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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

GENERAL

GENERAL

Not a problem. You do not need a connection to collect data with Imfuna. In the Imfuna app settings, turn off ‘Auto-send’ to preserve battery life – but don’t forget to turn it back on when you want to send your inspections!

You can use Imfuna on Apple or Android devices.

Apple devices must run iOS 10 and above.

Android Requirements

Operating System – Lollipop 5.x and above
Primary Memory (RAM) – 1.5 GB and above
Internal Memory – 16GB and above
Dimensions – Recommend 5 inches and above
Primary Camera – Auto Focus, 5 megapixels and above
Wifi – Required
GPS – Required for geolocation
Battery – Recommend 2400 mAh and above

Imfuna works the same on any Apple or Android device, so it’s entirely up to you. For either choice you will need a mobile device with a camera and a minimum of 16gb of memory.

This depends on how much data and how many photos you are trying to send. Imfuna sends your inspection data while you work, as long as the app is open and ‘Auto-send’ is On. If you don’t want to use your phone’s data plan to send your Imfuna data while in the field, switch your ‘Auto-send’ setting to Off while you work. When you have a wi-fi connection, open the app and turn ‘Auto-send’ back On. Note that on Apple devices, inspections only send when the app is open so it needs to stay open for the duration of the upload process.

Check that your mobile device is connected to the internet, and that ‘Auto-Send’ is ‘On’ in your Imfuna app Settings. Sometimes sending may be interrupted. You can reboot the send by pressing the ‘Re-send’ double arrowed button next to your inspection on the app.

You can set up as many templates as you want, or you can add additional rooms and items on the fly straight from the app while you are in the field.

Saves you time! If you have an inspection in your Imfuna cloud account, you can download it back to your mobile device at any time to perform a new inspection based off it.
Once you have chosen the property and an inspection to reinspect, you will be presented with the reference inspection photos and notes on the left side of the screen, and be able to replace or add new data on the right side of the screen. Any data not replaced will be carried forward into your new inspection – saving significant time on repeat inspections.
This data can then be automatically displayed as a single property condition report or side-by-side as a comparison report.

Don’t panic! You may just need to sync then down from your Imfuna cloud account to your mobile device. Go to the app’s Settings (on the opening screen of the app), and hit ‘Sync’ to ensure all your settings are up to date. The app auto-syncs up and is a manual sync down.

This is to help you find it later. The nickname does not appear anywhere in your final report, and is for internal purposes only. Imfuna recommends using the naming convention: Date – Inspection Type – Inspection Clerk Initials to make it simple to find inspections on the web later.

You may have too much data on the app and/or on your mobile device. All those photos and dictations take up space! We recommend clearing out completed inspections regularly after they have been verified on the web. We do pop-up a warning when the device is near capacity.

EDITING INSPECTIONS

Absolutely. If you have any amendments received from the tenant or landlord, or just noticed a spelling mistake in your report PDF, you can edit your data, and create a new report. Imfuna will save both versions of this report for you to refer back to in the future.

Yes – you can attach a photo to any item in your inspection data, and it will then behave just like any other photo collected using the Imfuna app in the field – although, it will not contain any of the Imfuna secure meta-data, date, time, and location stamps.

Photos in full colour will appear in your inspection; photos that are greyed out will not appear in the body of the report, but will be shown in the Photo Index if you have included one. Click on any photo on the Preview page to re-order photos by dragging and dropping them.

When reviewing your inspection on the Preview tab, select a Comparison Report layout type from the dropdown menu on the left of the screen. Then select which inspection you wish to compare it against in the new dropdown menu that will display.

Drag and drop photos from any room or item on the Verify tab to wherever you need it.

Of course! Once you have created your Report from the Preview tab, you will be able to create a PDF of only Flagged items. See the option button below the summary of Flagged items on the right of the Reports tab.

WEB TRANSCRIPTIONS

We use human beings to transcribe your dictations, not software, to maintain high accuracy. It can take 1 to 6 hours for your transcriptions to be completed. We will send you an email notifying you when they’re done. You can work on the inspection Verify tab while transcription is being processed.

When our transcribers are not sure about a word or phrase but can make a guess, they will put it [in brackets]. When they cannot make an educated guess or the word is cut-off or inaudible they will use [??]. You have the ability on the web platform to search for all files containing brackets to conveniently edit them all at once.

Please see our Best Practices below for more information.

PERSONALISING MY INSPECTIONS

Simple! Go to your Account Management link and select the ‘Report Layout’ tab. You can have multiple layouts, both for single and comparison reports. Click ‘edit’, and go head and add your own logo, brand colours, and other individual layout choices.

You can set up as many templates as you want, or you can add additional rooms and items on the fly straight from the app.

Create a template direct from an existing inspection by clicking the link at the foot of the left hand panel on the Verify Data page.
Alternatively, go to your Account Management page and select the Inspection Layouts tab. You can copy a template to add to, create a whole new template from scratch, or even upload a template as a spreadsheet. Click the ‘Import From Spreadsheet’ button for guidelines.

