Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for home automation companies.
A checklist built from how home automation companies work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Room-wise design and BOQ
- Pre-wiring checklist
- Device and serial register
- Commissioning record
- Support tickets and AMC renewals
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For designers
- For installation engineers
- For the support desk
- For accounts
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Homes by installation stage, with the engineer and next visit
- Quotation revisions and approved versions by home
- Pre-wiring checklists signed and outstanding by site
- Devices installed by brand and model, with warranty end dates
- Support tickets by device, fault and contract status
- Service contracts due for renewal, with visits used
- Distributor orders open and received against the device list
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- SMS
- Accounting export
- Brand distributor price lists
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Is this for new builds, retrofits or both?
- Does it control the devices in the home?
- How are stored logins protected?
- Can it follow a home that mixes brands?
- How do we price service contracts?
- Can clients see anything themselves?
- Can we move our current client files in?
- How is a home automation firm priced, and can we try it on one project first?
- Who looks after it afterwards?
- Which parts could engineers rely on before every home is migrated?
- What should the owner and designers collect before the build starts?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Wiring is not checked before plaster
- Settings sit on one phone
- Warranty claims are difficult
- Support calls are unpaid
Prefer to talk it through? See the home automation companies page.