No More Lost Files: A County Goes Digital With Inspections

Not long ago, inspections were done the old-fashioned way in Barren County, Kentucky.

Inspectors did everything on paper, adding up to an increasing number of files to track as community development picked up in this south-central area of the Bluegrass State.

Sometimes, “somebody would file it in the wrong spot, so trying to find it took forever,” said Building & Electrical Inspector Korey Wood.

That all changed a couple of years ago when Barren County adopted Cloudpermit’s software for building permitting and code enforcement. Recently, the county added a Bluebeam integration to streamline plan reviews and get even more done right in the software platform.

It's a lot quicker with Cloudpermit,” he said. “You just type in the address, and it pulls it up right there.”

Choosing Cloudpermit’s Inspections Software

Wood researched software options as Barren County prepared to move to digital permitting and code enforcement. The City of Glasgow, Kentucky, also contracts with Barren County to oversee inspections, so the software needed to be able to improve municipal processes and services that affect about 45,000 residents.

He said the choice ultimately came down to Cloudpermit and one other local government software option.

Cloudpermit was a lot better because the other one, you had to pay for a license for each user,” he said.

In addition to including unlimited users, Cloudpermit also offers unlimited storage — while other companies sometimes charge per user or for additional storage.

That means the six municipal users of Cloudpermit for Barren County can complete inspections, track and approve permits, and manage code enforcement all in the same local government platform — without additional fees for user seats.

It also works well for staff and citizens and helps get the job done faster than ever.

Digital Inspections Are Better Inspections

For the most part, the inspection process works pretty much the same as it used to in Barren County, at least in terms of the major steps to get through — it’s just much more efficient now that it’s online instead of on paper.

Most of the time, I’d have a big stack of papers in my truck,” Wood said. “I’d print one out, then they would file it away.”

Now, he adds pictures to a digital inspection report and completes the checklist online using municipal inspections software on his phone or laptop.

It’s a lot quicker, and I think it’s easier,” he said.

Considering that the county did about 1,500 permits in 2025 — each requiring multiple inspections — it adds up to a major time savings for Wood, who works on building, electrical, and HVAC inspections.

It’s also made things much easier to track and find as needed. One recent example involved a claim from someone that their generator had been inspected, but photos from the actual inspection at the property proved it was added later without approval.

Wood said now that everything is backed up online and accessible 24/7 through the Cloudpermit platform, the days of misplaced paperwork and messy file cabinets are gone.

Before that, there’d be some files that slid down, and you couldn’t find them afterwards, and it always happened to be the one you wanted,” he said.

Keeping Up With New Possibilities

Switching to a digital workflow brought about immediate changes, and Wood said new benefits keep emerging as Cloudpermit’s software evolves and adds new features.

Some of the newer benefits have come from overall software enhancements, such as a September 2025 update that enhanced fees management and allowed for smarter fee structures and calculated variable fees.

More recently, Cloudpermit launched NoVa, a built-in AI smart assistant for government staff and citizens to ask questions and get instant answers 24/7. He said he thinks it’ll be a nice new way for people to get help all on their own as they apply for building permits and go through the process, especially because about 80% of applicants choose to apply online now.

Wood has agreed to be a reference to Cloudpermit, and said he was able to share the many benefits he’s experienced when he recently spoke with a peer in another municipality who was considering the software.

I said it’s been good for its ability to do inspections online and keep track of all our photos and everything,” he said. “It has made it a lot easier.”