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Written by: Joblogic
An audit-ready compliance system links every statutory check to the asset it covers, schedules it as planned work, and captures the signed evidence on site, so the record exists before an auditor asks. Joblogic's field service management software holds the asset, the schedule and the certificate on one record. How you build the system changes as your team and contract volume grow, so this guide covers each stage, from a small team to multi-contract FM.
On a busy PPM contract, an audit request can arrive while the evidence still sits in paper job sheets and a subcontractor's inbox. Each missing record then has to be chased under time pressure.
What should audit compliance software do for FM contractors?
Audit compliance software for FM contractors should plan each check against a site asset and hold the visit evidence on that same record. Joblogic works this way, with each planned check and its visit evidence held on one asset record. Use that asset-level link as your test when you compare it with generic audit tools.
The government's Facilities Management Standard 001 (FMS 001) covers organisations implementing a computer-aided facilities management (CAFM) system. It expects them to select and implement that system in a structured way. FMS 001, published on 16 March 2022, is mandatory for central government organisations. It reaches contractors where their contract requires them to follow it.
Why do FM contractors fail compliance audits?
FM contractors fail compliance audits when they can't show that each statutory check was carried out and overseen by a competent person. Watch for these record gaps on each contract:
- The asset is on the PPM schedule, and its last certificate on file has expired or was never uploaded.
- The engineer attended, and the job sheet has no readings, photos, or signature.
- A specialist subcontractor completed the check, and their report never reached the office.
- The asset register still lists removed equipment or misses newly installed plant.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) can require improvements, stop the job, and prosecute, according to its HSG159 guide on managing contractors, which is written for chemical businesses but useful elsewhere. An inspector who finds a contravention can serve an improvement notice. Where there's a risk of serious personal injury, the inspector can serve a prohibition notice.
Why do paper-based compliance records fail at audit?
Paper-based compliance records fail at audit because nobody can search them by asset or due date when the request arrives. An auditor asking for every overdue check on a site needs a filtered list, and a box file only gives you pages. Paper also has to last. A sheet filed today may need to be produced five years later under the F-gas and legionella rules in the table below. A job sheet missing a reading can't be corrected once the engineer has left site.
What do HSE inspectors and auditors ask to see in field service and FM records?
HSE inspectors can require you to produce any document the law says you must keep, plus any other record they need to see. Client and certification audits look for the same evidence, plus whatever the contract or standard adds, such as SLA performance. Joblogic holds each of these records against the asset, so the answer to an audit request is a search, not a hunt through files. HSE doesn't publish a fixed list, so the table below sets out the records that section 20 powers and the regimes in step 1 point to. Failing to produce a document an inspector requires can be a separate offence under section 33(1)(e) of the Act.
| What they ask to see | Why they can ask | How Joblogic helps |
|---|---|---|
| Inspection and test certificates (gas, lifting, F-gas, legionella) | The law requires you to keep these. An HSE inspector can require health and safety records and take copies, and the Environment Agency can ask to see F-gas records. | Joblogic holds each certificate on the asset it covers. Joblogic Compliance locks completed certificates with detailed audit logs. |
| Risk assessments and their review records (fire, legionella) | Article 9 of the Fire Safety Order requires a record of the assessment or review. L8 requires a written record where there are five or more employees. | Joblogic's custom form builder lets you build your own digital forms for the checks your contracts require. |
| Maintenance and inspection history for each asset | An inspector can also require any other document they need to see, which covers proof that planned checks were carried out. | Joblogic's PPM schedules set the due dates, and each visit's evidence goes onto the asset's service history. Engineers scan the asset's QR code on site to open that record. |
| Who did the work, and whether they were competent | A lifting examination must be done by a competent person, and HSE's contractor guidance puts duties on both sides. | Joblogic Compliance tracks engineer qualifications with expiry alerts, and links certificates to jobs and assets so only qualified engineers are dispatched. |
| How you control subcontractors | HSE's INDG368 leaflet says the organisation using a contractor and the contractor both have duties. | Joblogic's Subcontractor Portal, listed in the Joblogic Marketplace with pricing on request, lets you assign jobs with instructions and deadlines, share compliance forms, and get completed forms, certificates and photos returned to the job record. |
| Proof that records are genuine and correctly dated | HSE's enforcement guide for its inspectors says they may need to prove an entry was falsely dated, and can have a computer examined to do it. | Joblogic Compliance locks completed certificates with detailed audit logs, and collects signatures and photo evidence on each certificate. |
| Records produced quickly and in a readable form | HSE's enforcement guide for inspectors says an inspector can ask you to print out information held on a computer. | Joblogic site asset registers can be printed or exported to Excel, and Joblogic Compliance has a searchable certificate repository. |
Customers and certification auditors also expect a complete asset register with a dated certificate against every statutory check. FMS 001 adds an estate compliance plan covering every property, with legally competent duty holders overseeing statutory compliance. FMS 001 also expects a process to review and validate high-risk compliance areas, including:
- Asbestos
- Fire risk
- Fixed wiring
- Gas installations
- Water hygiene
Facilities Management Standard 002 (FMS 002) says the asset register must include every core field in its table 4.2.1, which lists 27 fields. For audit, the fields that matter most are the SFG20 code or equivalent, criticality, maintainer, last and next activity date, and inspection report ID.
