What We’re Downloading: Apps for Home Inspectors

In addition to being home inspectors, we’re also unabashed app-heads at Tap Inspect. In addition to doing home inspections by phone, we’re constantly checking out new ways to streamline all of the other aspects our business on mobile devices. This month, we’re checking out four business apps and we’ll report back on our experiences next month. If you’ve used any of these or think there’s an app we’ve just got to check out, let us know in the comments.

 

DASHBOARD

Our blog, website and social networks keep us connected to the Tap Inspect community (that’s you!), so any app that promises to help us stay on top of our online presence piques our interest. This free app, powered by Google Analytics, is designed to not only help  keep track of who’s been to your site, how long they stayed and what your fans are connecting with; it also purports to keep entrepreneurs connected to their viewership goals and subscriptions.

 

EXPENSIFY

One of the most time-consuming, gut-wrenching aspects of being an entrepreneur is sifting through write-off receipts at the end of the year. This fa-fa-fa-free app allows you to take a photo of any receipt under $75 you plan to write off and store it online along with information on why it’s a write-off. You can also sync it to credit cards and bank accounts to make end of the year organization a bit easier. (Hat tip to Yahoo! Finance for helping us find this one).

 

WAZE

Yes, a great GPS system will get you from Point A to B, but even the best often don’t take factors like accidents, environmental hazards and surprise traffic into consideration. Enter Waze, an app that lets you know what users already on your route are watching out for. The app purports to provide info ranging from hidden speed cameras to the cheapest gas stations, making it perfect for home inspectors tackling a geographically heavy day.

 

Over the next month, we’ll be testing and reporting back on how we felt each app enhanced or hindered our business. Do you have any experience with these apps? If so, we’d love to hear about it in the comments.

5 Free Tools For Home Inspectors

* Talk about useful. InterNACHI’s free home inspection fee calculator computes your fee based on your rate, miles traveled, the age and size of the home. Awesome!

* Find out how contaminated your next client’s home is for no charge. For a limited time, Environmental Issues Report is giving away one free report that tracks environmental problems in your area.

* Gas can vary by up to 50 cents per gallon in your area. Get the cheapest price by heading to Gasbuddy.com or downloading their app.

* No more searching for scraps of paper to jot your number down on. With Bump, iPhone and Android users can exchange invoices, contact information or notes just by holding your phones close together.

* Keep a running tab of your business expenses, track your spending and record your miles with one step. The Expensify keeps track of money going out so that you don’t have to.