Software Updates: Add Recipients to Inspection Status Emails and More

Here at Cloudpermit, we take pride in updating our software so it’s always serving your local government needs. Every three weeks, we release new features to ensure Cloudpermit is growing with you and your community.  

Learn more about our latest product updates below and explore some how-to videos on our Vimeo page.  

And hey, if you think of anything you want to see in the future, reach out and let us know.  

Dispatchers Can Add Additional Recipients to Scheduled Inspection Emails

Dispatchers can now add additional recipients to a scheduled inspection confirmation email to notify Applicants, Owners, Builders, and/or any other relevant party. Dispatchers can now select any party in the Workspace as a recipient and by entering an email address, they can choose to send the inspection confirmation to any address regardless of whether the recipient is a registered user in Cloudpermit or not.

This new functionality allows Dispatchers to notify plumbers, electricians, and all other relevant parties when the inspection is scheduled to be held. Prior to this enhancement, the notification had to be done manually outside of Cloudpermit.  

Refund Bills are Automatically Generated for Refundable Fee Items

Refund bills are now automatically generated if there are refundable fee items, such as indemnities or deposits are paid with a permit bill. The refund bill is generated as a draft and can be released after a municipality user confirms that the bill is correct. Once the bill is confirmed, a PDF invoice/receipt is automatically generated.  

In order to get this feature into use, municipal admin users must specify the refundable fees in the fees schedule management.

New Process to Support Phased Plan Approvals

Some states in the US allow Phased Plan Approvals. This means that a building permit can be issued until a particular phase, such as until foundations and footings are complete, and the following phases are approved later.  

Each subsequent phase needs a separate submission of application and plans, review, and an approval or a permit. The phased permits are supplemental to the primary building permit, i.e., numbering is a revision of the main building permit, and the Phased Plan Approval can be initiated in the building permit under the Work phase. After signing off and paying the Phased Plan Approval, the applicant submits it to the local government authority for further review and approval or permit issuance.

New Project Type, Categories, and Work Targets

Cloudpermit contains a set of Project types, categories, work types, and work targets that local governments can use to configure the necessary applications and permits for their jurisdiction. As Cloudpermit is quickly expanding to new areas in North America, we have added new alternatives to our configuration to meet the local ordinances and by-laws. Some examples of the new values are:  

• New Project Type: “Mixed Use” (both Canada and the US)
• New Work Targets in the Miscellaneous Category: “Site Alteration,” “Excavation,” Solid Fuel Burning Device,” etc. (Canada only)
• New Work Targets for the Signs Category: “Monument sign,” “Wall sign,” and “Other” (US only)  

Note: These new options are disabled by default and the municipal admin user must enable them in the configuration before they can be used.

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