6 of the Best Apps for Making a Home Inventory
By the time most people realize they need a home inventory, it’s too late. If you’re new to the concept, a home inventory is simple: It’s a list or record of all of your personal possessions and how much they are worth. Post-disaster is the worst time to jog your memory and assign value to things destroyed or missing.
Now is actually the best time to do a home inventory. According to the Insurance Information Institute, making a home inventory can help you purchase the correct amount of insurance, simplify filing a claim, and substantiate property losses for tax purposes.
Luckily, there are home inventory apps that make this task as easy as point-and-click. Sometimes called “asset tracking software,” home inventory apps range from simple categorized lists to powerful tools that manage personal and small business inventories. The following are six of the best apps for making a home inventory.
Encircle
Encircle is a powerful app designed for insurance adjusters and restorers. You can access the simplified Encircle free home inventory app, which allows you to create a home inventory list using your smartphone. The app lets you take inventory on multiple properties, which is an especially convenient feature for landlords. In addition, you can create PDF or spreadsheet reports that can be used for filing claims.
Sortly
Sortly was designed for small businesses to track their inventories. However, the company offers a free version for individuals. The free app limits your inventory to 100 items, plenty for an apartment dweller.
Sortly lets users create custom barcodes and QR labels, plus sort and filter inventory via custom lists. (Operate an inventory-rich small business from your home!) The upgraded monthly Advanced plan allows 2,000 entries, unlimited code label generation, and an integrated barcode scanner.
Skyware Inventory
More than 33,000 companies in 160 countries use Skyware Inventory to manage their inventories. However, you can use a free ad-supported version to create a home inventory. Save manuals, receipts, and warranties on hundreds of items. The free web-based software allows you to create a searchable database of your items, too. The best part? There’s no limit to how many items you can upload.
Available: In-browser
Itemtopia
Like Skyware Inventory, Itemtopia is a feature-rich home inventory app developed for businesses with affordable options for individuals. The app is customizable and allows you to share curated lists. If you have extensive collections to inventory, such as baseball cards, stamps, or coin collections, Itemtopia might be the best bet.
BluePlum Home Inventory
BluePlum Home Inventory is user-friendly and allows you to organize stuff by room, location, or collection.
Travel much? The moving feature allows you to create multiple packing lists and assign insurance policies and claims to different items and locations.
Available: iOS only
Nest Egg
Not to be confused with the Nest home thermostat, Nest Egg is a simple-to-use scan home inventory system that recognizes millions of items. It’s available in 32 languages, including Chinese, German, French, and Spanish. You can scan up to 10 high-resolution photos per item.
The family-friendly app makes it easy to manage hobbies, photos, and pantry items. Pricing varies per plan, but there’s a Nest Egg Lite free version.
Available: iOS only
Honorable Mention: NAIC Home Inventory
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ home inventory app is neither as user-friendly nor dynamic as the others. But it has most of the same features, including scanning and categorized lists. Moreover, it gets the job done. Although NAIC is not in the software development business, the organization represents experts who know precisely what home inventory you need when processing a claim.