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A Guide for Transitioning to Spectora: FAQs and Helpful Links

Written by Louis Martin | 4/29/22 8:26 PM

TEMPLATES, CUSTOMIZATION AND NARRATIVES

 

Do you have a library of comments populated in your base templates?

We have hundreds of common defects and comments that come with our base InterNACHI and ASHI templates.

Can I customize my template?

This is one of the core elements that inspector’s love the most! Add, delete, edit, duplicate sections, items, defects in your template editor.

How to Move or Duplicate Sections or Items (Video)

How to Change the Order of Your Report (Video)

Can I customize my template while I’m writing a report?

This takes customizing to the next level where you can add sections, items, defects or comments to your template as you’re writing a report in our clean, easy-to-use interface.

How to Save to Template While Writing a Report (Video)

Can I import my current narrative/comment library from my current software?

Yes!  Check out our import guide.

Do you allow customizing of formatting like spacing and font?

We do not. Spectora’s philosophy is to simplify while keeping a clean, intuitive user interface. Adding options for everything would result in a cluttered user experience.

Our user focus groups showed agents and clients care more about being able to find actionable info and advice over formatting.

Where can I learn more about customizing my template and writing a report?

We recently did a demo walk-through of the whole platform that you can find here.

BUSINESS AUTOMATION & MANAGEMENT

 

Does your platform allow me to accept online payments?

Yes. We integrate with Stripe, Square & Authorize.net.

Can I have my inspection agreements signed online through Spectora?

You sure can. You can choose to send the agreements in your booking and/or reminder emails. We document the time, date and IP address when they are signed for your protection.

Can I send confirmation, reminder and follow-up emails to clients and agents?

Yes, this is built into the Spectora platform and included in your monthly/annual cost. You can find tutorials on how to customize client and agent email templates and just about everything else on the Spectora YouTube channel.

How is the report delivered to the client and agent?

It is delivered electronically through your Report Ready email that you can customize and personalize at the time of publish.

 

THE SPECTORA REPORT

 

I worry about changing report formats on my agents. What have agents thought about the report format?

Agent feedback has been overwhelmingly great. In particular agents love the clean, easy-to-navigate nature of our reports, the Repair Addendum Generator and the new Agent PDF Summary. Inspectors are reporting getting more referrals as a result of their modern report format.

Agents have also commented on how much they appreciate not having to look at a 40-60 page report with walls of text.

Here is a YouTube video that walks agents through a Spectora report (done as if we are a part of your company so you can distribute or put on your site).

Here is a version done from Spectora’s voice in a non-branded version.

Is there a way I can send sample reports to my agents or new agents?

Yes! You can designate any mock or real report as your sample report. Read about it here.

Many of our inspectors are successfully differentiating themselves by showing off the modern report format and winning more agents over!

 

INTEGRATIONS

 

Do you integrate with ISN?

We sure do.

You can read about it here.

Do you integrate with RecallCheck/ISG?

Yep.

Here are some details.

Do you sync with popular calendars like Google and iCal?

We’ve always synced with Google Calendar, and now we do with iCal.

 

MOBILE APPS

 

Can you do inspections offline (aka with no cellular/LTE connection)?

Yes. You will need an active wi-fi or cellular connection to import your inspection beforehand and Save to Cloud afterwards. We recommend importing your inspections to mobile the night before or morning of.

Does your app work on tablets?

Yes, the app experience is the same whether you’re on your mobile phone or a tablet. Just download the latest version of the app from the iTunes or Google Play store.

Can I do everything on the app that I can on desktop?

You can do full inspections and publish from your mobile device. Our latest mobile app update is faster than ever and adds tons of features that puts it head and shoulders above any app in the industry.

 

MULTI-INSPECTOR COMPANIES

 

Do you support multi-inspector companies?

We do! You can add inspectors and modify their permissions to edit your company template, schedule inspections, publish inspections and more.

You can read more about it here.

Can multiple inspectors work on the same inspection and merge/save to cloud?

Yes, you can assign an inspection to multiple inspectors. They both work on their sections and save to cloud to merge reports.

You can read more about it here.

When inspectors merge, does it overwrite the last save to cloud?

Our saving to cloud works in an additive way. Meaning when inspector B saves his part of the inspection, it will not blank out inspector A’s sections and items. It will add to areas that weren’t previously touched. If there is overlap, the most recent save to cloud will show.

 

AGENT & CLIENT FEEDBACK

 

I’m an experienced home inspector with a good group of agents. How has the agent feedback been?

Agent feedback has been outstanding. Agents are loving the filters, repair addendum generator, PDF summary and all the reminders and follow-up emails! Spectora inspectors are noticing increases in referrals from delivering a professional, clean, easy-to-read report.

 

INSPECTOR FEEDBACK AND CASE STUDIES

 

What are inspectors saying about Spectora?

We encourage you to join our Facebook user group to chat with inspectors that have switched, read inspector testimonials of Spectora, see our Capterra Reviews, and check out our case studies on new and experienced inspector’s journey to Spectora.

 

PRICING & VALUE

 

Spectora is on the more expensive side, why is it worth it?

In the short time we’ve been on the market, we’ve iterated and innovated more than the competition. Period. Our platform is continuously getting better and will continue to add value to your business by saving you time (and headaches from outdated software), and getting you more referrals with our clean, useful report and business automation suite.

We also aim to be a fully sustainable home inspection software company, without having to sell advertising or solicit your agents. We simplify your pricing by including cloud storage, mobile apps, service/support, and updates forever in 1 monthly or annual cost. Once in, your prices will never go up.

I’m used to paying for downloadable software. What can you tell me about the value I’ll receive?

It’s a rule of thumb in the software industry that if you product declines in value over time, then it makes sense to make it downloadable and charge a flat fee.

If your product adds more value over time to users, then it’s fair to charge a monthly fee since the app gets more valuable to your business with each update.

We fall in this second category.

 

THE COMPANY

What are your founder’s backgrounds?

Just like you wouldn’t want a web developer inspecting your home, you wouldn’t want a home inspector making your software or marketing your business.

Mike has 20 years of experience in designing and developing web and mobile apps. He stays on the cutting edge of software development. Just ask our current users, he can crank out features and fixes with the best of them!

Kevin was a Denver Realtor for 6 years and an SEO Specialist at HomeAdvisor. He saw first hand how large companies implement SEO strategies and brings this knowledge and experience to Spectora inspectors. Kevin has been a part of dozens of home inspections and regularly interviews clients and agents on what they want from a home inspection report.