Question 1

What is ASSIST?

Accepted Answer

ASSIST brings the operational work around every residential appraisal into one place. It's the workflow, operations, and business layer that runs around your report writer — orders, scheduling, revisions, client and lender communication, invoicing, compensation, and reporting. Built for solo appraisers, teams, and appraisal firms. (ASSIST is also known as ASSIST.)

Question 2

Is ASSIST an all-in-one system for running an appraisal business?

Accepted Answer

Close to it, with one deliberate boundary: ASSIST runs everything around the appraisal — intake, scheduling, tasks and deadlines, client and AMC communication, portals, invoicing and payments, compensation, and reporting — while your report writer produces the form. So you run the business in one place and keep the valuation work where it belongs.

Question 3

Is ASSIST a report writer or a replacement for Total, ACI, or Alamode?

Accepted Answer

No. ASSIST is not a URAR/1004 form-filling report writer. It works alongside Total, ACI, Alamode, SFREP, and similar tools. ASSIST manages the workflow, communication, and business side — your report writer produces the form.

Question 4

Is ASSIST an AMC or lead-gen service that takes commissions?

Accepted Answer

No. ASSIST does not distribute appraisal work, is not a party to any engagement, and does not take commissions or fee splits. The appraiser is always the appraiser of record. The free marketplace is a directory — paying subscribers get top placement, and that's the only monetization on it.

Question 5

What makes ASSIST different from general workflow tools like Asana, Monday, or ClickUp?

Accepted Answer

ASSIST is appraisal-specific end to end. Orders, due dates, inspection scheduling, revision requests, AMC/lender portal updates, magic-link client portals, photos, fees, compensation splits, review requests, and UAD 3.6 alignment are all built in — not configured on top of a generic tool.

Question 6

Is ASSIST built for solo appraisers or appraisal firms?

Accepted Answer

Both. Solo appraisers use Software Only to replace spreadsheets and inbox folders. Teams and firms add Office Team Members, role-based permissions, compensation splits, and firm-wide reporting. Software + Service is available at any size.

Question 7

Does ASSIST support teams with multiple appraisers?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Assign orders to specific appraisers, give office admins scoped access, run compensation splits between staff (W-2) appraisers and 1099 trainees/associates, and manage the whole pipeline from one command center.

Question 8

Can I run a full appraisal firm on ASSIST?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Firms use ASSIST for role-based permissions, per-client fee schedules, coverage areas by appraiser, compensation matrices, firm-wide revenue and turn-time reporting, and centralized client/lender/AMC portal management.

Question 9

How does compensation work for W-2 staff appraisers versus 1099 trainees?

Accepted Answer

ASSIST's Compensation Engine supports mixed W-2 and 1099 rosters, per-product overrides, and split matrices. Payouts and per-appraiser profitability are tracked automatically.

Question 10

Does ASSIST integrate with QuickBooks?

Accepted Answer

Yes. ASSIST syncs two-way with QuickBooks Online — invoices, payments, customers, and payouts move in both directions. Your books stay reconciled without duplicate entry.

Question 11

Does ASSIST integrate with Google Calendar and Gmail?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each team member can connect their own Google Calendar and Gmail via OAuth. Inspections, deadlines, and follow-ups flow to and from Calendar. Emails thread into the order record automatically. One-click backfill on connect pulls existing inspections into ASSIST.

Question 12

What payment processors does ASSIST support for client invoicing?

Accepted Answer

Stripe, PayPal, and Square. Send an invoice, take payment, and the payment reconciles back to the order and to QuickBooks automatically.

Question 13

What other tools does ASSIST connect to?

Accepted Answer

SMS (Twilio), Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, DocuSign, Zapier, and Make. See the Integrations page for the full list.

Question 14

How do AMCs and lenders get status updates and reports?

Accepted Answer

Through the magic-link client portal. No login, no password. AMCs, lenders, agents, attorneys, and private clients get a secure link to view status, upload docs, and download the finished report. Cuts status-check calls to near-zero.

Question 15

Does ASSIST handle inspection scheduling with property contacts?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Text-to-Schedule sends the property contact your available times by SMS, they pick one, and the order updates automatically. Every reply stays tied to the order.

Question 16

Does ASSIST handle revision requests and reconsideration-of-value (RoV) emails?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Revision Decoder parses long or messy revision emails and RoV requests, categorizes what the client is actually asking for, and drafts a structured response you can edit and send.

Question 17

What is ASSIST IQ?

Accepted Answer

ASSIST IQ is the built-in intelligence layer. It summarizes engagement letters, revision requests, and RoV emails; surfaces risk on active orders (missing photos, overdue tasks, unusual fee/complexity signals); and suggests next actions per order.

Question 18

Does ASSIST IQ make appraisal decisions or select comps?

Accepted Answer

No. ASSIST IQ does not form appraisal opinions, select comparables, determine value, or replace professional judgment. It handles workflow, summarization, and operational risk — never valuation.

Question 19

Is ASSIST ready for UAD 3.6?

Accepted Answer

The parts ASSIST controls — photo labeling, filename conventions, and the underlying data structure — are already aligned with UAD 3.6. Full URAR form support ships alongside the industry rollout. Existing ASSIST appraisers won't need to migrate platforms.

Question 20

Do I need to switch appraisal platforms to be ready for UAD 3.6?

Accepted Answer

No, if you're on ASSIST you're already on a platform built with UAD 3.6 in mind. See /uad-3-6 for the full readiness breakdown.

Question 21

How much does ASSIST cost?

Accepted Answer

Software Only is $59/appraiser/month. Office Team Members and Trainees are $19/month each. Software + Service starts at $399/month and scales to $799/month based on monthly order volume. Marketplace profiles are free.

Question 22

Are there any add-on fees?

Accepted Answer

No. Every current software feature is included in the Software Only price. Office Team Member and Trainee seats are $19/month each, and marketplace profiles are free for appraisers.

Question 23

Can I start with Software Only and add Service later?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Start with Software Only and add Software + Service whenever you want hands-on workflow support.

Question 24

What is Software + Service?

Accepted Answer

Software + Service adds a trained admin team that operates ASSIST on your behalf — inbox triage, status updates, scheduling texts, portal updates, revision triage, delivery — all inside the same workfile your team uses. Coverage is 6 AM–8 PM CST. Support is written-workflow only (no phone answering).

Everything appraisers, teams, and firms ask.

The platform

Who it's for

Integrations

Client experience

AI (ASSIST IQ)

UAD 3.6

Pricing & getting started

Still have questions?