Sidecar is a WDI app built for the way Texas inspectors actually work. For most homes, the house is drawn for you from the address. You place the TDA codes right on the drawing, snap photos into the slots your answers call for, and let the app check the report before you issue it. By the time you back out of the driveway, the T-5 is done.
You already did the hard part: you crawled the attic, walked the fence line and looked at every wall the homeowner would let you near. The paperwork shouldn't take longer than the inspection did.
With ISN or Spectora, your job comes in with the address, client and agent already filled in. Your answers land on the official TDA form, 12A and 12B fill themselves from what you checked, and the standard comments drop in when a condition calls for them. Sign with your finger and you're finished.
For most homes, Sidecar pulls the house outline from the county appraisal sketch or the FEMA building footprint, turned so the street sits at the bottom of the page. When there's no sketch on file, the drawing tool snaps to a grid, shows wall lengths and lets you trace right over a photo of the survey. Either way, the TDA codes go on with a tap.
Before Sidecar builds the PDF, it checks the report the way a careful reviewer would. A required field missing? 12A contradicting Section 11? 9A and 9B disagreeing? A required photo missing, or a page-3 comment too long to fit? You hear about it in the driveway, not from the agent two days later.
This is the whole list, with nothing held back for a higher tier.
Every T-5 tool covers the basics. Here's where Sidecar goes further.
| Typical T-5 software | Sidecar | |
|---|---|---|
| The official TDA T-5 form | ✓ | ✓ |
| Inspector signature | ✓ | ✓ |
| Photos in the report | ✓ | ✓ |
| Finished PDF to send | ✓ | ✓ |
| Checks for missing required fields | ✓ | ✓ |
| A drawing tool for the diagram | ✓ | ✓ |
| Works with no signal | ✓ | ✓ |
| Team accounts | ✓ | ✓ |
| The house drawn from the address (for most homes) | — | ✓ |
| TDA codes placed right on the drawing, with the legend | — | ✓ |
| Point the camera at a bug and get a suggested 11A–11E code | — | ✓ |
| Fix a report and keep every earlier version | — | ✓ |
| Finished T-5 posted back to the ISN order or Spectora inspection | — | ✓ |
✓ in the "Typical" column means the feature is standard in most Texas T-5 software. — means it isn't standard: we found it in few or none of the T-5 tools we reviewed in October 2026. Features change, so check any product for yourself.
Your jobs come in from ISN or Spectora with the address, client and agents already filled in. No ISN or Spectora? Bring them in through Zapier or a spreadsheet, or just type the address.
For most homes the house is already drawn. Place your codes, answer the T-5, fill the photo slots and point the camera at anything you're not sure about. No signal? Keep going; it syncs when you're back in range.
Sidecar checks the report, you sign with your finger, and one clean PDF is ready. Send it from your phone, and if you run on ISN or Spectora, it posts back to the job.
No per-report fees.
For one inspector. Everything on this page, including 10 bug IDs a day.
Up to 3 inspectors, then $25 a month for each extra. Owner, admin and inspector roles; every inspector gets 10 bug IDs a day.
Per company. The foundation elevation survey, in the same app and on the same job.
Prices in US dollars. Plus applicable Texas sales tax.
Yes. Sidecar is the software you write the T-5 in; it isn't a license and it isn't a sponsor. You still write under your own certified applicator's license or your sponsor's, the same as today, and Sidecar works alongside it. If your sponsor requires a particular software, check with them before you switch.
Yes. You can write the whole report offline, and it syncs both ways when you're back in range. If you open the app in a dead zone, pick "continue offline" at sign-in and keep working. Drawing the house from the address and the bug ID need a signal; you can do those when you're back in range.
iPhone and Android. You open Sidecar in your phone's browser and add it to your home screen, and from then on it opens like any other app. Updates take one tap, and there's nothing to download from an app store.
Yes. Sidecar pulls in your ISN jobs with the address, client, agents and fees filled in, and posts the finished PDF back to the order. The company owner switches automatic posting on, and any report can be sent with the "Send to ISN" button.
Yes. Connect your Spectora account and your inspections come in as jobs. When you issue the T-5 or DLA, Sidecar adds the PDF to that inspection's reports, next to the home inspection report, and revisions go up the same way.
No. The bug ID looks at a photo of an insect or evidence and suggests an 11A–11E code, with a guide to help you tell. You make the call every time. The photo slots aren't AI; they come straight from the answers you give.
It draws most homes from the county appraisal sketch or the FEMA footprint, but new construction is often missing from both. Then you trace over a photo of the survey or plat, or draw it with the grid-snapping tool. It goes quickly either way.
Every report is backed up to the cloud as soon as your phone has signal. An issued report is locked and never overwritten. The company owner can export everything at any time: a ZIP of your PDFs and photos, plus a spreadsheet index. Kept at least 2 years, as Texas requires, even if you cancel.
For now, yes. Sidecar is built around the Texas T-5. More states are coming.
Yes. Practice mode lets you walk through a report with no account and no card.
We're opening Sidecar to founding members now. Fill in the form below and we'll get in touch to set up your account.
Founding members save 25%, with the price locked for 12 months. Tell us a little about your company and we'll be in touch.
Sidecar Inspect