For certification audits, ISO 41001:2018 specifies requirements for an FM system. ISO currently lists it as the current edition, under revision, with Amendment 1 published in 2024.
Where should FM compliance certificates live?
FM compliance certificates should live on the asset record they cover, attached to the visit that produced them. One search on the asset then returns its full certificate history, ready to export for an audit. Joblogic's customer portal lets customers access job notes, engineer recommendations, photos, and certificates, and view their site history.
How do you build an audit-ready compliance system in five steps?
You build an audit-ready compliance system in five steps, starting with your obligations and ending with a status report the customer sees before the audit. Each step produces a record you can attach to the planned maintenance visit it covers.
1. Map every statutory and contractual obligation
Start by listing every statutory regime and contract clause that applies to each site, with its inspection interval and record retention period. Each regime below sets its own interval and retention period.
| Regime | Interval or threshold | Record retention | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gas safety checks: Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 36 | Within 12 months of installation, then at intervals of no more than 12 months | Until two further checks are made, or two years from the last check if the appliance or flue is removed | Landlord duty for residential premises let under a lease or licence in Great Britain |
| Lifting equipment: Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER), regulations 9 and 11 | At least every six months for lifting persons or lifting accessories, and at least every 12 months for other lifting equipment. Or in line with an examination scheme, plus after exceptional circumstances | Regulation 9(1) reports: until use ceases, or two years after the report for an accessory. Regulation 9(3) reports: until the next report or two years, whichever is later | Lifting equipment exposed to deterioration |
| F-gas leak checks: fluorinated gas rules, GOV.UK guidance and retained Regulation 517/2014, article 4 | Five to under 50 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e): every 12 months, or 24 with automatic leak detection. 50 to under 500 tonnes: every six months, or 12 with detection. 500 tonnes or more: every three months, or six with detection, which is mandatory at that size except for switchgear and organic Rankine cycle (ORC) equipment installed before 1 January 2017 | Five years for equipment containing five tonnes CO2e or more | Stationary refrigeration, air conditioning, heat pumps, fire protection, refrigerated truck and trailer units, switchgear and ORC in Great Britain. Labelled hermetically sealed equipment under 10 tonnes CO2e is excluded, as is switchgear with a low tested leakage rate (labelled), a pressure or density monitor, or under 6 kg of gas |
| Legionella control: HSE Approved Code of Practice L8 | No fixed interval. Review the risk assessment regularly and whenever it may be out of date. Monitoring frequency depends on the system | Monitoring, inspection, test, and check records: at least five years. Other records: while current, plus at least two years | Written record of the assessment required where there are five or more employees |
| Fire risk assessment: Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, article 9 | Reviewed regularly, and after significant change | A record of the assessment or review is required, with no employee threshold since 1 October 2023 | England and Wales only |
| Portable appliance testing: Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, regulation 4(2), and HSE FAQ | No fixed interval | No legal duty to keep records | Portable appliances |
Sources: Gas Safety regulation 36, LOLER regulation 9, LOLER regulation 11, GOV.UK guidance on F-gas leak checks, retained F-gas Regulation article 4, GOV.UK guidance on F-gas records, HSE's L8 code, Fire Safety Order article 9, Electricity at Work regulation 4, and HSE's portable appliance testing FAQ.
2. Link each obligation to an asset and a PPM schedule
Link each obligation to an asset and a recurring PPM visit, so every check has a due date and an owner. Joblogic lets schedulers set a visit frequency for each customer site, and the system creates the visit dates.
SFG20, created by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), describes itself as the industry standard for building maintenance specification. If your contract references SFG20, record each asset's SFG20 code in the register. Joblogic's SFG20 Facilities-iQ integration is a Marketplace add-on that syncs SFG20 task titles, descriptions, codes, frequencies, and criticalities. You need your own SFG20 (Facilities-iQ) account to connect it.
3. Capture evidence on site with digital forms
Joblogic's electronic forms let engineers complete a digital form at each visit, so readings and the engineer's signature are on the record before anyone leaves site. Standard forms come with the Standard plan, and Enterprise adds a custom form builder. Build each form around the evidence its regime asks for, with the asset ID on every form. On an F-gas leak check, the completed form becomes the record you keep for five years for equipment at five tonnes CO2e or more.
