zInspector continues to be the most powerful, yet affordable inspection solution on the market. Some notable features absent from many other platforms include:
FAQ
Account Setup
- Follow this link to Register and Create an Account (Credit Card not required for sign-up)
- Download the zInspector app from either the Google Play Store and/or the Apple AppStore and use your new zInspector login info consisting of your email address and password.
First Use
- This video will show you how to create a property and perform a move out inspection. https://support.zinspector.com/videos/getting-started-with-zinspector-video/
- You can create a Property on the Mobile App or Website
- Inspect the Property Using Photo Inspection (quick photos/videos), or Property Management Inspection for full Move-In / Move-Out / Annual
Also take a look at the New Account Checklist for Getting Started.
zInspector is designed to be flexible in terms of how you use it and how you get started.
- You can add properties as you go. If you choose this method, most users create the properties from the mobile app.
- If you want all of your properties / units to be in zInspector from the beginning, there are multiple creation tools on the website. You can even import units from a spreadsheet.
- If you start by just adding one at a time on the mobile app, you can always import a spreadsheet later.
- Most companies start out with 1 or 2 employees first, then roll zInspector out to all their employees after a few inspections. You can change the number of inspectors at any time via the Group tab on the website.
Yes, you have a ton of customization options. You can modify all of the Details provided behind specific Areas, create your own Custom Document Templates and a lot more!
- With zInspector, the first step is typically to create properties, not inspection templates. Why would you want a template that has 5 bedrooms to inspect a 2 bedroom house?
- With zInspector, you build up a property with the specific Areas associated with that property.
- Your inspection “template” will then be automatically configured to match that specific property or unit.
- The closest thing to a template in zInspector are the Details behind an Area. A Bathroom for example has available Details associated with it, i.e Faucet, Shower, Toilet and Walls. You can completely change the Template for any inspection Area under the “Area Details” section in Admin Settings.
- You can also create fully Custom Document Templates. These are best used for very specific inspections such as City Compliance, Pet Violation, etc. You can even create Invoices, Checklists, etc. Document Templates work best if you have multiple small documents.
zInspector is available to users free of charge for up to five properties/units, with most features available.
Do you have many units or many users? That’s 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. We do for example 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 your information if you choose to delete it. For deleting an individual picture or video with your computer go to portfolio.zinspector.com, click on the Activity, find the relevant photo and click Delete on the left.
How to Delete a Property
To delete a property fully is a two step process. You first need to Archive and then Delete. Note that this option is only available for Admin users. The Admin User’s Property page is found at: portfolio.zinspector.com > Properties –> scroll to bottom and click on the Admin’s Property Page. The direct link is: https://portfolio.zinspector.com/property/adminProperty/
Example Video: https://support.zinspector.com/videos/delete-a-property-video/
How to Delete an Activity
To delete an Activity, Admin users can enable that option under Report Settings: https://portfolio.zinspector.com/profile/reportSettings/
Example Video: https://support.zinspector.com/videos/delete-an-activity-video/
- 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 very low-end, off-brand Android tablets as they often have poor camera resolution and insufficient memory. But, most phones and tablets work great.
Yes, zInspector has the most powerful sync capability on the market. New devices are up in about 30 seconds. You can always change devices, or use different devices simultaneously.
We do not, however, recommend multiple users simultaneous doing a “Property Management Inspection” on the exact same property at the same time. One user inspecting the property with Property Management Inspection and other users simultaneously taking photos and videos with Photo Inspection works well.
Yes, you can. At zInspector, we design for all three platforms at the same time. We believe in device choices! This is especially important as zInspector is designed for Bring-Your-Own-Device offices. If an employee brings 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 (https://portfolio.zinspector.com/property/list/), 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 .
In the demonstration video, only one photo is shown to be uploaded at a time, 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 works easily.
You can use this method to upload photos to any past inspection. Simply pick the same Property, Date, and Activity type.
Yes, you can edit all inspections even after they have been uploaded, providing the Group Owner of your account has given you sufficient access privileges.
All communications between your computer or mobile device(s) and our server are encrypted. In addition, all passwords on the system are encrypted. We do not however encrypt your photos, videos, or inspections. Technically, a zInspector employee could login to your account and view them. We have no intention of doing so, beyond what may be necessary to provide you with stellar technical support.
zInspector performs daily backups of all of your photos, videos and information 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.
You have many options! zInspector has the most flexible reporting options in the industry. These include:
- PDF Reports to Unlimited Email Addresses
- PDF Reports to Evernote, Dropbox, Google Drive, Dot Loop and many more!
