We’ve created an automated script to import your templates from Home Inspector Pro.  By importing your comments you’ll have a head-start on getting your Spectora template ready.  However, some clean-up and customization will be necessary – we’re here to walk you through the transition.

To import your HIP template, go to the Template Editor in Spectora and click the “3-dots".
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Choose "+ Add Templates"

Select "Import from another software".  For more information on how to import from another software, click the appropriate link in the box, then click "Browse" to search your computer.

Mac templates are stored in:

(yourUserName)/Documents/Home Inspector Pro/Data

Windows templates are stored in:

C:\Program Files\Home Inspector Pro\Data

Click import and let our scripts run!

This process usually takes 5-10 minutes.  Once you see this screen you can safely navigate away and return later:

Because of differences in data structure and software features, imported data will need some clean-up to get it ready for use.  Here are some pointers:

HIP’s files separate out Selection Panels and Damage Panels, which is what we use to import into Informational and Deficiencies comment areas respectively.  However, this isn’t always correct.  You should review the imported comments and ensure informational items are in the Information area and only deficiencies are in the Deficiencies area, as these categories play an important role in how your reports are displayed.  You can drag-and-drop comments to quickly move them back-and-forth.

Consolidate sections

Spectora software is designed to help you complete reports faster.  Our users report an average completion time of 1 hour per 1,000 square feet.  Some of that efficiency comes from our template system – make sure you’re using our platform as it was designed to be used!

Instead of having, for example, a “Walls” item in “Living Room”, “Bedroom”, “Bathroom”, etc., create a section “Interior” (or “Rooms”) and have it in one place.  When you add a deficiency related to walls, you can simply add a location tag for the room it was in:

(You can customize your location options in Settings->Report Writing.)

Here’s how location looks on the report:

Our Spectora User Group on Facebook can offer more great advice on setting up efficient templates.  Overall, our user base has tended to use system-based templates instead of room-to-room to minimize time navigating between sections.

Spectora is getting great agent feedback for being clean and concise.  This approach starts in your template!  We recommend removing repeated phrases (“was noted”, “present”, “was observed”, etc.) in your multiple choice answers, such as this:

By doing so, your final report will be cleaner and more readable!

HIP comments often uses placeholders like “<>” in the text, which you input from choices in the software.  We handle this a little differently.

For placeholders related to location, use the location feature as outlined above.

For others like “Material” we use informational comments with the “multichoice” answer type, which allow you to tap the checkbox of the answer.  We recommend creating these comments and inputting your answer choices:

Spectora uses a dropdown selector to input your recommendation quickly for any deficiency.  You can select default recommendations for each defect to save time in the field.

You can also update these gradually as you use your template – just use “Save as Template Default” when you make changes in the field:

Take advantage of optional sections/items

When we build your reports from your template, we can leave out infrequently-used sections/items.  This makes your reports more manageable while still allowing you to have great comments for those rare items:

Simply click the Edit/Pencil icon and change “Included in every report” to “Optional”.