Your templates will populate as a report on every inspection you schedule. You can set your default template for each service type by setting up your Services & Fees.
Here's a video demo for template editing:
Step-by-step process:
1.Go to the Templates tab near the top of the page
2. Click on My Templates to see which templates you have downloaded to your Spectora account
3. Click on the Template Center to browse other templates that are available for you to download (for free!)
4. Click on the 3 dot button to explore template settings, import from another software, or add/delete a template
5. Take note of the headers: Sections, Items, Comments
Sections are the largest grouping, including both Items and comments
Items are organized within sections, and contain comments
Comments will show as the content on your report. You can have informational, limitation, and deficiency comments.
Comments are broken into Informational, Limitation, and Deficiency types (more on this later)
You can choose from 7 different formats for Informational Comments. They are: checkbox, multiple choice, date, number, numeric range, signature, and text (not pictured). Each will require you to do something different in order to make the comment included in the report.
For example, a Text type comment requires that you type in the text box to activate the comment, while the Checkbox type comment requires that you check the box ON to activate it.
Watch the video at the top of this article for a more in-depth explanation of each type! (4:32 in the video)
Limitation comments will simply show why you were not able to inspect something. For example, "snow on the roof" would be a limitation to your inspection
You can have up to 3 types of Deficiency Comments, and you can set those up by going to template settings
6. Click on the title of your Template (for example, InterNACHI Residential Template)
Here you will see your template settings. Explore this area, as you can customize a lot of things including: template name, friendly display name that will show to customers, header text, display options for web and PDF, item ratings, and defect categories.
7. Decide whether you'd like to use Classic or Custom Item Ratings. Item ratings are the buttons you will select when you are inspecting to indicate something was Inspected, Not Inspected, Not Present, or Deficient (etc.). Here's an article to learn more about classic and custom ratings to help you choose.
To toggle between classic ratings and custom ratings, click Item Ratings in your Template Settings:
8. Notice that some Sections/Items are blue and some are grey.
Blue sections are Included in Every Report, they will populate in your reports every time
Grey sections are Optional Sections, they will not populate in your report automatically. You can add these sections in the field if you need them by clicking the +Section button, then "Add Optional Section". Inspectors use this feature for pools, detached garages, and other things that may not be present in all homes.
To change an optional section to be included in every report, hover over the name of the optional section or item, click the pencil icon, then click the dropdown that says Optional, and change it to "Included in Every Report". Don't forget to scroll down and SAVE!
9. To copy or delete any Section or Item, hover over the name, then click either the double paper icon or the trash can icon.
10. To reorder any Section, Item, or Comment, click and drag them around
11. To move an entire Section or Item (including all comments!), hover over the Section/Item name, and click the blocks icon
12. You can add reminders that will show in the app while you're on-site. To do this, click the pencil icon next to any section or item. Scroll down and type in the Reminder box. Don't forget to click Save! Here's how it will look in the app:
Want to dive deeper? Here's a more in-depth demo on template editing