TOPIC: Report writing time?

Amen John...

I have a habit of doing just that .
I need to get these report times down.
I'm too darn busy , this job is consuming my life..

Time in my office is averaging 6 hrs a day after inspections

Notes is great 1st step in saving time.  I know some guys only take pics in the field and write everything in the office.  The more data you can do on site with well organized "comments" and "tabs"...you actually can be more accurate, and save time.

I couldn't agree more with using the notes feature but am also starting to build me caption library which has really helped! For 8 months I did not use either and I am kicking myself. Using the caption helps me keep my long winded comments and picture descriptions down to a minimum. Now, if I can just cut down on wanting to add every picture I take and only use the ones that are beneficial to the client.
While writing (finishing) a report, I will open my template in another window and add any "new" comments/caption to the template that I may come up with while writing the actual report. Then save the updated template, and use it on my next one. Ever building upon it.

Travis, did you know you don't have to open a another copy of the program right? You can add the new comments in the inspection you're working on and then click Save Template. It will NOT include the selected or red/black comments.

Travis...couple things I do when taking pics...

(1)Try to only take pics of what you will use in the report.  If the driveway is "concrete", and in good shape...record that at the time of the inspection.  There's no need to take a pic to remember it's "concrete" if you have already marked it in HIP.

(2)Take pic's in the order they will appear in the report.  Exterior, basement, HVAC, Electric, Attic...
Your "picture taking", template, & the way you perform your inspection should all follow the same flow.

(3)Keep captions to a minimum....you already stated the defect/problem in your report where the picture is being slotted.

(4)There are some pictures I always put in a report, even if there is no defect....(2)Front & back of house, AC label, furnace with cover off, electric panel with cover off, water main shut-off, (2)attic...sometimes garage.

I recently did an inspection where I did not record data on site(for reasons I wont go into now) where I had 300+ pictures...and wrote the report later.  What a pain in the ass!  I spent  4x longer putting the report together....with no more detail or accuracy than I normal supply.

Learn something new everyday! Thank you Dom and Dan! I appreciate it.