I have found that splitting up tasks with my partners has allowed each of us to focus on those specific items which makes it more effective and efficient.

There are a couple of specific items of concern, newbie questions my husband and I have tossed around, I would love anybody's insight (and yes, I'm piggybacking off of @Johnny Alvarez's thread, ha!)

Feel free to PM me if you has specific items you are talking about and I can tell you what I have seen or paid (if I have). 

Start talking to property managers, and agents to get a feel for the market and what to expect for area-specific items. 

Specifically you can only charge them for damage for the specific item they damaged  - so if they put a hole in the wall you can only charge to fix the hole. 

Most cities use the IRC as the basis for their building codes, and just add on area specific items.

What I've done is "reverse engineer" the BP calculators and create my own spreadsheets that incorporate specific items I felt the calculators were missing (minor details and region specific items). 

You may change to a spreadsheet for specific items once you reach a point that way of tracking makes sense.  

What is the whole list of specific items and amounts the tenant is being charged for?

This may help them understand better what may work for you instead of just specific items.