Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.1nspect.app/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Starting an Inspection
After you tap Start Inspection on an assigned inspection (or Resume Inspection on an in-progress one), the app opens the inspection setup form — the screen titled New Inspection. This form is where you confirm the basic facts about the property and capture the few pieces of information the inspection cannot run without: the cover photo, weather conditions, AI baseline materials, and template assignments.
When you tap Start Inspection at the bottom of this form, you advance to the Capture Screen, where the field work actually happens.
This article walks through every section of the setup form, top to bottom.
Two ways you arrive at this screen
You see the setup form in two scenarios:
- First time starting an assigned inspection — most of the fields are pre-filled from the assignment your administrator created in the web admin. You confirm the data, fill in anything missing, capture the cover photo, and start.
- Resuming an inspection — same form, with all your prior answers already in place. Edit anything that needs updating, then advance to the Capture Screen to continue capturing findings.
The app distinguishes these by an internal isResuming flag — the form looks identical either way; you just see your previous answers when resuming.
The setup form is a single scrollable screen with seven sections. Required fields are marked with a red asterisk (*).
[SCREENSHOT: new-inspection-setup.png — mobile, the inspection setup form scrolled to show Client Information section at top and the Property Address section partially visible below.]
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|
| Client Name | ✅ | The primary client on the inspection — usually the home buyer or seller |
| Client Email | — | Used for report delivery and communications |
| Client Phone | — | Used by the office for follow-up; optional on this form |
2. Additional Client (Optional)
A second client (spouse, co-buyer, business partner). Three fields, all optional:
- Client 2 Name (placeholder hint: “Spouse, co-buyer, etc.”)
- Client 2 Email
- Client 2 Phone
3. Property Address
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|
| Street Address | ✅ | The full street line (e.g. “123 Main Street”) |
| City | — | (e.g. “Austin”) |
| State | — | Two-letter code (e.g. “TX”) |
| Zip Code | — | (e.g. “78701”) |
4. Property Baseline (for AI Findings)
These fields feed the AI tools so they can calibrate narratives (e.g. “a slab foundation built in 1985” vs “a pier-and-beam built in 2020”). Inspectors who skip this section get more generic AI output — for best AI quality, fill them in.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|
| Year Built | — | e.g. “1985” |
| Square Feet | ✅ | e.g. “2400” — used by pricing and the AI baseline |
| Foundation Type | — | Dropdown (Slab is the default) |
| Exterior Cladding | — | Dropdown (Brick Veneer is the default) |
| Roof Covering | — | Dropdown (Composition Shingle is the default) |
5. Date, Weather & Template
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|
| Inspection Date | ✅ | Tap Change Date to open the picker. Three quick options: Today, Tomorrow, or Choose Date (full calendar). |
| Start Weather | — | Free text — e.g. “75°F, partly cloudy, 8mph NE wind” — informs the report |
| End Weather | — | Captured when you finish; weather can change during an inspection |
| Inspection Template | ✅ | Dropdown — usually already filled by the administrator. Determines which sections and subsections appear on the Capture Screen. |
| Narrative Collection | — | Your custom narrative library to use on this inspection. If your office has set one up, choose it here so the AI prefers your saved narratives. |
| Caption Library | — | Your reusable caption shortcuts (one tap = a phrase like “Damaged shingles at rear slope”). |
If templates or collections won’t load: an error banner appears with a Retry button. Most often this means a network glitch — tap Retry. If the failure persists, contact your administrator.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|
| Additional Information / Client Concerns | — | Free text — anything the client asked you to focus on, accessibility notes, etc. |
| Parties Present | — | Multi-select dropdown — Client · Realtor · Seller · Builder · Insurance · Other. Used in the report’s header and the agreement. |
| Property Cover Photo | strongly recommended | The hero photo that goes on the front page of the PDF report. Tap Add Cover Photo to take or import a photo. Once captured, the buttons change to Change and Remove. |
7. Start Inspection
The big primary-blue Start Inspection button at the bottom of the form advances you to the Capture Screen. The button text changes during the transition to a spinner while the app prepares the local database.
Field validation
If you tap Start Inspection with required fields blank, you’ll see:
Missing Information
Please fill in Client Name and Property Address.
Both Client Name and Street Address must be filled before you can advance. Square Feet is marked required but is enforced more leniently — the app will warn but may still let you proceed depending on template.
The other required fields (Inspection Template, Inspection Date) usually arrive pre-filled from the assigned inspection, so you’ll rarely have to fill them yourself.
What gets captured before you start
When you tap Start Inspection, the app silently records:
- The
startedAt timestamp (used later in the Avg Inspection Time and inspector-productivity reports)
- Your current GPS location (throttled by the GPS service — used for the report’s location confirmation)
- The cover photo (uploaded immediately to cloud storage in the background)
You do not have to do anything for these — they happen automatically.
Pickers and modal screens
The dropdowns on this form open as full-screen pickers rather than inline dropdowns. They all share a common pattern:
[SCREENSHOT: template-picker.png — mobile, the template picker showing Cancel/Done in the header and a list of templates with descriptions.]
- Cancel in the top-left dismisses without changing
- Done in the top-right confirms the highlighted choice
- Each option is tap-to-select; multi-select pickers (Parties Present) show checkmarks
The Date picker is slightly different — three quick-pick buttons (Today / Tomorrow / Choose Date) before opening the full calendar grid.
What if you don’t have an assigned inspection?
The setup form is reachable only by tapping an assigned (or in-progress) inspection from Assigned Inspections, or by tapping an archived inspection in Archived Inspections to review it. There is no path to “create a brand-new inspection from scratch” on mobile — that intentionally lives on the web admin.
If you find yourself wanting to create an inspection on the spot at the property (the homeowner says “can you do mine while you’re here?”), use the Field Quote tool to generate a quote on the spot. Your administrator can then create the order in the web admin in seconds and it will appear on your Assigned Inspections list within seconds.
After tapping Start Inspection
You arrive at the Capture Screen — the full-screen workspace where you spend most of your inspection time. The setup form is rarely revisited on a single inspection; if you do need to come back to edit the cover photo or weather, you can swipe back from the Capture Screen header.
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