https://tradeyoke.net/blog/tag/compliance The legal duties behind the paperwork — and how to turn them into a calendar. en-gb https://tradeyoke.net/blog/document-library-that-finds-a-certificate-in-seconds https://tradeyoke.net/blog/document-library-that-finds-a-certificate-in-seconds Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:33:16 GMT "It's in here somewhere" is not a filing system. Here's what actually makes trade paperwork findable — and how TradeYoke searches inside the file, not just its name, to find the certificate that mentions a serial number or a customer's name. TradeYoke team Documents Compliance Guides https://tradeyoke.net/blog/keeping-a-lone-working-tradesperson-safe https://tradeyoke.net/blog/keeping-a-lone-working-tradesperson-safe Sun, 20 Sep 2026 23:33:16 GMT A scaffolder on their own on a roof, an electrician alone in a plant room, a solar installer working a rural site — lone working is normal in these trades. Here's what genuinely reduces the risk, and how TradeYoke gives the office real visibility without a box wired into the van. Carl Randall Compliance Product Guides https://tradeyoke.net/blog/landlord-gas-safety-record-every-12-months https://tradeyoke.net/blog/landlord-gas-safety-record-every-12-months Sun, 14 Jun 2026 11:15:11 GMT The landlord gas safety record is the most predictable repeat work in the gas trade. Here are the rules, the two-month window, and how to turn the date into a booking. 💡 Book the next landlord check in the window, not on the day. Ten to twelve months after the last check keeps the expiry date fixed and gives you eight weeks of flexibility to fill a route. ### Why the gas safety record is the best repeat work in the trade Three things make it valuable. It repeats on a known date. It comes in bundles, because agents manage dozens of properties and want one engineer they trust. And it puts you in front of every boiler in the portfolio once a year, which is where services, warning notices and replacements come from. The failure mode is equally simple. The date sits on a certificate in a folder, nobody looks at the folder, and the agent books whoever answers the phone first. The engineer who wins the renewal is the one who asked before anyone else did. > Reactive work finds you. Compliance work is waiting for you on a date you already know. — TradeYoke ### Turning 12 months into a calendar The Plumber and gas trade in TradeYoke is in pilot with real gas businesses. It produces the Landlord Gas Safety Record as a PDF, files it against the job and the customer with its expiry date, and shows a certificates page that filters what is due within 30, 60 or 90 days. Read about the pilot on the plumber and gas page. Because the record carries an expiry, the document library warns before it lapses, and the next visit can be booked as a recurring job the day the first one is done. A scheduled reminder to the agent, sent eight weeks out, lands at the start of the two-month window rather than on the day the record expires. The same visit becomes an invoice from the job, and if it is not paid on the day it appears in the morning 'who owes me' email until it is. [Image: The document library shows each certificate with its expiry, so a landlord record due next month is visible before the agent asks.] > ⚠️ Plumber and gas is a pilot trade in TradeYoke. The certificates described here are being used by pilot businesses now; pilot trades are priced with those businesses rather than from the pricing page. ### Sending the record to the agent, and proving you did Emailing a certificate from a personal inbox works until someone asks, six months later, whether it was ever sent. Sending from the record itself writes the send into the communications history with the date, the address and the file, so the question answers itself. Agents also like consistency. A branded email with the record attached and the next-due date in the body reads as a service, not a favour. The same message wizard that sends the 'we're coming tomorrow' text sends the certificate, and replies land in the customer's thread. Gas engineers who also do electrical work run both on one account; the trades page lists every trade, and the plans on the pricing page are per business rather than per trade. See also: the full Paperwork & compliance guide ### Who needs what, and when | Duty | Deadline | Who it falls on | |---|---|---| | Annual gas safety check | Every 12 months (early in the two-month window keeps the date) | Landlord, carried out by a Gas Safe engineer | | Copy to existing tenants | Within 28 days of the check | Landlord or agent | | Copy to new tenants | Before they move in | Landlord or agent | | Keep the record | Two years | Landlord | ### The annual landlord visit - ✓ Confirm the Gas Safe registration is current — Your ID card is the first thing a careful agent checks. - ✓ List every appliance and flue the landlord provides — Include the pipework; note tenant-owned appliances separately. - ✓ Record defects and what you did about them — A warning notice or a disconnection is part of the record, not a separate story. - ✓ Date the next check inside the two-month window — Ten to twelve months from this one keeps the expiry fixed. - ✓ Send the record from the job — So the send is on file with the certificate. ### Questions people ask **Does a gas safety record expire on an exact date?