Fieldwire vs compliance software: what UK contractors are actually choosing

Fieldwire is jobsite management software with genuine safety-form capabilities; compliance software is a broader category for maintaining the people, documents, assessments, approvals and evidence a contractor must control. The two can overlap, and some firms will need both. The buying question is which system should own drawings and site tasks, which should own compliance records, and how the two will exchange information without double entry.

Fieldwire's UK site describes drawings, markups, tasks, inspections, forms, reports and site collaboration. Its forms page specifically includes safety audit forms and QA/QC checklists. It would be inaccurate to call Fieldwire “just a drawing viewer” or to claim it cannot record safety information. Likewise, it would be inaccurate to infer that a custom form automatically provides every contractor, worker, RAMS, training and expiry-management workflow a business requires. Ask suppliers to demonstrate the precise jobs.

This guide is based on public vendor sources checked 6 October 2026. Features and plan inclusion change. No independent speed, quality or total-cost comparison has been performed. Complys publishes this guide; its own current functionality must be verified against the live product before publication or purchase.

Compare the centre of gravity

Neither column is a complete product audit. Fieldwire's official help says the Forms module and safety audit template are available on specified paid tiers; verify current UK plan names and terms before committing. Do not infer all forms are in the free tier.

A one-project test that exposes the difference

Use one real job: a subcontractor is instructed to repair an overhead service in an active building. The team has current drawings, a task location, a risk assessment and method statement, worker training records, an induction, a permit or isolation process if required, and an inspection after the work. Ask each vendor to show the full sequence.

Before work starts

Where is the latest drawing, and how does a worker know it is current? Fieldwire is built around plan versioning and markups. Then ask who checks the subcontractor's insurance and worker competence, who approves the RAMS, and what stops an obsolete method from being used after a design change. Those compliance decisions need named humans and evidence, whether handled in Fieldwire, another system or both. Software cannot grant legal competence or discharge CDM duties by recording a tick.

At the point of work

Have the supervisor mark a changed condition on the plan, raise a site task and complete a safety form. Fieldwire's official forms material supports that kind of work. Then ask whether the change requires a new risk assessment, method, briefing or permit. If those live in a separate compliance system, define who updates them and how the cross-reference is retained. A photo pinned to a drawing does not, by itself, update the controlled RAMS.

At close-out

Raise an inspection defect, assign correction, capture evidence and close it. Can the client retrieve the final drawing annotation, signed form, latest method, worker authorisation and relevant certificate together? If not, the firm needs an agreed evidence pack and a clear source of truth for each item. Test exports and account access after the project ends.

Three sensible system designs

1. Fieldwire as project hub, separate compliance system as record owner. This suits teams that use drawings, site tasks and forms heavily and also manage worker, contractor and company evidence across multiple jobs. Document the link between project IDs, site tasks and compliance records.
2. One configured project platform. This can work if a live demonstration proves the needed RAMS, approvals, expiries, permissions and evidence functions. Do not assume them because custom forms exist; configuration and maintenance have a real cost.
3. Compliance-led process with light site coordination. A small contractor may primarily need worker records, assessments, approvals and certificates and use the client's drawing/project system for site coordination. Check client access and handover requirements.

There is no universal answer. A principal contractor coordinating many trades may value Fieldwire's drawing-centric collaboration. A specialist contractor managing its own credentials and compliance across many clients may prioritise the organisational record layer. Some buyers need both, especially where project work and company-wide compliance have different owners.

Procurement questions that prevent double entry

Ask for written answers to: Which system owns the master drawing? Which owns the current RAMS and worker training evidence? Can a Fieldwire task link to a controlled compliance record without copying personal documents into the project? What event triggers review when plans change? Who can approve a subcontractor or a permit? How are closed actions audited? What data can be exported and in what format? What are the exact permissions for client, contractor and worker users? Which integrations are live and supported on the quoted tier?

Price the whole architecture: users, projects, forms module, integrations, configuration, training, migration, storage, support and second-system cost. A free plan or starting rate does not make a like-for-like comparison. Do not use a US price on a UK buying page without an explicit UK quote. Run a pilot on a project with genuine drawing changes and subcontractor evidence, then count duplicate entry and retrieval time.

Where Complys fits

Complys publicly positions itself for UK operational compliance—RAMS, worker and contractor documents, training, certificates and site evidence—in its construction software page. The appropriate question is whether the current implemented product can manage the specific company-wide records and review process your business needs. Do not present Complys as a replacement for Fieldwire's drawing versioning, plan markups, field task coordination or offline site experience without direct proof. If those are central, keep Fieldwire in the shortlist and test how records connect.

The next step is to map your project and organisational records, then request two demonstrations using the same changed-condition scenario. For the wider software market, see the observed UK compliance software guide. The manifest's /compare parent route must be verified before a link is added. This category-boundary page serves a different query from the broad UK buyer guide, but unpublished/repository collision checks remain.

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