4. Track certificates, qualifications, and subcontractors
Track certificate and qualification expiry dates for your own engineers and your subcontractors, and check subcontractor competence before work starts. Joblogic Compliance sends automatic alerts before certificates expire, and those alerts can go to your team or to customers, so renewals don't depend on someone remembering to check a list.
HSE's INDG368 leaflet says both the organisation using a contractor and the contractor have responsibilities under health and safety law. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) define construction work to include maintenance of fixed mechanical, electrical, and gas services. The regulation 15 contractor duties attach to construction work on a project, so check whether each FM task is in scope. On a subcontracted lift examination, the regulation 2(1) definition of thorough examination requires a competent person. LOLER regulation 9 sets when that examination is due.
5. Report compliance status to customers before they ask
Report compliance status to each customer by site and asset on a regular cycle, so overdue checks surface before an audit does. Flag every check that's overdue or due within the next reporting period, and attach the matching certificates.
How do you automate compliance tracking in maintenance?
You automate compliance tracking in maintenance by letting the schedule raise due dates, capturing evidence on site, alerting before certificates expire, and showing status by asset, engineer and site. Joblogic triggers compliance tasks from planned maintenance schedules and captures the forms, certificates and evidence at job completion. Joblogic doesn't carry out compliance activities for you, but it does automate the workflow around them.
- Schedule-driven due dates: planned maintenance visits generate the checks, so no one has to remember them.
- Evidence captured at the job: engineers complete digital forms on site, and tasks can be marked mandatory so a job can't be completed until the task is done or a reason is given. Joblogic Compliance also lets you set validation rules, so a certificate can't be completed with missing fields.
- Expiry alerts: Joblogic Compliance warns you before certificates expire, with automated reminders to your team or customers.
- Status by engineer, asset, site and job: Joblogic Compliance shows each in one searchable view.
- Qualification checks: certificates link to jobs and assets, so only qualified engineers are dispatched.
Lorne Stewart Facilities Services reports that tasks like certificate uploads and data validation are increasingly automated in Joblogic, saving time and reducing manual input.
How does audit readiness change as your team and contracts grow?
Audit readiness changes with scale because the evidence you need stays the same while the number of places it can go missing keeps growing. The team sizes below are rough guides, not thresholds.
| Stage | What tends to break | Where Joblogic fits |
|---|---|---|
| Small team (up to around 10 engineers) | Certificates sit on paper or in spreadsheets, and qualification dates live in one person's head | Standard: customer and site management, asset management, standard electronic forms, recurring jobs |
| 10 to 30 engineers | Planned contracts and subcontractors arrive, and due dates live in diaries | Premium: PPM contracts, engineer tracking, audits. Joblogic Compliance for expiry alerts and status views |
| Multiple contracts and sites | Each customer wants different evidence, and audits come from customers as well as regulators | Enterprise: task and asset compliance, customer portal, custom form builder |
Plan choice also depends on the work you do. Standard suits reactive work, and PPM contracts start at Premium.
What does audit readiness look like for a small team?
For a team of around ten engineers or fewer, audit readiness means every certificate and asset record lives in one searchable place from day one. Joblogic's Standard plan covers this with customer and site management, asset management, standard electronic forms and recurring jobs, which is enough to replace paper job sheets. Keep a dated expiry list for each engineer's qualifications at this stage too. It is easy to maintain with a handful of people, and it becomes the template for everything that follows.
What changes at 10 to 30 engineers?
Between roughly 10 and 30 engineers, audit readiness stops being one person's memory and has to run from the schedule. This is usually when planned contracts and subcontractors arrive, and each brings its own evidence trail. Joblogic's Premium plan adds PPM contracts, engineer tracking and audits, so due dates come from the contract rather than from a diary. Joblogic Compliance adds expiry alerts and automated reminders, so a lapsing certificate reaches you before it reaches an auditor. Start recording subcontractor competence evidence against their jobs now, because both parties carry health and safety duties.
What changes with multiple contracts and sites?
Once you run several contracts across several sites, audits arrive from your customers as well as your regulators, and each customer may want different evidence. Joblogic's Enterprise plan adds task and asset compliance, the customer portal and a custom form builder, so you can shape forms to each contract's requirements and give customers their own view of site records. Lorne Stewart Facilities Services moved off an in-house system as its contracts became more geographically dispersed, and reports a 95% paper-free operation. On public sector contracts above £5 million, the Procurement Act KPI duty makes dated performance records part of the audit picture too. Joblogic's facilities management software is built for this kind of multi-site, multi-contract work.
Capture the evidence at the point of work, link it to the asset, and let the schedule raise the due dates. The tools change as you grow, and the habit stays the same.
Which audit compliance software features matter for FM?
