How to Choose Permit to Work Software (Without Getting Locked In)

You've decided your paper permit books aren't cutting it any more. Maybe permits are going missing, close-outs are getting skipped, or a client has asked to see your PTW records and you couldn't produce them quickly enough. Whatever the trigger, you're now looking at permit to work software — and the options range from enterprise platforms costing thousands per month to simple apps that barely cover the basics.

This guide is a decision framework. It won't recommend specific products, but it will help you ask the right questions so you don't end up paying for something your team won't use or can't afford to keep.

Start With What You Actually Need

Before comparing features, get clear on your requirements. Most small-to-mid-sized UK contractors need hot work, confined space, electrical isolation, and working at height permits (our guide to PTW systems covers when each applies), a dual-signature workflow per HSG250, a structured close-out process, an audit trail that satisfies inspectors, and something the team can use on site without training days.

This guide focuses on the 90% of UK contractors who need reliable permit to work software without the enterprise price tag.

The Seven Questions to Ask Every Vendor

1. What's the pricing model?

This is where most contractors get caught. There are three common models:

Per-user pricing. You pay for each person who uses the system — typically between five and fifteen pounds per user per month. This works if your team is small and stable, but it creates a perverse incentive: you end up restricting access to save money, which means the people who should be raising and checking permits can't. If you bring on subcontractors for a project, your bill spikes.

Flat-rate pricing. You pay a fixed monthly fee regardless of how many people use it. This is the model that makes most sense for construction and maintenance, where team sizes fluctuate and subcontractors come and go. Flat-rate means everyone who needs access gets access.

Tiered/feature-gated pricing. Core features at one price, "premium" features (audit exports, analytics, custom templates) locked behind higher tiers. Check carefully what's included at each level. If the audit trail export is a premium feature, you're paying extra for the thing that makes the software useful in the first place.

Ask directly: what happens when my team grows from 5 to 15 people? What's the cost for 50 users? If the answer makes you wince, the pricing model is wrong for your business.

2. Does it work on a phone, on site, right now?

A permit to work software that requires a desktop computer in the site office is barely better than paper. Your permits get raised on scaffolds, in plant rooms, and at the edge of excavations. The software needs to work on a standard smartphone — not just technically function, but be genuinely usable on a 6-inch screen with gloved hands.

Test this yourself. Ask for a trial and try creating a permit on your phone while standing up. If you find yourself pinching and zooming, or if forms require typing long free-text paragraphs, it's not designed for site use.

3. Does it work offline?

UK construction sites regularly have poor or no mobile signal — basements, tunnels, rural locations, steel-framed buildings. If the software requires a constant internet connection, your team will revert to paper the first time they lose signal, and they won't switch back.

Good permit to work software should let users create and complete permits offline, then sync automatically when connectivity returns. Ask specifically how this works: can you create, authorise, and close a permit entirely offline? Or only create it?

4. Does it follow HSG250 structure?

HSG250 is the HSE's guidance on permit-to-work systems. It isn't law, but it's the standard that inspectors and auditors use to assess your system. Our digital permit to work guide covers how HSG250 applies to digital systems.

The software should enforce the key elements:

Hazard identification linked to risk assessments
Precautions checklist with individual confirmation of each item
Dual-signature authorisation (permit holder and authoriser)
Defined validity period
Mandatory close-out with sign-off
Clear audit trail showing who did what and when

If the software lets you create a permit with blank hazard fields or skip the authorisation step, it's a liability, not a tool.

5. What does the audit trail actually look like?

Every product claims to have an audit trail. The question is what it records and how accessible it is. A proper audit trail captures who created the permit (timestamped), who authorised it, any amendments with the original preserved, close-out details, and a history viewable per permit, per site, or per date range.

Ask to see a sample audit report. If it shows a step-by-step timeline with timestamps and mandatory fields, that's evidence. If it's a basic list of dates and names, it might not satisfy an HSE inspector.

6. Can you get your data out?

This is the question most people forget to ask until it's too late. If you decide to switch providers, or the company goes under, can you export all your permit data? In what format?

Minimum acceptable: PDF export of individual permits and bulk CSV or PDF export of all historical data. If the vendor says your data is "in the cloud" but can't tell you how to get it out, treat that as a red flag.

Your permit records have legal significance. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, you're expected to maintain records of your risk management. If those records are locked inside a platform you can't access, you have a problem.

7. Self-serve or demo-wall?

Some vendors let you sign up and start a free trial immediately. Others require a demo call with a sales rep before you can see the software. If a product is designed for small contractors, it should be simple enough to evaluate without a guided tour. You want to test it on a real site with real people, not watch a polished presentation.

Red Flags to Watch For

No free trial. If you can't try the software before committing, the vendor either doesn't trust their product or is relying on sales pressure to close deals. Walk away.

Contracts longer than monthly. Annual contracts with no exit clause lock you in. Monthly billing with the ability to cancel gives you leverage and flexibility.

Per-user pricing with no cap. Fine at 5 users. Painful at 50. Do the maths for your peak team size.

"Customisable" but only by them. If every template change or field addition requires the vendor to do it for you (often at extra cost), you're dependent on their timeline and their pricing.

No offline mode. As discussed above — this is non-negotiable for site-based software.

The Decision That Matters Most

The best permit to work software is the one your team actually uses. A sophisticated system that everyone avoids is worse than a simple one they adopt. When evaluating options, weight ease-of-use and mobile experience more heavily than feature count. A permit that gets completed properly on a phone is infinitely more valuable than a permit with 40 fields that nobody fills in.

If your current system is paper and it's working well enough but you're hitting the limits around audit trails and compliance evidence, our guide to digital permits covers the practical benefits of making the switch. And if you want to see what paper permits are really costing you in admin time, try the free permit cost calculator.

PermitPad: Built for This

PermitPad is being built specifically for small and mid-sized UK contractors who need a PTW system that is HSG250-aligned, mobile-first, flat-rate priced (no per-user fees), works offline, and can be set up in minutes without a demo call. Join the waitlist to be first in line when we launch.