** Yes. The record shows the date of the check, and the next one is due within 12 months of it. A check done in the two months before that date can keep the original expiry; a check done earlier resets it. Confirm the current wording on HSE's landlord pages. **What if the tenant will not give access?** The landlord must take all reasonable steps to get the check done. That means recorded attempts: letters, calls and messages with dates. Keep the evidence with the property record, and tell the agent in writing when access was refused so the file shows it was not the engineer who slipped. **Is a boiler service the same as a gas safety check?** No. The safety check covers safe operation of each appliance and flue; a service is maintenance recommended by the manufacturer. Many landlords book both together because the engineer is already there, and that is the upsell the annual visit was made for. **Do I need a record for a tenant's own appliance?** The landlord's duty covers appliances and flues they provide, plus the installation pipework. A tenant's own appliance is not the landlord's to certify, though a flue serving it may be. When in doubt, check HSE's guidance or Gas Safe Register. ### Put the next landlord check on the calendar today TradeYoke's plumber and gas pilot files the record with its expiry, reminds the agent in the window and books the next visit from this one. Start a 30-day trial of Essentials with no card. [Start your free trial](https://app.tradeyoke.net/signup) ]]> TradeYoke team Plumbing Compliance https://tradeyoke.net/blog/eicr-every-five-years https://tradeyoke.net/blog/eicr-every-five-years Wed, 10 Jun 2026 07:15:11 GMT Private landlords in England must have an EICR at least every five years. That is a rebooking you can date on the day you issue the certificate. ✅ Send the landlord or agent a reminder three months before the EICR expires. It lands while they still have time to book you, not while they are searching for anyone who can come this week. ### Remedials are the second job An unsatisfactory report is not bad news for the electrician who wrote it; it is a quote. The C1 and C2 observations become the lines of that quote, the quote becomes a job, and the job becomes an invoice. The landlord gets the written confirmation the regulations ask for, and the file shows the whole chain. The quotes board in the platform keeps that chain visible: waiting on the customer, accepted, ready to book, booked. When the remedial invoice goes unpaid it turns up in the polite chasing sequence rather than in a spreadsheet you forgot to open. > An unsatisfactory EICR is the only certificate that arrives with its own quote attached. — TradeYoke ### Running the five-year cycle in practice ### The five-year EICR rhythm - ✓ Issue the report with the next-inspection date on it — Five years at most for a rental; shorter if the condition warrants. - ✓ File it with an expiry against the property and the landlord — Where it will surface, not where it will be forgotten. - ✓ Quote the C1 and C2 observations the same day — The remedial clock is 28 days; the quote should not use ten of them. - ✓ Remind the agent three months before expiry — By email or text, from the record so the send is on file. - ✓ Book the next inspection inside the window — Then the cycle runs itself. Landlords with gas appliances have a parallel duty every 12 months, covered in the landlord gas safety record post. Agents managing both like one supplier who reminds them about both, which is one reason compatible trades share an account on TradeYoke. The plans on the pricing page are per business, not per trade or per user. See also: the document library that finds a certificate in seconds ### Questions people ask **Is an EICR the same as an EIC?** No. An Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) is issued for new work, a new installation or a major alteration, and confirms it was designed, built and tested to BS 7671. An EICR is a periodic condition report on an existing installation. A brand-new installation with an EIC still needs an EICR within five years of it if the property is let. **Do HMOs need an EICR more often?** Houses in multiple occupation fall under the same five-year maximum, and licensing conditions may add requirements. The licence is set by the local council, so check the conditions on it rather than assuming the standard cycle is enough. **Does a homeowner need an EICR every five years?** There is no legal requirement for an owner-occupier, though one is widely recommended every ten years, when buying a property, or before major work. The five-year rule is specifically for private rented homes. **Who counts as a qualified and competent person?