What is a template

A template is the master structure that defines what goes into an inspection report. When you create a new report, Inspector Studio uses a template as the starting point — it determines which sections appear, what questions are asked in each section, what answer choices are available, and what deficiency options exist.

Templates vs. reports

Think of a template as a blank form and a report as a completed form.

• The template defines the structure: sections, questions, answer options, and deficiency wording.

• The report is the filled-in version: your answers, your observations, and the photos you took on a specific inspection.

Changes to a template do not affect reports that were already created from it. Each report is a snapshot based on the template as it existed when the report was generated.

Why templates matter

Your templates control the quality and consistency of your reports. A well-built template:

• Asks all the right questions in the right order so nothing gets missed.

• Pre-populates common deficiency descriptions so your wording is professional and consistent.

• Suggests common narratives so inspectors do not have to write the same boilerplate from scratch every time.

Most inspection companies use one or two templates for their core residential work, with additional templates for specialty inspections like 4-Point or Wind Mitigation.

Where templates live

Go to Templates in the left navigation to see all the templates your organization has. From here you can create new templates, edit existing ones, import a template from another source, or duplicate a template to use as a starting point.

Who can edit templates

Editing templates requires a role with template management permissions — typically Admin or Manager. Inspectors in the field typically do not need to edit templates.

A note on specialty report forms

Specialty report types — 4-Point, Wind Mitigation, WDO, Roof Certification — have fixed structures required by the forms themselves. Their "templates" are managed separately and the field layout is standardized. You cannot freely customize these the way you can with a standard report template.