Thanks for joining the Release 42 Webinar for Alpha Tracker. Watch the recording here

Our new webinar technology (Whereby) wasn't quite as slick as we'd have liked, but it was a fun Alpha Tracker webinar, anyway! We had a good turn-out, thank you - there's always lots to show and discuss.

Kim, Jack & Zac on our live webinar

You can see all of the Release 42 highlights on our website https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/latest-release and you can watch the recording of the webinar below.

Dan & I tried to join the webinar from the road to say hello, from our 300 Miles in One Day challenge.  We managed to join (with ropey signal from a Welsh mountain) but apparently no-one could hear us!  Here's a video we recorded just before the webinar, instead:

Thanks again for joining the webinar and keep an eye on the Alpha Tracker roadmap to see upcoming new releases during 2026.

We made it! 300 Miles in One Day for Cancer Research UK

We're so proud of the UK Start Software team!  Between us, we cycled 300 miles in one day for Cancer Research UK, a charity very close to our hearts.

Some of the photos from the day

Dan & Robin cycled to the Welsh coast together, while the rest of the UK team peddled on a static bike, relay-style, on the balcony outside our Telford office.  Lucas brought us over the line with Adam adding a final flourish!

You can replay the day, and add your own donation (thanks in advance!) here: https://300-miles.start-software.ai/

Click to replay the day

New Alpha Tracker Document Maker ready to deploy. Faster, more robust, better all around

CTO Jack and the team have completed the new version of the Alpha Tracker Document Maker (ATDM)—the workhorse behind report production for most asbestos consultancies using Alpha Tracker.  

The new ATDM is part of Alpha Tracker Release 42.1 per the 2026 roadmap: https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/roadmap with more to come in the next few weeks.

Jack & Jamie testing asbestos report production

The changes include:

• faster document production
  
  
• the ability for ATDM to recover from a server crash without needing to start a document from scratch 
  
  
• a new mechanism to produce the survey pages making it much more reliable for large (>1,000 page) survey reports.

Zac & the Support Team will be rolling out the upgrade to systems over the next few weeks.  Early reports from beta testing clients are very positive.

300 Miles in One Day! Follow along during the day and help us to raise funds for Cancer Research

On Tuesday 28 July, we're trying to cycle 300 miles in one day for Cancer Research UK.  It's not going to be easy but we're a determined bunch and this is a cause close to our hearts.

Follow our progress at https://300-miles.start-software.ai

We've built an app so you can track progress.  Follow along here!  https://300-miles.start-software.ai

What's new in Alpha Tracker Release 42? Is it the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything?

42 is famously the answer to the ultimate question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.  Take a look at The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy if you don't know the reference!

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was a work of genius

Alpha Tracker Release 42 is not quite that, but it is still a huge update, with the usual hundreds of improvements, new features, performance enhancements and bug fixes.

Important! It will probably also be the final major update to the core Alpha Tracker system before we begin rolling out our complete rewrite, built using a new technology stack, later in 2026. You can read more about our plans on the Alpha Tracker roadmap.

Jack, Ferry, Judy, Kim and the rest of the team have had a lot of fun creating this release. As always, we have also worked hard to implement ideas and suggestions from our wonderful customers.

Release 42 highlights

• More than 600 improvements and updates across every area of Alpha Tracker

• Major Water Hygiene enhancements, including clearer risk logic to improve how water risks are presented on the Client Portal

• A new LRA Review water project type, making it easier to revisit, review and update information from previous Legionella Risk Assessments

• Instant AI analysis of survey items from photographs, helping surveyors assess materials more quickly and consistently

• Further support for Australian asbestos material assessment scoring, helping asbestos teams work in line with updated Australian requirements

• A new Report Dashboard on the Home screen, giving teams a clearer overview of report production across their projects

• Improved Alpha Tracker performance, thanks to an updated version of the underlying software framework

• Faster imports using the Alpha Tracker Work Queue, improving the speed of some of our most popular data imports

• Improved site-sharing visibility, making it clearer which sites have been shared and helping teams manage access more confidently

• Enhanced site register controls, including a new hidden-items tab and site-level QR-code password protection for greater control over site information

Update on the new software framework

We have received a small number of reports of instability following the framework update. As of 25 July 2026, we believe we have identified and fixed the issue, and deployment of the fix to affected systems is under way.

More Info & Webinar

Full details of Alpha Tracker Release 42, including the Release Notes and Highlights document, are available on our latest release page.

You can also join us for our Release 42 webinar on Tuesday 28 July at 11:30am.  Find out more and register for the Release 42 webinar

300 miles. One day. One team. Please help us support Cancer Research UK

On Tuesday 28 July, the Start Software and Alpha Tracker UK team will be taking on an ambitious office challenge for Cancer Research UK.

Together, we are going to cycle 300 miles in a single day.

Thankfully, we aren’t expecting everyone to squeeze onto one bike.

Telford to the Welsh coast

Dan and Robin will set off from our Telford office and cycle approximately 75 miles each to Aberdyfi on the Welsh coast.

Looks like Robin needs to practice wearing his helmet

Back at Base

Meanwhile, back at Start Software HQ, the rest of our UK team will complete the remaining 150 miles as a relay on a static bike outside the office.

Kim spinning her wheels

That means the pedals will need to keep turning throughout the day, whatever the weather and however tired everyone’s legs become!

Please visit our Cancer Research UK fundraising page and make a donation

Why we are doing it

Cancer has affected several members of the Start Software team.

Some of us have lost people we love. Others are currently experiencing cancer first-hand, trying to carry on with everyday life while undergoing treatment, attending appointments and living with continual tests and monitoring.

It is something that touches almost every family, friendship group and workplace.

We wanted to do something positive together, while raising money to support Cancer Research UK’s vital work to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.

Watch us live during the Release 42 webinar

Because cycling 300 miles in a day apparently isn’t enough of a challenge, we are doing it on the same day as our Alpha Tracker Release 42 webinar!

The webinar takes place on:

Tuesday 28 July 2026
11:30am–12:15pm UK time

You will be able to see how the challenge is progressing live during the webinar, including the office relay team pedalling away in the background. We are also hoping to bring you updates from Dan and Robin as they make their way towards the coast.

Alongside the cycling, we will still be showing you the highlights of Release 42, what has changed in Alpha Tracker and some of the exciting developments coming next.

Register for the Release 42 webinar on LinkedIn

You can also find information about the webinar on our Alpha Tracker webinars page.

Please help us reach our target

Every donation, large or small, will encourage the team and help Cancer Research UK continue its life-saving research.

Please donate through our official fundraising page:

Donate to the Start Software Cancer Research UK challenge

You can also help enormously by sharing the page with your colleagues, friends and family.

Thank you for supporting us. We will keep the pedals turning, and we hope you will join us online to cheer everyone on!

300 miles. One day. One team. Together, we can help beat cancer.

24 July update: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/robins-giving-page-2044?feed=56da40e4-fd8c-40d2-84e8-dc66543336b2

The Alpha Tracker API has been updated

Jack and the team have updated the Alpha Tracker API with new and improved endpoints.  The appointment endpoints have had the most focus to give clients more opportunity to retrieve schedules into other software systems.

The Alpha Tracker API enables other systems to securely connect to Alpha Tracker

View all of the Alpha Tracker integrations here: https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/integrations