** The regulations do not name a register. Government guidance points landlords to competent-person schemes and to electricians who can demonstrate qualification and experience for inspection and testing. Membership of a scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT is the simplest way to show it. ### Make the next EICR the easiest booking you win TradeYoke's electrician pilot files every certificate with its expiry, quotes the remedials and reminds the agent before the five years is up. Start a 30-day trial of Essentials with no card. [Start your free trial](https://app.tradeyoke.net/signup) ]]> TradeYoke team Electrical Compliance https://tradeyoke.net/blog/scaffold-inspections-every-7-days https://tradeyoke.net/blog/scaffold-inspections-every-7-days Fri, 05 Jun 2026 09:15:11 GMT The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require a scaffold to be inspected after it goes up, at intervals not exceeding seven days, and after anything that could affect it. The record is the proof. ⚠️ The seven days are calendar days, not working days. A scaffold inspected on a Monday is due again by the following Monday, whether or not anyone worked on it in between. ### Handover: the day the scaffold becomes someone else's Handover is where the inspection clock starts. The scaffold is erected to its design, or to the relevant TG20 compliance sheet where no bespoke design is needed, inspected, tagged and handed to the client with a handover certificate. From that point the user of the scaffold is responsible for making sure the seven-day inspections happen, and the HSE's guidance puts that duty on the user or hirer, not automatically on the scaffolder. Most scaffold companies contract to do the weekly inspections anyway, because their competent people are the ones who know the structure. That is a service line as well as a duty, and it needs the same discipline as the erection: a named inspector, a date, a record. ### What the inspection record needs to show Schedule 7 of the regulations lists what a report must contain. Ticking a box on a tag is not enough on its own. ### Schedule 7: the written inspection report - ✓ Who it was carried out for — The name and address of the person on whose behalf the inspection was done. - ✓ Where the scaffold is — The location of the work equipment inspected. - ✓ What was inspected — A description of the equipment. - ✓ When — The date and time of the inspection. - ✓ What was found — Details of any matter that could give rise to a risk to the health or safety of any person. - ✓ What was done about it — Details of any action taken as a result. - ✓ What still needs doing — Any further action considered necessary. - ✓ Who inspected it — The name and position of the person making the report. ### Where TradeYoke is with scaffolding Scaffolding is a pilot trade in TradeYoke, being used by real scaffold businesses now. The pilot runs projects with a customer, site, status and the trades involved; erect and dismantle visits on the diary; documents with expiry dates; team and vehicle registers; and quotes and invoices raised from the project. The scaffolding page describes what is in use today. The scaffold register, the seven-day inspection records and the handover certificates are in development with the pilot businesses. They are not finished, and this post will not pretend otherwise. The design intent is the one described above: a project holds its scaffolds, each scaffold holds its inspections, an inspection that is due surfaces on the dashboard, and the report carries the Schedule 7 particulars so it stands up on its own. [Image: Inspections in TradeYoke: checklist-based, pass or fail each item, evidence for every fail, signed off on the pad] > 💡 Until the inspection records ship, pilot businesses file their inspection reports as documents on the project with a seven-day expiry, so the document library warns when the next one is due. Two things already in the platform help now. The document library takes a photo from the phone and files it against the project with an expiry, which is how a wind-damage inspection gets evidenced on the day. And live monitoring shows which of the team is nearest a site when a client rings about a strike; that is covered in the post on tracking without hardware. Scaffold work is also where projects earn their keep, because a site often carries more than one trade. Running two trades on one account explains how a project holds them together. Pilot trades are priced with the pilot businesses rather than from the pricing page. See also: the full Paperwork & compliance guide ### When a scaffold must be inspected | Trigger | Timing | Record | |---|---|---| | After installation or assembly | Before first use, in position | Written report within the working period | | While it stands | At intervals not exceeding 7 days | Written report each time | | After an event affecting strength or stability | Before use again | Written report stating the reason | | After alteration | Before use again | Written report | ### Questions people ask **Who is responsible for the seven-day inspections: the scaffolder or the site?** The regulations place the duty on the employer or person in control of the work, which in practice is the user or hirer of the scaffold. Scaffold companies are usually contracted to carry the inspections out because they have the competent people, but the contract should say so in writing. **Do the seven days include weekends?** Yes. The regulation says intervals not exceeding seven days, which means calendar days. If the last inspection was on a Monday, the next is due by the following Monday. **What if the scaffold is not used for a fortnight?** It still needs an inspection before it is used again, and a period out of use is itself a reason to inspect. Most contractors keep the weekly rhythm going regardless because it is simpler to prove than an exception. **Does a mobile tower need the same inspections?