Software update available - faster invoice generation with *custom* invoice templates

Jack's development team has just completed a software update within Alpha Tracker which will benefit asbestos and water consultancy clients using custom invoice templates*.  

Make your accounts staff smile! Faster invoice generation in Alpha Tracker

The change made enables invoices to be generated (behind the scenes) using our high-performance Cloud Document Maker service, meaning that invoices can be generated more quickly and more reliably.

If you would like this update, contact Support to discuss how we can patch your system.

* Alpha Tracker clients can pick from a number of built-in invoice templates which are professional and well-designed.  In addition, clients can design their own templates to reflect the fonts, colours and logos in use throughout their business.  This is another example of Alpha Tracker's flexibility and customisation

Decked Out with celebs at the Southampton Boat Show: Robin visits to see Andrew Bedwell show Big C V2 to the Boat Show visitors

Saturday was a special day down on the south coast – Robin headed to the Southampton Boat Show to catch up with our friend Andrew Bedwell, the man behind the incredible Big C Atlantic Challenge.

Andrew Bedwell and the amazing Big C V2 - the shortest boat to cross the Atlantic

You’ll remember from our earlier posts how Andrew is preparing to take on the Atlantic in Big C – the world’s smallest yacht designed to make the crossing, all in aid of raising funds for Cancer Research. At the show, Andrew was proudly displaying the boat - covered in our Start Software sponsor logo - to tens of thousands of visitors, and it was brilliant to see so many people inspired (and amazed!) by his story. Andrew’s second attempt to cross the Atlantic in Big C is set for May 2026, and momentum is really building.

As if that wasn’t enough excitement, we also rubbed shoulders with a couple of famous faces:

• Captain Jason Chambers – yes, the Captain Jason from Bravo’s Below Deck Down Under. We couldn’t resist grabbing a quick selfie with Jason and Andrew together (see below!).
  

  

  Robin, Andrew & Capt Jason

• Nick Ogden, founder of WorldPay, and inventor of e-commerce(!!) - generously gave Robin and Andrew a personal tour of his astonishing high-speed vessel, Thunder Child II. Let’s just say it’s the kind of boat that makes jaws drop and hearts race.
  

  

  Andrew with Nick in Thunder Child II

All in all, it was a fantastic day – catching up with Andrew, sharing the story of Big C with new audiences, and meeting some unexpected celebrities along the way. The countdown to Andrew’s record-breaking Atlantic crossing continues, and we’ll be cheering him on every step of the way.

Pedalling for a purpose – Dan & Robin at Goodwood! The Goodwood 500 was a blast. £1000s raised for MND sufferers in the West Midlands thanks to the Matt Gallagher Foundation

Last weekend, two of our own – Dan and Robin – joined forces with colleagues from our partner company CTT Group to form the Peloton Pioneers at the Goodwood 500 Charity Cycle. The venue: the legendary Goodwood Motor Circuit.

The CTT Teams in all their tight-shirt glory!

🚴 Dan’s Big Milestone

Dan completed his very first 100-mile ride – a huge achievement that shows what determination (and a bit of team encouragement) can do.

Dan in action on his way to 100 miles in 6 hours

🚴 Robin’s Metric Century & Photography Duties

Robin rode a “metric 100” (100 km) before swapping pedals for a camera, capturing shots of the team in action – including plenty of evidence of tired legs and determined faces.

Robin (unfortunate yellow helmet!), Bob, Sian, Laura, Connor and more of the riders

Why We Rode

The event raised money for the Matt Gallagher Foundation, set up after Matt’s diagnosis with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2023. The foundation provides practical help to those affected by MND in the Midlands – from home adaptations to “bucket list” experiences, giving families comfort and memories when they need them most.

The incredible, determined, inspirational Matt Gallagher starting the event

Thank You

A big thank you to everyone who has donated and supported us already – it made a real difference on the day. But we’re not done yet! If you’d like to help, every pound goes directly to the Foundation’s work.

