Question 1

What does it cost?

Accepted Answer

Pricing starts from as little as £1 per door and scales with volume and how you set things up, so your actual rate depends on your portfolio and needs. There are four models: Pay-As-You-Go (no contract), Self Service (for organisations inspecting in-house with no client-facing needs), Enterprise (a single annual amount with everything included), and Fully Managed (where DoorTRACE becomes your fire-door contractor and carries out the inspections too). Talk to us and we'll tailor it.

Question 2

Can I switch between tiers later?

Accepted Answer

Yes, anytime. As your portfolio grows you can move between models without renegotiating contracts or losing data. No exit fees, no penalty clauses, no lock-in.

Question 3

Do I need special hardware like RFID readers or NFC chips?

Accepted Answer

No. Every DoorTRACE plaque is a printed QR code on a tamper-evident plaque. Unlike RFID or NFC systems, you don't need readers, embedded chips, or any modification to the door or building. Anyone with a smartphone can scan, and your assigned engineers use the same plaque to trigger the BS 8214 inspection workflow in the DoorTRACE app.

Question 4

Who can see a door's compliance status?

Accepted Answer

Two paths from the same plaque. The public scan is open to anyone with a phone: tenants, residents, fire wardens, and regulators see the door's last inspection result, defect status, and next inspection date. No app, no login. The inspection workflow itself is locked to the specific engineer assigned to that job, and no one else, even with the app installed.

Question 5

Do my engineers have to be employees?

Accepted Answer

They can be, if you have that capability in-house. But DoorTRACE is built so you can use any qualified contractor too. And if you need an inspection somewhere you have no one, you can draw on DoorTRACE's built-in approved-engineer list and assign a DoorTRACE-approved engineer for that job.

Question 6

Can the engineer app work offline?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Engineers download their assigned jobs and door data before going on-site. Inspections, photos, defects, and signatures are all captured offline and sync automatically when connectivity returns. No data loss, no missed inspections because of poor signal.

Question 7

Can I white-label the client portal for my clients?

Accepted Answer

Yes, on every account type, not just Enterprise. You get the full platform at every stage; the different account types exist to keep your costs down, not to gate features. Each of your clients gets their own subdomain (e.g. yourcompany.doortrace.co.uk) with your branding throughout, and DoorTRACE appears only as a small "Powered by" mark in the footer.

Question 8

What if I want DoorTRACE to do the inspections too?

Accepted Answer

That's our Fully Managed tier. We become your fire-door contractor end-to-end: our inspectors carry out the inspections, we raise the remedials, and we deliver the compliance reporting. Single point of accountability, hands-off operation.

Question 9

How long does setup take?

Accepted Answer

It can be done in a day. We provision your account, generate QR plaque batches for your buildings, import any existing inspection data, and get you running fast.

Question 10

Where is my data hosted? Is it GDPR-compliant?

Accepted Answer

All data is hosted on Cloudflare's UK infrastructure. Data is processed under UK GDPR with Article 6(1)(c), legal obligation, as the lawful basis. The audit log is append-only and meets Building Safety Act Golden Thread requirements: every action is timestamped, user-attributed, and cannot be amended retroactively.

Question 11

What happens to my data if we leave?

Accepted Answer

You can export everything at any time: building registers, inspection records, photos, audit logs, in standard formats (CSV, JSON, PDF). Your data is yours. After you leave, we retain it for seven years (the compliance retention period), then permanently delete it.

Question 12

How long is a demo?

Accepted Answer

Thirty minutes. We walk through your portfolio shape, the parts of the platform relevant to your team, and the configuration we'd recommend to get you started.

Question 13

Can I try it before committing?

Accepted Answer

We don't run formal pilots, but we'll show you the platform in full first. If you want to test it against your own buildings, the simplest route is to start on Pay-As-You-Go with a single building. If it works for you, do more from there.

Question 14

How quickly can we go live after signing?

Accepted Answer

You're live within a day. Engineer app, portal access, QR plaques, and your initial door population can all be provisioned straight away.

Question 15

Do you charge per door, per user, or per tenant?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the model you're on. It can be per-scan only, an annual licence, or a mix of both. Talk to us and we'll tailor it to what you need.

Question 16

How do I add a new client?

