Paper, spreadsheets or ProComply: an honest comparison.
Each has a place. Here is where each one works, where it falls short, and what ProComply does not do.
Side by side
| Paper | Spreadsheets | ProComply | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costs nothing to startProComply starts at R3 500 a month | Yes | Yes | No |
| Works with no training | Yes | Partly | Partly |
| Works without signal on siteProComply saves on the phone and sends later | Yes | Partly | Yes |
| Record cannot be changed after the factDatabase lock and SHA-256 checksum on submission | No | No | Yes |
| Photo and location evidence with each check | No | No | Yes |
| See every site’s status without collecting forms | No | Partly | Yes |
| Reminders before certificates and reviews expire | No | Partly | Yes |
| Failed checks become tracked actions | No | Partly | Yes |
| Report for an inspector or auditor without rebuilding it | No | Partly | Yes |
| Fits any process you likeCustom checklists, but the structure is ProComply’s | Yes | Yes | Partly |
When paper is fine
One small site, a handful of people, and someone who files every form the same day. Paper is cheap and anyone can use it. The trouble starts when forms go missing, get filled in later, or need to be found for an inspector months afterwards.
When a spreadsheet is fine
Tracking a short list of expiry dates or appointments, kept by one careful person. Spreadsheets struggle with evidence from site, with several people editing, and with proving a record was not changed later.
What ProComply does not do
Better you hear it from us before you sign up.
- It costs money every month
- Gold is R3 500 a month for up to 5 sites. Paper and a spreadsheet cost almost nothing. There is no free trial.
- Someone has to set it up
- Sites, people, checklists and schedules need to be set up at the start, and someone has to own it afterwards.
- It does not write your documents
- Risk assessments, appointment letters and health and safety plans are stored and tracked in ProComply, but a competent person still writes them.
- It does not submit incident or COID reports
- You can flag an injury as reportable and your admins are notified, but the report to an inspector and the report to the Compensation Fund are made outside ProComply.
- It does not run your committee
- Health and safety representatives and committee members can be recorded as appointments, but electing representatives, holding meetings and keeping minutes happen outside ProComply.
- It is not a medical record
- ProComply has no record type for occupational disease reports or other medical reports.
- It does not decide what is reasonably practicable
- ProComply records the checks, the hazards and the fixes. Deciding what is reasonably practicable, and doing the work on site, stays with you.
- It does not deal with the inspector for you
- ProComply produces the records and the reports. A report is only as complete as what your team records, and you still answer the inspector.
- Contractor management is Platinum only
- The contractor portal, documents and checklists are part of the Platinum plan.
- Self service stops at 15 sites
- Above 15 sites we quote for your operation rather than offering a plan you can buy online.
- It needs phones and a connection, sometimes
- Checklists work offline, but people need a smartphone, and setup and syncing need a connection.
Comparing safety apps?
We will not describe other products for you. Ask these questions of every option, including ours.
- Can a submitted record be edited afterwards, and by whom?
- Does it capture who completed the check, where, and when?
- Does it work offline on site?
- Does it remind you before certificates, appointments and reviews expire?
- Can you get a full report out without rebuilding it by hand?
- Does it cover South African requirements such as Section 16(2) appointments and contractor documents, or will you build that yourself?
- What does it cost once all your sites and users are on it?
Get started
See it with your own sites in mind.
Book a demo and we will walk through ProComply using the kind of work you do, the checklists you need and the way your sites are run. Or start now and set up your first site today.