To add new trades to different items, go to Account Management > Inspection Layouts > Define Trades.

You can include any supporting notes you need – either at the start or at the end of the report. Go to Account Management > Report Layouts and edit any layout to add and format notes. You can have as many different layouts as you need, for different notes pertaining to Check Ins, Check Outs, or any other kind of inspection.

Yes – navigate to Account Management > Inspection Layouts > Define Condition Slider. You can rename condition labels as required, and even limit the number of options to less than 4 if needed.

SUBSCRIPTION

Every new Imfuna account is automatically set up as a 14-day free trial, including 0.5Gb of data processing and 15 auto-transcription minutes. We encourage you to try to a realistic inspection as part of your trial, to get a feel for how many photos and dictation minutes you use per inspection.

No problem! Drop us an email at support@imfuna.com, we will review you account to apply an extension.

Zero! The app is completely free to download from the Apple App Store, or Android Play Store. Your free trial allows access to all features and settings. Our subscription model is based on data processing and that is calculated when the inspection is completed on the mobile device.

There is no minimum subscription. The Subscription Top-Up model has a very low minimum fee level required to process transactions covering your data processing and optional transcription services. Pricing is noted on the Imfuna app pricing section or in direct Imfuna correspondence. If you conduct infrequent or small inspections we offer a Pay-As-You-Go subscription.

Whenever you need to – we recognise that the industry can be seasonal. You can increase or decrease your subscription at any time – any changes will apply to the following month’s charges.

Imfuna’s subscription is based on data processing, to ensure that you are only paying for exactly what you are using. Not an approximate, or a flat fee per inspection. Photos, voice recordings, attachments and PDFs all contribute to your data usage. This cost includes all storage costs and similar while you are an active user.

Imfuna provides a optional transcription service for your convenience at very competitive prices. We are currently achieving an accuracy rate of 95%. Your dictation auto transcription is returned within anywhere from 1 to 6 hours of being sent to your Imfuna cloud account. You may also choose to transcribe your own dictation. Select the ‘Self-transcribe’ option on sign up.

Converting from your Free Trail to a subscription is easy. On your subscription page (Account Management > Subscription tab) enter your estimated usage of data processing and optional transcription minutes into the calculator. Enter your credit card details or contact sales@imfuna.com for other subscription options and payment techniques.

If you go over your monthly subscription data processing and transcription minute allowances, you will go into overage. Your overage is settled at your monthly renewal date using the current fee for your active pricing tier.You will see no delay in service. The Subscription Info panel at the top of every page on the web displays a summary of your usage. When you are going into overage the data processing or transcription minute bars will turn red.
Your subscription renews each month. We would recommend setting up a subscription slightly less than you projected usage, and simply pay any extra as overage. Unused subscription amounts do not roll over.

Yes! Choose that option at the bottom of your subscription page.

When you send an inspection to the web, it will appear on your main property dashboard page with the data processing size and price displayed next to it. You will then need to click to pay for and unlock the inspection. You will also need to review the price for any Imfuna automated transcription if selected, and unlock this as well. Note that Pay-As-You-Go transcription only begins once it has been paid for.

There is a cancel button on your Subscription page. If you cancel mid-subscription, you will still have access to any paid for allowances. You will also retain access to all inspections already uploaded.

Please contact us at support@imfuna.com to make other arrangements.

A few tips to get the most out of Imfuna

In order to get the best from Imfuna, we’ve developed some useful hints and best practices. Follow our handy guide below to use all the best features and get maximum reporting accuracy.

 

Dictation Techniques for Great Transcriptions



Good habits will result in accurate transcriptions that need no editing, just a quick review:

• Know where your microphone is on your device, speak into it, and do not cover it with your finger

• When pressing record, avoid cutting off the beginning and ending of each file by briefly pausing

• Be aware of background noise and if possible speak louder to overcome it. Think passing siren, active cleaner, or banging builder

• Use a brief caption to describe a photo: ‘Bedroom on the left at the top of the stairs.’ ‘Overview of living room.’

• Rich dictations will include an item, a description, and a condition: ‘Tile-effect lino to kitchen floor, cream with some scuff marks by the fridge, in serviceable condition.’ ‘4-panel white wooden door with silver handle and lock on the inside, in excellent condition with only slight scratches by the handle.’

