The InventoryBase Workflow – Milestones, audit trails and notifications
Every inspection created with InventoryBase travels through a series of workflow stages to produce a final property report that can be shared with recipients.
The workflow ensures you and your clients can track the progress of inspections throughout the report lifecycle. Each milestone is timestamped and a detailed audit trail is created and recorded against every property in your InventoryBase system.
The basic, standard workflow consists of the following stages:
A “Clerk” is the person (inventory clerk, property manager, inspector, assessor) assigned to complete the report.
You may see more stages in the workflow based on your account settings.
The full list of workflow stages are as follows:
PENDING
Inspection has been added to the system with a proposed time, but has not yet been assigned to a clerk or confirmed.
ASSIGNED
Inspection has been scheduled and/or assigned to the clerk. It is now accessible for you or the assigned clerk to download offline to the mobile app. The clerk or manager may need to accept the job to progress to this stage.
ACTIVE
Inspection has been started and is either in progress on the clerk’s app or is still being edited on or offline. (Note: When a report is started on the app it is offline, so may not show Active until the report is uploaded)
PROCESSING
Optional stage. If a typist is assigned to transcribe uploaded audio dictations or imported reports then the clerk will see ‘Submit for Processing’, allowing the typist to have access.
REVIEW
Optional stage. Review completed reports before sending to recipients. If a typist is assigned they will see ‘Submit for Review’ once they complete the transcription. At this time, it will either go to the clerk to review, or straight to management, depending on your settings.
COMPLETE
The report write up is finished and the final report is accessible online to either be shared direct from the system or as a downloadable PDF. The report can be commented on (if enabled) and signed online. It can also be reopened for further amendments. We’ll automatically send the reports to clients and signees unless you opt to share it manually.
CLOSED
The report is finalised, locked and archived. No further changes can be made and signatures cannot be removed or added. The report will always be accessible via the property page to clients and visible to any recipients via the link.
CANCELLED
The Inspection was cancelled and no report was created. The system will prompt you add a reason for the cancellation which is then captured as part of the audit trail.
Each workflow stage will create and show the timestamp at which the milestone was reached. We record all data in this way to provide you with a detailed audit trail and valuable insight into how quickly you’re turning around reports, but also as evidence for any disputes or queries.
Inventories & Check-Ins – Starting new tenancies right
The Inventory report is typically the first report done on a rental property to detail the full contents, fixtures and fittings, plus embedded photos, to snapshot the condition of the entire property and everything in it.
An inventory report can be created under one of three types of inspection:
- Inventory & Schedule of Condition
- Inventory & Check In
- Check In
You may choose to complete a full inventory report first, then create an additional Check In report, or just create a combined Inventory & Check In report.
When creating the first report you have the option of choosing a template.
Templates are a pre-defined list of rooms and items you’d typically find in a property. We’ve loaded some sample templates into your account to get you started, but you can customise these and even create your own.
Read more about templates here.
You need only apply a Template on the first report for a property. Each subsequent report will always start from where the previous report left off, copying through all the rooms, items, descriptions and conditions added to the previous report so you can just make updates instead of starting from scratch each time.
Full Inventory Makes
Select your Inventory template from the Template dropdown.
If you want to customise the title of your report, you can click on the report title field and just type what you’d like the title to be.
Select the date you’d like to do the report. If you’re planning on checking in tenants on the same visit, you can add their contact details and select a specific Check In time. Just click the blue ‘Manage’ link on the Contacts section.
Click Save & Continue to create the inventory. Once the appointment has been added to the system, it’ll be available on your app to fetch offline.
Once you’ve completed an inventory report on a property, all future reports will continue from the last report, saving hours of retyping/reformatting.
You can modify, delete or duplicate the rooms, items and descriptions of the report all from the app when on-site, that’s why you would typically only apply a template on the first inventory report for a property.
