The Problem With How Vetting Is Done Today
If you run a private security company in the UK, you already know the pain. A new officer joins. Someone emails them a PDF form. They fill it in — partly. You chase them for missing documents. You manually check whether their SIA licence is valid. You try to track down references by calling numbers that go straight to voicemail. Weeks pass. Compliance paperwork sits in a folder nobody has properly reviewed.
BS7858 — the British Standard for screening individuals in security environments — is supposed to be the solution to all of this. It's the industry's gold standard for vetting. But most software either ignores it entirely, or treats it as a checkbox rather than a workflow. The result: security companies are technically 'BS7858 compliant' on paper, while their actual vetting process is a mess of spreadsheets, email threads, and manual chasing.
This week, Patrovix shipped a module that changes that. Here's what we built, and why it matters. If you want the broader platform context, see our Product overview and Features page.
What We Built: End-to-End Automated BS7858 Screening
1. Invite-Driven Digital Onboarding
The workflow starts with the security company admin or controller sending an invitation directly from Patrovix. The officer receives a branded email with a link to their digital onboarding form — no PDF, no printing, no back-and-forth. The form covers everything required under BS7858: personal details, full address history, 5-year employment history, character and employment references, identity documents, right to work evidence, DBS certificate, and statutory declarations including WTR opt-out.
2. Real-Time SIA Badge Validation at the Point of Entry
This is the feature we're most proud of. As the officer fills in their SIA licence number, Patrovix calls the SIA Open Register API in real time. It checks three things simultaneously: that the name entered by the officer matches the name on the SIA register, that the badge hasn't expired, and that the licence status is currently active and valid. If there's a mismatch — wrong name, lapsed licence, suspended badge — the officer cannot proceed. The error is surfaced immediately, not caught weeks later during a manual audit.
3. Automated Employment Gap Detection
One of the most commonly missed BS7858 requirements is accounting for employment gaps. Many vetting processes accept whatever history the candidate provides and move on. Patrovix doesn't. The system automatically scans the officer's submitted employment history and flags any unexplained gaps. It also enforces that the officer provides a current address — the form will not allow submission without it. This prevents the 'I submitted it' scenario where the record exists but is fundamentally non-compliant.
4. Automated Reference Request Emails With Chase Workflow
Once the officer submits their onboarding form, Patrovix automatically generates and sends reference request emails to every employment referee and character reference listed. No admin action required. If a referee hasn't responded within the configured window, a chase email goes out automatically. When references come back, the details are checked against the applicant's submission and discrepancies are flagged for admin review. The entire reference loop — from request to verification — is handled without anyone lifting a finger.
5. A Dedicated BS7858 Compliance Dashboard
Rather than burying compliance status inside an officer's profile somewhere, Patrovix has a dedicated BS7858 compliance tab. Admins can see the compliance status of every officer at a glance: what's complete, what's in progress, what's blocking deployment, and what the overall compliance health of the workforce looks like. Each officer has a per-section breakdown so you know exactly what's missing — not just that something is missing.
6. Shareable PDF Vetting Report for Subcontracting
This one solves a specific, frequent problem in the industry. When a security company wants to subcontract an officer to another company, the receiving company needs to verify that the officer has been properly screened. Previously, this meant emailing documents back and forth, with no standardised format and no guarantee of completeness. Patrovix generates a locked, professional PDF of the officer's complete BS7858 screening record — everything verified, everything timestamped — that can be shared with any third party. One click. Audit-ready. No gaps.
Why This Matters for UK Security Companies
Losing an ACS accreditation audit, a high-value contract tender, or deploying an officer with a suspended SIA licence — these aren't hypothetical risks. They happen regularly to companies whose compliance process relies on manual steps and human memory. Patrovix automates every gate, so nothing gets through that shouldn't.
