I have tried 3D, PV InspectVue and Homegauge. Hands down it’s Homegauge for me.
3D seemed unnecessarily complicated and cumbersome and took a lot of involved fine tuning; although, I like the finished report. Truthfully, I didn’t spend a whole lot of time on it because it was just too time-consuming.
InspectVue takes forever to generate a print preview; although, an update is promised in Spring. It also can’t handle pictures unless they’re in landscape mode. There are several other things I didn’t like. Please note that this same update was promised in Dec 2005 and Feb 2006 as well. If you want to talk to an arrogant, condescending support guy who seems to take every question personally, call their Tech Support. Email responses seem to take several days because they always seem to be “at a conference or show.”
I purchased and am happily using Homegauge. I have been demo’ing it since version 2.8 and didn’t buy it then because it had some things I didn’t like, but the program in its current version 3.2 is nothing short of excellent, and it’s constantly being updated by people who obviously care about their products. Their Tech Support is an example for the entire software industry.
FYI, the 3D demo package is full version but prints “SAMPLE” (I think) across every page if you try to print. The inspectVue demo is severely crippled and really doesn’t give you an idea of its full capability. The Homegauge demo appears to be full version but prints something (I forgot what) across the bottom of the page.
InspectVue takes forever to generate a print preview; although, an update is promised in Spring. It also can’t handle pictures unless they’re in landscape mode. There are several other things I didn’t like. Please note that this same update was promised in Dec 2005 and Feb 2006 as well. If you want to talk to an arrogant, condescending support guy who seems to take every question personally, call their Tech Support. Email responses seem to take several days because they always seem to be “at a conference or show.”
Discussions on inspection software can be very passionate, everyone has there favorite and think its best. As I have said in the past, this is a tool you use at every job and it produces your only tangible product. You need to find out whats best for you and your business needs. The good news is all the serious companies allow you to demo there products, if they don’t there’s a reason and I would shy away from them. Also cost should secondary to choosing your software. If you look at the difference in cost and amortize that over several years, it becomes minascule.
I have been using 3D for the past 5 years and a big supporter of it. Then and today I think the customization feature is its strong point. Several of my close competitors use 3D yet our reports do not look alike. The way 3D handles pictures has steadily improved with each version. It was good to begin with but superior now with a thumbnail viewer and the ability to put arrows circles or lines in them. It has a Pocket PC version and office manager. The pocket pc version has printing and easily merges with the desktop reports. The office manager has a scheduler and can produce sales reports. This may not be important starting out but reports are handy at the end of the month when you want to know how you did. You can also get reports by realtor which will tell you if your marketing paying off in certain offices.
The report writer comment base is a little lame to start with but really easy to change. I update the comments all the time which ultimately speeds up my report writing process.
Todd - email me directly if your running into problems and I may be able to help.
BTW - I am in no way affiliated or receiving compensation from 3D.
tgardner
(Timothy Gardner, VA HI Lic# 3380000992 NRS)
29
Try “Nspector”. It is MS Access based, allows one to edit every comment on the fly, and for the computer literate, is totally modifiable. Great program, oh, and by the way, the finished product gets great reviews from clients and realoids. Edits are caused by Canadian Whiskey and PHat PHingers.
I am just at trying out stage of research for HI software, having downloaded 6-7 systems. My computer literacy/ patience is poor, but I am pretty sure Computer generated reports are the way to go.
My question is should I expect to have to “play” around with all the systems, as the only one I have found that is instantly user friendly is the Nspector system.
Did any of you guys who extol the virtues of the systems that you now use have to persevere over a few days?
I am bowing to the experience of guys in practice that recommend a good system for the long haul, maybe I’ll have to be more patient getting to grips with PV, Home-Gauge, 3D and the like?
Or can anyone using Nspector on a regular basis give some feed back?
Thanks
Paul, I played with Homegauge and own Inspectvue. The answer is you will have to spend a couple of days to dial in the software you chose to reflect your reporting style and geographic area. After that period I believe you will continue to edit your software as different circumstances arise.
Thanks Brian,
I will have to bite the bullet and spend a bit more time playing with the demos.
That said are any of the software programs usable in the field on small handheld PC’s?, I’ve seen a few guys on Inspections spend an inordinate amount of time entering data at the end of Inspection on lap tops, this seemed to add 30-40 mins onto visit.( as opposed to manual reports done on the hoof)
Also can any of the programs create an on line report with active links, for explanations of generic problems I think links give customers good impartial advice.
What made you pick your system?
Cheers
Paul
I use 3D and a compaq Ipaq. Although conceptionally entering data on the go sounds good in practice, I found it to be faster to setup my Ipaq with a keyboard on the kitchen counter and do data entry at the end. This also becomes a QA measure and I can easily go back to the water heater, furnace etc. if I missed some bit of data. Although I have extensively modified my comment DB, each house is unique and my clients expect custom reports. This means I am doing some typing as I input the report. Tough to do on a handheld.
There are services that will put your report online for you but I do it myself on my own website. If you have the full version of Acrobat, it will convert any URLs its finds to links. So now in my comments I have links to the manufacturers, EPA, CPSC, etc.
HG allows you to easily add links to your auto-comments. It also will allow you to attach documents either to the report or to auto-attach a document when you select a particular auto-comment.
this link will show you how to attach a link or document to a comment
Also, if I might add, if you have a disc of the illustrated home, you can paste it into the reports as well.
I have had numerous comments on my report, and how it actually looks like a homeowners manual.
BestInspectors.Net’s XL Pro Series is the ultimate in reporting software. The Legacy Series is great for the inspector who wants some of the more popular advanced features and is on a tight budget.
