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17. Tips & Best Practices ​

Get the most out of Inoscope with these tips for efficient workflows, AI prompting, and cost estimation.

Efficient Assessment Workflow ​

For the most efficient assessment, photograph the property in this order:

  1. Exterior overview — Full front, sides, and rear of the property
  2. Exterior damage — Close-ups of any visible exterior damage
  3. Room-by-room interior — Systematic walk-through of each room
  4. Damage close-ups — Detailed shots of each damage area
  5. Context shots — Wider angles showing damage in relation to the room
  6. Measurements — Include a reference object (ruler, tape measure) for scale

Photo Quality Tips ​

  • Lighting: Use natural light when possible. Turn on all room lights for interior shots.
  • Angles: Take at least 3 shots of each damage area — straight-on, from the left, and from the right.
  • Focus: Ensure damage areas are in sharp focus, especially for close-ups.
  • Overlap: When photographing large areas, ensure photos overlap for complete coverage.
  • Scale reference: Include a ruler or known-size object in at least one photo per area.

Workflow Steps ​

  1. Create the property first with full address and details.
  2. Create the assessment linked to the property.
  3. Upload all images in one batch (faster than one at a time).
  4. Organize images by location group (Exterior, Interior).
  5. Run AI detection to identify damage across all images.
  6. Review and edit AI findings — correct types, severities, and remove false positives.
  7. Use the chat agent to create line items from confirmed damage.
  8. Review costs and adjust using rate book or product search.
  9. Generate the report for a professional PDF.
  10. Export to Fergus/Xero or download as CSV.

AI Prompting Best Practices ​

The AI agent adapts its behavior to the assessment type. Use these prompts as starting points for each type.

Damage Assessment Prompts ​

Detection prompts (used with the Run Detection button):

ScenarioExample Prompt
General inspection(leave blank for automatic detection)
Water damage focus"Focus on moisture damage, water staining, mold, and swelling"
Fire damage"Identify fire damage, smoke staining, heat warping, and charring"
Structural issues"Look for structural cracks, foundation movement, and load-bearing damage"
Weatherboard exterior"Check for weatherboard damage, rot, paint peeling, and cladding issues"
Roof inspection"Analyze for missing tiles, flashing damage, gutter issues, and leaks"

Chat prompts for damage assessments:

  • "Analyze all images and classify the damage by type and severity"
  • "Is this damage accidental or wear and tear? Explain your reasoning"
  • "Create a scope of work for repairing the water damage in the bathroom"
  • "Generate line items for all repairs needed, grouped by room"
  • "Categorize damage as sudden vs gradual for the insurance claim"
  • "What is the most severe damage and why?"
  • "Summarize findings focused on insurance-relevant damage only"

General Work Assessment Prompts ​

General work assessments have no damage items — the agent focuses on work scoping, quoting, and estimating.

Chat prompts for general work:

  • "What work is needed based on the uploaded images?"
  • "Create a scope of work for renovating the bathroom, including demolition, plumbing, tiling, and painting"
  • "Estimate the cost of replacing the roof tiles, using NZ rates"
  • "Create a complete quote for the fence replacement, grouped by materials and labor"
  • "How big is the area that needs retiling based on the bathroom images?"
  • "Price the line items using current market rates for Auckland"
  • "Search for treated timber pricing for the deck rebuild"
  • "Calculate the total cost, broken down by trade"

Tender Assessment Prompts ​

Tender assessments work with uploaded documents (SOW, SOQ, BOQ). The agent can extract schedule items, build hierarchies, and price them.

Chat prompts for tenders:

  • "Read the uploaded schedule of quantities and extract all line items"
  • "Extract the scope of work from the tender documents and create a structured hierarchy"
  • "What files are available? Check for any SOQ or bill of quantities"
  • "Build a line item tree from the tender schedule — preserve the document structure"
  • "Price all extracted line items using current rates"
  • "Search the specification documents for waterproofing requirements"
  • "Summarize the key requirements from each uploaded tender document"
  • "Do material estimation for the extracted schedule items"

General Prompts (All Types) ​

For research:

  • "What is the current price for 13mm standard plasterboard in New Zealand?"
  • "What building code requirements apply to bathroom waterproofing in Australia?"
  • "Search for commercial-grade carpet tiles with pricing"

For reports:

  • "Summarize this assessment in 3 paragraphs covering scope, findings, and recommendations"
  • "Generate a report"

For memory:

  • "Remember that my standard labour rate is $85/hr"
  • "What rates did I save previously?"

Prompt Structure Tips ​

  1. Be specific — Name the room, material, damage type, or document.
  2. Set context — Mention the property type, age, and location.
  3. State the output — Tell the agent what you want (line items, summary, comparison, quote).
  4. One task at a time — For best results, give focused instructions rather than compound requests.
  5. Use plan mode — For complex multi-step tasks, let the agent create a plan first.
  6. Reference documents — In tender assessments, mention specific files or sections for targeted analysis.

Cost Estimation Best Practices ​

Using Rate Books ​

  1. Set default rates in Settings → Rate Book before starting assessments.
  2. Create custom rates for items you use frequently.
  3. Import rate books from CSV templates for bulk setup.
  4. Keep rates updated — review and update quarterly.
  • Use product search to find current market prices for materials.
  • Filter by country to get region-specific pricing.
  • The AI agent can search for products and create line items with accurate pricing.

Margin and Discount ​

  • Set margins at the assessment level for consistent markup.
  • Apply discounts per line item for special pricing.
  • Review the cost calculation: Unit Price × Quantity × (1 + Margin) × (1 - Discount).

Grouping Line Items ​

Organize line items into groups for clarity:

  • Group by room (Kitchen, Bathroom, Living Room)
  • Group by trade (Plastering, Painting, Plumbing)
  • Group by priority (Urgent, Standard, Low Priority)

Organizing Properties and Assessments ​

Property Organization ​

  • Star frequently accessed properties for quick access in Favorites.
  • Add full details when creating properties — this helps the AI agent provide better analysis.
  • Attach documents (floor plans, compliance certs) to properties for reference.
  • Add contacts to keep stakeholder information accessible.

Assessment Organization ​

  • Use descriptive names that include the property and damage type.
  • Set categories for easy filtering on the dashboard.
  • Add team members early so they can follow progress.

Working with the Rate Book ​

  1. Download the template from Settings → Rate Book → Download Template.
  2. Fill in your standard rates in the CSV format.
  3. Upload the template to import all rates at once.
  4. Search rates when adding line items to your assessments.
  5. Create custom rates on the fly when you encounter new items.

Keyboard and Interface Tips ​

  • Collapse the sidebar for more workspace on smaller screens.
  • Drag the chat panel to your preferred position on desktop.
  • Resize the chat panel for more or less conversation space.
  • Use the split view on desktop — images on the left, details on the right.
  • Full-screen images for detailed inspection using the enlarge button.
  • Batch upload images rather than one at a time for faster processing.

Integration Tips ​

Fergus ​

  • Set up customer and site mappings before your first export.
  • Use the same customer names in Inoscope and Fergus for easy matching.
  • Test the connection in Settings before exporting.

Xero ​

  • Connect your Xero organization once — the connection stays active automatically.
  • Map your GL account codes before exporting.
  • Use the contact search to match existing Xero contacts.

CSV ​

  • Enable "Group by Header" for organized spreadsheets.
  • Toggle "Include Zero-Cost Items" off to keep exports clean.

Next Steps ​