Compliance Management for Plumbing Contractors
Handle certification requirements, job documentation, and safety compliance with digital tools built for plumbing businesses.
The Challenge
Plumbing contractors face constant pressure to maintain Water Safe registration, track job warranties, manage building control notifications, and document installations - while juggling emergency callouts and keeping vans properly stocked. One missed certification renewal, lost job photo, or incomplete building regs notification can cost you work, create liability, or fail an audit. Paper job sheets go missing, certification renewals are forgotten, and proving work quality months later is nearly impossible without systematic documentation.
How Assistant Manager Solves Plumbing Compliance
Each module is designed to address the specific challenges plumbing businesses face every day.
Checklist Management
Plumbing work requires systematic documentation for warranties, building control, and dispute protection - but contractors are too busy to maintain paper systems consistently
The Problems
Why This Matters for Plumbing
- Job completion checklists are skipped when you're rushing to the next emergency, with installation photos forgotten and customer sign-off sheets left in the van
When a customer claims poor workmanship months later, you have no photos, no completion records, and no signed handover to defend your quality
- Part G building control notifications should be completed for certain work, but rushed jobs mean you forget which installations need notifying and which are already registered
Building control discover unreported work during a house sale survey, potentially requiring retrospective approval and creating delays that anger your customer
The Solution
How Checklist Management Helps
Job-specific checklists with mandatory photo points, pressure test recording, customer sign-off capture, and automatic building control notification reminders
Every installation is completed with photo evidence, test records, and customer approval captured before you leave site - creating a complete digital job file that protects you for years
Use Cases:
- • Boiler installation completion with commissioning checklist and photos
- • Unvented cylinder installation with G3 documentation requirements
- • Bathroom installation with waterproofing and drainage records
- • Emergency repair documentation with before/after evidence
- • Part G building control notification tracking
- • Pressure testing and system commissioning records
- • Customer handover and satisfaction sign-off
- • Warranty registration and documentation
Feature Screenshot
Checklist Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Job completion checklists are skipped when you're rushing to the next emergency, with installation photos forgotten and customer sign-off sheets left in the van
Real Scenario
"A customer claims your boiler installation caused water damage. They want £8,000 in compensation. Your paper job sheet has scribbled notes, but no installation photos, no system pressure test records, and no customer sign-off. The insurance claim is difficult to defend."
Example 2: Part G building control notifications should be completed for certain work, but rushed jobs mean you forget which installations need notifying and which are already registered
Real Scenario
"A bathroom renovation from 18 months ago comes back to haunt you. The buyer's surveyor notes no building control certification for the new drainage. The customer is furious as their house sale is delayed, and you can't remember if you actually notified or just intended to."
Training & Development
Plumbing certifications like Water Safe, G3 unvented, and various manufacturer qualifications all expire at different intervals - without systematic tracking, something always lapses at the worst possible time
The Problems
Why This Matters for Plumbing
- Water Safe registration requires renewal every year, but you forget until it expires because it's just another certificate buried in a filing cabinet
Your registration lapses, commercial clients discover you're not currently registered, and you lose work until reinstatement - which may require re-assessment
- You hire an assistant but training is 'follow me and watch' - there's no structured competency development, no records of what they can do, and no clear progression path
Your assistant makes expensive mistakes because they weren't properly trained, and you can't prove their competence to clients or insurers
The Solution
How Training & Development Helps
Certification expiry tracking with 90-day renewal warnings, digital training records for employees, competency assessments, and automatic alerts before qualifications lapse
You never miss a certification renewal, every staff member has documented training and competency, and commercial clients see professional qualification management
Use Cases:
- • Water Safe registration renewal tracking with 90-day warning
- • G3 unvented hot water qualification management
- • Water Regulations qualification expiry alerts
- • Manufacturer training certificates (Worcester, Vaillant, etc.)
- • NVQ and City & Guilds certification tracking
- • Employee competency assessment records
- • Apprentice training progression documentation
- • CPD activity logging for professional development
Feature Screenshot
Training & Development
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Water Safe registration requires renewal every year, but you forget until it expires because it's just another certificate buried in a filing cabinet
Real Scenario
"A facilities manager requests your Water Safe card before approving a £15,000 contract. You check and discover your registration expired 3 months ago. The contract goes to a competitor, and renewal requires a new assessment because you exceeded the grace period."
Example 2: You hire an assistant but training is 'follow me and watch' - there's no structured competency development, no records of what they can do, and no clear progression path
Real Scenario
"Your assistant installs an unvented cylinder incorrectly. When building control inspect, they discover your assistant has no G3 qualification and no training records. The installation must be redone, building control involvement escalates, and your reputation suffers."
