You run an inspection company. You carry out thorough examinations for clients, produce the reports, and keep the records. The question is whether your current system is working for you or against you. Most generic software was built for trade service businesses, not for companies operating under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. The gaps matter when your work is legally required to produce Schedule 1-compliant reports, categorise defects, and maintain a complete audit trail per asset.
What inspection companies actually need from software
Generic business software solves generic problems. Your work is not generic. Here is what a system built for LOLER inspection actually needs to do:
- Mobile-first capture: inspectors work in the field, often without a laptop; the inspection workflow must be fully functional on a smartphone or tablet
- Offline capability: industrial sites, construction yards, and remote locations often have no mobile signal; the app must store data locally and sync when connectivity returns
- Pre-loaded equipment types with correct examination intervals: the system should know that a passenger lift requires 6-month examinations and a goods lift 12 months without manual configuration
- Schedule 1-compliant PDF output: the report generated must contain all required Schedule 1 fields and be suitable for handover to the client as the statutory examination record
- Client certificate portal: eliminates the overhead of emailing PDFs; clients access their own certificates in a secure portal
- Multi-client management: the inspection company serves dozens of clients; each asset register and examination record must be completely isolated per client
- Easy asset search on site: inspectors need to find assets quickly by location, type, or serial number during a visit
- Examination due date management: a central view of all upcoming and overdue examinations across all clients at once
Where inspection companies lose time every day
Why generic field service tools break on LOLER work
Tools like ServiceM8, Jobber, and Tradify handle job scheduling, invoicing, and basic field data collection. They are not built for compliance inspection. The gaps matter. They do not produce Schedule 1 reports. They have no concept of 6-month versus 12-month examination intervals. They do not track defect categories (A, B, C) or trigger alerts for Category A findings to the HSE.
Most inspection companies on generic tools end up running three systems in parallel: a field app for capture, a Word template for the LOLER report, and a spreadsheet for tracking due dates. Each hand-off is a chance for error. A report produced by re-typing data into Word is more likely to contain mistakes than one generated automatically.
LOLER-specific wording, defect category definitions, and Schedule 1 field requirements are either absent or must be maintained manually in generic platforms. When HSE guidance changes, your templates do not update themselves. You do.
What offline-first actually means on an industrial site
Your inspectors work in warehouses, construction yards, dock facilities, and plant rooms. Signal is unreliable at best. An app that needs a live connection to save data is not viable there. Your inspector either falls back to paper, or risks losing a completed inspection record.
True offline-first means data lives on the device. It syncs the moment connectivity returns. Nothing is lost. The inspection record, defect notes, and every captured field are preserved locally until then. This is not a nice-to-have. It is a baseline requirement.
How a 20-client operation runs on one screen
Why per-seat pricing punishes you for growing
Most generic and mid-market platforms charge per user seat, typically £40 to £80 per inspector per month. Every new hire increases your software bill before they complete their first job. The numbers add up faster than most inspection companies expect:
This LOLER inspection software charges £250 per month regardless of how many users, clients, or assets you manage. For any inspection company with more than four inspectors, the maths already favours it. It is also purpose-built for LOLER work, not adapted from a generic field service template.
Built for inspection companies. Not adapted for them.
- Unlimited users at no extra cost: add every inspector on your team; pricing does not increase as your headcount grows
- Unlimited assets: no per-asset charge regardless of how many items you manage across all clients
- Client portal: each client gets a secure login to view and download their own certificates; no manual certificate distribution needed
- Mobile offline inspection: the app works on any site without signal; data is stored locally and syncs automatically when online
- Pre-configured equipment types: 20-plus lifting equipment categories with correct examination intervals built in; no configuration required
- Schedule 1 PDF generation: compliant examination reports generated automatically from inspection data the moment you submit
- Automated reminders: the system alerts you and your clients when examinations are approaching, preventing missed intervals and protecting the audit trail
The Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) sets the competency and accreditation standards for lifting equipment inspection in the UK. Lolerflow's report format and examination record fields are designed to meet the statutory requirements that LEEA-accredited inspectors must satisfy. Your reports are compliant by design, not by manual effort.