Inspection templates

Start with the outcome the report must support. Add rooms or sections in the order an inspector walks the property, use short item labels, explain rating choices, and require photographs only where evidence is necessary.

Run a test inspection before publishing. Check conditional items, required evidence, signatures and report ordering in both the iOS app and generated PDF.

Avoid major template edits while inspections are active. Publish changes between shifts and tell the field team what changed before the next assignment begins.

Order sections and items the way an inspector physically moves through the property, not the way the office categorises them. When the two diverge, inspectors either double back or complete out of sequence and reconcile afterwards — both cost time and introduce errors.

The sequence itself also works as a memory aid, which reduces omissions without adding questions.

Requiring a photograph for every item produces long inspections and, over time, dishonest ones. Requiring none produces records that cannot be defended when challenged.

Require evidence where the answer carries consequence: defects, exceptions, and anything that will be costed or disputed. Compliant, unremarkable items rarely need a photograph to be credible.

Avoid significant edits while inspections are active. Publish changes between shifts and tell the field team what changed before the next assignment begins, so a surprise is not discovered in a property.

Remember that every change breaks comparability with records captured under the previous structure. Batching amendments and timing them to a cycle boundary preserves the ability to read results across time.