bruce-thomas
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I also use InventoryBase and I really like it, I dictate all of my reports using the record audio function, once I have finished the recording I then take my photos of that room then move onto the next room. Once I have finished the job I then sync it from the app on my phone then send it off to processing, I use RND Softech in India to type the reports, once the report has come back from typing I correct any mistakes and check all of the photos in the report then mark it complete, it can be sent to the agent, the tenants and the landlord, you can check the activity log of each report and that way you can see when each person has opened it, the tenants can’t say that they never received the report because their email address gives a date and time it was opened, everyone can sign online and add comments where necessary. You can even have all of your old reports uploaded to the database so that you can do your check out of the property
The £60 per month includes VATHi Stef,
I use a Samsung Galaxy S21, it’s a fantastic phone with a great camera, excellent for using with Inventory Base There are some great trade in deals around, check with your current provider or the Samsung website.
It is so much better than using a camera, the flash is brillant, I vary rarely use my camera now that I have the S21. Also no need to waste time resizing photos if you use the the phone.We have been doing mid term inspections for several months now, I usually manage to get just one tenant at home, which I tell them to wear a mask,
all internal doors are open or we use gloves if needs be, tenants wait in the hall or outside.
We have picked up a lot more of these inspections than we have ever had previously, which is good for us as our other works has slowed down, I think this is because of the SLDT holiday period.
We have had to rearrange a few when tenants have said that they have Covid or self isolating
All ok so far. except one tenant messaged in the morning and said to cancel the inspection as the lord so no, just passed the comment onto the agent to deal with.Inventory Base workstreams is designed to enable you to offer work to other clerks that you cannot cover
for eg if you are really busy and a last minute job comes in you can offer it on Workstreams,
also you can have cover if you want to go on holidays this is done under your own brand
IB charge a small fee for this service as they take payment from you hold it in an Escrow account then pay the contractor once the job has been done,
and you have given the ok to pay the invoice
I hope this helps and answers any questions with regards to Inventory Base WorkstreamsI agree, if there was a business to go with it then it might make more sense
I am doing mid term inspections on 2 properties where the tenants have been there long term
1 at 15 years and another for 20 years. I store everything on Dropbox, I don’t have any paper reports, anything that was paper
based has been scanned and saved as an electronic copyInventoryBase offer Accredited CPD training through their Academy, I have done some of the courses mainly for my own Continued Professional Development
I like to do various courses and reading to keep up with what is happening within the industry, the government make so many changes it’s good to keep up.
the training programmes are Written by their Trainer Sian Hemming- Metcalfe, she owns her own Inventory business and uses her years of knowledge to put the courses together.
IB has a 360 degree option within their reports but it’s not something that I have explored.
have a look at the websiteThe worse report I have seen was last week done by a Housing Association
door
floor with a one word comment and very small pictures
1 bed flat 8 pages in total with 1 page each for of condition and cleaning
left everything out
There was water damage to the floors in the bathroom and the flat was dirty.
I have left the agent to sort it out, he has taken over management of another agents portfolio and this flat was one of them.Hi Aim,
As I have said in a reply to this thread above I use InventoryBase and I still dictate my reports using a Jabra Evolve headset with microphone, each recording is in its own room, then this is sent to RND Softech in India to type up, I mainly use my phone for photos(Galaxy S21 is brilliant), but still use a compact camera if light in the room is poor or meter photos are a pain.
Audit trail is helpful when a tenant says that they have not seen the report, you can check the activity feed to see if they have opened it or not,
if they haven’t got the report it maybe because of a wrong email address.
Photos are date & time stamped as wellYes RND have let me down as well the average turn around time has gone from 24 hours to 5-6 days, I have sent two emails of complaint to them this morning but as yet I have not had a reply from anyone, they are based in India so I don’t know if the team is being affected by COVID 19 or not as there hasn’t been any communication from them.
I will talk to InventoryBase and ask them to send my reports to their other typists, even if I have to pay a bit more I need the reports back quickly.
If I get a reply from RND I will post the comments hereInventory Hive, I spoke to them at the Negotiator Awards & trades day awhile back I followed up with the rep, heard back once and never again, so InventoryBase got my business.
Hi Matthew,
I pay InventoryBase £50 per month for all reports up to 500 properties on the team subscription for 5 staff members. The app that I use on my phone has a record function, I use a headset with a microphone to dictate my reports, each room has it’s own dictation, I then synch the recordings and photos submit this to RND Softech for typing, I prefer to use them over the typists that Inventory Base have as I deal and pay them directly. I suggest using a camera as well because sometimes poor light makes the photo to dark when using the phone camera
RND can transcribe the another companies report into IB they charge £4.00 for up to 60 pages on a 24 hour turnaround.
Benefits of using Inventorybase, everyone can sign the report online, there is also an audit trail so that you can see the date & time that the report has been opened, so tenants can’t say they didn’t get the report.If you want same day typing you need to discuss it with RND as to how much they will charge you.
email A. Umashankar
umashankar@rndsoftech.comHi David,
I have been using RND Softech in India and have been very happy with their service, they charge 35p per audio minute for 24 hour turnaround, the typists will send you an email to acknowledge receipt of the file, once the report is typed they will send you another email to let you know that the report has been completed and where there are any errors in the report. eg:
Also note we have inserted time-stamps in areas where we are unsure and have mentioned them below:
General condition-[0:03]Umashankar A is the team manager
E: umashankar@rndsoftech.comV. Janarthanan Team Manager- Production
E: janarthanan@rndsoftech.comEmail either one or both of the guys and tell them that I recommended them.
They work 24/7 and are very good with turnaround times, they are also familiar with InventoryBase softwareKind regards
BruceHi,
I had a tenant moan that I did not note that the filter was dirty, I said that it is not something that I check as I could end up with water on the floor, and nothing to clean it up with
I always check the filter in the dishwasher and that is usually dirty even after a ‘professional’ clean.Hi R Kirwan,
If you read my reply to Milton earlier in this thread you will have answers to your questions with regards to the training, etc. It saves me having to repeat myself.
I have been using InventoryBase for well over 15 months and I was the person who suggested to Stef that she use them, when she asked a question about something else in an previous post.
On a whole I have found them very good and the software is easy to use once you get the hang of it.
They will add your templates to the system so that you can still use them, when you open the app you the ability dictate into each room, and then take your photographs and move onto the next room. As I said I use a Galaxy S9 Plus phone and use the Canon camera when the light in to room is not good, which I think is more to do with the IB app than the phone camera.
Using the software you also have an audit trail of who and when opened the email for the report, so that come check out a tenant cannot say that they did not get the report, you know that they did if as you can check the activity link and also the share history link which gives you all of the activity for the property.Call Inventory Base and talk to Steve about it, Emma or Dan are in support for issues.
Or you can ask to speak to Sian, she has used the system for years and is their trainer.Hope this helps
BruceHi Milton,
I pay £50 per month plus VAT for InventoryBase.
I use RND Softech India for all typing, as they charge me 30p per audio minute with a 24 hour turnaround and I have been using them for years, they email when they receive the file, then send an email once the report is finished and uploaded to the database noting any errors.
InventoryBase has their own typists but it can be a lot dearer than RND.
When I do a check out on an old file I send it to RND as a PDF without the photos and its usually about £4.00 per report to transcribe it into InventoryBase.Give them a call and have a chat, Sian Hemming- Metcalfe is an inventory clerk who has been using their system for years and is also runs their training workshops.