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Frequently Asked Questions on
Home Inventory Services and Software
Is there a demand for this
service?
Yes, Insurance Agents, Estate
Planners and Attorneys highly recommend that owners of insured property have
a complete and up-to-date home inventory. You will also gain business
customers whose accountants need your services to inventory business assets
for Tax, Insurance and Business Ownership Transfer purposes.
Fact: Filing a claim can be
one of the most frustrating processes following a Fire, Storm Damage or
other Major Disaster. Delays in the claims process was the number one
complaint of insurance customers. To help avoid problems, it
is critical for customers to be prepared to provide the information their
insurance company needs to quickly and fairly settle their claim - A
complete Home Inventory will alleviate most of the problems in
the claims process, especially if completed by an impartial Third Party Home
Inventory Service.
Is it difficult to get
started?
No, in fact we make it easy
for you. We provide all the required documentation to register your business in your locality
(United States, Canada, and
elsewhere). All you need to do is follow easy step-by-step
instructions to start-up and operate your Home Inventory Service.
What about start-up costs?
This service is inexpensive,
both to start and maintain. There are no hidden costs or inventory
requirements. You can start this service from your home with very low
overhead. Your costs will be the business start-up kit, which you will earn
back with your first paying customer and some small printing and marketing
costs as you get the word out about your new service.
Can I work from home?
This business can be run
successfully from either home or office, wherever you feel most comfortable.
You will need to visit your customer's home to record their inventory.
How much time will I have to
devote to this business?
How much time you devote to
the business depends on how much money you wish to make. Obviously, the more
time you spend, the more money you can make. You could spend 10-15 hours a
week and make a good part-time income, or work 40 hours or more and earn
excellent full-time money.
Can I Still Provide This
Service And Work My Current Job?
The hours required for this
business are flexible enough to allow you to continue your current job at
the same time. You will set your own hours by scheduling your appointments
according to your availability. Many start out on a part time basis
and work into a full time basis.
What equipment do I need?
A digital camera and a
camcorder. A desktop or laptop computer with printer and
disc writer are strongly recommended. A disc writer is helpful.
Do I need to be licensed?
Operating a Home Inventory Service DOES NOT require any special licensing or
certifications. A very few communities may require an ordinary
business license. Check with your City or County Hall.
Do I need to be bonded?
As with any business that
provides a service inside their customer's home, we
do strongly advise you become bonded. We do
provide complete instructions and examples.
The cost is minimal and provides your customer with
peace of mind that they are working with a reputable
provider of Home Inventory Services. Plus,
being bonded offers gives you a competitive
advantage because you can assure your customers they
are protected. Many service suppliers utilize
their bond as a marketing tool and make prominent
mention of it in their advertisements and
literature.
More information is
available on our
Forum.
How do I Price my Services?
We provide complete easy to
follow pricing guidelines and formulas for you to
calculate pricing for your
services in the Home Inventory Business Start up
Kit. Pricing factors for your services will
include the size of the home, the amount of time to
inventory the home and a few other incidentals.
You will be able to make adjustments according to
your market area. The national average works
out to $100 per hour. Most homes can be easily
inventoried in 2 to 4 hours.
What type of support do you
offer?
We offer personalized
support, just call us toll free 800-631-7022 during business
hours or send us an e-mail. In addition, we do
offer a
Home Inventory Professional Forum for you to share your
experiences, insights and news with other Home
Inventory Service Professionals.
Should I get the Jewelry
and Collectible Props Set?
We highly recommend the
Jewelry and Collectible Prop Set to quickly and
efficiently organize and photograph small items:
otherwise you will be left to improvise which is not
a professional approach. Your customer will be
expecting you to be prepared for all their
valuables, large or small.
The prop set is a
collection of props and stands we have found useful
for jewelry, artwork, china and other small,
difficult to photograph items. It also
includes a reversible backdrop which enables you to
focus your photography on the item free from
distracting backgrounds and patterns.
I have seen others offering
an opportunity online to start a Home Inventory
Service. What sets KC Home Inventory apart?
KC Home Inventory is the
only company which both promotes and provides home
inventory services. We are the Home Inventory
Service leader since 1993.
Recently, a few others have
started offering a Home Inventory Business Start up
kit. Some with software and some without. Most
of these new arrivals have a common source for their
information - KC Home Inventory. They have
taken the information we provided to them and
reproduced the materials with some creative editing
and market themselves as innovative or unique.
Since they do not provide these services themselves,
they establish their credibility by asserting their
materials were created with input from leading Home
Inventory Service Professionals.
What makes your software
different from other Home Inventory Business
Software?
We have tried most of the
programs available on the market with the intention
of making it work for us. In every case we
found that we were not satisfied with the usability
or the efficiency
of the programs. All of the programs we tried
are capable of producing and printing reports and
all are acceptable
documentation of personal
property. Whatever claims other software
writers make about their reports being "more professional"
are incorrect and have lost sight of what is
important to a Home Inventory Service operator -
speed and efficiency as well as professional style
documentation. We do, however, commend
their efforts to produce software for our industry.
See what others are saying on our forum.
Do I need to use software
to provide Home Inventory Services?
No, we have been providing Professional Inventory
Services to both Homeowners and Businesses long
before software was available. In the basic
Start-up kit we include all the form, letter and
brochure templates on CD in either Word or Excel
format necessary to provide services; all are easily
customized with your business contact information.
The basic start-up is an ideal way to get your
business started and you can add the software at any
time.
Adding our software does speed up and makes the
delivering Home Inventory Services easier by
reducing "paperwork" and eliminating repetitive
tasks.
See
all the features.
Is your software available
as freeware or shareware?
No. Our software is
available only through us.
What if I'm not satisfied with your start-up kit?
Just call us, we take all your concerns
seriously. KC Home Inventory wants you to be
completely satisfied with
all its services, materials and products. We offer
a 30 day Money Back Guarantee. If you
find them to be misrepresented and we are unable to
rectify to your complete satisfaction, your purchase
price will be refunded once all materials are returned.
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