Tree Inventory AI

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to the most common questions about Tree Inventory AI — pricing, data ownership, AI accuracy, offline support, platforms, security, and legal scope.

Quick answers to the questions we get most. If yours isn't here, Troubleshooting covers technical problems and support contact.

Quick Start

  • Pricing: Pro tier free for the first 100 arborists; standard pricing kicks in after.
  • Your data: Yours. Export anytime as CSV, GeoJSON, or PDF.
  • AI: Best-in-class species ID, but always editable. Not a replacement for a licensed arborist.
  • Offline: Cloud-first today; offline capture is on the roadmap.
  • Platforms: Native iOS, native Android, web dashboard.

Pricing and billing

How much does it cost? The Pro tier is free for the first 100 arborists who sign up — that's the early-access window we're in right now. After that, standard pricing applies (published on the pricing page). If you signed up early, your free tier persists.

Is there a free trial? Yes — every new account gets full Pro access during the beta. There's no credit card required to sign up.

What happens when the free tier ends? You'll get a heads-up email at least 30 days before. You can choose to upgrade, downgrade to a free plan (limited captures per month), or export your data and leave. Nothing gets deleted without explicit consent.

How do I update my payment method? Web dashboard → Settings → Billing → Update payment method. Stripe handles the actual payment data — we don't store card numbers.

Can I get an invoice for accounting? Yes. Settings → Billing → Invoice history shows every past charge with downloadable PDFs.

Data ownership

Who owns the data I capture? You do. Every tree, photo, voice note, and report belongs to your organization. We host it on your behalf, but it's your data.

Can I export my data? Yes. CSV (full inventory), GeoJSON (geographic), and PDF (formatted reports) exports are all available from the web dashboard. Nothing is locked in.

What happens if I cancel my account? You get a 30-day window to export everything. After that, captured data is purged from active systems. Backups roll off after 90 days.

Does Tree Inventory AI use my data to train AI? No. Customer captures are not used to train our species ID models or any other model. We use publicly available datasets and licensed reference imagery for training.

Can I delete a customer's data on request? Yes. From the customer detail screen, ... → Delete customer. This removes the customer, all their addresses, and all trees captured at those addresses. Useful for GDPR / CCPA compliance with end-clients.

AI accuracy

How accurate is the species identification? For common North American urban species (oaks, maples, sycamores, etc.), accuracy is typically above 90% with a clear photo. Cultivars, exotic species, and off-season photos (no leaves) drop accuracy. Always verify in the field — every field is editable.

What about DBH and height? Visual estimates only. Use a DBH tape and a clinometer (or laser hypsometer) for measurements that go into formal reports. The AI's estimates are starting points, not final values.

Can I trust the condition rating for risk assessments? No — not on its own. The AI flags visible signs of decline (deadwood, cavities, lean) but cannot assess root health, internal decay, or load-bearing capacity. For formal hazard assessments, see TRAQ Hazard Rating.

What model does the AI use? The capture pipeline uses Claude Vision and GPT-4o Vision (cloud-hosted). The exact mix changes as new models ship — we route to the best one available for each task.

Why does the AI sometimes get small trees wrong? Young trees often look similar across species — mature bark, leaf shape, and overall form are what distinguish them. For trees under ~5 years, expect lower confidence. Add a leaf or bark close-up as a second photo to improve the inference.

Offline support

Can I use the app without a connection? Not for capture, currently. AI species ID and GPS-pin saving need a network. You can browse already-captured trees offline, but new captures will fail without a connection.

When is offline coming? It's one of the most-requested features and is in active design. No firm date yet — we want to ship it well rather than half-broken.

What about poor connections? LTE is enough. The bottleneck is photo upload bandwidth — a single high-resolution photo is ~2-4 MB. On a weak signal, capture takes longer but generally completes.

Platforms

Which platforms are supported? Native iOS, native Android, and a web dashboard at app.treeinventory.ai. All three sync the same data.

Is the mobile app a WebView wrapper? No. It's built with React Native + Expo — native UI, native camera, native GPS. Performance and feel match a fully native app.

Does it work on tablets? Yes — both iPad and Android tablets. The layout adapts. Some users prefer tablets for the bigger screen during markup work; most stick with a phone in the field.

What's the minimum OS version? iOS 15+ and Android 9+. Older devices will install but may hit performance issues with the camera and AI features.

Is there a desktop app? No standalone desktop app — the web dashboard at app.treeinventory.ai is the desktop experience. It works in any modern browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge).

Team and organizations

Can multiple arborists work in the same account? Yes — invite teammates from the Team page on the web dashboard. Everyone in the org sees the same customers, addresses, and trees.

What roles exist? Admin (manages team and billing), Member (full capture and edit access), Viewer (read-only). More granular roles are on the roadmap.

Can one user belong to multiple organizations? Yes — common for contractors who work with several companies. Switch orgs from the Settings menu in the mobile app or the org switcher in the web sidebar. You can only be active in one org at a time; data is fully isolated between them.

What happens to a teammate's captures if they leave? Captures stay in the org. Removing a teammate revokes their access but does not delete their work.

Is there a maximum team size? No hard cap on the Pro tier. Larger orgs (50+ users) — get in touch and we'll work out an enterprise arrangement.

Security and privacy

Where is my data hosted? On Supabase (which runs on AWS). Database is in the US (Vercel + Supabase US regions). Photos are stored in Supabase Storage with the same regional residency.

How is my data isolated from other organizations? Postgres Row-Level Security (RLS). Every query filters by org_id enforced at the database layer — even a bug in the application layer cannot leak data across orgs. We audit RLS policies regularly.

Is data encrypted? In transit: TLS 1.3 everywhere. At rest: AES-256 (handled by Supabase / AWS).

Do you have SSO? Google sign-in is supported. SAML / OIDC for enterprise orgs is on the roadmap — get in touch if you need it.

What if there's a security incident? We notify affected customers within 72 hours of confirming an incident, with details of what happened and what you should do. Our security contact is security@treeinventory.ai.

Legal and scope

Are you licensed arborists? No — Tree Inventory AI is a software company. The product is a tool for licensed arborists to use; it does not replace the judgment of a credentialed professional.

Can I use Tree Inventory AI reports for legal purposes (insurance claims, permits, court)? The reports are tools — the credibility comes from the licensed arborist who reviews and signs them. Generated PDFs can be customized with your credentials, business info, and signature. Consult your local AHJ (authority having jurisdiction) on what they accept.

Are TRAQ ratings legally binding? Hazard ratings (TRAQ or otherwise) are professional opinions, not legal verdicts. They're admissible as expert testimony in many jurisdictions when produced by a TRAQ-credentialed professional. The platform helps you document the rating; the credential is yours.

Do you provide arboricultural advice? No. The AI's recommendations (e.g. "consider crown reduction") are starting points based on visible features. The actual decision is yours, informed by ground inspection, client constraints, and local conditions.

Where do I read the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy? Both are linked from the footer of treeinventory.ai, the dashboard, and the mobile app's Settings → About page.

Common Questions

How do I report a bug? Email support@treeinventory.ai with reproduction steps, your app version, and a screenshot if possible. Same-day response during the beta.

Can I request a feature? Yes — same support email, or use the feedback link in the web dashboard's Settings menu. Feature requests are reviewed weekly.

Where can I see what's coming next? The public changelog is at treeinventory.ai/changelog (when available). Roadmap items are mentioned in-context throughout these docs — search for "roadmap."

Do you have an API? Not yet. A read API for inventory data is planned. If you have a specific integration use case, get in touch.

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Last updated 2026-05-03