Stay with UDATA if
you've already configured dozens of templates over the years, you rely on the UDATA Store as your primary source of findings, and your offline tablet workflow meets 100% of your needs.
Switching from UDATA to Lumos: what you need to know before deciding
UDATA has been a fixture in Quebec's inspection landscape for over two decades. Lumos is a next-generation platform built around modern technology, user experience, and AI specialized in practice standards (BNQ 3009-500 and more). Here's an honest comparison across the five dimensions that truly matter in your daily work.
In 60 seconds
Consider Lumos if
you want a modern experience, the ability to use field capture where the system starts doing the writing work for you (drafting assistance, compliance checking), and for your client or buyer to receive more than just a PDF attachment.
Field capture
With UDATA, you collect data in a dedicated offline tablet app. You take photos, fill in fields, annotate. The report gets built later, using your notes as raw material.
With Lumos, you dictate your observations out loud during the inspection and take photos as you go. The AI analyzes what you say and what's in your photos, generating a structured finding while you continue. You're not collecting data — you're producing your draft. You can also work more traditionally and import your photos after the inspection. Flexibility is key.
| Lumos | UDATA | |
|---|---|---|
| Hands-free voice capture | Built-in | Not announced |
| Photo annotations (arrows, frames, text) | Native, linked to finding | Basic |
| Web and mobile | Cloud, laptop, tablet and mobile | Not announced |
| Native mobile app iOS + Android offline | Lumos Capture, offline-first | Dedicated tablet app |
| Google Street View + MLS pre-fill | Yes | Not announced |
What changes
with UDATA, capture feeds the writing later. With Lumos, capture is the writing.
AI in the report
With UDATA, there's no generative AI. You select findings from your library, adapt them, and write the rest by hand.
With Lumos, the AI proposes a structured draft from your voice and photos. It's not a generic LLM like ChatGPT. It's an AI trained specifically on the BNQ 3009-500 standard, the Quebec Civil Code, building codes, and inspection documentation. Each finding goes through two levels of review before you approve, correct, or reject it.
| Lumos | UDATA | |
|---|---|---|
| AI-generated findings | With human validation | Not announced |
| AI specialized in BNQ + Civil Code | Yes | Not announced |
| 2-level quality review | Automated | Manual |
| AI assistant on standards | Built-in | Not announced |
| Findings bank | 1,165 bilingual, BNQ-qualified (710 pre-purchase, 455 pre-delivery) | 650+ templates announced |
| Using the software without any AI features | Yes, fully functional | Not applicable, UDATA announces no AI features |
What changes
Lumos AI doesn't write for you. It saves you the most tedious hour of your day.
BNQ 3009-500 and REIBH 2027
With UDATA, compliance depends entirely on how you've configured your templates. You maintain the component structure, mandatory fields, and descriptive text rules yourself.
With Lumos, the standard is the structure. The editor is organized component by component, mandatory fields are built in, and a visual gauge alerts you in real time to coverage gaps before you close the inspection.
| Lumos | UDATA | |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time BNQ compliance gauge | Yes | Not announced |
| Component-based structure | Native | Depends on configuration |
| Ready for the standard REIBH will make mandatory | Yes | Requires configuration |
What changes
you no longer need to maintain your own compliant template. The standard is the tool.
What your buyer receives
With UDATA, you deliver a PDF by email. It's clean, professional, standard.
With Lumos, your buyer receives a secure link that opens their client portal, with no account to create: the interactive web report first — section-by-section navigation, full-screen photos and videos, priority filtering — but also the signed agreement, the invoice and the documents you made available to them. That is where they sign whatever is left to sign and upload whatever you asked for. Accessible on phone, tablet, or computer. The professional PDF remains available for those who want to download it.
| Lumos | UDATA | |
|---|---|---|
| Client portal with no account: documents, signature, uploads | One secure link per client | Not announced |
| Secure interactive web report | Yes | Not announced |
| Customizable PDF (logo, colors) | Complete | Standard |
| Marketing (contact info, Google reviews, social media) | Integrated in web report | Limited to PDF |
What changes
your report becomes an extension of your brand, not just an attachment.
Managing your business
With UDATA, the software stops at report production. For client onboarding, AIBQ/APCHQ agreements, signatures, invoicing, and Google reviews, you use other tools.
