Service report software that writes the report from the visit
A service report is the record of what an engineer found and did on a visit. In Compliar the engineer records the visit on a phone, with or without signal, and the report is produced when the job is completed: readings, results, photos, defects and the next due date, as a branded PDF the customer receives the same day.
What a service report is, and what it is not
A service report records one visit: the date, who attended, what was inspected and tested, the readings taken, what passed, what failed and what was recommended. It is written for the customer and for the next engineer, and for whoever asks for it later, whether that is a fire risk assessor, an insurer, a landlord's agent or an auditor from your own scheme.
It is not the same thing as a certificate. A periodic inspection and servicing certificate for a fire detection and alarm system, laid out to BS 5839-1, or an Electrical Installation Condition Report to BS 7671, is a formal document with a defined content and a declaration. The service report sits alongside it and carries the detail of the visit. Many contractors issue both: the certificate for the file and the report for the day-to-day conversation with the customer. Compliar produces both from the same visit, so nothing is typed twice.
What a good service report shows
Whatever the discipline, a report that people can act on has the same bones:
- Site and system. The address, the system type, the panel or board, and the system's category or grade where the standard uses one (for example an L3 fire detection and alarm system or a Grade 3 intruder and hold-up alarm system).
- The visit. Date, time on and off site, the engineer, and the type of visit: routine service, reactive call-out, commissioning or extra works.
- What was tested. For a fire detection and alarm system, which devices were tested on this visit and the running total for the year, so the customer can see that every device is tested over the servicing cycle. For emergency lighting, which fittings were discharged and for how long. For an intruder and hold-up alarm system, which detectors, the signalling path and the standby battery.
- Readings. Battery charge voltage, standby and alarm currents, loop or zone loads, insulation and earth readings, lux levels: whatever the discipline calls for, recorded against the asset so the trend is visible next time.
- Results and defects. A clear pass or fail per asset, each failure described in plain words with a photo, and a recommendation the customer can price.
- Next due. When the next visit falls, so the customer is never surprised.
The standards describe the content of the formal certificates; they do not prescribe the layout of your service report. That is yours to set, and your scheme may have its own expectations. Check the standard and your scheme's scheme document for anything you are unsure about.
From arrival to a report in the customer's inbox
This is the sequence on a routine six-monthly fire detection and alarm system service, using the Harbourview sample company that every demo runs on.
1. The visit is already there
The maintenance plan has generated the job. The engineer opens it on the Today screen, presses On my way, then Arrive. The site's open defects and history are on the same screen.
2. Assets are tested one by one
The asset list for the site shows each device with Pass, Fail or No test. A failed call point gets a defect, a photo and a note. Readings go against the panel and the batteries.
3. No signal is no problem
The field app runs in the phone's browser. Jobs, certificates and times are saved on the phone and sent when the engineer is back in range. Site audits, the help bot and PAT batch recording still need a connection.
4. The job is completed
The engineer signs off the visit. The service report is produced automatically from what was recorded, and the certificate is issued from the same data. A report can also be produced by hand at any point.
5. Sent, with a record of sending
Every send shows a preview first. The report and certificate go to the customer as branded PDFs from the job, and the job keeps a note of what was sent, to whom and when.
6. Defects become a quote
The failed call point is already a defect. The office ticks it and raises a defect quote without re-typing. When the quote is accepted, the remedial job is created and the defect is tracked to resolved.
Where the report lives afterwards
Reports and certificates are held against the site, not buried in a mailbox. Anyone in your company can open the site and see every visit in date order. If the customer has a portal login they can see their issued reports and certificates and the open defects without ringing the office. The premises keep their own weekly and monthly tests in the site's digital log book, so the record of the site is in one place.
What to check before the report goes out
- Every asset has a result. A device with no result reads as "not tested", and a customer or auditor will ask why. Compliar shows No test separately from Pass and Fail so nothing slips through as a pass.
- Readings are in the right units. A standby battery reading entered in millivolts looks like a fault. The templates name the unit next to each field.
- Every failure has a recommendation. "Call point MCP-04 failed" is a finding; "replace call point MCP-04, quote to follow" is something the customer can act on.
- The next due date is right. A routine visit does not move the plan's due date, so a visit done early or late keeps the cycle where it should be.
- The right person gets it. Recipients pre-fill from the site's contacts and can be changed on the preview.
Common mistakes with service reports
- Writing the report back at the office. Details go missing between the van and the desk. Recording on site, with photos, is the fix, and it is why the field app works without signal.
- One tick for the whole system. "All satisfactory" tells the next engineer nothing. Compliar records a result per asset, and separate items for separate checks, so cause and effect is not hiding behind a zone plan tick.
- Reports that do not match the certificate. When the two are typed separately they drift. Producing both from one visit keeps them consistent.
- Losing the trail. Issued certificates in Compliar cannot be deleted; an edit needs a reason, which is logged in the job's event log. That is the trail a scheme auditor wants to see.
Which disciplines
The same flow runs for all 32 system types across fire protection and life safety, security and electrical: fire detection and alarm systems (BS 5839-1 non-domestic, BS 5839-6 domestic), emergency lighting (BS 5266-1), fire extinguishers (BS 5306-3), intruder and hold-up alarm systems (BS EN 50131 / PD 6662), CCTV (BS EN 62676), access control, EICRs and PAT. See the full list of disciplines, or the pages on fire detection and alarm maintenance, intruder alarm maintenance and electrical certificates.
What it costs
Service reports and certificates are included with every seat. A Lite seat for an engineer is £35 + VAT a month, or £350 + VAT a year, with no per-certificate fees and no contract. The office seats that run maintenance plans and invoicing are on the pricing page. Early adopters who join in the first 12 months after launch keep their price for three years.
Compliar provides record-keeping and certificate workflows. The competent engineer and your scheme remain responsible for the work and for the documents issued.
Common questions
Is the service report produced automatically?
Yes. When a job is completed, the service report is produced from what the engineer recorded on the visit. It can also be produced by hand at any point.
Is a service report the same as a certificate?
No. The certificate is the formal document laid out to the standard, such as a BS 5839-1 periodic inspection and servicing certificate. The service report carries the detail of the visit. Compliar produces both from the same recorded visit.
Does the engineer need a signal on site?
Not to record the visit. The field app runs in the phone's browser and saves jobs, certificates and times on the phone, sending them when back in range. Site audits, the help bot, PAT batch recording and opening the PDF of a certificate issued offline still need a connection.
Can the customer see their reports?
Yes, if you give them a portal login: issued reports and certificates and the open defects are visible there. Reports are also emailed from the job as branded PDFs, and the job keeps a record of what was sent.
Can I change the layout of the report?
Office seats can edit certificate templates and build their own. Your logo and company details go on every document from company settings.
What happens to a failed item?
It is raised as a defect with a photo and a note on the visit. The office can quote selected defects in one step, and the defect is tracked until it is resolved.
Can an issued report or certificate be deleted?
Issued certificates cannot be deleted. They can be edited, and every edit needs a reason that is logged in the job's event log. Draft certificates can be deleted, and that deletion is logged too.
What does it cost?
Service reports and certificates are included with every seat, from £35 + VAT per user per month on Lite. There are no per-certificate fees and no contract.
See a service report produced from a real visit
Book a demo on your own sites and Keiran will walk a visit through from arrival to the report and the defect quote. Onboarding is from £195, quoted individually.