You’re a pro at capturing photos and videos and generating reports.
But there might be a handful of features that you’re not using that will make your work in CompanyCam exponentially more efficient and productive.
We recently hosted a 30-minute class on this topic that you should watch — users like yourself were asking tons of great live questions I won’t fully cover here.
But the weather’s getting warmer, and you have more jobs on your calendar, so you may not have half an hour free to watch a video. So I’ll do my best to give you the five main features/takeaways you can implement after finishing this blog.
1. Edit Mode
With this camera setting turned on, the photo editor toolbar will open up after each photo you take — like Instagram or Snapchat.
Then you’ll just need to add circles, arrows, text, or anything else to the photo. You can also add context to the description or tag someone who needs to see the photo. Once you hit save, your annotated photo will upload, and the camera will open back up.
If you prefer to take a lot of photos and add annotations and descriptions later, you can turn this off the same way you turn it on.
2. Groups and Mentions
Another underutilized (and relatively new) feature is Groups. This feature was designed for the office team to quickly communicate with crews that work together on the same projects daily.
For example, you could set up Groups called Truck 1, Truck 2, etc. Then, if you need to quickly send a project update to that whole crew, just type in their group name, and they will automatically get tagged and notified.
3. Tags and Labels
Photos tags are our hidden gem. Tags are the easiest way to catalog your photos and give instant context to anyone working in your CompanyCam projects.
For example, if you’re a painter working in multiple rooms, you should set up tags for bedroom 1, bedroom 2, and living room so that you can keep your photos straight and get them prepped for your before and after photos or project showcases.
Labels are also a great way to manage and sort your projects. An everyday use case for labels is “archiving” projects. If you’re interested in using labels this way, you could set up ones for Active, Completed, Bid, Negotiation, etc., and sort your projects using those.
Note: Tags are for photos. Labels are for projects.
4. Checklists
Want to make sure you’re getting the photos you need on every job? Check out Checklists.
With CompanyCam Checklists, you can create lists of photos you need captured and processes you want followed. By default, users must attach an image to the line item to complete each task (you can change this in your settings, though).
You can also add different question types, so you have all the context around the checklist item — you can add things like Yes/No questions, a rating scale to show how damaged something is, multiple choice options, and open text fields.
We even recently added the ability to work on checklists with collaborators, which is a perfect segue to our next advanced feature call-out.
5. Collaborators and Guest Access
If you’re consistently working with subcontractors on your jobs, you’ll want to add them as collaborators. Collaboration allows subs to take photos, see your photos, leave comments, and use the checklists mentioned above. They won’t be able to see the rest of your projects, though, just the one you invited them to collaborate on.
Guest Access is for homeowners or clients who want to be more involved in a project. As guest users, they can add photos and comment on photos you’ve added. And as the inviting company, you don’t have to pay extra to have Collaborators or Guest Users in your projects.
In an industry where reputation is everything, turning a first-time client into a repeat customer is built on trust. Providing guest access and utilizing project collaboration tools doesn’t just support project management; it is vital in cultivating long-term customer relationships.
Bonus: Integrations
We didn’t cover integrations in the class, but if you’re using additional software to run your business, you should integrate it with your CompanyCam account.
Integrations allow you to keep your data flowing between apps automatically, which keeps you from spending an hour or two at the end of the day uploading photos or copying + pasting customer information from one platform to another.
See if we integrate with your CRM or invoicing platform directly. If not, you can always set up a Zapier connection or add our browser extension to your Chrome, Edge, or Brave browser and access your photos on almost any site.
If you need more information about these features, check out our classes page and sign up for an upcoming class or watch a short how-to video.
Have questions about a feature? Reach out to success@companycam.com, and your customer success representative will gladly find you some answers.