** The regulation covers any working platform used for construction work from which a person could fall two metres or more, so towers are in scope: inspect after assembly and at intervals not exceeding seven days. HSE publishes separate tower guidance; check it for the detail on re-inspection after moving one. ### Run every site on one calendar TradeYoke's scaffolding pilot holds projects, visits, documents and the team in one place, with inspection records on the way. Start a 30-day trial of Essentials with no card. [Start your free trial](https://app.tradeyoke.net/signup) ]]> TradeYoke team Scaffolding Compliance https://tradeyoke.net/blog/mcs-certificate-explained-for-installers https://tradeyoke.net/blog/mcs-certificate-explained-for-installers Sun, 31 May 2026 11:15:11 GMT The MCS certificate is what proves a solar install was done to the scheme's standards, and it is what unlocks the Smart Export Guarantee for your customer. Here is what it is, what MCS needs from you, and what goes in the handover pack. ⚠️ Solar installer is a pilot trade in TradeYoke. The documents described here are in use by pilot businesses; pilot trades are priced with those businesses rather than from the pricing page. ### The handover pack The handover pack is what the customer keeps, shows their supplier, and hands to the buyer when the house is sold. A thin pack costs you phone calls for years. A full one costs you twenty minutes. ### What belongs in the handover pack - ✓ MCS certificate — The scheme certificate for the installation. - ✓ Commissioning certificate — System tests and readings on the day it went live. - ✓ DNO paperwork — The G98 notification or the G99 approval, whichever applied. - ✓ Electrical certificate — The EIC or Minor Works certificate for the electrical work, to BS 7671. - ✓ Performance estimate — The annual generation estimate from the MCS method, with the assumptions. - ✓ Single-line diagram and layout — So the next engineer can see what was installed and where. - ✓ Warranties and manuals — Panels, inverter, battery, mounting, and the workmanship warranty. - ✓ Building control notification — Where the work was notifiable under Part P. The pilot produces the customer handover pack from the job, pulling in the certificate, the commissioning record, the single-line diagram and the DNO application, and emails it from the record so the send is on file. The DNO side, and the difference between notifying and applying, is covered in G98 vs G99: DNO applications without the wait. The electrical certificate follows the same rules as any other electrical work; the EICR post explains how certificates with an expiry become future work. > The handover pack is the last thing the customer sees from you and the first thing they show everyone else. — TradeYoke ### Where the certificate lives afterwards Filing matters more for solar than for most trades, because the documents outlive the phone they were made on. A certificate filed in the document library against the customer and the job is there when the customer moves house, when the inverter fails in year eight, and when the supplier changes its SEG rules. Search inside PDFs finds it by the inverter serial number, which is usually what the customer has to hand. Plans on the pricing page are per business. Solar firms that also do the electrical work run both trades on one account, which is what the two-trades post is about. See also: the full Paperwork & compliance guide ### Questions people ask **Can a customer get the Smart Export Guarantee without an MCS certificate?** Suppliers must offer SEG to installations with an MCS certificate or an equivalent they recognise. In practice most suppliers ask for MCS, so an install by a non-certified installer usually cannot claim it. Check the individual supplier's terms. **Does MCS cover batteries as well as panels?** Yes. MCS publishes a standard for electrical energy storage, and battery installers can be certified against it. Note that SEG pays for electricity generated and exported; a battery on its own does not qualify, and export from a battery charged from the grid is treated differently by suppliers. **Is the 0% VAT rate on solar tied to MCS?** No. The VAT relief on energy-saving materials installed in residential property is a tax rule with its own conditions, not an MCS requirement. Confirm how it applies to a specific job with your accountant or HMRC's guidance. **How long should the customer keep the certificate?** For the life of the system. It is needed for SEG, for warranty claims, for some finance and insurance products, and for the buyer when the property is sold. That is why a filed copy on your side is worth keeping too. ### Issue the certificate and the pack from the job TradeYoke's solar installer pilot produces the MCS data sheet, commissioning certificate and handover pack from the job and files them with the customer. Start a 30-day trial of Essentials with no card. [Start your free trial](https://app.tradeyoke.net/signup) ]]> TradeYoke team Solar Compliance https://tradeyoke.net/blog/g98-vs-g99-dno-applications https://tradeyoke.net/blog/g98-vs-g99-dno-applications Tue, 26 May 2026 13:15:11 GMT G98 means install then notify the DNO within 28 days. G99 means apply and get approval before you commission. Here is the threshold, the paperwork, and how to stop the wait stalling the job. 