👉 Donate here via GoFundMe

The legs are recovering (slowly), the photos are in, and the fundraising continues. Thanks again for being part of it.

AI in Alpha Tracker - our Premium & Enterprise clients enjoyed an early look at the AI innovations we're developing

A big thank you to all of our Premium and Enterprise Alpha Tracker clients who joined CTO Jack and MD Robin yesterday for our private AI webinar. We were delighted to see so many of you online, eager to understand where AI is taking Alpha Tracker — and our industry.

Robin ready to present - including his ZX81 & ChatGPT supermarket mag!

AI can sometimes feel like the latest in a long line of “next big things” in technology. Robin still remembers working with punched cards*, ZX81s, BBC Micros and Amstrad word processors… then PCs, spreadsheets, Windows, the birth of the Internet, mobile phones, smartphones and more recently WhatsApp, IoT and broadband. Each of those felt transformational in its time. But AI is bigger than all of them. What’s changed in the last five years has been nothing short of extraordinary.

That’s why we’re not waiting on the sidelines. AI is already embedded in Alpha Tracker today, with features that many of you are already using. AlphaValidator is helping check and improve report quality, FLS is scheduling more effectively, Ask Alfie is answering support queries, and screen summaries are making it easier to navigate information quickly. These aren’t “future ideas” — they’re working, live, and already saving our users time and effort every day.

Behind the scenes, we’re busy working on even more AI-driven capabilities. Without giving too much away (our competitors read this blog too 👋), we shared a glimpse of what’s “in build”: smarter tools to analyse photos and reports, new ways to check quality and consistency, and even features that will make communicating results quicker and easier. All of these are being designed with one aim in mind — to help you deliver faster, more accurate, and more insightful services to your clients.

We also touched on the bigger picture: how agent-based AI could become part of everyday business life, what that means for asbestos professionals, and the opportunities (and challenges) that lie ahead. One thing is certain — AI will reshape our industry, and we want Alpha Tracker users to be at the front of that wave.

And we’re putting our money where our mouth is. Next month we’re taking the entire Start Software team to Amsterdam for the World Summit AI. It’s the global event for AI, and we’ll be learning from the very best so that we can bring the latest thinking straight back into Alpha Tracker.

World Summit AI in Amsterdam - we're taking the whole team

So once again, thank you to all who attended. Your feedback, your questions, and your ideas are helping guide our AI journey. We’ll keep innovating, keep building, and keep listening — because our goal is simple: to make Alpha Tracker the smartest and most powerful platform in the industry.

* not Robin, actually, but he worked alongside people who did!

Alpha Tracker at the NORAC Conference in Manchester

Yesterday, Kim and Melika from Alpha Tracker had a busy and successful day at the NORAC Asbestos Conference in Manchester. They spent time at our our conference stand and in the main room, reconnecting with familiar faces and forging strong new connections across the asbestos consultancy and health & safety sectors.

Old friends! (less of the "old", Neil said!)

Melika looks tiny!

We showcased the latest updates in Alpha Tracker asbestos software, sharing how our platform continues helping consultancies streamline survey records, compliance, and incident management.

Old clients dropped by the stand—always great to catch up, hear feedback, and discuss how asbestos software Alpha Tracker is working for them in real-world settings.

New leads and contacts also stopped by, interested in how we manage regulatory compliance, reporting, and how our mobile/web platform supports field work.

Let's have an asbestos debate!

The conference had an excellent agenda. One of the standout sessions was the debate about whether UKAS accreditation should be mandatory (or not) in the asbestos surveying industry.

In addition, these stood out:

• “Respiratory protective devices – how much protection do they offer” by Nick Baxter, the RPE technical lead at HSE 
  
  
• “The benefits of accreditation and preparing effectively for requirements” by Louise Wainwright, UKAS Assessment Manager and Asbestos Technical Focus Person. 

These talks tied in nicely with Alpha Tracker’s focus on standards, compliance and user safety—so there was a lot of synergy and topics for deeper discussion at the stand.