Accepted Answer

You add them from your admin portal. Each client gets a subdomain, an isolated client portal, and their own building register. The first one takes a few minutes; after that you'll be faster. No DoorTRACE involvement needed.

Question 17

What does "white-labelled" actually mean here?

Accepted Answer

Your client portal at yourcompany.doortrace.co.uk renders with your logo, your brand colours, your support email, your typography. DoorTRACE appears only as a small "Powered by" mark in the footer. And every report you download is fully branded and controlled by you. Your clients see you, not us.

Question 18

Can my clients see each other's data?

Accepted Answer

No. Each client is isolated at the database level. A client only ever sees their own buildings, doors, inspections, and engineers. There is no shared layer between clients.

Question 19

Do I need to onboard engineers separately for each client?

Accepted Answer

No. You add an engineer company once at your account level, then assign them per-client and per-building as needed. The engineers use one login across all your engagements.

Question 20

What if a client wants to take their data with them?

Accepted Answer

You can export everything for any client at any time: building register, inspection records, photos, audit logs, in CSV, JSON, or PDF. Your client's data is theirs to take.

Question 21

How does audit logging work?

Accepted Answer

Every action (creating a building, scheduling an inspection, recording a defect, generating a report) is logged with a timestamp, user attribution, and IP address. Append-only, cannot be amended retroactively. Meets Building Safety Act Golden Thread requirements out of the box.

Question 22

Who pays for the client portal?

Accepted Answer

You do. It's included in the platform: no separate module, no per-seat charge on the client side, and no billing relationship between DoorTRACE and your clients. You add clients in your portal settings, send an invite, and they're in.

Question 23

Can clients edit, delete, or change anything?

Accepted Answer

No. The client portal is read-only by design. Clients can view inspections, defects, reports, and audit history, and download branded PDFs, but they cannot edit data, change schedules, raise defects, or interact with engineers. Every action they take is logged, just like yours.

Question 24

How do clients log in?

Accepted Answer

They go to their dedicated subdomain (e.g. yourcompany.doortrace.co.uk) and sign in with the email address you invited them with. MFA is optional but recommended. Forgotten passwords reset via email link.

Question 25

Can one client see another client's data?

Accepted Answer

Never. Multi-tenant isolation is enforced at the database layer, not just the interface. A client has zero visibility into any other client, they cannot even know another exists.

Question 26

Can clients download inspection reports themselves?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Branded inspection PDFs are available on demand, the moment an inspection is signed off. The PDF carries the client's branding (logo, colour, contact details), not DoorTRACE's, with the platform mark only as a small "Powered by" line in the footer.

Question 27

Is it mobile-friendly?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The client portal is fully responsive. No app to install on the client side, it's a regular web app.

Question 28

Which devices does the app run on?

Accepted Answer

iOS and Android, on both phones and tablets. iOS 15 and later, Android 9 and later. Free to download on both stores.

Question 29

What happens to my data if I lose signal?

Accepted Answer

Everything is stored locally on the device and encrypted. When connectivity returns the app syncs automatically. Inspections, photos, and defects aren't lost. There's no manual upload step and no "reconnect to save" warning to worry about.

Question 30

I work for three different companies. Can I use the same login?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The app supports multiple engagements on one engineer account. You scan a plaque and the app loads the right company's data automatically. You're never tied to one, and your data from one engagement is not visible to another.

Question 31

Is the BS 8214 checklist the real one or a simplified version?

Accepted Answer

It is the full 41-point inspection workflow from BS 8214:2016. Every check, every section, every required photo evidence point. Inspections produced by the app are regulator-ready and Golden Thread compliant under the Building Safety Act.

Question 32

Does the company I work with see my personal data?

Accepted Answer

The company you're contracted to sees your name, your inspection records, and any photos you upload during inspections. They do not see your location outside scheduled inspections, your phone contacts, or any personal data beyond what you shared during onboarding.

Question 33

How does sign-off work?

Accepted Answer

When you finish an inspection, the app captures your digital signature on screen, timestamps it, and locks the record. The signed inspection syncs to the portal as the regulatory record of work performed. No one can edit it after sign-off; only you can amend it with a post-remedial follow-up.

