zInspector continues to be the most powerful yet affordable inspection solution on the market. Some notable features absent from many other platforms include:
FAQ
Sign Up & Download the App
- Follow this link to register and create an account — no credit card required for sign-up.
- Download the zInspector app from the Google Play Store and/or the Apple AppStore.
- Sign in to the app (and site if you wish) with your new login info (email address and password).
Video Introduction & First-Time Use
- Watch this brief video to learn how to create a property and perform a move-out inspection.
- Create a Property on the mobile app or website while you follow along with the video.
- Try out Photo Inspection (quick photos/videos) or Property Management Inspection (full Move-In / Move-Out / Annual).
Also take a look at the Quick Start (Basics) walkthrough.
zInspector is designed to be flexible to your approach, whether you need to get fully set up fast or prefer to ease in gradually.
- To start off slowly, just add properties as you go. Most users who go this route create their properties on-site using the mobile app.
- To dive in, with all of your properties / units in zInspector from the beginning, multiple creation tools on the website can help you set up. You can even import units from a spreadsheet or property management program such as Appfolio.
- If you start by adding one property at a time on the mobile app, you can always import a whole spreadsheet later.
- Most companies start with 1 or 2 employees using zInspector, then roll out to all their employees after a few inspections. You can change the number of inspectors at any time (in the Group tab on the website).
Absolutely. zInspector offers tons of customization options:
- Modify all Details within specific Areas to accurately specify your properties.
- Customize inspection reports with your company logo.
- Create your own custom document templates.
- And much more!
- In zInspector, creating Properties—not inspection templates—is the first step. Why? Because a 5-bedroom template is not actually that useful for inspecting a 2-bedroom house.
- When you create a property in zInspector, you build it with the specific Areas (rooms, yards, systems) associated with that property.
- Your inspection “template” will automatically configure to match each specific property/unit that you create.
- Defining the Details within an Area is as close to building an inspection template as zInspector needs to get. A Bathroom, for example, is an area that contains all these available details: Faucet, Shower, Toilet and Walls. By specifying or changing Details within any Area, you are in effect changing the inspection template for that Area. (Details can be fully customized for any property’s Areas under the Area Details page in Admin Settings).
- Custom document templates, however, are a useful zInspector feature. You can create fully customized document templates for very specific inspections such as City Compliance, Pet Violation, or Smoke Detector check. You can even create invoices, checklists, and other forms of documentation. Document Templates are most effective when they are specific to a process, focused on a particular situation, used in tandem with other documents, and used consistently during particular activities—which zInspector Tasks can help to coordinate.
zInspector is available free of charge to users with up to five properties/units, with most features available.
Do you have many units or many users? Great! zInspector continues to be the most powerful yet affordable inspection solution available (see our Pricing page for more info).
You do.
Your content belongs to you. We will never sell or publish your photos, videos, documents, or inspection results. We do, however, reserve the right to access and copy them. For example, we make low resolution copies of your photos so you can quickly browse your information from our website.
Yes, you can delete individual photos, videos and/or properties as you require. zInspector will not retain information you choose to delete.
How to Delete a Photo or Video
To delete an individual picture or video, go to portfolio.zinspector.com in your web browser, click on the associated Activity, find the relevant photo, and click Delete (to the left of the item).
How to Delete a Property
Fully deleting a property is a two-step process: first Archive and then Delete it. Note that this option is only available for Admin users. Go to your zInspector Portfolio —> Properties —> scroll to bottom and click on the Admin’s Property Page.
Example Video: Deleting a zInspector Property
How to Delete an Activity
Admin users can enable an option in Report Settings to allow users to delete Activities.
Example Video: Deleting a zInspector Activity
- zInspector software is designed to keep your personal information and data secure.
- zInspector will not share or sell your personal information.
- zInspector does not own any content you generate.
- For detailed information, please see our Terms of Service.
zInspector has been tested and found to be compatible with most standard iOS and Android devices. You can use a tablet one day and your phone the next.
We do not recommend low-end, off-brand Android tablets because they often have poor camera resolution and insufficient memory. But most phones and tablets work great!
Yes you can.
zInspector has the most powerful sync capability on the market. New devices are up and running in about 30 seconds. You can always change devices, or use different devices simultaneously. We do not, however, recommend multiple users performing a simultaneous Property Management Inspection on the exact same property at the same time. One user inspecting the property in Property Management Inspection mode and other users simultaneously taking photos and videos in Photo Inspection mode works well.
