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Twelve years ago, Rhodri McAtee AssocRICS took the well-trodden path from professional rugby to the property industry.
He joined an expanding surveying firm that was, in a bid to improve its efficiency as the business grew, developing a bespoke software tool.
Before the firm’s initial development of the software, he recalls how surveyors would go out to a site with their Dictaphone, the firm would employ a costly transcription service to produce a long document, and the individual surveyors would then undertake a laborious edit and rewrite. It had become obvious time might be better spent doing something more productive; there must be another way of doing this.
The ex-rugby professional brought a fresh perspective and together with his colleagues, they refined and expanded the software tool into Scafol.IO – designed to make survey reporting more efficient, user-friendly, and aligned with the needs of the industry.
The results were transformative: the company grew substantially into a team of 45 surveyors with national coverage. Staff retention improved dramatically, and recruitment became far easier, as the appeal of the software attracted talent eager to work with an innovative reporting system.
Development of the survey writing software evolved into a full customer relationship management (CRM) system with integrated diary, invoicing and analytics – everything necessary to support the firm’s daily needs.
The success of Scafol.IO within the business meant it became a standalone, independent company and McAtee was appointed director of operations.
“Pressure leads to errors. As a professional sportsman, I played in games where I wasn’t under pressure, and I felt like I could do whatever I wanted,” says McAtee. “But in a final, I was more prone to mistakes because I was on edge. It’s the same for a surveyor. There can be serious consequences if you mess up. If you can take that pressure away by facilitating a more efficient use of their time, it means they're going to be delivering a better product.”
He found that none of the industry software available addressed all the issues satisfactorily. “Normally, you get a tech company that designs something, but they don't necessarily have hands-on experience with what they're designing or, as in this case, the challenges faced by a surveyor and their business. They're good at coding, but have they surveyed property? We wanted this to be designed by surveyors, for surveyors.”
The upshot, after six years of development, including two of beta testing in the field with active surveyors, is the Scafol.IO app. It aims to provide an all-in-one solution for surveys and valuations, capturing data on site in real time, then integrating a CRM system to bring a full range of functions together in a single user-friendly platform.
Convenience and compliance
The app is designed to help surveyors and surveying firms achieve the highest professional standards, work more efficiently, and grow their businesses.
When a surveyor is on site, they can use the app to input property data directly using a mobile phone or tablet. The app offers a curated library of standard phrases that can be personalised, supported by an intelligent filtering system that suggests relevant phrases based on the property, associated condition ratings, and cross-references across multiple sections, all editable with built-in speech recognition, or by typing manually. Surveyors can add photos, videos, drone footage and damp meter readings to the report as they go. Once the survey is complete, Scafol compiles the data into an editable report that can be exported in a variety of formats for sharing.
The CRM function brings together a variety of day-to-day tasks, reducing the need for duplicated entries and removing the expense of paying for subscriptions to multiple systems. It includes the ability to connect directly with lead sources and respond automatically, make bookings, assign jobs, track progress and send invoices and emails. All transaction data is then stored securely for the required statutory period, ensuring compliance while keeping everything easily accessible.
Because the app is cloud-based it can be seen across multiple devices and from multiple log-ins. “It is a one-stop shop for everything you need to run a residential surveying company without multiple systems, logins and associated costs,” says McAtee.
A new feature currently being developed is a desktop research function. Surveyors currently need to check multiple websites for information such as flood risk, radon, geology, Google mapping, property boundaries, nearby planning permissions, and conservation area status. Scafol will undertake a “data scrape” exercise, with the user having only to input the address to bring together all that information automatically.
In the future that function will only become more important, as surveys include an ever-widening range of data, argues McAtee. Energy and environmental performance metrics are given more weight and need to be reported in more depth, while a new set of RICS home survey standards are out for consultation and will inevitably – and he notes rightly – raise the bar for reporting.
By employing their time more efficiently and utilising the app’s framework and library of shared documents, surveyors can be more confident of meeting the required professional thresholds, suggests McAtee. “Whether it's a small business with sole accountability, or a big company trying to make sure all its people adhere to company standards.”
“We wanted this to be designed by surveyors, for surveyors” Rhodri McAtee AssocRICS, Scafol
Boosting the bottom line
As well as supporting professional standards, the app aims to boost surveying firms’ bottom line by reducing administrative burdens and freeing up time for fee-earning work.
In larger firms there is often a high volume of administrative work passing through the hands of back-office teams. By completing those tasks more efficiently the cost of the administrative burden per fee earner is reduced, improving profitability and enabling quicker expansion. “When you’re scaling up a business, one person always has to do the job of two for a period before you can earn enough to justify taking someone new on, and this enables you to do that,” says McAtee.
He believes the app also enhances a surveying business’ competitive edge, primarily by improving the quality of surveys, but also by enhancing speed of delivery. “When someone is buying a house, they want that sale to go through as quickly as possible. They don't want to be waiting three weeks for a report. If you want to help your company achieve quicker survey turnaround and improve client satisfaction, this will help you do that while still adhering to the RICS regulations.”
However, he stresses that more efficient time management will also benefit surveyors by helping them achieve better work-life balance – which can be tough in a profession where they often need to produce multiple reports a day to meet expectations. Meanwhile, by reducing the risk of burnout, businesses can also reduce the costs associated with staff turnover and recruitment.
The firm is experimenting with incorporating artificial intelligence functions within the app, but they are still at a developmental stage. McAtee observes that many in the property industry are still nervous about tech adoption. But he argues that adopting a tool that can adapt to incorporate new innovations will help to reduce the risk of being stranded by any sudden leap forward.
While is not yet clear what kind of impact AI will have on the profession, McAtee thinks surveyors have little immediate cause to worry. “I am still of the firm belief, and I haven’t been swayed otherwise, that a computer will never have a management role. Even when AI assists in drafting a report, a surveyor is still essential to review and approve it, ensuring accuracy and accountability. AI can potentially act as a powerful tool to enhance our reporting, helping surveyors work more efficiently while maintaining the highest professional standards.”
Scafol has gained recognition by being shortlisted in the Outstanding Contribution to Surveying by an SME category in the RICS UK Awards 2025. The award highlights small to medium-sized enterprises that are reshaping the surveying profession through technological innovation, improvements in safety and efficiency, or solutions with a lasting positive impact.
Nonetheless, it is vital that the app keeps improving based on user feedback, says McAtee. “We are always looking to pivot and change direction and adapt according to what we hear from people at the coalface.”