Check Ins
If you aren’t doing a combined Inventory & Check In report then you can create a separate report for the Check In. This assumes you have already imported or completed a full inventory report for this property ahead of the Check In.
Users will typically select the conduct date and time as the time the tenant will be handed the keys to the property, so they can agree the condition of the property there and then.
A new Check In report will copy the full contents of the inventory report across as a starting point if one exists. Make any required updates like meter readings, keys and alarm tests and then mark the report complete for the tenant to review.
You can choose to send the full report or a Changes-only report (or both!).
You can obtain a Signature for the report either on-site or online. See Getting reports signed.
Once the report is marked complete and uploaded, tenants will be able to view the report online, add comments to dispute and add any findings or sign the report if they haven’t already.
HMOs
If you are checking in multiple tenants, you can create a new Check In report for each new tenant moving in. You can assign particular bedrooms/areas to particular tenants, and any other areas will be considered Communal Areas.
Some users choose to break up the reports by adding each room/unit as its own property, so that each property contains only the audit trail for that particular tenancy.
Importing an old/original Inventory report
If you are planning to conduct a Check In or Check Out and you have an original report for created outside of InventoryBase, you can import it into InventoryBase to use it as a starting point for the next report.
Instead of clicking Add Inspection, create a property and, from the property details screen, click ‘Import Report’.
Reports will be scanned to see if they can be imported immediately. If they cannot, they will be sent to our transcription team to copy and paste in for you manually within 24-48 hours. You can also opt for a same day service at a premium rate.
If reports can be read and imported automatically, it might take anywhere up to a couple of minutes so you can either wait for the inspection to switch to the ‘Review’ stage or continue working and we’ll notify you via the Dashboard once it’s ready.
The InventoryBase App – completing reports in the field
The app is the mobile companion to InventoryBase which will allow you or your clerks to produce reports in the field without a need for an Internet connection.
Once reports have been written, voice notes recorded and/or photos taken, restore Internet connection and Sync your report back up to InventoryBase, ready to make any final amendments or instantly sent on to recipients.
Installing the app
The InventoryBase app is currently available for Android and iOS devices only.
We may in the future release versions of the App for various Windows-based devices and other operating systems. These will be announced on our Blog.
To download the mobile app for Apple iOS, including iPhone, iPad and iPad Mini, follow this link:
To download the mobile app for Android, including Samsung & Nexus Smartphones and Tablets, follow this link:
You can also search for ‘InventoryBase’ under your device’s App Store (Play Store for Android).
There are currently two versions of our app, InventoryBase 4 and InventoryBase 5. We recommend if you are using devices over 3 years old, below iOS 11 or Android 7, then you should download InventoryBase 4. InventoryBase 5 is designed for newer devices.
The App is more or less identical between both operating systems. We recommend the latest generation iOS devices sold with iOS12 or the higher end Android tablets (above £250) running Android 8 and later.
View our list of recommended devices here.
Logging in and Fetching (downloading) reports offline
You will login to the app with the same email address and password you entered when registering or were provided with in your welcome email.
Once you’ve logged into the app, press Fetch (or swipe down) to select which reports you want to download offline.
If you haven’t already added the inspection online, you can create it in-app by clicking the blue plus button on the bottom right:
If the property already exists on your InventoryBase system, choose Existing Property so you can continue from the previous report if one exists.
If it’s a new property, choose New and you can select a template to apply, which you can then amend and fill out once you begin your report.
Once you’ve fetched or created all the reports you need to do on the day, you no longer need an Internet connection to complete the reports.
Reports can be uploaded as they’re finished via 3G/4G or at a later time when you’re back on a WIFI connection.
Syncing (uploading) reports online
Once you’ve finished your report at the property, you can either leave it as Active so that you can make amendments later, or you can mark it Complete.
Syncing a completed report will automatically send the report to any email addresses entered as clients/contacts online, or you can choose to have reports go into management review before being sent on.
