Not every surveying report is a Building Survey or a Schedule of Condition.
Some are rather more specialist.
Independent Expert Reports and Arbitration Reports are a good example. They can involve detailed property information, valuation evidence, lengthy explanations and supporting documentation. When you're dealing with a dispute, the last thing you want is to spend your time wrestling with Microsoft Word.
Fortunately, that's something we can help with.
At BackupTyping, we've been providing audio transcription and document production services to chartered surveyors for over 25 years.
Our typists have previously worked at senior levels within chartered surveying organisations, so they're familiar with property terminology and the types of documents used across the profession.
That experience is particularly useful when working with specialist reports.
A general transcription service might not immediately recognise an unusual surveying term. Our typists are much more likely to recognise the terminology, or at least know when something doesn't sound quite right and needs checking.
Independent Experts may be appointed to determine disputes involving property matters, including commercial rent reviews.
These appointments require the surveyor to exercise their own professional expertise and judgment. The resulting documentation may contain detailed reasoning, valuations, comparable evidence and references to supporting material.
That's quite enough to concentrate on without also having to worry about numbering paragraphs and formatting tables.
We can work from your dictation, preparing the report in your preferred Word template and incorporating the supporting material you supply.
If you've already prepared some of the wording yourself, that's fine too. We can pick up from wherever you've reached.
Arbitration is a different process from Independent Expert determination, although both can arise in property disputes.
For chartered surveyors acting as Arbitrators, or preparing documentation for arbitration proceedings, the paperwork can be substantial.
There may be lengthy dictated passages, detailed submissions to refer to, tables of figures and appendices that need to be incorporated into the document.
Getting all of that into a clear, consistently formatted report takes time.
And anyone who has ever tried to renumber a lengthy Word document after removing a section will know that the software doesn't always cooperate.
We know how to make it behave. Our Word document formatting service is particularly useful for lengthy reports with complicated numbering, tables and appendices.
Although audio transcription remains a large part of what we do, we don't insist that every assignment begins with a recording.
You might already have:
We can work with the material you have.
If you're using speech-to-text software, you can send us the unchecked transcript with the original recording. We can check the transcription while preparing the document.
If the wording is already approved, just tell us you need report formatting.
There's no point paying someone to repeat work you've already done.
Independent Expert and Arbitrator appointments demand considerable professional knowledge.
The surveyor is responsible for the evidence, reasoning and conclusions. We don't interfere with that.
But the hours spent transcribing dictation, inserting amendments, adjusting tables and getting the document into shape are hours that could be spent on the professional work itself.
That's why specialist outsourcing can be particularly useful for reports that aren't part of your everyday workload.
You may only undertake a handful of these appointments each year so don't need to employ additional administrative staff to deal with them - simply send the work to us when you need support.
We've always been more than a conventional typing service.
Alongside transcription, we help chartered surveyors with copy typing, complex Word, PowerPoint and Excel formatting, report amendments, tables, photographic schedules and general document production.
Independent Expert reports and Arbitration reports are another example of where that experience can be useful. We also provide specialist typing and document production support for Expert Witness Reports, which have their own particular requirements.
So, whether you're starting with a recording, halfway through a draft or staring at a report whose numbering has developed a mind of its own, we're happy to help.
Preparing an Independent Expert Report or Arbitration Report? Contact us by email or call 020 7096 1663 to discuss your transcription and document formatting requirements.
