Traceability

Who changed the figure, and when

A valuation is challenged long after the person who prepared it has moved on. The question is never what the number was. It is how it was arrived at, and by whom.

30 days free · No card required · Every feature on every plan

Recorded automatically, editable by nobody

An audit trail you have to remember to write is not an audit trail. QScope records the change as it happens, including changes made by other surveyors in your practice.

Nothing in the interface can alter or delete an entry. That is the whole point: a record that can be quietly amended is worthless as evidence.

  • Certificates created, issued, changed in status or deleted
  • Variations raised, approved, rejected or removed
  • Contract sum, retention rate and key dates changed, with old and new value
  • Client and subcontractor access granted, changed or revoked
Audit trail
11 Essex Road
DetailUserType
Certificate No. 04: Draft to Issued, net £14,031.00AdrianCert
Variation VO-01: Pending to Approved, £1,000.00AdrianVO
Client access granted to j.smith@buildco.co.ukAdrianAccess
Retention rate changed from 3% to 5%M. LewisSettings

The reason each surveyor needs their own login

A shared practice login makes every entry say the same name, which is the same as recording nothing. It is also the fastest way to make an audit trail useless in front of an adjudicator.

QScope prices per surveyor rather than per project partly so that giving everyone their own login never costs you a project.

  • Each surveyor signs in as themselves, on every plan
  • Guests are free and their actions are recorded too
  • A live activity feed shows what changed since you last looked
  • Export the whole trail to CSV for a bundle or a client file
Activity
What changed while you were out
Interim certificate PC-04 issued, £14,031.002 h ago
Variation VO-03 created, £3,240.005 h ago
Subcontractor valuation 03 prepared1 d ago
Unread on this project3
Questions

What surveyors ask before they start

Can I delete an entry?

No, and that is deliberate. Nothing in QScope can amend or remove an audit entry. A record that the holder can edit proves nothing, which defeats the reason for keeping one.

Does it record settings changes as well as money?

Yes. Contract sum, retention rate, contract form and key dates are recorded with the old and the new value, because a quietly changed retention rate moves every certificate after it.

Can I export it?

Yes, to CSV, per project. It opens in Excel with a byte order mark so names with accents are not mangled, which matters when the file goes into a bundle.

Is this required by RICS?

RICS does not mandate a particular system, but the Black Book expects a quantity surveyor to be able to show how a valuation was reached. An automatic record is the cheapest way to be able to answer that a year later.

Related

The rest of the commercial picture

Try it on your next valuation

Not your whole portfolio. One live job, one certificate. If it does not save you time the first time you use it, walk away and take your data with you.