Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for restoration contractors.
A checklist built from how restoration contractors 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.
- Loss intake and dispatch
- Moisture and drying logs
- Equipment tracking
- Scopes, estimates and approvals
- Photographs and job documents
- Rebuild phases and subcontractors
- Invoicing by payer
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For call handlers and dispatchers
- For technicians
- For estimators and project managers
- For accounts
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Losses opened by type and source
- Jobs in drying with moisture readings overdue
- Equipment out by unit, room and days placed
- Scopes awaiting approval and extras not yet agreed
- Subcontractor work completed and payable
- Balances by payer, oldest first
- Margin by job after labour, material and equipment
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- SMS
- Online payment gateway
- Accounting export
- Estimating file import
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Can a loss involve both an owner and an insurer?
- Does it keep drying logs an insurer will read?
- How is equipment kept from going missing?
- Can crews use a phone at the loss site?
- Can we record packed-out household contents?
- How are extras approved?
- Can open jobs be loaded from our spreadsheet?
- Do you offer a trial before we commit?
- Who looks after the system after go-live?
- Can it connect to accounting software?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Drying records are scattered
- Equipment stays on site too long
- Scope changes lack an approval
- Photographs do not stay with the job
- Several parties pay for one job
Prefer to talk it through? See the restoration contractors page.