To mark a report complete, press Preview on the top right of the report and tap on the Complete button.
You can obtain signatures at this point or signatures can be obtained online later.
Read more about obtaining signatures here.
Once you’re ready to upload the report, navigate back to the Inspection’s Info screen and scroll to the very bottom where you’ll find the Sync button.
In older versions of the app, navigate back one extra page and press on the blue SYNC button via your Inspections List
InventoryBase will prompt you to confirm you have a stable internet connection before Sync begins.
If you have a stable 3G or 4G connection you will be able to sync just fine, however if you have increased camera resolution or are uploading original images we do recommend WIFI.
When sync begins, you will see a window appear with each part pending upload listed:
Each section will show a checkmark once completed. When the ‘Report Data’ completes uploading, a notification will be sent online and reports will be marked active while the attachments such as photos and audio continue to upload.
If you’ve marked the inspection complete the report will automatically switch to completed online once fully uploaded. This may then automatically send to your recipients or you can manually share them online.
Login to the web dashboard at this point to continue: https://my.inventorybase.com
Getting reports signed – Capture digital signatures in-person or online
Once you’ve completed a Check In report, you may want to obtain signatures from the tenant to agree the contents of the report.
InventoryBase follows a specific protocol for the collection of digital signatures. You must mark a report complete before you obtain signatures and you will not be able to edit the report further once it is signed. Making amendments to the report after obtaining signatures will require tenants or landlords to re-sign the report.
Signing reports in the app
If the tenant is present on-site, you can obtain their signature(s) by marking the report complete in the app from the Preview Report page.
Once you’ve marked the report complete, a blue Pencil icon will appear at the bottom, which will lead you to the signature form.
If you’ve already entered contacts online and marked them as Signees then they will appear at the bottom of the Preview page ready to sign against their name.
Entering an email address on the signature page will automatically send a copy of the report to the email address once the report is uploaded (“Sync’ed”) to the server.
Tap on the signature pad and hand over your device for the tenant or owner to sign using a stylus or just their finger.
Signing reports online
If you need to obtain signatures after sending the report to recipients. Tenants, landlords and any applicable party can sign the report online.
InventoryBase provides a unique web address to access a report which can be shared with recipients automatically or manually, an interactive report allows tenants to add their comments alongside your observations and sign reports right in the web browser.
Obtaining separate signatures for key handover
You may also want to obtain signatures for the purpose of recording key handover and transfer of liability for the property. We recommend using a ‘Standalone Inspection’ and applying a simple Schedule of Condition template for this purpose, so you can enter meter readings, list keys and check smoke and carbon monoxide alarms then obtain a signature for Check In.
Choose ‘Standalone Inspection’ from the Inspection Type dropdown, and change the title of the report by clicking above.
You can also select the appropriate template for a standalone Check In, such as a Schedule of Condition which contains keys, meter readings, keys handed over and household manuals.
Read more about templates here.
A Guide to Check Outs – Checking out tenants with InventoryBase
A Check Out is the last report in a tenancy lifecycle for one or more tenants and completing Check Out reports is one of the key features of InventoryBase.
We make it easy to compare original items and their conditions and even check previous photos right in your InventoryBase app while on-site.
The final report will contain side-by-side columns comparing the condition at Check In to the condition at Check Out and enables you to then highlight any changes in condition to items throughout the property.
You’ll also be able to highlight cleaning and damages using our built-in Actions feature which allows you to assign liability and flag issues to follow up on or provide as evidence in any dispute and/or deposit deductions.
Start by creating a new inspection, selecting the property from your existing list and choosing the Check Out option. You’ll notice we’ll show you the exact report we’ll be copying and comparing to.
Select the date and time you’ll be checking out the tenant(s), which will typically be the time keys will be handed back and after the tenants possessions have been removed.
Once you’ve added the inspection you can fetch/download it to your app offline to complete on-site. Start the report when you arrive at the property to timestamp the starting point.