Employee Scheduling
Plumbing requires different qualifications for different work - domestic vs commercial gas, unvented systems, water treatment - and scheduling the wrong person wastes time and damages reputation
The Problems
Why This Matters for Plumbing
- You schedule your assistant for a commercial boiler service, but when they arrive the client questions their qualifications and discovers they're not actually qualified for commercial gas work
The job can't be completed, you have to travel across town to take over, the client is unimpressed, and you've wasted half a day
- Emergency callouts come in outside hours, but you don't know which of your team is actually available, qualified, and not already working maximum hours
You call three people before finding someone available, by which time the customer has called another plumber, or you send someone who's already worked 60 hours this week
The Solution
How Employee Scheduling Helps
Drag-and-drop scheduling with automatic qualification verification, real-time availability visibility, Working Time Regulations monitoring, and emergency callout assignment based on qualifications and availability
Every job is assigned to properly qualified staff, you can see availability instantly, and the system prevents scheduling staff for work they're not qualified to perform
Use Cases:
- • Daily job assignment with qualification matching (gas safe, G3, etc.)
- • Emergency callout assignment based on availability and qualifications
- • Commercial work scheduling with appropriate certification checks
- • Apprentice supervision scheduling (can't work alone)
- • Working Time Regulations compliance for employees
- • Holiday and absence management with coverage visibility
- • Evening and weekend on-call rota with qualification verification
Feature Screenshot
Employee Scheduling
Real-World Examples
Example 1: You schedule your assistant for a commercial boiler service, but when they arrive the client questions their qualifications and discovers they're not actually qualified for commercial gas work
Real Scenario
"Your assistant is sent to service commercial boilers at a hotel. The maintenance manager asks for their Commercial Core certificate. They don't have one - they only have domestic qualifications. You have to drive 45 minutes to complete the work yourself, and the hotel questions using you for future work."
Example 2: Emergency callouts come in outside hours, but you don't know which of your team is actually available, qualified, and not already working maximum hours
Real Scenario
"Friday night: emergency boiler breakdown at a letting agent's property. You spend 30 minutes calling staff to find who's available and qualified for gas work. By the time you reach someone, the agent has called a competitor, and you've lost both the emergency callout fee and the installation that would have followed."
Time Clock & Attendance
Plumbing businesses employ apprentices with specific Working Time Regulations requirements, and mobile workers need attendance tracking that captures site arrival times and actual hours worked - not estimated timesheets
The Problems
Why This Matters for Plumbing
- Staff complete paper timesheets from memory at week-end, rounding hours and estimating travel time, with no actual record of arrival and departure times
You're paying for hours not worked, have no proof of site attendance times, and can't accurately cost jobs or defend against customer complaints about arrival times
- Young apprentices don't take proper breaks because they're eager to help or feel guilty stopping work, and you have no visibility into Working Time Regulations compliance
HSE investigation after an apprentice injury reveals Working Time Regulations breaches, with fines and potential prosecution for under-18 staff working without proper breaks
The Solution
How Time Clock & Attendance Helps
Mobile clock in/out with GPS timestamp, automatic break monitoring for apprentices, Working Time Regulations violation alerts, and accurate timesheet generation for payroll and job costing
You know exactly when staff are on site, young workers get legally required breaks, and accurate time records support both payroll and customer billing verification
Use Cases:
- • Mobile clock in/out when arriving at customer properties
- • GPS timestamp verification for site attendance
- • Under-18 apprentice break compliance monitoring
- • Working Time Regulations violation alerts
- • Accurate timesheet generation for weekly payroll
- • Job-specific time tracking for accurate costing
- • Travel time recording between jobs
- • Emergency callout time verification
Feature Screenshot
Time Clock & Attendance
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Staff complete paper timesheets from memory at week-end, rounding hours and estimating travel time, with no actual record of arrival and departure times
Real Scenario
"A commercial client complains your engineer arrived 90 minutes late. Your timesheet says 9am arrival, the client's system shows 10:27am. You have no records to verify actual arrival time, damaging the client relationship and potentially voiding SLA penalties."
Example 2: Young apprentices don't take proper breaks because they're eager to help or feel guilty stopping work, and you have no visibility into Working Time Regulations compliance
Real Scenario
"Your 17-year-old apprentice works through lunch helping with an emergency job. Later that afternoon they injure themselves using tools while tired. HSE investigation reveals they routinely work 6+ hours without breaks - breaching regulations for under-18s. You face enforcement action."
