Not all emergency lighting software is the same
Different tools cover different jobs. Work out which category you need, then compare products inside it.
- Purpose-built for emergency lighting tests — work through fittings monthly and annually, keep a living site register (the fitting list you update between visits instead of rewriting from scratch), and issue the visit report and site certificate from that visit. Beacon sits here.
- Multi-discipline fire and security platforms — fire alarms, extinguishers, intruder, and emergency lighting certificates under one roof. Useful if you already cover several fire disciplines; FireCert is the main UK example. These platforms are strong on certificates across many systems; they are less focused on fitting-by-fitting emergency lighting tests on site.
- General electrical certificate apps — EIC, EICR, PAT, and a stack of other forms; emergency lighting is one certificate type among many. Elec-Mate and Pro Certs sit here.
- Business ops for service companies — recurring schedules, dispatch, invoicing, accounting sync, with compliance documents issued from the job. HiveSuite sits here.
Floorplan and facilities asset tools (Plotstuff and similar) are another category — useful for mapping devices across a building. They are not aimed at signed BS 5266 paperwork from an on-site emergency lighting test.
What to look for on site
If you spend most of your time on site testing luminaires, check products against this list:
- Offline in plant rooms — no signal should not stop you finishing the job. You need to record results and sync later.
- A living site register — fittings persist between visits; you update, you do not recreate. See keep a living site register.
- Both test types on the same list — monthly function and annual duration, with defects on the fitting.
- Paperwork from the visit — a visit report and periodic site certificate without typing the whole building into Word again.
- Import — bring the spreadsheet or logbook you already have, so setup is not a weekend of typing everything in again.
- Audit trail — who tested what, when; signed documents that stay as signed.
Software is most useful when you have more than one site, a rotating team, open retests that get lost on paper notes, or a logbook with gaps because last month’s paper record cannot be found.
Comparison at a glance
| Capability | Beacon | FireCert | Elec-Mate | Pro Certs | HiveSuite | Paper |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built around testing fittings on site | Yes — Field | Partial — cert workflows | Partial — cert form | Partial — cert form | No — job + doc flow | Manual |
| Living luminaire register | Yes | Partial — building assets | Cert-centric | Cert-centric | Property records | Spreadsheet |
| Monthly + annual on same register | Yes — timer on annual | Reminders + certs | Cert supports both | Cert supports both | Schedule only | Manual |
| Offline in plant rooms | Yes — Field | Certificate-led | Yes — PWA | Yes | HiveCrew mobile | N/A |
| Visit report + site cert from same visit | Yes | Periodic cert focus | Separate cert workflow | Separate cert workflow | From job dashboard | Two forms |
| Defects tied to fittings | Yes — open until closed | Defect records on certs | Cert observations | Photos on certs | Job notes | Clipboard |
| Import existing spreadsheet | Yes | Manual asset setup | Varies | Some cert imports | Client import | N/A |
| Multi-discipline fire / electrical | Emergency lighting only | Fire + security | 19 cert types | EICR + emergency lighting + more | 18 templates | N/A |
| Scheduling / invoicing | Console team view | Reminders + portal | Business tier | Web portal | Core strength | No |
| Public pricing | Free open beta | From £79/mo + VAT | From ~£20/mo electrician | Subscription | From £34.99/mo inc VAT | Free templates |
Product by product
Beacon
Beacon is emergency lighting test software built for UK contractors who test buildings on site. Field runs on phone or tablet — including plant rooms with no signal. Console is the office view for sites, team, history, and branded PDFs.
What it does well
- Living site register — fittings, rooms, test switches, and floors carry forward. Import the spreadsheet you already have instead of typing the whole site in again.
- Monthly and annual on the same register — function tests and full-duration runs with a timer per test switch, defects and photos on the fitting until they are closed.
- Paperwork from the visit — visit inspection report and periodic site certificate, each with its own reference, without rewriting the list in Word. Issued documents stay as signed.
- Console for the firm — multi-site overview, invite technicians, company branding on the documents you leave with the client.
- Free in open beta — no card to start.
What it is not
- Not a fire-alarm / extinguisher / intruder platform — Beacon is emergency lighting only.
- Not an EICR / BS 7671 certificate library.
- Not a full job-scheduling and invoicing suite (Xero, quotes, recurring invoices).