Kim at our Alpha Tracker stand

NORAC’s 2025 Annual Conference is one of the key events in the asbestos sector calendar. With its location at Manchester Marriott Victoria & Albert Hotel, it attracted consultants, analysts, contractors, safety professionals, and regulatory experts. The event also included NORAC’s first-ever Asbestos Awards Ceremony, recognising excellence across the community. 

Kim with global asbestos leader Yvonne Waterman

We came away inspired. The insights from speakers like Nick Baxter and Louise Wainwright reinforced how ever-more important robust software solutions are—especially in areas like accreditation, protection, and regulatory standards.

If you missed us at NORAC but want to learn more about what Alpha Tracker can do for your asbestos compliance or surveying work:

• Visit Alpha Tracker’s main site: alpha-tracker.co.uk
• Or go to our Asbestos-specific page: alpha-tracker.co.uk/asbestos

If you’re interested, we can also send you the full NORAC programme link or PDF so you can see all the talks and plan ahead for next year.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the stand, attended the talks, or joined in the conversations. Looking forward to applying what we learned and seeing some of the new ideas brought to life!

Can you support Dan & Robin cycling for Motor Neurone Disease?

Dan & Robin are cycling a charity event on Sunday 21 September at the Goodwood Motor Circuit.  The event - the Goodwood 500 - is in aid of people suffering from Motor Neurone Disease (MND).  500 cyclists are aiming to cycle 100 miles (40 laps!) to raise funds for the Matt Gallagher Foundation.

Matt Gallagher was a professional rugby player diagnosed with MND in 2023. Matt is a friend of Start Software director Andrew - and Andrew encouraged Robin & Dan to ride along with him and other friends and colleagues.

Robin & Dan 

Look - bikes!

If you'd like to support Dan & Robin and can donate something - however small - to support people with Motor Neurone Disease, here is the link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/exdcb-goodwood-500-matt-gallagher-foundation-charity-cycle.

Thanks in advance!

We've increased the speed and flexibility of our Data Exports within Alpha Tracker. Another demonstration of our belief that the data in Alpha Tracker is *your* data, not ours

You know how passionately we believe that the data within Alpha Tracker is *your* data and we are the custodians of it.  Unlike many other asbestos software providers who delight in locking you in to their systems and hold you to ransom if you want access to it, we work hard to expose as any ways as possible for you to export your data and link to other software systems.

CTO Jack and the software team have updated our Data Export engine to increase the speed that exports run and to increase their flexibility, especially around the export of PDF files (such as asbestos reports).

Exports are now faster and more flexible

You can find details about all of our data exports and integrations on our websites here https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/integrations (UK) and https://alpha-tracker.com.au/integrations (Australia/New Zealand).

Our best showing in the Coracle World Championships! Lucas, Jamie, Jack & Dan reach the semi-final

Our Start Software Coracle-racing team had their best showing yet on Friday, reaching the semi-final.  Their run was ended by Jamie digging deep with the oar - far too deep, in hindsight! - and sinking our boat.  Despite his best efforts and those of the team members following him, it was "game over" but there were smiles all round.

You can still donate to Macmillan if you'd like to: https://macmillan-org.enthuse.com/pf/start-software-out-of-ctrl-c.  Thanks in advance!

Jamie, Dan, Captain Lucas and Jack

Dan was the poster-boy for the event

Jamie - WET

The Coracles lined up and ready

A great turnout yet again - what a way to fundraiser for Macmillan

Our latest software project has been soft-launched at the Dairy Show. SOLID Diet Management is nearly production-ready

We've been working with the famous Nicholson farming family over the last few months to build a new farming app - SOLID Diet Management (see https://blog.start-software.com/2025/05/were-building-new-farming-app-meeting.html).

Built using the Alpha Software development platform (Alpha Anywhere), our team have built an innovative and robust self-service app.