Once started, click Edit Report and you’ll see the original report ready to update. Click into each room to edit the conditions of each item within.
Overwrite the condition only if it has completely changed since the original report. If the existing condition is still valid then you can leave it in-tact but append additional information afterwards.
What you’ll see as the filled in condition is what it was on the original inventory or check in report. Simply overwrite or append to update the condition of each item.
To highlight an issue, click on the triangle to select the appropriate action and optionally assign liability.
Once you mark your report complete you can either obtain signatures on-site or Sync it to the server to amend and/or send online. Your final reports will look something like this:
Note: You do not need to type ‘As Check In’ if an item’s condition remains the same as the original observation. InventoryBase will automatically show ‘As Check In’ if the condition is unchanged, or ‘As Check In +’ if you appended an additional observation.
If you need to make any amendments to your report, you can click ‘Re-Open Inspection’ online and then mark it complete again once amendments have been made.
The entire audit trail for this tenancy lifecycle will be accessible under the Property Details page. You can click on the property address from the Inspection Details page or click on it from your ‘Properties’ tab on the main menu.
You can print the audit trail from this page, which will provide an option to print all the history back to the point of the last original Inventory/Check In.
Importing an old/original Inventory report
If you have an original report for created outside of InventoryBase, you can import it into InventoryBase to use it as a starting point for the Check Out to compare to.
Instead of clicking Add Inspection, create or select the property and, from the property details screen, click ‘Import Report’.
Reports will be scanned to see if they can be imported immediately. If they cannot, they will be sent to our transcription team to copy and paste in for you manually within 24-48 hours. You can also opt for a same day service at a premium rate.
We recommend you do not start or fetch offline the Check Out report until the original report has been imported and closed.
If reports can be read and imported automatically, it might take anywhere up to a couple of minutes so you can either wait for the inspection to switch to the ‘Review’ stage or continue working and we’ll notify you via the Dashboard once it’s ready.
Customising Templates – Covering all kinds of property inspections
Templates allow you to setup custom pre-filled reports to fill in the blanks when you get to the property, or set up the formats your or your inspectors should work to.
Navigate to Settings > Templates to add or edit templates for your account.
Click Add Template to create your own template from blank.
Templates can be automatically selected or recommended at the time of booking based on the type of inspection, property size and furnishing level.
To help you get started we’ve pre-loaded a couple of sample templates in to your account when you registered. You can edit these if you want, or create your own!
To edit a template, click on the template name in the Templates list.
You can create and configure an unlimited number of templates. Premium templates are available on Enterprise plans inclusive.
Block Types
When setting up Templates, we refer to sections i.e. rooms or areas within a property as blocks. Blocks can be named as anything. Different Block Types provide different input formats.
DETAILED
Room/block consisting of items with a text-based description and condition. Typically used in detailed inventory reports.
NOTES
Room/block consisting of items with a single text-based comment/condition (no description). Typically used for Schedule of Condition and Cleaning Summary.
SIMPLIFIED
Room/block consisting of items with a Yes/No/NA toggle format, default toggles include Clean/Undamaged/Working but can be customised with up to 6 labels. Typically used for faster Inspection formats.
CHECKLIST
Room/block consisting of line items with a single Yes/No/NA answer, typically framed as questions on Check Ins/Check Outs and Interim Inspections.
RATINGS
Choose from 3 or 5 Star Rating Charts to indicate condition, entering a score of 1 to 3 or 5 for each
item listed.
METERS
Special room/block type for entering Meter Readings including Gas and Electric. Inputs for Meter, Location/Serial and Reading.
KEYS
Special room/block type for logging keys and a comment including description and handover notes.
MANUALS
Special room/block type for logging electrical appliance manuals.
Using Templates
When you’re adding an inspection, select the desired template from the Pre-Load Template dropdown and it will be automatically loaded to download to your App and work from on-site or fill in via the online report editor.
