Guide · Site visits and photos
How to make an inspection report with photos on your phone and send the client a PDF
By Blink Brief · Updated · How pages are made
Photograph each finding with a wide shot and a close-up, write one note per photo, add the client, site, and date, save it all as a PDF, and email it from your phone. The free Inspection Report tool does the PDF part in your phone's browser, with nothing to install.
Short answer
- Walk the site and photograph every finding: 1 wide shot, 1 close-up.
- Open blink-brief.com/inspection-report/ on your phone.
- Enter your company name, the client, the site address, and the date.
- Add the photos and write a note under each one.
- Have the client sign in the signature box, download the PDF, and email it.
What a good inspection report contains
A client should be able to read the report without calling you. Use this checklist for every report, whatever the trade.
| Part | What to include | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Header | Company name and logo, report title, report number, your phone and email | The client files it and knows who to call |
| Job details | Client name, site address (and unit or room), date and start time, inspector's name, who else was there | Ties the report to one visit |
| Scope | What you inspected, and what you didn't or couldn't (locked rooms, roof not accessed, power off) | Sets what the report covers |
| Summary | Overall result (pass, pass with issues, fail) and the number of findings by priority | Many clients read only this part |
| Findings | One per item: location, what you saw, priority, photo numbers, recommended action | Each problem can be assigned and fixed |
| Photos | Numbered, captioned, each tied to a finding | Shows the problem without another site visit |
| Sign-off | Your signature and the date; the client's signature if they were on site | Records who inspected and that the client received it |
Write each finding as where, what, and what to do: "Kitchen, under sink: slow leak at the trap, cabinet floor swollen. Replace the trap washer and dry out the cabinet." One finding per note keeps the photo numbers matched.
Photo tips for inspection reports
- Take 2 shots per finding. A wide shot shows where it is. A close-up shows what it is.
- Put something in the close-up for scale. A tape measure, a pen, or your hand tells the client how big the crack is.
- Shoot in the order you walk. Room by room, so the photo order matches the report.
- Light dark spaces. Use the flash or a torch under sinks, in lofts and plant rooms, and tap the defect on screen to focus there.
- Step closer instead of zooming. A pinch-zoomed photo loses the detail you came for.
- Write the date and time in the report. The date your phone stores inside each photo doesn't show on a printed page.
- Leave out photos that show nothing new. Every extra photo adds to the PDF's size, and email has limits (see below).
Step by step: make the report with the free Inspection Report tool
The tool is a web page, so it works in your phone's browser or on a laptop, with nothing to install.
- Open blink-brief.com/inspection-report/ on your phone.
- Type your company name. It goes on the PDF.
- Fill in the job details: client name, site address, inspection date, and your name.
- Add your photos. Take them on the spot or pick them from your camera roll.
- Under each photo, write the finding: where, what, and what to do.
- Mark each item OK, Needs attention, or Fail.
- Hand the client your phone to sign in the Client signature box, and type their name.
- Tap Download PDF. Open it and check every photo, note and the signature before it goes to the client.
- Send it: on iPhone, tap Share and choose Mail; on Android, tap Share and choose Gmail.
How to send the PDF and get it signed
Get the client's signature on site
The free tool has a signature box: the client signs with a finger before you tap Download PDF, and the signature goes at the end of the report. To sign a PDF made elsewhere:
- iPhone: open the PDF in the Files app. Apple's steps: "Tap Add Signature, sign your name with your finger, then tap Done." Then "Drag your signature where you want it to appear on the document." (Apple: Fill out forms, sign documents, and create signatures on iPhone)
- Android: open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader, which Adobe says is "free to download": "You can fill out and sign PDF forms in Acrobat Reader using your finger or a stylus." (Adobe: Acrobat mobile apps)
Email the PDF from your phone
- Name the file and the subject so the client can find it later: "Inspection report – 14 Elm St – 1 Nov 2026".
- Give the result in 1 line ("2 urgent items, 5 to watch") and say the details are in the attached PDF.
- Mind the size. Gmail Help: "For personal Gmail accounts, the limit is 25 MB." and "If your total attachment size is greater than the limit, Gmail automatically removes the attachment and adds it as a Google Drive link in the email." On work accounts, the Google Workspace admin sets the limit. (Gmail Help: Send attachments with your Gmail message)
Apps that email the PDF to the client automatically
If you write reports every day, an app saves the sending and the signing steps. On their own pages, read on 1 November 2026:
- Email the report automatically: GoAudits (emails reports to your team members; from $10 per user per month, billed annually), Jotform (free for 5 forms and 100 submissions a month), GoCanvas (from $29 per user per month, 3-user minimum, billed annually), and Sitemate Dashpivot on Pro and above.
- Client signs on your phone: Valideo (from €30 a month excl. VAT; free for 5 reports a month) and Sitemate Dashpivot on Pro and above.
- You share the PDF yourself: SafetyCulture, Rapporta, and FieldScribe.
Prices checked on 1 November 2026. All 8 apps, side by side: inspection report apps compared.
Our product · in development
Blink Inspection Report starts each report from your template, lets the client sign on site, and emails them the PDF automatically. Team accounts put every inspector under your company name. Planned price: $29/month. Join the early list to get an email when it opens.
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