Licensing and insurance come first
Requirements differ by state and by discipline, and they change. Verify current requirements with your state's licensing authority and your insurer before you advertise a service. Nothing in this guide is legal or regulatory advice.
Write the agreement before the first job
Your inspection agreement defines scope, limitations, liability and payment terms. Have it reviewed, then make it part of the workflow so it is signed before the inspection rather than chased afterwards.
Build one template per service you sell
Do not start reporting from a blank document. Build a template per discipline, publish it, and change it deliberately. Consistency across reports is what makes a one-person shop look established.
Make intake single-channel
- One request form on your own page, linked everywhere
- Phone calls entered into the same queue, not a notebook
- Agent referrals attributed so you know what is working
- Property and client records created once, reused forever
Decide how you get paid before you need to
Set your terms up front: deposit at booking or payment on delivery, and what happens on a cancellation. Attaching invoices and payment links to the same job record removes the reconciliation work later.
Keep the records that protect you
Signed agreements, the report as issued, photos, limitations, and the delivery log. If a dispute arrives eighteen months later, those five things are the whole defense.