How Patrovix Compares: A Market Reality Check
The UK security software market has several established players. Here's an honest look at where they stand on BS7858 vetting — and where Patrovix is different.
| Feature | Patrovix | PARiM | Guardhouse | Vetting Gateway / GuardCheck |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SIA API check at onboarding | ✓ Real-time, name + expiry + status | ✗ Licence entry only | ✗ Basic check | ~ Separate service |
| BS7858 onboarding form | ✓ Built-in, invite-driven | ~ Generic workforce only | ~ Partial | ✓ Separate tool/cost |
| Employment gap auto-detection | ✓ Automatic, blocks submission | ✗ None | ✗ None | ~ Manual review |
| Automated reference emails + chase | ✓ Fully automated | ✗ None | ✗ None | ~ Managed service add-on |
| BS7858 compliance dashboard | ✓ Dedicated tab, per-officer view | ✗ None | ~ Basic | ~ External portal |
| Shareable PDF vetting report | ✓ One-click, audit-ready PDF | ✗ None | ✗ None | ✓ Available |
| Built for UK mid-size firms (50–200 guards) | ✓ Core focus | ~ Enterprise-skewed | ✓ Yes | ✓ Standalone vetting only |
| All-in-one ops + compliance | ✓ Single platform | ~ Scheduling only | ~ Scheduling only | ✗ Vetting only |
Note: PARiM and Guardhouse are primarily workforce scheduling tools. They do not claim to deliver BS7858 vetting. VettingGateway/GuardCheck deliver vetting but are not security operations platforms. Patrovix is the only platform building both in one product for the UK market.
The Gap No One Else Is Filling
Most security software in the UK falls into one of two categories: scheduling tools that ignore compliance, or standalone vetting services that ignore operations. The scheduling tools — PARiM, Guardhouse — are good at shift management but don't touch BS7858 in any meaningful way. They treat SIA licence tracking as a manual data entry task and have no automated vetting workflows.
The vetting specialists — GuardCheck, CBS Screening, StaffVetting — do BS7858 properly but charge per-check fees, sit outside your operations workflow, and hand you a PDF at the end with no ongoing compliance monitoring. You still need separate scheduling software, and the two systems never talk to each other.
Patrovix is building the platform that sits in the middle: a full security operations platform where compliance is not a bolt-on but a core function. When an officer's SIA licence is flagged, they're automatically removed from scheduling. When a reference comes back with a discrepancy, it surfaces in the same dashboard where you're managing that officer's shifts. The data doesn't live in two different places. You can also explore implementation options on our Pricing page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is BS7858 and why does it matter for UK security companies?
BS7858 is the British Standard for screening individuals employed in security environments. It covers identity verification, 5-year employment history, right to work, DBS checks, and character references. While not a legal requirement, it is mandated by ACS accreditation and expected by most commercial clients. Failing to meet it properly can cost you contracts and expose you to regulatory risk.
Q: What security guard software includes BS7858 vetting in the UK?
Most UK security guard software — including PARiM and Guardhouse — focuses on scheduling and does not include native BS7858 vetting workflows. Patrovix is building a platform that combines operations management with built-in BS7858 compliance, SIA licence monitoring, and automated reference checking.
Q: How does the SIA Open Register API work with officer onboarding?
The SIA (Security Industry Authority) provides a public API that allows software to verify the status of an SIA licence in real time. Patrovix uses this API at the point of officer onboarding to validate licence number, expiry date, and whether the name on the licence matches what the officer entered. Invalid or mismatched licences are blocked immediately.
Q: Can BS7858 vetting records be shared between security companies?
Yes — and this is increasingly important for subcontracting. Patrovix generates a shareable PDF report of a completed BS7858 screening record, including all verified documents and timestamps, that can be provided to any client or partner company requiring proof of vetting.
What's Coming Next
The BS7858 module is complete. Development now moves to the Shift Scheduling and Guard Mobile App modules — the critical path for everything else in the platform. Over the coming weeks we'll be publishing updates on GPS-verified clock in, real-time live ops dashboards, and incident reporting from the field.
If you're running a security company and you're interested in the Patrovix beta, we're currently onboarding a small group of subcontractors managing 10–40 officers. Contact us here to join the onboarding queue.