Guide 4 of 6
Inspections: from quote to report and invoice
Quote an inspection, get it approved, inspect on the phone and invoice it. The report goes to your customer once the invoice is paid.
Who this is for
Admins, Office staff and Inspectors on the web app. Inspectors do the inspection itself in the phone app.
Before you start
- At least one inspection form. An admin or Office user can add them under Inspections → Settings → Templates: click Seed NFPA Templates to add starter forms for fire alarm (NFPA 72), wet sprinkler (NFPA 25) and extinguishers (NFPA 10).
- A form for each inspection type you quote. An admin or Office user goes to Inspections → Settings → Inspection Types, clicks Edit on the type (for example Fire Safety), chooses its form under Default Template (for example NFPA 72 - Fire Alarm System) and clicks Save Changes. Inspections made from an approved quote of that type then start with that form.
- Your customer in Poseidon, with the email address that should get the quote.
- An inspector with the Poseidon phone app (see Using the Poseidon phone app).
Steps
Quote and approval
Go to Inspections → Quotes and click New Quote.
On Customer, choose the Customer and, if you like, a Contact and Location. Click Next.
On Inspection, enter a Name and choose the Inspection Type. Click Next.
On Pricing, add each line (Description, Qty and Unit Price) and, if needed, tax, a discount, payment terms and Valid Until. Click Create Quote.
Open the quote and click Send to Client. Your customer gets an email with a View Quote & Respond button and clicks Approve Quote.
Did your customer say yes by phone call instead? Click Approve on the quote yourself. Either way, approving creates the inspection.
Schedule and inspect
Go to Inspections → Requests. On the inspection's row, open the three-dot menu (⋮) and choose Reschedule. Choose the Inspector, the Template (the form) and the Scheduled Date, and click Save Changes. Once it has all three, the inspection shows in the inspector's phone app.
The inspector does the inspection in the phone app and submits it with the inspector's and the client's signatures.
Invoice and report
When the inspection is submitted, Poseidon creates a draft invoice from the approved quote. Find it under Inspections → Invoices, check it and click Send to Client.
When your customer pays, click Record Payment. Once the invoice is paid in full, Poseidon emails the inspection report to your customer automatically.
What happens next
- Open a finished inspection and click View Report to see its report at any time.
- Your customer gets the report as a PDF by email when the invoice is paid in full.
Common questions
- Why didn't an invoice appear after the inspection?
- Poseidon creates the invoice automatically only for an inspection that came from an approved quote.
- Why can't my inspector see the inspection on the phone?
- The phone shows an inspection once it has an inspector, a scheduled date and a form. An inspection with an inspector and a date but no form says Needs a form on its row under Inspections → Requests and on its page. Assign Inspector (on the quote or on the inspection's page) and Edit on the inspection's page ask for the form when the inspection has none, filled in with the inspection type's Default Template if it has one; Reschedule as in the steps above sets it too. Saving a Default Template on the inspection type doesn't change inspections that already exist; it gives a form to the next inspections of that type and fills in the form in those dialogs.
- Can my customer choose the inspection time?
- Yes. Under Inspections → Settings → Scheduling, turn on Client Self-Scheduling and click Save Changes. Your customer then picks a free time slot and clicks Approve & Schedule.