• If you find yourself pausing in the middle of a recording, it’s a good indicator that you should stop the current recording and start a new voice note

• Think of what you are going to say before recording and use short, uncomplicated statements if possible

• Periodically listen to your recordings to ensure everything is coming through as intended

 

Poor dictation techniques up front may necessitate time-consuming editing at the back end:

• Muffled or inaudible audio will return text in [brackets]

• Partial or cut-off words at the start or end of each file will return [??] to indicate something is missing

• Speaking too quickly or mumbling may result in an incorrect transcription or [brackets]

• Switching back and forth between items can be confusing to read in the report. Fully describe 1 item before moving onto another

 

Prepare for Inspection


Before going out and performing inspection, plan your trip include the following:

• Check address

• Try to obtain plans layout, number of rooms of property

• Try to obtain any historical data

• ADVANCED: Set-up template in hand held device, this will save time during the walk-through

• Bring torch/flashlight/lantern as a light source to light up dark places, to help with quality of photos

• Note attendees at time of inspection such as tenants and owners

• If you have low connectivity set your mobile device to airplane mode to ensure no interruptions. When you are done return to strong connectivity or wifi location and start up the Imfuna app to sync with the web

 

Work Systematically


Perform your work through a systematic fashion to maximize use of time and perform efficiently. This can be achieved by applying some of the following considerations:

• Complete inspection room by room

• Inspect common areas

• Document meters

• Perform exterior inspection

• Follow guide as set forth in the Imfuna app. with logical work flow, ie room, items in room such as walls, ceilings etc. then condition of each item

 

Capture Useful Data When Documenting Conditions


Apply the Following Rules:

• Always start with wide view to establish location and orientation

• Take multiple photos of rooms and specific items to provide a complete picture

• Focus on specific components and describe accordingly – using captions with each photo can be done from the phone and on the web

• Focus on detail and establish condition of items, eg. Is carpet worn, are there stains on the wall, etc.

• Focus on high wear and tear items, ie floors, countertops, painted walls, corners, bath tubs, showers, etc.

• Show contrast between worn and new and good condition

• Describe condition and objective language. Use the condition slider provided in the Imfuna app to broadly describe whether object is new, used, worn or damaged

• Add detail with notes or dictation

• Use common measures to establish scale eg. Hand, finger, pencil, scale, tape measure

• If unit is furnished, focus on condition of furniture

 

Identify Broken/Damaged Items


It is important to establish items that are broken, damaged or potentially life threatening. Apply the following:

• Use photo to establish condition with description. Use maintenance flag to identify items requiring repair

• Use measuring tools to establish extent of damages needing attention

• Note dirty, unwashed, poorly maintained surfaces, materials and areas

• Cover hidden item

 

Most properties have nooks and crannies in hidden areas that should be documented. Include the following:

• Take photos under sinks, in closets, in cabinets, drawers and shelves

• Provide dictated notes to ensure your picture is documenting what you want

 

Check Function of All Appliances, Switches, Etc.


Perform a simple check of the following items:

• Light switches switch on and off

• Check if electrical outlets/plugs function

• Open/close faucets, taps, and drains

• Check appliances; turn them on and off

• Turn heating/cooling on and off

• Operate windows; make sure they open/close properly

• Check drawer slides and cabinet doors

• Check fire/smoke detectors

 

Document Common Areas

Check the contract/lease to confirm areas of responsibility for common areas.

Document conditions accordingly using the Imfuna app to label the common areas as such.

 

Inspect/Document Outside Areas

The exterior is part of the property. Document conditions accordingly. The Imfuna app gives you areas specifically designated for recording outside conditions.

 

Capture Meter Readings

Photograph the meters, note the serial number and condition, and log the readings.

 

Review Check List

Before you leave the property, check that you documented all the rooms and areas and noted all relative conditions. By clicking “done” in the Imfuna app, you will trigger a mini checklist to help you.

 

Website Functions


Review Report and Add Relevant Comments

Once your field data has been uploaded, review your field observations and notes as soon as possible.
• Add any notes and comments to clarify your observations.

• Add documentation as attachments for important items, e.g. insurance certificates, warranties, certificates, etc.

 

Share Data

Share your reports with relevant parties using the email field in the report on the web. Transparency is important; it helps to establish fair dealing and practice. Reviews comments entered by other parties and respond accordingly.

 

Use Historical Record Data

Use the activity-tracking feature to note changes in the condition. Use the compare features to evaluate changes in the condition for pre-establishing dates, e.g. move in/move out.

• Use the re-inspection feature to note any changes through the course of the tenancy

 

Re-Inspection


Document Changes Over Time

Use the Imfuna application on your hand-held device to re-inspect the property for an interim inspection. Re-inspection will provide you with the exact layout you recorded for the initial inspection.

Re-inpsections are done throughout the tenancy to document any changes, e.g. storm damage, breakage, leaks, etc.

Save data to the web and share with appropriate parties via your Imfuna account log-in. (Note: The web account will keep chronological track of activities, which may prove helpful through the course of the tenancy and the closeout.)

 

Move-In/Move-Out Comparison


Document Changes to Eliminate Disputes

Once the property has been properly documented, a move-out condition requires noting any change from the move-in condition. This can be done in the same way as a move-in, except that only changed conditions need to be documented. It would be helpful to document some unchanged conditions as contrast.