Posted 12th November 2025 By Rob Whalley

Compliance Management and Reporting: What You Should Expect from Your CAFM Software

In today’s facilities and estates landscape, compliance is more than a checkbox exercise—it’s a critical component of organisational integrity, safety, and operational excellence. Whether it’s statutory maintenance, health & safety, or environmental standards, compliance must be proven, not just promised.

Modern Computer-Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) software plays a pivotal role in helping organisations manage, evidence, and report on compliance. But not all systems deliver the same level of visibility or assurance.

So what should you expect from a CAFM system when it comes to compliance management and reporting?

1. Centralised Compliance Framework

A modern CAFM platform should act as your single source of truth. Compliance data—covering assets, properties, contracts, and workforce certifications—should be stored, maintained, and monitored in one central system.

Importantly, not all compliance relates to planned maintenance jobs. Many obligations stem from statutory documentation, electrical condition reports, asbestos surveys, or risk assessments. These must also be stored, tracked, and easily retrievable within your CAFM system.

Even if your organisation isn’t directly responsible for maintenance activities within a building—such as in leased or shared environments—it’s still essential to retain and manage compliance documentation for the sites you occupy or oversee. This ensures you can demonstrate due diligence and maintain a complete compliance record across your portfolio.

Key expectations include:

• Dedicated compliance registers for statutory, mandatory, and best-practice requirements.
• Linked records across assets, planned preventative tasks, documents, and certificates to ensure full traceability.
• Automated alerts for upcoming renewals, expiring certifications, and overdue submissions.

2. Automated Maintenance Scheduling

Compliance isn’t static—it’s cyclical and ongoing. CAFM software should provide automated scheduling tools that ensure maintenance and inspection regimes are carried out on time, every time.

Look for functionality such as:

• PPM schedules aligned with SFG20 standards or other regulatory frameworks.
• Escalation workflows that notify responsible parties when compliance jobs are missed or incomplete.
• Follow-on job creation for remedial works linked directly to original inspection records.

Automation ensures consistent compliance with requirements without over-reliance on manual tracking.

3. Evidence-Based Record Keeping

During audits or investigations, organisations must demonstrate that maintenance and compliance tasks have been completed to the required standard.

A strong CAFM system should therefore maintain:

• Time-stamped audit trails for every action taken.
• Photographic and document uploads as supporting evidence.
• Sign-off records for engineers, contractors, and clients.
• Digital certificates and statutory documents stored securely and linked to relevant assets or locations.

This creates a transparent, defensible compliance trail that withstands internal and external scrutiny.

4. Real-Time Compliance Dashboards

Executives, auditors, and maintenance teams all need visibility—but at different levels.

A robust CAFM solution should offer configurable dashboards that display:

• Compliance scores by building, region, or discipline.
• Upcoming statutory checks and overdue tasks.
• Health & safety incidents, permits, or risk assessments.
• Key performance indicators (KPIs) linked to SLAs and regulatory metrics.

Dashboards should provide at-a-glance summaries with drill-down capability, ensuring issues are identified and resolved proactively.

5. Comprehensive Reporting Capabilities

Reporting is where compliance data becomes actionable intelligence.

Expect your CAFM system to deliver: 

• Pre-built and customisable reports on compliance performance, task completion, and audit findings.
• Automated report scheduling for monthly or quarterly compliance reviews.
• Export options (PDF, Excel, Power BI integration) for board-level presentations and external auditors.

Data should not only be accessible, but meaningful, accurate, and easy to share across stakeholders.

6. Integration with Health & Safety and Risk Modules

Compliance doesn’t exist in isolation. Your CAFM system should connect seamlessly with other operational areas—particularly Health & Safety, Accident & Incident Reporting, and Permit to Work processes.

Integrated compliance management ensures:

• Risks are logged and mitigated within the same environment.
• Incident investigations trigger follow-up compliance checks.
• Permits are only issued when statutory conditions are satisfied.
• Contractor certification is maintained and monitored.

This holistic approach strengthens governance and ensures alignment between safety, maintenance, and compliance functions.

7. Demonstrating Assurance and Readiness

When auditors arrive, you shouldn’t need to scramble for evidence.

A high-performing CAFM system should allow you to demonstrate compliance in real time—showing live data, digital certificates, and documented proof of every statutory action.

This readiness not only reduces audit stress but also builds confidence with regulators, insurers, and senior stakeholders.

In Summary

Compliance management isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s about accountability, safety, and operational transparency. The right CAFM software should help you move from reactive compliance to proactive assurance through automation, centralisation, and intelligent reporting.

With Tabs CAFM, compliance is more than a module—it’s built into every aspect of facilities and estate management. From statutory maintenance and document control to health & safety, permits, contractor certification, asbestos records and incident tracking, Tabs FM helps organisations evidence compliance confidently and efficiently—whether you manage maintenance directly or simply need to maintain compliance visibility across your sites.