HomeGauge Done-With-You Success Track
On Setup Day:
Jason will be accessing your HomeGauge Online Inspector Dashboard, creating your custom print settings and installing your new Super Template.
- You must be available all day in case Jason runs into any issues and needs to contact you.
- DO NOT login to HomeGauge Online or your Desktop Software on Setup Day.
- You MUST have a dedicated Android device. (Click here for more info)
- Reliable internet is required because you will share screens via Zoom. (Click here for more info)
- Connect to the Zoom meeting using the computer on which HomeGauge is installed.
- Login to all three HomeGauge components and have them readily available.
- Locate your computer’s File Explorer to access HomeGauge files.
Please complete the following steps PRIOR to Setup Day:
Overview Of HG Services
Disregard any disaster relief references in video
HG Services runs in the background of HomeGauge and allows communication between these three components:
- the HomeGauge website (Online Inspector Dashboard),
- the HomeGauge Desktop Software (installed in your computer),
- and the Companion app on your mobile device (Android phone or tablet, specific for work and not the phone you use for calls, texts and social media).
File Explorer & Advanced Folder options
Check the Current Data Directory Location
- With HomeGauge software open, click Options > Advanced Folder Option.
2. HomeGauge will prompt you to close the current report. Click Yes.
3. Read the Current Data Directory, which usually looks like this:
C:\Users\[Windows Account Name]\Documents\HomeGauge
NOTE: In the image above, the Current Data Directory is C:\HomeGauge.
IMPORTANT: If the Data Directory Location is connected to Microsoft OneDrive, it may cause software crashes and errors. Unfortunately, it’s a known issue and addressing the cloud service pathway now is critical to prevent issues in the future.
Visit the HomeGauge Support Center for more information:
Contact HomeGauge Sales and Support: Monday – Friday 9a.m – 8p.m Eastern*
Phone: 828-254-2030 Option 1
Creating A Customer Account
Insight to the Buyer Dashboard:
By creating a customer account, you can test notification emails that you send as well as login to your own Buyer Dashboard so you can experience your customer’s journey with HomeGauge.
This level of professionalism helps you stand out and you’ll feel confident helping customers troubleshoot issues without referring them to HomeGauge support.
We also recommend getting familiar with the Create Request List (CRL) feature. This is by far, the most valuable feature that HomeGauge offers. When you are selling your inspection services and mention the CRL to potential customers, it becomes a selling point that will give you the advantage over your competitors!
DISCLAIMER: Because HomeGauge is continuously undergoing updates, the Buyer Dashboard may appear different than the images in this video.
Visit the HomeGauge Support Center for more information:
Contact HomeGauge Sales and Support: Monday – Friday 9a.m – 8p.m Eastern*
Phone: 828-254-2030 Option 1
Create Request List (CRL)
From HomeGauge Support Center: The Create Request List (CRL) feature from HomeGauge was designed for real estate agents and home buyers to collaboratively build a list of requests based on the findings in your inspection report.
We’ve been utilizing this feature for our RV inspection customers for years and they absolutely LOVE it!
In fact, it’s such a great feature that Jason created an explainer video specific to RVs (see below). This video is actually coded directly into your finished report to make super easy for your customers to learn and utilize the process easily.
A few things to consider:
- The requests are between the buyer and the seller only and the CRL makes the process faster, easier, and less error-prone.
- RV inspectors should never be part of the negotiation process. Involving RV inspectors in that process could potentially entangle them in legal disputes.
- RV inspection reports are considerably longer and contain many more Points of Inspection than home inspections.
- RV dealerships are notoriously challenged at completing repairs so a buyer that provides a concise list (rather than the entire 150-200 page report) is much more likely to have the repairs completed.
Educating your customer regarding the delivery of your finished report is critical.
We discourage them from printing the entire report, strongly recommend that they view the report on a computer (not on a phone) and let them know that they can create multiple CRLs.
At a minimum, it’s recommended that they create:
- One CRL for repairs that are deal breakers
- One CRL for repairs that can wait or are maintenance issues
- One (or more) CRL for issues that we mark as Notice/Comments and Recommendations.
Feel free to share this RV specific CRL video with your customers.
Click here to visit YouTube to copy/paste the link to Jason’s custom RV specific CRL video.
Inspection Service Price List
At My RV Inspection, we only offer one level of inspection. This helps us streamline our pricing so it’s easy to remember while talking to a client and to reinforce that we only perform full inspections. In fact, most experienced RV inspectors eventually decide to only offer one level of inspection so it gives more credibility in the RV inspection industry.
CONSIDER THIS: the more levels of inspection you provide, the more Points of Inspection you must create, the more templates you must maintain, and the more difficult it becomes to sell to your customer because it’s confusing for you to explain.
- As an example, we have base prices for each class of RV installed in our HomeGauge Online Inspector Dashboard.
- These base prices can be adjusted easily when booking the inspection by adding or deducting the following:
- Age Modifier (to add fees for older RVs)
- Fluid Analysis (per sample)
- Verification of Repair (VOR) inspections
- Walk-Throughs (RV Training / Consultations)
- Travel Charges
- Discounts
- Additional services or charges
We’ve adjusted a few things since recording this video and added the updates to a PDF:
Visit the HomeGauge Support Center for more information:
Contact HomeGauge Sales and Support: Monday – Friday 9a.m – 8p.m Eastern*
Phone: 828-254-2030 Option 1
Calendar Sharing
We use Google Workspace (formerly GSuite) for everything!