💡 Send the G98 notification from the commissioning visit, not from the office a fortnight later. It takes ten minutes while the inverter serial number is in front of you, and it is the document the SEG application will ask for. ### G99: apply first, then wait Above the threshold the DNO has to assess whether the network can take the export before anything is connected. That means an application with a single-line diagram, a site plan, the inverter's type-test evidence, the proposed capacity and the export arrangement. The DNO responds with an approval, sometimes with conditions such as an export limit, or with a connection offer if network work is needed. How long it takes depends on the DNO and the size of the job. A straightforward domestic G99 application is usually answered within the DNO's published timescale, often up to 45 working days; anything needing a network study takes longer. Your DNO publishes its own timescales, and they are the ones to plan against. > ⚠️ Do not commission a G99 system before the approval is in writing. Energising a generator the DNO has not approved can put the customer's connection agreement, and your relationship with the DNO, at risk. ### The wait that stalls the job, and how to shorten it The wait itself is not the problem. The problem is starting it too late: surveying in March, quoting in April, applying in June and then putting the install on hold. Three habits keep the job moving. Apply the day the survey confirms the size. Whether the customer has signed yet or not, an application costs little and the clock starts. Use type-tested inverters. Equipment on the ENA's type-test register needs no separate compliance evidence, which is the most common reason an application bounces. Design to the threshold when it is honest to. Where the customer's use fits a 3.68 kW export, a G98 design with export limitation avoids the wait entirely. Where it does not, say so and apply. ### Tracking the application on the job The application is a task with a status, a date and a document, and it belongs on the job, not in someone's inbox. The Solar installer trade in TradeYoke is in pilot with real installers and treats it that way: a G98 or G99 connection assessment on the job, DNO contacts by region so the right operator is a click away, the type-test documents and single-line diagram attached, and a boundary map of the site. The solar installer page covers the pilot. When the approval arrives it is filed with the job, and it goes into the handover pack described in the MCS certificate post. The customer sees the status without ringing, which is most of what they wanted. [Image: The jobs list filtered to one trade: every solar job in one place, with its priority, place and date — and the DNO application tracked on the job record.] ### The G99 application pack - ✓ Single-line diagram — Generator, inverter, protection, isolation and the point of connection. - ✓ Site plan and boundary — Where the equipment sits and where the supply enters. - ✓ Inverter type-test evidence — The ENA register reference, or full compliance evidence if not registered. - ✓ Capacity and export arrangement — kW output, phases, and any export limitation scheme. - ✓ Customer and MPAN details — The supply number from the electricity bill. - ✓ Installer details — Including who to contact with questions. Jobs that wait on paperwork are also jobs that wait to be paid. A deposit at booking and a pay link on commissioning, as described in how tradespeople get paid the same day, keep the cash moving while the DNO does its work. Pay links are part of the Premium plan and the customer portal is part of Ultimate on the pricing page; pilot trades are priced with the pilot businesses. Installers who also do the electrical certification will find the electrician page useful too. ### Questions people ask **Can I commission a G99 system before the approval comes back?** No. G99 requires the DNO's agreement before the generator is connected. If the customer needs the system live sooner, the honest options are a G98-sized design with export limitation or a conversation with the DNO about timescales, not an early switch-on. **Does adding a battery change the application?** Often. A battery with its own inverter adds generating capacity in the DNO's terms, and the total on the premises is what counts against the 16 A per phase limit. A hybrid inverter can keep the total within G98; a separate battery inverter may not. Work it out at design time. **How do I find out which DNO covers a site?** The Energy Networks Association runs a postcode lookup for the network operator, and the customer's electricity bill shows the MPAN, whose distributor ID identifies the DNO. Regional DNO contacts are stored in the TradeYoke solar pilot so the right one is on the job. **What if I forgot to send a G98 notification?** Send it now. The DNO would rather have a late notification than none, and the customer's Smart Export Guarantee application will need the paperwork. Then move the notification into the commissioning visit so it cannot be forgotten again. ### Keep the DNO application on the job, not in an inbox TradeYoke's solar installer pilot tracks G98 and G99 applications with the diagram, the type-test evidence and the DNO contact on every job. Start a 30-day trial of Essentials with no card. [Start your free trial](https://app.tradeyoke.net/signup) ]]> TradeYoke team Solar Compliance