The HouseRater Mobile app, available in the App Store on iPad, streamlines field data collection and synchronizes automatically with office staff as soon as an internet connection is available. Keep in mind that the web app is still the primary destination for managing clients, energy modeling data and file storage.
Creating Inspections
The app is built to make inspection forms quickly, no matter where you are. Depending on your internet connection and server connection, you'll see different fields when making an SV1, SV2 or SV3.
Blank Offline Inspections
HouseRater Mobile works great even if you lose your network connection. Blank inspection forms can be created and synchronized later, so you can drive to a new house even if you've already started your field day.
Press the "+" square from the front of the app to create a new inspection, and select the type of site visit you're creating.
Start typing a search to find the house by address—when your device is offline, it will let you save this search to pair the visit later. Tip: using the full street address will make it easier to pair this visit.
Note: Blank inspection forms created offline won't be able to copy inspection data from previous visits at that address.
Full Paired Inspections
With an active internet connection, new site visits will be automatically paired when they are created. This means HouseRater is able to pre-populate many of the data points that have been previously collected to avoid double-entry. We also can carry information from the plan and house in to make your inspection run smoothly, when you create paired site visits.
When you use a cellular iPad, HouseRater Mobile automatically adjusts synchronization to preserve your data usage limits. Images and files will wait for a Wi-Fi connection before uploading, but data points from previous visits still copy to your new inspection form.