An honest comparison of the main options for recording and reporting Electrical Installation Condition Reports in the UK. from dedicated certificate tools to general inspection apps to WhatsApp-based workflows.
An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) documents the condition of an existing electrical installation. Under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector Regulations 2020, landlords in England and Wales must have EICRs carried out every five years. or sooner if the previous report requires it. Commercial premises have similar obligations under general health and safety law.
The software is not what makes an EICR valid. The competence of the electrician is. What software does is make the report easier to complete correctly on site, harder to forget items, and faster to deliver to the client. A good tool means the engineer does not fill in the report from memory in the van on the way home.
That last point matters more than any feature list. The report completed on site, in real time, with the installation in front of you is a better report than the one reconstructed afterwards. The tool's job is to make on-site completion the path of least resistance.
Tools like iCertifi and Cert Lightning are designed specifically for electrical certification. They produce certificates in the formats electricians and clients recognise. EICRs, Minor Works, Electrical Installation Certificates. They know BS 7671. They handle the schedule of inspections, the schedule of test results, the front sheet.
These are the right choice if certificate format is the primary concern and your engineers are already comfortable with dedicated apps. The weakness: another app to install, another login to manage, another thing to update.
iAuditor (SafetyCulture) and GoAudits are not built for electricians. They are built for anyone who does inspections. The EICR template is one of thousands. This flexibility is also the problem. The templates require setup. The app requires training. Engineers use it for a week and revert to paper.
iAuditor's reviews on Capterra are instructive. "App crashes during inspections." "Customisation limits." "Per-seat pricing adds up fast." These are not niche complaints. They are structural features of building a product for 85,000 organisations across 95 countries instead of for UK electricians specifically.
SafetyCulture charges from around £380 per month for 20 engineers. The pricing is per seat. The office manager who reads one report a month pays the same as the engineer who files four a week.
The third category is newer. Instead of an app, the engineer receives the EICR workflow as a WhatsApp conversation. Each question arrives as a message. The engineer replies. text, voice note, or photo. The completed report generates as a PDF.
The advantage is not a feature. It is the absence of friction. Every electrician already uses WhatsApp every day. There is nothing to install. Nothing to learn. The first time they use it, they already know how to use it.
Quickler runs in this category. The EICR workflow arrives in the engineer's existing WhatsApp chat. C1 and C2 codes are flagged the moment they are entered. The completed PDF goes to the client. The office sees every report status on a dashboard without chasing anyone.
| Tool | Type | Pricing | Engineer experience |
|---|---|---|---|
| iCertifi | Certificate-format | ~£12/month per user | Dedicated app, EICR-specific |
| iAuditor | General inspection | From ~£19/seat/month | App install required, general templates |
| GoAudits | General inspection | From ~£10/seat/month | App install required, template setup needed |
| Quickler | WhatsApp workflow | £50-£300/month per firm | Runs in WhatsApp, no install or training |
| Paper | Paper | Printing costs | Familiar, illegible, unsearchable |
Pricing comparisons are approximate and change. Check each vendor's current pricing directly.
C1 means danger present. the risk of injury is immediate. C2 means potentially dangerous. FI means further investigation is required before a classification can be assigned. These are defined in BS 7671 Appendix 6.
The codes matter because they determine the overall condition code of the report (Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory) and the remedial timescales. C1 means the client needs to act immediately. C2 means acting before the next scheduled inspection. FI means returning to investigate further.
Whichever tool you use, the codes should be recorded at the point of observation. not reconstructed at the end of the inspection. A tool that makes the engineer choose the code for each observation as they go, rather than remembering it for later, produces better reports and reduces liability.
Quickler flags C1 and C2 codes the moment the engineer enters them and surfaces them on the dashboard for the office. The client receives the completed report with the codes and recommended remedial action clearly stated.
For sole traders, the main options are iCertifi (EICR-specific certificates), iAuditor (general inspection app), and WhatsApp-based tools like Quickler. iCertifi is best if you need certificate formats specifically. iAuditor if you already use it for other inspections. Quickler if you want to file reports on the phone you already use with no new app or login.
The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector Regulations 2020 require EICRs to be carried out in accordance with BS 7671. The report format is not prescribed by statute, but the NICEIC and NAPIT model forms are widely accepted. The report must record the installation details, observations, and the overall condition code. Check with your certification body if format compliance is a concern for your specific context.
C1, C2, and FI codes should be recorded at the point of observation during the inspection. Good EICR software flags these in real time so the engineer does not have to remember them for the report later. Quickler flags C1 and C2 the moment they are entered and surfaces them on the office dashboard immediately.
Yes. Quickler's EICR workflow runs over WhatsApp Business API. the engineer receives each question in their existing WhatsApp chat, answers it, attaches photos, and the completed report generates as a PDF. No separate app or login is required. Quickler manages the WhatsApp Business API account on the firm's behalf.
No app install. No training. Engineers use the phone they already have. Setup to first live workflow usually takes under a week.