With Lumos, everything lives in one place. Proposal with service agreement sent in one click, quote and agreement signed online, invoicing with automatic GST and QST calculation, embeddable service request widget for your website, Google review automation, multi-seat team management with AI Assistant tracking per member. The project's Document Center keeps the status and the history of every document, from draft to signature, and chases your client on its own when they owe you one.
| Lumos | UDATA | |
|---|---|---|
| Document Center: status and history of every document | By inspection, by status, activity feed | Not announced |
| Document requests to the client, with automatic reminders | Yes | Not announced |
| Built-in AIBQ/APCHQ agreement | Yes | Not announced |
| Invoicing + automatic GST/QST | Yes | Not announced |
| Google review automation | Yes | Not announced |
| Multi-seat team + AI Assistant tracking per member | Yes | Not announced |
| Embeddable service request widget | Yes | Not announced |
What changes
Lumos replaces three or four tools you juggle today.
Migrating from UDATA: what changes, what stays
If you're seriously considering the switch, here's what it concretely involves.
What you bring with you your own wording and standards. Lumos lets you create custom blocks on top of the base bank of 1,165 bilingual findings: 710 for pre-purchase, 455 for pre-delivery, each qualified under BNQ 3009-500 and linked to its source. If you have precise phrases you've used for years, you recreate them once in Lumos, with version history, and reuse them on every report.
What you simplify template maintenance. Most inspectors who migrate discover that what they'd built in UDATA is already provided by default in Lumos — BNQ structure, findings library, Q&A logic. Migration is often a simplification.
Good to know field capture (photos, audio, and text) works offline in Lumos Capture, the native iOS and Android app, with local storage and automatic sync when the network returns. Project creation and final report delivery happen online, in the web app.
What you gain immediately voice capture, specialized AI, BNQ compliance gauge, interactive web report for your buyers, and a unified platform for all your business management.
Pricing and getting started
See full pricing detailsLumos has two public and transparent plans.
- Starter$10 per inspection. Your first 3 inspections are free, no credit card required. Ideal if you want to test on real cases before committing.
- Pro$110 per month for unlimited inspections, advanced BNQ compliance, the unlimited AI Assistant, and unlimited assisted writing. Annual plan with two free months.
- Team$99 per additional seat per month.
- Student programfree for the duration of your inspection program, plus two months post-graduation.
UDATA doesn't publish its pricing. Before comparing numbers, ask yourself what's included in each plan: Lumos integrates invoicing, agreements, interactive reports, and team management that would require multiple additional tools with UDATA.
Questions inspectors ask us
Are my UDATA templates transferable?
Your templates aren't directly importable because Lumos has a different internal structure. However, the base bank of 1,165 bilingual findings (710 for pre-purchase, 455 for pre-delivery, each qualified under BNQ 3009-500 and linked to its source) already covers most of what you maintain in UDATA, and you can recreate your custom blocks in a few hours.
Can Lumos AI create errors I'd sign without noticing?
Every AI-generated finding goes through two levels of automatic review (missing fields, then terminology and consistency), and it's you who approves, corrects, or rejects before delivery. The final report is your work, signed by you, under your responsibility. The AI signs nothing.
Does Lumos work offline like the UDATA tablet app?
Yes. Lumos Capture, the native iOS and Android app, captures offline: photos, audio, and text are stored locally and sync automatically when the network returns. Project creation and final report delivery happen online, in the web app.
How long to become productive on Lumos after UDATA?
Most inspectors are operational within one or two inspections. The business logic (component structure, findings, photos, recommendations) stays the same. What changes is the workflow, which becomes faster with use.
Is Lumos more expensive than UDATA?
Probably yes, at the same inspection volume. Lumos isn't positioned as the cheapest option, but as a complete platform that replaces several tools. The calculation that matters is what you pay in total to produce a report, not the license cost of a single tool.
In summary
UDATA dominated Quebec by producing reports. Lumos aims higher: a complete workflow where capture already produces the draft, where the BNQ standard is the tool, and where delivery becomes an experience for your buyer. Try it on a real inspection, for free.
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This comparison is based on publicly available information at the time of publication. Features evolve. If something seems inaccurate, write to us and we'll update it.
Sources
- Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ), BNQ 3009-500 standard
- Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ)
- LégisQuébec, Civil Code of Québec
- Organisme d'autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec (OACIQ)
- Association des inspecteurs en bâtiments du Québec (AIBQ)
- Official UDATA website
- Lumos documentation, field capture and offline mode
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