Question 34

How does DoorTRACE handle the landlord versus occupier responsibility split in commercial leases?

Accepted Answer

Buildings are modelled at the building level with demises tagged inside them. Each demise carries the lease metadata: lease type, responsibility allocation per element, and any specific clauses. Communal fire doors and the building cycle rest with the landlord; demised doors and internal cycles rest with the occupier where the lease requires. The audit trail shows who carried the duty and who produced the evidence, by element.

Question 35

Can DoorTRACE produce compliance reports for individual occupiers in a multi-let building?

Accepted Answer

Not as a separate portal view per occupier, but yes as reporting: where you need to give an individual tenant or occupier their own evidence, specific PDF reports can be generated just for them, covering their fire doors, inspection history, and open defects.

Question 36

Does DoorTRACE integrate with our property management platform?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. We don't have a public API today, but it's on the roadmap. Tell us what you'd want to connect and we'll keep you posted.

Question 37

Can DoorTRACE produce compliance packs for each retail tenant in a multi-let centre?

Accepted Answer

Not as a per-tenant portal view, but yes as reporting: specific PDF reports can be generated and handed to each tenant as needed, covering their fire doors, inspection history, and open defects.

Question 38

Does DoorTRACE integrate with our centre or property management platform?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. There's no public API today, but it's coming. Tell us what you'd want to connect.

Question 39

Can DoorTRACE schedule inspections without disrupting trading hours or seasonal peaks?

Accepted Answer

The inspections and their scheduling sit on your side, not ours, unless you're on our Fully Managed tier, in which case we work around your trading hours and seasonal peaks for you.

Question 40

Can DoorTRACE schedule inspections around 24/7 shift patterns and HGV traffic?

Accepted Answer

Scheduling and the inspections themselves sit on your side, not ours, unless you're on our Fully Managed tier, where we work around your shift patterns and site operations.

Question 41

Does DoorTRACE integrate with our WMS or CAFM platform?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. No public API today, but it's on the roadmap. Tell us what you'd want to connect.

Question 42

Can DoorTRACE schedule inspections around evening trade and event programmes?

Accepted Answer

Scheduling and inspections sit on your side, not ours, unless you're on our Fully Managed tier, where we work around your programme.

Question 43

Does DoorTRACE integrate with our venue, ticketing, or estate platform?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. No public API today, but it's coming.

Question 44

Can DoorTRACE handle multi-venue chains and groups?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and you don't need us to do it: you can manage multi-venue and group structures yourself in the portal, with each venue scoped to the operating party and rolled up to the group owner.

Question 45

Does DoorTRACE work with hotel chains operating to a brand standard?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You manage every property under one account, and we can brand all the plaques (and your reports) to your hotel brand.

Question 46

How do you handle inspections inside occupied rooms?

Accepted Answer

Managing room access and scheduling is up to you, unless we're running it for you on Fully Managed, in which case we handle the access coordination around your housekeeping.

Question 47

Can we white-label reports for our parent brand?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every PDF report is automatically branded with your company logo, contact details, and accent colour. DoorTRACE appears only as a small "Powered by" footer note. Clients see your brand, not ours.

Question 48

What if we operate across multiple countries?

Accepted Answer

DoorTRACE is built for the UK market and uses UK standards (BS 8214, BS 9999, FSO 2005) as defaults. Properties outside the UK can use the same platform with adapted checklists, but compliance interpretation should be confirmed with local fire safety experts. International support is on our roadmap.

Question 49

How does pricing work for multi-property portfolios?

Accepted Answer

It's tailored. Talk to us about your portfolio and we'll work something out, especially if your situation is unusual.

Question 50

Does my building actually need Regulation 10 compliance?

Accepted Answer

Regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 applies to buildings containing two or more sets of domestic premises above eleven metres in height. For those buildings, quarterly checks on communal fire doors and annual checks on flat entrance doors are mandatory, not risk-based. The test is the height of the highest occupied storey.

Question 51

How does DoorTRACE handle flats where access is refused?

Accepted Answer

The engineer logs a timestamped photo of the attempted entry, notes on why access could not be obtained, and the flat reference, so it becomes a recorded event, not a missing inspection, and the audit trail shows reasonable attempts were made. Following it up (resident liaison, re-booking) sits with you, unless you're on Fully Managed, where we handle it.

