According to a Gitnux Report, around 85% of inspectors use software to perform building inspections and write reports. This helps them conduct faster inspections and save a significant sum on the paperwork.
With good building inspection software, you can achieve higher data accuracy, enhanced compliance, and effective communication. However, the report also confirmed that to implement such advanced software, an average inspector has to shell out $1,000 per year.
Here are the top 5 affordable building inspection software for home inspectors, property managers, and government officials to automate and streamline inspections without burning holes in their pockets.
5 Best Building Inspection Software & Apps
Here is our pick of the top-rated building inspection software and apps based on their features and pricing:
Building Inspection App | Free Trial | Paid Plan |
GoAudits | ✅ | $10/user/month |
Chapps | ✅ | $13/user/month + $3/report |
Formitize | ✅ | $29.99/user/month |
Sitemate | ✅ | $25.20/user/month |
Fulcrum | ✅ | $15/user/month |
1. GoAudits Building Inspection App & Software
GoAudits building inspection software is a complete solution for professional inspectors, property management companies, construction contractors, and facility managers.
With GoAudits, you can conduct efficient inspections, identify defects, create and share reports, and manage compliance for all types of buildings. You can set up workflows and notifications to facilitate effective collaboration with your team members and third-party contractors.
GoAudits offers excellent customer support and help centers to train your staff. With a 4.8/5 rating on Capterra, it is trusted by some of the biggest property management companies in the industry.
Key Features:
- Conduct comprehensive inspections using ready-to-use building inspection checklists based on different building types like residential, commercial, retail, etc.
- Generate great-looking professional reports, with your branding and custom covers, containing all the information about the building’s condition including historical data.
- Collect accurate data about the property’s condition using an auditor app (iOS and Android) that works offline, and supports photo capture & annotations and location capture.
- Set up workflows to automate report sharing with your clients, maintenance staff, contractors, and other stakeholders.
- Using corrective action features, flag any issues or non-conformances with building codes and regulatory requirements.
- Schedule regular inspections and maintenance tasks to ensure properties and facilities remain in top condition.
2. Chapps Building Inspection Report Software
Chapps building inspection app is a digital solution for facility managers managing multifamily, residential, and commercial properties. It assists in creating annual meeting reports, performing maintenance checks, controlling compliance, etc.
Key Features:
- White labeling
- Meter recordings
- Reporting
3. Formitize Building Inspection Report App
Formitize is an end-to-end building inspection app that streamlines inspections using drag-and-drop form builder, reporting, customer database management, automated reminders, quoting, invoicing, and more.
Key Features:
- Online pre-inspection agreements
- Automated inspection reminders
- E-signature
4. Sitemate Building Inspection Software
Sitemate building inspection software automates and streamlines complex building inspections. Teams can access real-time inspection data and reports through the dashboard. The mobile application allows inspectors to access checklists on their mobile devices and perform inspections anytime.
Key Features:
- Checklists
- Photo capture
- PDFs and building drawing attachments
5. Fulcrum Building Inspection Report App
Fulcrum helps property managers conduct general quality checks for commercial facilities and new construction buildings. This building inspection app allows users to assess the condition of the building, including exterior, plumbing, HVAC, and electrical systems.
Key Features:
- Checklists
- Photo capture
- Offline functionality
👉 Useful Resource: Free Building Inspection Checklists
Here are free property inspection checklists to help you get started:
→ Building Inspection Checklist
→ Commercial Building Inspection Checklist
→ Residential Building Inspection Checklist
→ Building Maintenance Checklist
→ Building Exterior Maintenance Checklist
→ Building Handover Inspection Checklist
» Use These Checklists: Sign up with a 14-day free trial to customize these checklists.
What is a Building Inspection Software?
A building inspection software is a digital tool that helps property managers and inspectors streamline inspections and automate report generation. It typically offers features like checklist management, issue tracking, reporting, data centralization, and more.
Who Can Benefit from Building Inspection Report Software?
Building inspection software is used by a variety of professionals including:
- Home Inspectors: The software helps them identify and report property defects to buyers during the due diligence period.
- Property Managers: They use it to identify and address maintenance issues early on for properties in their portfolio.
- Government Officials: The software aids in the enforcement of building codes and regulations, ensuring public safety.
- Insurance Companies: The app provides accurate damage assessment, helping in claim processing and risk assessment.
- Construction Companies: They use it to maintain quality control and identify potential defects early in the construction process.
Building Inspection Challenges
First and foremost, time constraints often force inspectors to rush through inspections, especially during property transactions or legal proceedings, where they have deadlines to meet. Building codes and regulations are modified often. Staying up-to-date and incorporating these changes in the inspections can be a challenge.
Besides inspectors, property inspections usually involve multiple stakeholders – owners, tenants, contractors, etc. Ineffective communication between these parties can hinder issue resolution. Limited accessibility of inspection data in remote locations can amplify communication problems.
A single inspection can lead to the identification of multiple issues that need to be addressed with differing levels of urgency. Keeping track of these problems and their resolutions can be cumbersome.
How a Building Inspection App Can Help
Unlike paper-based methods, building inspection report software supports mobile inspections that accelerate the process of auditing and reporting.
The software equips your inspectors with digital checklists that can be easily updated to include the latest changes in the building codes. To further streamline the process, you can implement SOP checklists, which can make the inspection process uniform, eliminating subjectivity.
The building inspection app supports offline inspections, which means inspectors can perform audits even for buildings in places with low connectivity. The app also allows inspectors to generate and share instant reports with all the stakeholders, keeping everyone in the loop.
As a manager, you can prioritize and assign repair and maintenance tasks to third-party contractors and track their status through the dashboard.
Learn More: How FibreRise achieves quality standards using inspection software and mobile application.
Key Features of a Building Inspection Report Software
Besides the features discussed above, here are some more must-have features of a building inspection report app:
- Advanced Data Capture: The building inspection mobile app should allow inspectors to capture photos of the defects so stakeholders know the exact problem.
- Workflow Setup: You should be allowed to set up workflows for sharing reports, assigning repair tasks, reviewing maintenance plans, etc.
- Corrective Action: Besides allowing managers to assign corrective actions, the mobile app should allow senior inspectors to assign corrective measures for serious defects within the app.
- Inspection Dashboard: To schedule and assign inspections and track their status.
- Analytics: This helps property management companies understand the overall effectiveness of the inspections and identify trends or patterns over time.
How to Choose a Building Inspection Software?
Apart from features, here are some factors you must consider while buying a building report app:
- Time Taken for One Inspection Cycle: The effective time taken to complete an inspection cycle depends on the extent of automation. Sign up for the free trial to gauge the actual speed and accuracy of inspections.
- Customization Options: You should be able to generate custom reports for your clients with your brand’s logo.
- Pricing: Confirm how you’ll be charged: based on the number of inspections or users. Also, you might want to inquire if you need to pay extra for customer service, getting your paper checklists digitized, etc.
- Customer Support: Read what users have to say about the building inspection software on review sites like Capterra to understand the assistance offered and the responsiveness of the support team.