CHOOSING A TOOL
How Victorian plumbers document compliance: the options compared
Every Victorian plumber documents their work somehow, even if that somehow is a shoebox of dockets. Here is an honest comparison of the real options, judged on one thing: how well each one proves a job was compliant if it is ever questioned.
What we are actually comparing
This is not a comparison of job-management software. Apps like ServiceM8, Fergus, simPRO, and Tradify are good at quoting, scheduling, and invoicing, and if that is what you need, they earn their place. This page compares the options on compliance documentation specifically: building a record that stands up in a VBA audit, an insurance claim, or a dispute years after the job. On that one axis, the tools differ a lot.
| Paper + filing cabinet | Photos on your phone | General job app | Elemetric | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Checks the work against AS/NZS 3500 | No | No | No | Yes |
| Photos timestamped and tamper-evident | No | Partial | Partial | Yes |
| GPS-stamped, hash-verified evidence | No | No | No | Yes |
| Signed PDF record per job | Partial | No | Partial | Yes |
| Retained for the 7-year window | Partial | No | Partial | Yes |
| Findable years later | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Built for Victorian plumbing | No | No | No | Yes |
| Works offline on site | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Time per job | High | Low | Medium | Minutes |
| Cost | Cheap | Free | $$+ | From $24.99/mo |
Paper and the filing cabinet
Paper is cheap and it works with no battery. The trouble is everything after the job. A docket fades, gets lost, or sits in a ute for a month. When a claim lands four years later, finding the right one is the problem, and a handwritten note proves far less than a dated photo of the actual install. Paper records what you say you did, not what the job looked like.
Photos on your phone
Taking photos is the single best habit on this list, and most plumbers already do it. The weakness is that a camera roll is not a record. There is no structure, no link to the job or the standard, no sign-off, and a phone gets lost or wiped. A loose photo also carries little weight as evidence on its own, because nothing proves when it was taken or that it was not edited later.
A general job-management app
These are a real step up: jobs are organised, searchable, and backed up, and you can attach photos. But they are built for running a business, not for proving compliance. None of them check your work against AS/NZS 3500, and the photos they store are ordinary attachments, not a tamper-evident evidence chain. You get organisation, not defensibility.
Where Elemetric is different
Elemetric does one job: turn a finished plumbing job into a record that holds up. You photograph the work, it checks the photos against AS/NZS 3500, you review and sign off, and it produces a signed PDF with GPS- and time-stamped, hash-verified photos and a QR code for verification. It does not certify compliance, you do, and it is not a full job-management suite. It is the evidence layer the others leave out. If you would rather skip the AI, Quick Document mode builds the same evidence chain with no AI and no internet.
Common questions
Is Elemetric a replacement for ServiceM8 or Fergus?
No. Those are job-management tools for quoting, scheduling, and invoicing. Elemetric does compliance documentation, the part they are not built for. Plenty of plumbers run both: a job app for the business, Elemetric for the compliance record.
Do I still issue my own Certificate of Compliance?
Yes. The licensed plumber issues the certificate. Elemetric builds the photo-and-standards record that backs it up, it does not certify the work for you.
What makes app photos stronger evidence than my camera roll?
A camera-roll photo has no proof of when it was taken or that it was not edited. Elemetric stamps each photo with GPS and a timestamp and stores a hash, so the original can be verified later rather than just claimed.
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Download on the App Store →General information for licensed tradespeople, not legal or regulatory advice. The licensed plumber remains solely responsible for compliance. Refer to the current AS/NZS 3500 standards and the Building and Plumbing Commission (formerly the VBA) for authoritative requirements.