Choosing TAB software for the way your team works.

Bring a job, not just a list of features.

Choose one representative project, remove client-sensitive information, and use the same example in each software demonstration. Include an air system, a hydronic sheet if relevant, a drawing revision, a site photo and an unresolved deficiency. Let the technician who will enter readings and the person who signs off the report both take part.

1. Air balancing: follow a reading through the job

   Start with a drawing, a terminal ID and its design airflow. Enter a measured value, make an adjustment and check how the result reaches the field sheet and report. Ask how unread terminals are distinguished from readings outside the project tolerance. A blank value should never silently become a measured zero.

2. Hydronic balancing: keep the equipment context

   Use a representative water-balancing job in the demonstration. Ask where equipment identifiers, design requirements, readings and field notes live, and which calculations and units the software supports. Check the result against your agency’s established method before relying on it.

3. Site photos: find the evidence later

   Bring an equipment photo and an installation issue. Ask the vendor to attach them to the correct project, then find them again from another team member’s view. Check captions, access, export quality and whether a reviewer can understand what each image documents without a separate message thread.

4. Offline work: demonstrate the whole return trip

   Ask what must be downloaded before leaving the office. Disconnect the actual device you plan to use, enter readings, close and reopen the app, then reconnect. Ask what happens when two technicians edit the same record, and how the team can tell whether work has synchronized.

5. TAB reporting: start with your deliverable

   Bring a redacted report that your agency actually issues. Walk through its field sheets, drawings, deficiencies, calibration information and final review. Ask which elements are supported, which need configuration and what remains manual. A statement about AABC, CAABC or NEBB workflows is not a substitute for checking your own reporting requirements.

6. Team access and cost: count the whole crew

   Compare the seats you need, available features, setup, ongoing support and access after an introductory period. Ask how you retrieve project records if you leave. A clear monthly price is useful only when the team understands what is included and what happens next.

Where TAB Space fits.

TAB Space is a workspace for air and hydronic balancing teams, connecting drawing-led field readings, project photos, deficiencies and report preparation. The interactive air-balancing example shows measured versus design airflow, terminal references and a branch total using fictional data.

Choose the browser workspace or Windows application. Android and iOS applications and support are planned. Supported offline workflows and agency-specific reporting formats are reviewed with your team during Founder Access. TAB Space is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by AABC, CAABC or NEBB.

This guide is published by the TAB Space team. Use the same checks to evaluate us: bring your reporting format, your devices and the field work you need to complete.

A report should reflect your agency’s requirements.

For the requirements behind your own review, start with the relevant association’s materials: AABC, CAABC and NEBB procedural standards. Confirm the applicable project specification and your agency’s reporting process separately from the software demonstration.