Why damage accuracy matters
The exported inventory is an official legal record. An un-noted scratch becomes a claim, a fabricated one is worse, and every code waits for a person to confirm it.
Van Line Pro exists to record one thing above all others: the true condition of a shipper's goods before they move. The inventory you export is treated as an official legal inventory. It is the document a claim is settled against. That makes pre-existing damage the single most important thing you capture, and getting it right the whole point of the app.
Important: Everything in Van Line Pro is built around one rule. No damage reaches the inventory until a person confirms it. Read this article before you record your first condition code.
The record cuts both ways
An origin inventory protects the shipper and the carrier at the same time, but only if it is accurate.
- An un-noted defect becomes a claim. If a dresser arrives with a scratch that was there at pickup, and the inventory doesn't show it, the carrier can be held liable for damage it never caused. What you didn't write down is now the carrier's problem.
- A fabricated defect is worse. Marking damage that isn't really there, or guessing at a code to move faster, puts a false statement on a legal document. It undermines the whole inventory and can expose the company. When you are not sure, leave it off and look again, never invent it.
The goal is a record that matches what is actually in front of you, no more and no less.
The confirm-first rule
Van Line Pro never records damage on its own. Every path into the inventory ends with a person deciding.
- You build each condition by hand in the Item Editor, tapping where the damage is and what it is. See Build a condition line.
- AI suggestions are only suggestions. When AI photo analysis is on, the app can look at a photo and propose damage, but nothing is added until you review it and tap Add. See How AI damage suggestions work.
- Walk-and-talk notes wait too. Damage you say out loud during a LiDAR scan lands on the review screen unconfirmed until you keep it. See Scan a room with LiDAR.
If a code is on the inventory, it is because a person put it there. That is the promise the document makes.
What counts as pre-existing damage
Record only damage that is clearly visible and already on the item at origin.
- Report what you can plainly see. A real scratch, dent, chip, tear, or stain that is on the piece before it moves.
- Reject shadows, reflections, and glare. A dark line across a photo is often a shadow, not a gouge. Look at the actual piece, not just the picture.
- Don't code normal wear as damage. Every used piece shows some age. Note defects, not the fact that a ten-year-old sofa looks ten years old, unless there is a specific defect to record.
- When in doubt, verify before you record. Move closer, change the light, ask the shipper. It is always better to confirm than to guess.
Tip: If AI suggests something you can't confirm with your own eyes on the real piece, discard it. The photo is evidence, but your inspection is the record.
Good to know
- The condition photos back up the codes. Photos you attach to an item feed the condition-photos appendix on the exported inventory, so a code has a picture to stand behind it. See Photographing damage.
- High value is separate from damage. Flagging a piece as High Value (HV) records its worth, not its condition. See Handling symbols and declared value.
- Numbers are permanent. Each piece is stickered once and never renumbered, so a claim can always be tied back to the exact line on the inventory.