What is your worth? with the things you own

Make a call to the Insurance company, or just make a list in case of an unfortunate incident or as most of Queenslanders were struck with the Rains, then cyclone Yasi, or the Japanese with the earthquakes, Tsunami. What did the person own, how much was it worth, did they really own it, Insurance companies might require some kind of proof, (don't they make life easy?)

It is always nice to have an idea of what you own and the worth with pictures so that it can be proved/documented in an *incident*. For those that have tried, it does get tedious and I have seen large organisations using excel sheets to conduct office inventory and websites offering similar suggestions for home users too. However Binary Formations suggests that we ditch the Excel sheets and try their software called HomeInventory. It is available as an unlimited demo that does not expire but allows for only 10 items to test the functionality of the software.

The software works on the basis of Location -> Item -> Item Information, So the first thing to add is the location, for example, Hall, Study, Master Bedroom, Bedroom1, Bedroom2, Guest Room, Kitchen, etc.. Then add an item, with several attributes defining the item (helps if as many as possible are filled).

Upon entering the details, more information can be attached to the item, like Photos to identify/prove the presence of the item, Receipts for Warranty and to counter the thermal receipts provided by the vendors (Even they are aware that the Thermal receipts fade out, but they do not care to change the printers), Warranty Information, Notes about the item and Files, which can be PDF of user Manuals (either embedded in the inventory file, or linked from the source location), etc.

Given these functionality, this makes for a good focused, specific database app. Unfortunately Binary Formations are not yet corrupted with greed, so they have a companion iPhone app for *Free* from the iTunes Store that works even with the trial version. Click on the "Photo Remote" option from the menu and it waits for a connection, on the mobile device, it shows up as a possible location, connect to the database by tapping on the item and it displays a mobile version of the inventory.

Any modifications, additions are displayed in the Photo Remote window. The Mobile app is quite well integrated with the desktop app. Using it is very easy, so inventory in the shed can be made over the WiFi connectivity using the camera on the iOS device or from the other rooms. If there isn't an iOS device, then images can be taken with a standard camera and attached or scanned in or taken using the iSight Camera.

With just these functionality, the app is quite useful for any home user/small business. There is just this *one more thing* that is the feather in the cap. Most databases would manage the data in and the data out. Home inventory offers another feature that is very important, Reports. It can create PDF reports of the items in several format. Popular reports would be Item Detail Report, a comprehensive list of the items in the inventory. Item List, Item Photo List and Moving List. Having gone through a couple of moves between countries not just residences, I can vouch that this is the one most important feature, many a times items go out and they fail to arrive and sometimes one might want to claim damages to the items.

All in all, I have not found a more simpler to use and comprehensive application for Inventory as yet. This is the best that manages it excellently. The extension with the mobile devices is an added advantage. So if one is moving, wanting to know their worth, want to know nett worth for Insurance, for Warranty purposes, to create a filing system for the equipment owned, Home Inventory is *the* application.


SUMMARY
Software : Home Inventory
Version : 2.3.1
Publisher : Binary Formations
Website : http://binaryformations.com/homeinventory/index.html
Platform : Mac OS X (10.5.5 or higher, 10.6.6 for the Mac App Store)
Demo : Unlimited days (Limited to 10 items entry
Price : $14.99
Mac App Store : http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/home-inventory/id413564952

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