Check-in and check-out reports serve different purposes, and skipping one weakens the other.
Check-in: setting the baseline
A check-in report captures the property’s condition, contents and meter readings before a tenant moves in, the reference point every later comparison depends on.
Check-out: measuring the change
A check-out report compares the property against that baseline, room by room, to establish what has changed since move-in.
Why you need both
Without a check-in report, a check-out report has nothing to compare against, and deposit deductions become much harder to justify.