Document Management
Plumbing documentation has a lifespan of 5-15 years (warranty periods and building regs requirements) - but paper systems can't maintain organized records for that duration
The Problems
Why This Matters for Plumbing
- Building control certificates, warranties, and commissioning sheets for installations from years ago are stored in filing cabinets at home, in van glove boxes, or simply lost
Customers need certificates for house sales or warranty claims and you can't find them, damaging your reputation and potentially leaving customers without essential documentation
- Gas Safe certificates, manufacturer warranties, and system commissioning records are paper documents that customers lose, with no backup copy available
When equipment fails or customers need warranty claims, you can't provide documentation, warranties are void, and you lose repeat business from frustrated customers
The Solution
How Document Management Helps
Cloud-based document storage with instant search by customer or property, automatic certificate generation, and digital handover copies for customers with email backup
Every certificate, warranty, and job record is instantly retrievable forever, customers receive digital copies they can't lose, and you can provide documentation years later when needed
Use Cases:
- • Building control certificates and notification records
- • Gas Safe installation certificates with digital copies
- • Boiler commissioning certificates and warranty registration
- • Unvented cylinder G3 installation certificates
- • System schematic diagrams and specifications
- • Landlord gas safety certificates with annual history
- • Pressure testing records and system test results
- • Customer handover documentation with digital delivery
Feature Screenshot
Document Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Building control certificates, warranties, and commissioning sheets for installations from years ago are stored in filing cabinets at home, in van glove boxes, or simply lost
Real Scenario
"A customer selling their house needs the building control certificate for the bathroom you installed 3 years ago. You search filing cabinets and old boxes but can't find it. The sale is delayed, the customer is furious, and you end up paying £300 for retrospective building control inspection."
Example 2: Gas Safe certificates, manufacturer warranties, and system commissioning records are paper documents that customers lose, with no backup copy available
Real Scenario
"A customer's 4-year-old boiler fails. They've lost the warranty paperwork and commissioning certificate. You installed it but have no records either. The manufacturer won't honor the 5-year warranty without commissioning proof. The customer pays £1,800 for a new boiler and doesn't call you back."
Vehicle & Equipment Management
Plumbing contractors rely on well-stocked vans and calibrated test equipment - but mobile operations make it difficult to maintain visibility and organization without digital systems
The Problems
Why This Matters for Plumbing
- Van stock levels are a mystery - you discover you're out of 22mm elbows only when you need one on site, requiring trips to merchants that waste billable time
Jobs take twice as long due to merchant trips, customers are frustrated by delays, and you lose half a day's productivity per week to stock management
- Test equipment calibration certificates are paper documents that get wet, lost, or forgotten in the van until an audit or important job requires proof of calibration
Commercial clients or Gas Safe inspections request calibration certificates and you can't provide them, potentially invalidating all recent test results
The Solution
How Vehicle & Equipment Management Helps
Digital van stock management with low-stock alerts, equipment maintenance scheduling, calibration certificate storage with expiry warnings, and MOT/service tracking for vehicles
Van stock is replenished before you run out, all calibration certificates are instantly accessible, and vehicle compliance is tracked automatically
Use Cases:
- • Van stock inventory with low-stock alerts for common parts
- • Test equipment calibration tracking with expiry warnings
- • Flue gas analyser and multifunction tester calibration certificates
- • Van MOT, service, and insurance expiry alerts
- • Tool inventory management across multiple vehicles
- • Equipment purchase and warranty records
- • Van safety checks and maintenance logs
- • Parts usage tracking for job costing accuracy
Feature Screenshot
Vehicle & Equipment Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Van stock levels are a mystery - you discover you're out of 22mm elbows only when you need one on site, requiring trips to merchants that waste billable time
Real Scenario
"You're 45 minutes into a bathroom installation when you discover you're out of push-fit elbows. The nearest merchant is 20 minutes away. The customer watches you disappear for 50 minutes, the job overruns, and your next appointment is delayed by an hour."
Example 2: Test equipment calibration certificates are paper documents that get wet, lost, or forgotten in the van until an audit or important job requires proof of calibration
Real Scenario
"A Gas Safe inspector asks for your flue gas analyser calibration certificate during a spot check. The paper certificate is 'somewhere in the van' but you can't find it. The inspector notes this as non-compliance, potentially affecting your registration status."
Other Trades & Services Solutions
Ready to Transform Your Plumbing Business Compliance?
Join hundreds of UK plumbing contractors using Assistant Manager to protect quality, maintain certifications, and win more work.