Question 52

What is the difference between communal and flat entrance door checks?

Accepted Answer

Communal doors are checked quarterly under Reg 10: corridor cross-doors, lobby doors, stair cores, plant room doors, and any other fire door in a non-domestic part of the building. Flat entrance doors are checked annually under the same regulation. Both have to be documented and made available to the local fire and rescue authority on request.

Question 53

Can I bulk-import an existing portfolio?

Accepted Answer

Yes. DoorTRACE supports CSV import for building, floor, and door registers. Most operators provide an export from their existing platform or spreadsheet and we map it in under a day. QR plaques can be batch-generated for the imported portfolio, ready to apply during the next site visit.

Question 54

Does DoorTRACE integrate with our other systems?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. There's no public API today, but it's on the roadmap. Tell us what you'd want to connect.

Question 55

Our portfolio is mostly low-rise stock with a few HRBs. Does DoorTRACE handle that mix?

Accepted Answer

Yes. DoorTRACE configures the right cadence per building automatically. Stock above eleven metres picks up the Reg 10 quarterly communal cycle. Stock above eighteen metres or seven storeys picks up the BSA 2022 HRB obligations on top, including golden thread record-keeping and BSR-readable evidence. Low-rise stock runs on a risk-based cadence aligned to the FRA. One platform, one dashboard, building-specific obligations behind the scenes.

Question 56

How does DoorTRACE support Building Safety Regulator information requests?

Accepted Answer

Every HRB has a building-level evidence export pulling the fire door inspection record, photographs, defect history, remedial work orders, and the audit trail in BSR-readable form. Typical export takes minutes.

Question 57

How do we evidence fire door inspections for Housing Ombudsman complaints?

Accepted Answer

Every door has a complete history: every inspection, defect, photograph, remedial work order, refused-access attempt, and audit log entry. When a complaint cites a specific door or block, you can pull the full evidence pack in minutes. The audit trail shows what was done, when, by whom, with photographic and timestamp evidence.

Question 58

Does DoorTRACE integrate with our housing management system?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. There's no public API today, but it's on the roadmap. Tell us what you'd want to connect.

Question 59

Does DoorTRACE actually align to HTM 05-02 and HTM 05-03?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Default inspection checklists reference HTM 05-02 design criteria and HTM 05-03 operational provisions where they overlay BS 8214. Reports surface the right HTM part where it applies, and you can configure additional Trust-specific checklist items on top. We work to both HTM and the FSO, with HTM taking precedence where the cross-reference applies.

Question 60

Can DoorTRACE workflows accommodate infection control protocols?

Accepted Answer

Engineers see the infection control status of an area before arrival: PPE requirements, decontamination protocols, restricted-access zones. Inspection deferrals for active clinical care are first-class events with their own audit trail, not "missed" inspections. The Trust's Infection Control lead can pull a report on every clinical-area inspection quickly.

Question 61

How does DoorTRACE help us prepare for CQC inspections?

Accepted Answer

Every fire door inspection record, defect log, and remedial work order is CQC-readable in seconds. The Estates Director can pull a building- or department-level evidence pack on a tablet during an unannounced visit. CQC Regulation 12 and Regulation 15 evidence is templated and exports cleanly.

Question 62

How does DoorTRACE help us prepare for an unannounced CQC inspection?

Accepted Answer

Every fire door inspection record, defect log, and remedial work order is CQC-readable in seconds. The Registered Manager can pull a home-level evidence pack on a tablet while the inspector is still in the building. Regulation 12 and Regulation 15 evidence is templated and exports cleanly.

Question 63

How does the engineer app handle inspections in dementia care or end-of-life rooms?

Accepted Answer

The engineer sees access notes from the care team before arrival, and inspections can be deferred at a resident's or family's request, with the deferral logged with its reason so the audit trail shows dignified steps were taken. Coordinating that access sits with you, unless you're on Fully Managed, where we handle it.

Question 64

Can a single Regional Operations Director manage fifteen-plus homes in one account?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The portfolio view scales to any group size, with home-by-home compliance status and defect rollups, and permissions that let Registered Managers run their own home while the regional team sees the cross-portfolio picture.

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