Between the storage in Google Drive, Google Calendar and collaboration capabilities, it’s well worth the nominal monthly charge of $12 per user price tag. Plus, the enhanced Gmail inbox makes for a secure, professional email address rather than having @gmail behind your name.
If you’re using Yahoo, Hotmail or another free email service provider (ESP), we strongly encourage you to consider using Google for your business and do a little research because of deliverability and other potential issues. If you’re a die-hard Microsoft user, HomeGauge also syncs with Outlook as well.
As you can see in the screenshot below, all of the Appointment Details are readily available in a calendar event. When you sync to Google Calendar and install it on your phone, you have all the information you need in one place when you show up on site and need to check the VIN, call your customer or reach out to the seller.
In addition to Google Calendar sharing, the article below does a great job of explaining all the details on how to sync with both platforms.
Visit the HomeGauge Support Center for more information:
Contact HomeGauge Sales and Support: Monday – Friday 9a.m – 8p.m Eastern*
Phone: 828-254-2030 Option 1
Time Release Messaging (TRM)
Time Release Messaging (TRM) is a way to send time-managed marketing and follow-up emails to your customers based on the date your inspection report was uploaded.
Here are some sample TRM’s:
Visit the HomeGauge Support Center for more information:
Contact HomeGauge Sales and Support: Monday – Friday 9a.m – 8p.m Eastern*
Phone: 828-254-2030 Option 1
Agreements & Other Documents To Be Signed
HomeGauge has an Online Agreements feature that allows you to send out agreements and have your customers agree to them using an electronic signature before the inspection. It also prevents your customers from seeing the inspection reports until they agree.
Having this feature turned on translates to worrying less about whether documents are signed prior to the inspection. As long as payment is received, you can set your mind at ease and focus on performing the inspection knowing that your customer is not permitted to view the report until they actively sign the agreements.
NOTE: Agreements is the general term used by HomeGauge to describe contracts and other documents that you want your customer to sign.
In general, we have our customers sign these legally binding documents before they are permitted to view the finished report:
Contract Agreement
Pre Inspection Checklist
Points of Inspection (Towable vs. Motorhome)
Requirements document (Towable vs. Motorhome)
Expectations document (Towable vs. Motorhome)
When HomeGauge is set up properly, these documents are linked to the Inspection Services you created above and HomeGauge automatically attaches the appropriate docs every time you book an RV inspection.
You’ll be able to book appointments in a matter of minutes using our proven process and that means you can spend more time doing other important things!
Visit the HomeGauge Support Center for more information:
Contact HomeGauge Sales and Support: Monday – Friday 9a.m – 8p.m Eastern*
Phone: 828-254-2030 Option 1
Notification Emails
HomeGauge uses various terms when describing emails including (but not limited to) notification templates, notification emails, report notifications, report emails, TimeRelease Messaging (TRMs) and probably other references.
HomeGauge also uses the terms message variables and replacement variables to describe a unique series of special characters and text that are inserted into the body of a given document or email. These variables dynamically insert information per specific customer, inspector or unit being inspected.
We utilize different message variables in our proven booking process and will show you exactly which ones during the training call on Setup Day. We can’t, however, go through each and every email for each inspector.
Be prepared to schedule some time after Setup Day to complete these tasks.
PRO TIPS:
- Be sure to read through EVERY line of EVERY “email” template for grammar, spelling and punctuation.
- Do not neglect to test your process by using the Create Customer Account lesson to boost customer confidence in your services.
There’s nothing more unprofessional than sending agreements and notifications that have errors or continue to contain “home” instead of RV because you were “too busy.” You must prioritize the time to continue to learn and modify HomeGauge to fit the RV inspection industry.
Attention to detail is exactly the service you provide so make sure your customer gets a sense of that from the first email you send.
Visit the HomeGauge Support Center for more information:
Contact HomeGauge Sales and Support: Monday – Friday 9a.m – 8p.m Eastern*
Phone: 828-254-2030 Option 1
You MUST have a dedicated Android device.
Regardless of what you may have been told in the past, the reality is that HomeGauge does not work well with Apple products including the iPhone, in general.
We feel strongly that an Android device be purchased as part of the inspector toolkit as it reduces app crashes and unnecessary technologic hurdles as well as contributing to overall RV inspection success.
PLEASE NOTE: The Android device does not need to be connected to a data plan. It is only used for business purposes to access the HomeGauge Companion app. There’s no need to worry about switching from Apple to Android for other daily business tasks.
Android Device Recommendations
We recommend a phone over a tablet and there’s no need to get anything fancy or expensive.
Refurbished phones that have a good battery life, have a flash and can connect to Wi-Fi can be purchased online.
Currently, we’re using Samsung Galaxy S21 phones but any brand and model is acceptable.
From HomeGauge Support: Regarding the recent Android 13 update, the main suggestion for devices to use for the HomeGauge Companion app is that the operating system be Android 11 or higher. That is the only thing that has changed as far as the specifications are concerned.