Dan & Lucas attended the soft-launch at the Dairy Show

The Dairy Show was the ideal venue for the soft-launch of the app (not least because it was in Telford!), so Dan & Lucas went along to meet the farming brains behind the product, Richard Nicholson, and watch him introduce it to fellow farmers.

The Big C (V2!) is back in the water! Andrew's preparations for his next World Record attempt are going well

Adventurer and friend of Start Software Andrew Bedwell has been video-calling us from his new boat, Big C V2!

Andrew with Big C V2 at Whitehaven, UK

Andrew has rebuilt Big C from scratch using a new design, new materials and a new approach to weight distribution.  It is still tiny - but there is (slightly) more room inside for his navigational aids and for food.

His sea trials at the weekend were a great success and the boat only needs a few minor adjustments in time for his journey to start in May 2026.

We're supporting Andrew right up to the point where he sets off - to break the World Record for the shortest boat to cross the Atlantic (Big C is only 1m long...) he has to be completely unsupported.  That means 3 months at sea eating only the food he can take with him (or catch) and drinking water made by hand-cranking a desalination unit.

Watch this space for more photos, videos and news.

Our Risk Assessment webinar recording is now available on YouTube

If you missed the live webinar on Risk Assessments within Alpha Tracker, you can watch it on our website or direct on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8o9bFGNZD_0

Watch Kim, Dan & Jack on the webinar

You can also click the video below!

40 Marathons in 40 Countries in 4 Months - all for Cancer Research

Our good friend and client John Read of CleanUpBritain (remember, we built the roadside-litter-tracking RoadVlog app?) is a very proud Dad.  His son, Angus (22) is running 40 marathons in 40 countries in 4 months, raising funds for Cancer Research.

Angus is hoping to be the youngest person to achieve this feat, and he is doing it completely unsupported. Wow, what a challenge!

You've got this, Angus!

Follow Angus on TikTok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@angus_read/video/7545555352952130838

And - just an importantly - donate to the cause by clicking here: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/angus-reads-euro-40-40-4-expedition?feed=e8d79554-289a-48eb-be2a-2e59e4a6add8

Thanks in advance!

Update - Angus has just started his Montenegro marathan and sent us this message...

Support Desk Performance - August 2025

August was another busy month for our support team, with 832 tickets solved in total. Of these, 166 were high-priority – the kind of issues our clients really need us to resolve quickly.

We’re pleased to report that:

• 97.08% of high-priority tickets were solved within the timescales set by our customers.

• Across all tickets, 90.99% were solved on time.

Although August’s overall performance dipped slightly compared to earlier months, our handling of urgent issues remained consistently strong. Clients can be reassured that when a critical problem arises, we act swiftly and effectively.

Good performance over the last 6 months

Looking back over the last six months, a few trends stand out:

• High-priority tickets are always given the attention they deserve – month after month, we’re above 95%, peaking at an excellent 99.2% in April.

• Ticket volumes have eased slightly since the spring (down from 1,080 in March to 832 in August). That gives us some breathing space, but we’ll keep working to bring overall “on time” performance back up towards the mid-90s.

• Consistency is key – even with fluctuations, we’ve handled around 800–1,000 tickets every month, showing the reliability and resilience of the team.

In short: August showed that we can be relied upon when it matters most, and we’ll be focusing on lifting our overall response rates back up as we head into autumn.

Three (3!) new Alpha Tracker asbestos consultancy orders in a week! New users from the UK, Australia & New Zealand have joined the Alpha Tracker family

It's been a busy period for the Alpha Tracker teams in the UK, Australia & New Zealand.  Three orders in one week!  This will keep the installation team busy...

Only joking - we're always happy to receive new orders

We've had an order for asbestos software Alpha Tracker from a new asbestos lab in the UK along with asbestos consultancy Hazchek joining us from Australia and Dowdell joining from New Zealand.

Can we help your asbestos consultancy to become more efficient?  Are you wanting to learn more about how AI is changing our software and how asbestos consultancies are using systems to automate their businesses?  Get in touch!