Yes, you can. We built zInspector for cross-platform collaboration. We believe in freedom to choose your device! This is especially important because zInspector is designed with B.Y.O.D. (Bring-Your-Own-Device) offices in mind. When an employee does bring their own device, the zInspector app keeps company information separate from the user’s personal information.
Yes, you can. From your zInspector account, click on Properties, click on the relevant Property Name, and then click Upload Photo. This feature comes in handy when you need to add legacy photos to a property or take new photos with a DSLR camera.
Note: Maximum individual photo size for upload is 8 MB.
The video above demonstrates a single-photo upload, although you can bulk upload many photos at once in the current version. The maximum number of photos is limited by the memory of your computer: typically, 10-20 photos per upload should work well for most users.
Helpful Tip: You can upload photos to any past inspection using this method. Simply specify the Property, Date, and Activity type of the relevant inspection on the Upload Photo window before you click Save Changes.
Yes. You can edit any uploaded inspection, as long as the Group Owner of your account has given you sufficient access privileges. Of course, some report information, such as geotags and timestamps, cannot be changed. Other changes you make—for instance, to a tenant-completed move-in inspection—may require the tenant’s signature prior to re-submission.
All communications between your computer and/or mobile device(s) and our server are encrypted. In addition, all zInspector passwords are encrypted. That said, we do not encrypt your photos, videos, or inspections. An employee of zInspector can technically log in to your account and view this content. In practice, however, we will only do so in order to provide you with stellar technical support.
zInspector performs a daily backup of all of your photos, videos and information in order to prevent data loss in the event of any server issues. We utilize Amazon server resources to provide you with highly reliable and redundant storage.
Absolutely! zInspector offers the most flexible reporting options in the industry. These include:
- PDF reports to unlimited email addresses
- PDF reports to Evernote, Dropbox, Google Drive, Dotloop, and many more!
- User-by-user Report Settings
- Download Zip option for all uncompressed photos
As many as you want!
zInspector offers unlimited photo & video storage plus a powerful search capability.
As many as you need!
Subscribed users can work on an unlimited number of properties / units in zInspector.
zInspector may be used to conduct property inspections for both personal and business use. Please see our Terms of Service for details.
On the Photo Inspection screen of the mobile app, you can easily request that a report on the last Activity of a specified type for a particular property be sent to you via email.
If, for example, you want to request the last Move-In report, first select relevant Property Name and Activity then tap Report Request. If available, the last report meeting those specifications will be emailed to you.
This feature is also often used by contractors and others who primarily use Photo Inspections, as opposed to Property Management Inspections or Documents. If you take a number of photos with a Photo Inspection and tap Report Request at the end of your property visit, a Photo Inspection report containing your site photos will reach your email soon thereafter.
Photo Inspection
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- Take photos and videos – quickly and easily.
- Handily document your marketing activities, notice postings, construction bids and—yes—whole property inspections, among others.
- Some businesses use Photo Inspection almost exclusively: it just works for them.
Property Management Inspection
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- Perform a complete property / unit inspection—most useful for Move-Ins, Move-Outs, and Annual Inspections.
What is the Timeline?
- The Timeline lays out all your previous photos and reports by date.
- In the Timeline, you can very easily search through it all, even if you have thousands or hundreds of thousands of photos and videos on your account.
- You can easily type in any part of the Property Name to find previous Activities quickly.
What is Previous Photos?
- The Previous Photos button is available on both the Photo Inspection screen and within a Property Management Inspection (look for stacked photos icon). Press it to show all inspection photos still stored on your device.
- By default, photos and videos are stored on your device for 7 days, providing they have uploaded to the server. This period can be configured in Settings on your mobile app.
You sure can. Simply tap the Previous Photos button from either the Photo Inspection or Property Management Inspection screen.
Previous Photos show the recently taken inspection photos and videos still stored on the device. Tap the email icon to send the photo from your device’s standard messaging or email apps.
On site at a property, zInspector users work with the mobile app—they take photos, videos, complete documents, and perform inspections—then upload the resulting data to the website.
Back at the office, on a laptop or desktop computer, zInspector users work on the website, or online portal. Doing what? Think “desk work”—re-running and editing reports—and managerial / administrative functions—user supervision and coordination, task scheduling, import / sync / integration setup, inspection and report customization, and enterprise customization. Their changes on the website synchronize to all Group Members or users on the account.
Certain functions—such as Admin and other global settings—can only be done on the website; individual app users simply do not have access to them.
Other actions—like the actual property inspections—can only be performed on the app.
Some things can be done either on the website or on the app—for instance, Creating a Property. Your method may come down to personal preference or the established practice of your business.