If you need a fitting list that carries forward, monthly and annual on the same register, and paperwork that matches the visit — whether emergency lighting is all you do or a major part of a wider fire business — Beacon is built for that work.
FireCert
FireCert is a UK fire and security compliance platform. It is built around multi-discipline certificates — fire alarms, extinguishers, intruder, CCTV — with emergency lighting as one of the disciplines under that roof.
What it does well
- BS 5266 certificate wizards (completion, periodic, existing-site compliance) with locked PDFs and QR verify.
- Building-level compliance dashboards and automated due-date reminders across disciplines.
- Client portal and a shared building record if you already use FireCert for fire and security work.
Where it is weaker for emergency lighting tests
- Built around certificate workflows and compliance status, rather than on-site testing with offline plant rooms and an annual duration timer per test switch.
- Less emphasis than Beacon on a living register you import from a spreadsheet, open defects with photos that stay on the fitting until closed, or issuing both a visit inspection report and a site periodic certificate from the same visit.
- From £79/month + VAT for a full fire platform — pricing reflects the multi-discipline coverage.
If you already run fire alarms and other disciplines in FireCert, it can still be a good fit for that wider work. For fitting-by-fitting emergency lighting tests and the paperwork from that visit, Beacon is the more focused option.
Elec-Mate
Elec-Mate is a mobile-first platform for UK electricians: 70+ BS 7671 calculators, apprentice training, AI agents, business tools, and 19 certificate types. Emergency lighting is one of those certificates — not the main focus of the product.
What it does well
- One subscription covering EIC, EICR, PAT, fire alarm, EV, heat pump, and an emergency lighting certificate among others.
- Offline-capable PWA for certificate drafts and calculators.
- Strong fit if you already use Elec-Mate for day-to-day electrical work and only need occasional emergency lighting paperwork.
What it is not
- Not emergency lighting test software in the sense of a living fitting register, monthly function test, annual duration timer, and both documents from the same visit.
- Emergency lighting sits in a certificate library next to many other forms — expect a certificate-form workflow rather than a dedicated emergency lighting product.
Pro Certs
Pro Certs is a long-standing electrical certification app for iPad, Android tablets, and Windows. It produces EICR, EIC, minor works, and — more recently — BS 5266-1 emergency lighting certificates (completion, periodic, site compliance). Offline with cloud sync.
What it does well
- Trusted cert library for electricians who already generate EICRs on tablet.
- Multiple BS 5266 certificate flavours; photos on observations; multi-user portal.
What it is not
- Same category as Elec-Mate: certificate forms, rather than a living emergency lighting register and on-site testing product.
HiveSuite
HiveSuite is UK service-business software: recurring job calendars, HiveCrew dispatch, certificate builder from jobs, Xero / QuickBooks sync. Plans from £34.99/month inc VAT. It includes BS 5266 emergency lighting document presets.
What it does well
- Keeping monthly and annual visits on the calendar across dozens of properties.
- Invoicing and accounting sync so the office side of a testing business stays joined up.
What it is not
- Not a fitting-by-fitting testing tool with a luminaire register and duration timer. It is useful for the scheduling and office side of the business; recording each fitting on site is a different job.
Spreadsheet and paper
A careful spreadsheet can hold a register. Blank PDFs can hold a visit report and site certificate. On larger workloads, copies can diverge, months can go missing, and the certificate can disagree with the logbook.
Free blanks if you stay on paper: visit report template and site certificate template.
Which path fits you
- Emergency lighting is your main work — monthly and annual, multi-site, need both PDFs from the visit → start with Beacon (free in open beta). Same answer if emergency lighting is a major part of a wider fire business.
- You need one fire platform for alarms, extinguishers, and intruder certificates → FireCert for that wider stack. You may still want a dedicated tool for on-site emergency lighting tests.
- You want one electrician app for EICRs and occasional emergency lighting certificates → Elec-Mate or Pro Certs may be enough; they are certificate apps rather than dedicated emergency lighting test products.
- Your main need is scheduling and invoicing across hundreds of properties → HiveSuite for the office side; you may still want a register tool for the on-site tests themselves.
- One small premises, one tester, fittings barely change → paper and the free templates below.
When paper is still fine
Paper can be enough if:
- One small premises, one tester, fittings barely change.
- The logbook is filled every month without chasing anyone.
- You are happy printing blank forms and filing them with the building.
Download free blanks anytime from templates.