The audit compliance software features that matter most for FM are locked certificates and offline mobile forms. Ask to see each one working on a real site record during a demo.
Locked certificates with a full audit trail
A locked certificate with an audit trail shows who created or changed each record and when. Ask how the system locks a certificate once it's signed, who can reopen it, and whether every later edit carries a user name and date. Joblogic Compliance is a dedicated compliance product, listed separately from the core field service management plans. It locks completed certificates with detailed audit logs, so the certificate an auditor opens is the version the engineer signed.
Offline mobile forms for engineers
Offline mobile forms let engineers record evidence in plant rooms and basements with no signal, then sync it when they reconnect. Ask whether the synced record keeps the time the engineer completed the form or the time it uploaded. Joblogic mobile forms work offline and store the data you collect locally until the device syncs with the office. Engineers need a connection to download new visit details before they go offline. Run a test job in a basement before you sign.
Which Joblogic plan includes audit and compliance features?
Joblogic's Premium plan includes Audits, an in-product tool for monitoring job performance and compliance, and task and asset compliance needs the Enterprise plan. The three plans use per-user pricing, and each one includes everything in the plan below it:
- Standard: customer and site management, asset management, standard electronic forms, and recurring jobs
- Premium: PPM contracts, engineer tracking, timesheets, and audits
- Enterprise: task and asset compliance, the customer portal, a custom form builder, and advanced reports and dashboards
- Joblogic Compliance: a dedicated compliance product, listed separately from the Standard, Premium and Enterprise plans
- Marketplace: 70+ optional apps and integrations, including the SFG20 Facilities-iQ add-on
7,000+ UK service businesses and 45,000+ users run their work on Joblogic.
How do compliance records support PPM contract renewals?
Compliance records give contract managers dated proof that every service level agreement (SLA) and statutory check was met, ready for a renewal review. Map each SLA to the records that prove it, such as on-time PPM visits by site.
On public sector contracts, the Procurement Act 2023 makes this formal. Section 52 requires at least three key performance indicators (KPIs) on contracts with an estimated value above £5 million, unless KPIs couldn't appropriately assess performance. Frameworks, concession, light-touch and private utility contracts are excluded. Section 71 requires the authority to assess performance against those KPIs and publish information at least once in every 12 months and on termination. Separately, a breach that leads to partial termination, damages or a settlement, or a failure to improve after a proper opportunity, triggers a contract performance notice, published within 30 days (GOV.UK guidance). That duty applies to most public contracts, not only those above £5 million. If a contract ends in full, a contract termination notice is published instead.
Test one site against a full audit request this month
Pick one site and try to answer a full audit request from your system in a single day. Note where you get stuck, such as an expired certificate or a subcontractor report still sitting in an inbox. That gap tells you which of the five steps to fix first, and on which contract. The fix you make on one site becomes the template for every other site on that contract.
How much of this you need depends on your contracts, your team and what your customers ask to see. Start with the gap your one-site test turns up, and build outwards from there. Joblogic's team can walk through one of your own sites with you and show where each audit record would sit. Book a demo when you're ready.
Frequently asked questions about audit compliance software for FM
Can compliance software handle both ad-hoc jobs and PPM contract compliance?
Yes, when reactive and planned jobs write to the same asset record. Joblogic handles reactive jobs and planned maintenance contracts in one field service management system. An emergency lift repair then sits in the same history as the lift's planned examinations.
Does compliance software support subcontractor compliance tracking?
Yes, when the software assigns subcontractor jobs and holds their evidence against the job. Joblogic's Subcontractor Portal, listed in the Joblogic Marketplace with pricing on request, lets you assign jobs with instructions and deadlines, share compliance forms, and get completed forms, certificates and photos returned to the job record. Keep each subcontractor's competence evidence against those jobs, because both parties carry health and safety duties.
What are the risks of failing a compliance audit in field service?
The main risks are HSE enforcement and a weaker position at contract review. Breaching an improvement or prohibition notice is an offence under section 33 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Missing evidence also leaves you without proof of SLA performance when the contract comes up for renewal.
How do you digitise compliance records for field service?
Start with the asset register, then replace paper job sheets with digital forms. Joblogic supports bulk import into multi-site asset registers, so you can add site assets in bulk instead of one at a time. Lorne Stewart Facilities Services reports running around 95% paper-free across its maintenance operations.
How do compliance failures lead to contract losses?
Compliance failures lead to contract losses when poor performance becomes a formal record the customer can act on. Under Schedule 7 paragraph 12(3) of the Procurement Act 2023, unsatisfactory performance after a proper opportunity to improve is a discretionary exclusion ground. Paragraph 12(4) applies where the authority has published information under section 71(5). The supplier is only at risk of exclusion on that ground if the notice was published in the preceding five years and the authority considers the circumstances are continuing or likely to occur again.