesn’t ISN charge per inspection? But yeah, I understand sticking with the tried and true. We all do it, lol.
Appreciate the feedback. I guess I was just thinking having a back office software that has emails and agreements and reminders and such automated would help provide consistency with my clients. I have started and ran a business for the past 8 years however it has been in a different industry. I know some business things will carry over and others not as much. I was under the impression that almost all inspectors use some type of back office software, am I wrong in that thought? What do you use? Thanks!
Yes, you are wrong.
I am ‘old school’ and prefer the direct contact with my clients, and 110% control over my office!
I’ve been inspecting since 1996, and have done it all myself, with random assistance from family members as needed, which wasn’t often. Keep in mind, I’m not, and have never been, an inspector that needs to perform 5 inspections a day! Generally, I perform one full home inspection per day. I supplement with Commercial, Industrial, Agricultural, Draw, Insurance, etc. inspections when time permits. I charge a higher fee than most, and provide the best inspection possible. My clients absolutely get their moneys worth. I give my clients whatever time they need from me. I often spend 2+ hours on the walkthrough of a home that took 3+ hours to inspect. (Yes, my fee covers long walkthroughs). I have never directly advertised to Agents. The majority of my clients come from referrals from prior clients. Think ‘Customer Service’, provide what a typical Client wants, and reap the rewards without the games other inspectors play! Providing that level of service is difficult at best when allowing others to take control of important business matters.
JMHO.
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It certainly does. Having your software take care of things like payments and agreements behind the scenes is exactly why software was created in the first place. It would be foolish to have to manually send out emails and payment links and reminders and notifications when you can have all that automated along with your reporting software.
They do.
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Thanks for the background, I still have a lot to learn and decide and all the info and opinions I am able to hear I feel will let me make the best decisions.
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Good to hear!
Not true in my experience.
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Since Ryan didn’t bother to offer up his info…
He is an almost 5 year inspector, who has only ever used Spectora with all the bells and whistles.
He has zero experience with any other Report Software or Office Support Software, so his opinions are a bit biased.
Thought you should know!
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Same here. Everything done in-house, never a problem or inconvenience on my end.
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Same here as well. When I started, I purchased the “office suite” option when I bought my software back in 2003. As I got busier, I started using ISN for scheduling and emails and then I hired America’s Call Center to answer my phones, book jobs and get confirmation and access.
Back then ISN was charging $4.00 per inspection, when I left a few years back it was $7.00 per inspection and going up.
For the last few years, I’ve cut back to one inspection a day and therefore can no longer justify paying ACC or ISN for something I can do myself just as good or better than they can.
When I fired these services, I was paying over $50.00 per inspection, I am now answering my own phones, I use InterNACHI PIA system, and I’m banking the money that I used to pay for those services.
My 3D inspection software, which I own outright, charges me $149.00 a year which includes support if needed, any updates and use of MS cloud services. So, my cost per inspection these days is under a dollar per inspection.
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I trialed several report software options prior to choosing one. I trialed one just a few months ago as well. And, I’m signed up to trial a new one that will be launching soon. I also have considerable experience with other types of software, including office support software we use in our other business. Not sure why you’ve always had a hard on for what software I use.
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You’re the alleged Poster-Boy for Spectora.
You place yourself on a pedestal, you ‘reap’ the benefits of answering for it!
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