Of course, you can technically use your mobile device’s browser to access the website and most of its exclusive functionality (depending, of course, on your user permissions). But just because you can doesn’t always mean you should. Using the website on a mobile device browser with a small screen and no keyboard can be less convenient for certain projects, but will do in a pinch.
With User Groups, you can control which properties / units are seen by specific users.
User Groups are most commonly used when:
- You want specific users to have access to inspections and unit information only for a particular apartment building or set of properties.
- Your company primarily is organized around portfolios rather than functional groups.
When a user is assigned to a particular User Group, any new Property that user creates will automatically be allocated to that User Group.
The steps to create a User Groups:
- Step 1 – Create Users under the Group Tab
- Step 2 – Create User Groups and assign at least one User to each User Group.
- Step 3 – Assign properties / units to specific User Groups on the Admin’s Property Page. Use the Search / Select All features to select numerous properties / units at once.
Yes, you can. From your zInspector account, click on Properties, click on the appropriate Property Name, and then click on Upload Photo. You can upload photos up to 8 MB in size. This is a great feature if you have legacy photos or take new photos with a DSLR camera. You can bulk upload many pictures at once.
Individual user permissions can be specified on a user-by-user basis. For example, you could permit one employee to only Read but not Create / Edit content. The user-by-user settings are defined and viewable on the Group tab.
When you tap the Exclude arrow for any detail row of a Property Management Inspection (e.g., a Move-Out or Move-In inspection), that item will be marked as Excluded. Excluded items will not appear on your final PDF report.
Excluded items will be remembered and synced across all devices.
For example, during the first Move-In inspection of a property, you might Exclude the Exhaust Fan detail in the Bathroom area because the bathroom does not have one. Later, when you do a Move-Out inspection, that item will be pre-marked as Excluded. If an exhaust fan is installed at some point, the Exclusion can be easily undone during a subsequent inspection by tapping on the arrow again for the Excluded row.
You can use comments for any purpose that is appropriate for your organization. Our recommendation is to use “Additional Comments” to summarize the property findings and to use “Final Comments” for text such as legal disclaimers, or disclosures.
Some examples of Additional Comments:
- Property looks great overall. A couple of minor issues as noted.
- Property needs a a major overhaul. Lots of damage noted, but complete remodel recommended.
Some examples of Final Comments:
- Move-In Inspection—> “Welcome to your new home. If you have any issues with this move-in condition report, please report them within 3 days.”
- Move-Out Inspection —> “Thank you for being our tenant. We will process your security deposit return within 21 days.”
- Inspection —> “This is a visual inspection only. We do not assess any structural or mechanical defects.”
Did you know that you can pre-populate the Final Comments for any of the Property Management Inspection report types?
Go here for more information.
zInspector uses Area Numbers to differentiate Areas of the same type, most commonly Bedrooms and Bathrooms. Multiples of any Area type (Hallway, Side Yard, Living Room, etc.) can be created and differentiated using Area Numbers.
zInspector will set Area Numbers automatically and, in general, you shouldn’t need to change them. Instead, you can change the Area Description to describe the area in more detail.
For example, for a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house, a common layout could be:
[Area-Type Area-Number: Area-Description]
- Bathroom 1: Master
- Bathroom 2: Hallway
- Bedroom 1: Master
- Bedroom 2: Left down hallway
- Bedroom 3: Right down hallway
Do Area Groups relate to Area Numbers? No, they are completely unrelated.
Area Groups can be used to coordinate the flow/order of an inspection, or to group Areas together for a larger property (such as an estate). For more information on Area Groups, please visit this knowledge base article: https://support.zinspector.com/article/area-groups/
A few steps need to be taken in zInspector to change your company name on zInspector-generated content. If/when it was initially provided during account creation, your company name automatically populated in a number of places in zInspector:
- Individual Settings: https://portfolio.zinspector.c
om/profile/ - Work Order Header / Photo Inspection Header: https://portfolio.zinspector.c
om/profile/adminSettings/ - Email / Company Identification Subject: https://portfolio.zin
spector.com/profile/taskSettin g/ - Custom Documents: https://portfolio.z
inspector.com/documents/settin gs/
In each of those pages, your company name can be changed individually to reflect your needs.
Try these steps to free up storage space:
- Check if there are any pending items in the Queue; if so, give them the opportunity to upload (Queue troubleshooting here).
- Go to the app settings and change the number of days to keep photos to zero, close the app completely (but don’t log out), then re-open the app.
- If neither of these methods work, uninstall and re-install the zInspector app.