Back in 2012 I was working as an appraiser at a small firm. One of the major benefits of our practice was that staff had the option to work from a home office. When not in our office typing reports, we were on the road inspecting properties. However, working remotely and frequent travel caused communication gaps that often left us wondering:
- When is my next inspection scheduled?
- Which reports are due this week?
- What's the current status of this order?
- Who's assigned to that appraisal?
- Which appraisals have we done nearby?
- Where's the phone # for the property owner?
- What are the client's report requirements?
- Who currently owes us money?
- How did we do last quarter?
- What is the turn time of a specific appraiser?
- What percentage of bids are we winning?
- Are our fees increasing over time?
In earnest, I tried to find a solution that could work for our entire team. My first attempt was to build a “super” job-log with Microsoft Excel. While it sort-of worked for a while, the file continued to get larger and larger and… you get the picture. Additionally, in order to share the job-log we still had to email the spreadsheet back-and-forth to all team members each time any of us made a change. Not very efficient and prone to error - we never knew who had the correct version.
Then I realized that there must be software out there that solves our problem. After trialing several software suites built “just for appraisers” and a few general project management and CRM systems, none of them really did the job. The “appraiser” software was clunky, outdated and not really team-oriented while the general purpose software was not specific enough for the appraisal profession. And importantly, they were all too difficult for the boss to learn and use on a daily basis.
Not being content getting stuck with spreadsheets or clunky software, I embarked on creating Appraisal Inbox (formally known as Appraisal Flow). Originally, Appraisal Inbox was built just for internal use until conversations with other appraiser friends helped me realize that the entire industry was experiencing the same problem. After many improvements and new features over the years (based on feedback from our wonderful customers), I’m proud to say that Appraisal Inbox is the product that I wish had existed back then.
Today, I’d like to invite you to join the satisfied appraisal teams who are already using Appraisal Inbox to manage their appraisal businesses. Whether you’re ready to move on from spreadsheets, you’re fed up with other complicated software or have no system in place yet, I hope you’ll give Appraisal Inbox a shot. I’m so confident that it will save your team time and increase productivity, that no contract is required and you can cancel your subscription at any time.
I’m always glad to answer your questions! You can email me any time at chase@appraisalinbox.com and connect with me on Linkedin.
Chase Pursley, Founder