- User-by-user Report Settings
- Download Zip option for all uncompressed photos
You can store an unlimited number of photos / videos.
You may have an unlimited number of properties / units.
zInspector may be used for property inspections for both personal and business use . Please see our Terms of Service document for more detail.
On the Photo Inspection screen of the mobile app, you can easily request a report to be sent to your email for the last Activity for a particular property.
If you for example want to request the last Move-In report, first pick the Property Name, pick the Activity, then hit the Report Request. If there is a Report available, you will soon have it in your email.
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 you hit Report Request at the end of your property visit, the Inspection Report for the Photo Inspection just performed will soon be in your email.
- What is a Photo Inspection?
- Quick way to take a Photo or Video.
- Some people actually only use Photo Inspection.
- It is easy to take a quick photo and it also provides many options to take lots of photos.
- What is a Property Management Inspection?
- This process takes you through your property / unit to do a complete inspection. This feature is most useful for Move-Ins , Move-Outs, or Annual Inspections
What is the Timeline?
- The Timeline is used to easily find all your old photos and reports.
- With the Timeline, you can very easily find what you are looking for, even if you have 100,000s of photos and videos on your account.
- You can easily type in any part of the Property Name to find your old Activities quickly.
What are Previous Photos?
- The Previous Photos button is available on both the Photo Inspection screen and within a Property Management Inspection. This button shows recent photos that are still stored on your device.
- By default, photos and videos are kept on your device for 7 days, providing they have uploaded to the server. This period can be configured in Settings on your mobile app.
Yes you can. Simply hit the Previous Photos button while either on the Photo Inspection screen, or during a Property Management Inspection.
This will show the photos and videos recently taken that are still stored on the device. Hit the email icon and you can send the photo with your phone’s standard programs such as Messaging or Email.
The website is easiest to use and is accessed from your computer. On the website, you can re-run reports, edit Reports, manage your users, configure advanced Admin Settings, Inspection Scheduler, etc. On the website you can also customize your Detail List, Smart Comments and the Final Comments on Property Managements Reports. We do it this way because our software is considered top-down, i.e. we make changes on the website and those changes synchronize to all of your Group Members / employees.
With the mobile app, you can do many of the same functions, but we’ve optimized things to really work well on phones and tablets with smaller screens and touch keyboards. Most users will primarily use your mobile devices in the field and computers in the office. Most users will use the mobile app as a tool in the field to take pictures, videos and property documentation. Use the website for overall management, review, updates and changes.
With User Roles, you can control which properties / units are seen by specific users.
The most common use cases of this are:
- You want particular users to only have access to inspections / unit information for a particular apartment building.
- Your company is organized by Portfolios rather than Functional.
If a Group Member / User is assigned to a particular User Group, then, when that User creates New Properties, the Properties will automatically be assigned to that User Group.
The steps for this are:
- Step 1 – Create Users under the Group Tab
- Step 2 – Create User Groups and assign at least one User to a 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 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 set on a User-by-User basis. For example, you could set one employee to only Read but not Create / Edit content. The user-by-user settings are viewable and defined on the Group tab.
When you tap the Exclude arrow in any row of a Property Management Inspection, such as 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, on the first Move-In inspection of a property you might Exclude the Exhaust Fan detail in the bathroom because the bathroom does not have one. Later, when you do a Move-Out inspection, that item will be pre-marked as Excluded. You can still change it later if needed.
You can use comments for any purpose that is appropriate for your organization. Our recommendation is to use “Additional Comments” to summarize the property and to use “Final Comments” for text such as legal disclaimers, or disclosures.
Here are some example 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.
Here are some example 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: https://support.zinspector.com/article/pre-populating-final-comments-in-pm-inspections/
Area Numbers are used to identify two different Areas of the same type. The most common examples are Bedrooms and Bathrooms. You can however have multiple Areas of any type such as Hallways, Side yards, Living Rooms, etc.
zInspector will automatically set Area Numbers and in general, you never need to change the Area Number. The Area Description allows you to describe the area in more detail.
For example, if we take 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/
There are a few steps that need to be taken if you need to change your company name. Once created, your company name gets populated in a number of spots on 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 methods to clear up storage space:
- Check if there are any pending items in the Download Queue.
- Go to the app settings and change the number of days to keep photos to zero. Then, close the app completely (don’t Logout) and try re-opening the app again.
- If neither of these methods work, try uninstalling and re-installing the zInspector app.