Site Inspections is the log of every city visit on an issued permit: what was inspected, whether it passed, the arrival window the city gave, who the inspector is, the deficiencies to correct before re-inspection, and the photos and notices that prove it. Inspection emails from the city file onto the right visit automatically, and each record can be emailed to the trades or added to your calendar with one click.
How inspections get managed today
Once a permit is issued, the work moves from the office to the site, and the record-keeping usually stops. Ontario building permits require staged inspections (footings, framing, insulation, plumbing and HVAC rough-ins, final) and each is a gate for the trade that follows it. Managing them looks like this:
- Book by phone or portal. The city gives a date and an arrival window in its own words: "morning", "between 1 and 4", "next available".
- Tell the site. The superintendent hears about it by text; the trade who needs to be there hears about it from the superintendent, or does not.
- Receive the result on paper. The inspector leaves a field notice, photographed on a phone if someone thinks of it, listing deficiencies in the inspector's handwriting.
- Relay the deficiencies. The list is read out to the framer, the plumber and the electrician over the phone. Who fixed what is tracked from memory.
- Book the re-inspection. Then explain to the owner why framing is a week late.
Meanwhile the permit itself has a clock: under Ontario's Building Code Act a permit can be revoked if work is not seriously commenced or is left suspended for too long, and nobody on site is watching that date.
What the current process costs
| Failure mode | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Inspection date known only to the person who booked it | The trade is not on site; a wasted visit and a re-book |
| Field notice lost or illegible | Deficiencies corrected from memory; the re-inspection fails on the one that was missed |
| No record of which stage passed | A trade starts on work that is not yet cleared; rework behind a closed wall |
| Deficiency list relayed by phone | Nobody can say which items are done; the re-inspection is booked too early or too late |
| Nothing in the tracker after issuance | Owners lose visibility exactly when the money is being spent |
Arash Shahi's Residential Builder column argues that applicants should be able to "track application progress" in one environment. Progress does not end at issuance: for the owner paying the invoices, the inspections are the progress, and today they are the least recorded part of the whole process.
How Site Inspections works in Permits2Go
1. Log a visit
On the application's Inspections tab, log each city visit: the inspection type (footings, framing, insulation, plumbing rough-in, HVAC, final, or whatever the city calls it), its result (Not booked, Scheduled, Passed, Partial or Failed), the date, and the arrival window worded exactly as the city gave it. Add the inspector's name, title, phone and email so the next call does not start with a search. Each visit gets a short code (I-1, I-2 and so on) that everyone can refer to.
2. Keep the deficiency list current
Enter the deficiencies from the field notice as a checklist. As the site corrects each item, tick it off. The tab counts open deficiencies across all visits and shows that count as a badge, so a file that is not ready for re-inspection is obvious from anywhere in the application.
3. Attach the proof
Photograph the field notice and the corrected work and attach them to the visit. The notice the inspector left and the photo that shows the fix are on the same record as the deficiency they relate to.
4. City inspection emails file themselves
If the city emails a booking confirmation, a result or a deficiency notice to the application's inbox, it is recognised as an inspection email and filed on the Inspections tab. A notice about a visit you already logged updates that visit (adding what the email said and nothing more, so the boxes your crew already ticked stay ticked); a fresh booking after a pass or fail becomes a new record, because a re-inspection is a new visit. The attached notice is stored with the record.
5. Get the fix to the people who do it
From any visit, email the record, deficiencies and all, to the trades who have to fix it. The application's inbox is copied so their replies land on the file. Need to ask the inspector something? Place an automated call from the same record, with the visit's details as context, or email the inspector directly.
6. Put it on the calendar
Add any visit to your calendar with one click. The invite carries the site address and the arrival window, a reminder, and it updates the existing entry if the date changes rather than creating a duplicate. A suggested next step, based on the result and the open deficiencies, tells the coordinator what to do before the next visit.
What you stay in control of
- Records are written by your team; the platform only adds what a city email says and never clears a ticked deficiency.
- You choose who receives the record and what is attached.
- Booked and completed visits can be filtered separately; nothing is archived without you.
The workflow after
| Step | Before | With Site Inspections |
|---|---|---|
| Booking | Known to one person | On the application and on the calendar |
| Result | A photographed field notice, somewhere | Result, notice and photos on the visit record |
| Deficiencies | Relayed by phone, tracked from memory | A checklist ticked off as the site corrects it |
| City notices | Re-typed, if at all | Filed onto the right visit automatically |
| Telling the trades | Phone calls | The record emailed, with replies on file |
| Owner visibility | None after issuance | Every visit and its outcome on the file |
Inspections close the loop that intake opened: the same application that described the project now records how it was built and signed off. The dashboard shows the file's status through issuance; the Inspections tab carries it to the final pass.
Frequently asked questions
Does an inspection email from the city create a new record every time?
No. A notice about a visit you already logged updates that visit, adding what the email said without clearing any deficiency your crew has ticked. A fresh booking after a Passed or Failed visit becomes a new record, because a re-inspection is a new visit.
Can I send the deficiency list to my trades?
Yes. From any visit you can email the record, including the deficiencies and attachments, to the trades who have to fix it. The application’s inbox is copied so their replies come back onto the file.
What if the calendar date changes?
Add the visit to your calendar again and the existing entry is updated rather than duplicated. The invite carries the site address, the arrival window as the city worded it, and a reminder.
This guide is general information, not legal or professional advice. Permit requirements, by-laws and fees change and vary by municipality — always confirm the current rules with your local building department before you design or build.
Industry figures cited above are from “Enough is Enough” by Arash Shahi, CEO of LandLogic, published in Residential Builder magazine.