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Honest comparison

Site Control vs Chime Software (2026)

Chime Software and Site Control solve different ends of the same site. Chime excels at subcontractor time & attendance — GPS clock-in flowing into automatic CIS payroll, plus asset tracking. Site Control is built for the principal contractor running the site: it generates UK RAMS, CPP and COSHH documents, runs RFIs, gates inductions, and isolates each contractor company's data. Choose by who you are.

Chime is the stronger pick for subcontractors who need GPS clock-in and CIS payroll; Site Control wins for a principal contractor who must generate RAMS, run RFIs and isolate each contractor's data on one site.

Reviewed · next review

Nicola Dobbie, Founder of The Site Book
Nicola Dobbie·Founder, The Site Book

Feature and positioning details are drawn from Chime's public vendor pages (chimesoftware.co.uk homepage, product-features, time-attendance and payroll pages, ROI calculator) and the Apple App Store listing, all fetched 2026-06-06. Chime's UK pricing is quote-only (ROI calculator, no published per-user figures), so no price comparison is asserted. Site Control figures are our own published per-site pricing.

At-a-glance comparison

Pricing, fit, and feature coverage side by side.

FeatureThe Site Book Site ControlChime Software
PricingFrom £675/site per month plus £5,000 one-off setup; volume tiers as sites scaleQuote-only — no public per-user figures; ROI calculator on site, talk to sales
Team sizePer active site with unlimited workers (~75+ typical); multiple contractor companies per siteBest for growing subcontractor firms with payrolled and CIS workforces, from roughly 20 operatives upward
Best forPrincipal contractors and builders running live sites with subcontractors who need UK CDM documents generated plus on-site contractor access, attendance, RFIs and audit-ready evidence in one per-site tool.Subcontractors and labour-heavy trades digitising timesheets, CIS payroll and field workforce management across multiple sites
Not ideal forNo biometric turnstiles or physical access control, so it cannot secure a Tier-1 perimeter the way hardware-led platforms like MSite can.Distributes RAMS rather than generating them — no built-in UK RAMS/CPP/COSHH document creation, so the compliance pack still has to be authored elsewhere.
RAMS / CPP / COSHH generationGenerates UK RAMS, CPP, COSHH and method statements from the project brief — unique in this category.
Permits to workDocument distribution and digital forms/checklists can cover permit-style sign-offs, but there is no dedicated named permit-to-work workflow advertised.
Site inductionsDigital induction blocks check-in until acknowledged - readable in 9 worker languages.Digital site inductions are a core feature, delivered in-app alongside RAMS and toolbox talks.
Multilingual inductions (9 languages)Workers read and acknowledge key H&S details in 9 languages at the entrance QR; the language used is recorded in the audit trail and translations are site-team reviewable.
RAMS sign-off (per worker)Per-worker RAMS acknowledgement can block check-in until the current version is signed; captured in the audit pack.
Worker cert trackingCSCS upload, internal review and expiry notifications.Skills and certifications (including CSCS-type competencies) are tracked per worker as part of workforce/subcontractor management.
Right to workRecords Home Office share-code checks with outcome, expiry and an evidence file (manual verification, not a live API).Right-to-work verification is included in onboarding/subcontractor management.
Contractor self-onboardingContractor self-join via the entrance QR with CSCS upload and approval.Strong subcontractor onboarding and management is core, though it is framed as employer-driven onboarding rather than a worker self-enrolment QR flow.
QR / mobile sign-inPermanent entrance QR for guest sign-in/out and contractor self-join.Sign-in/out is via the iOS/Android app with GPS capture; not positioned around a fixed entrance QR for guests/contractors.
GPS clock-inGPS-verified clock-in is a headline feature — location captured at sign-in/out to confirm who is on site in real time.
Biometric access
Physical access control
Site attendanceCheck-in/out, history and a live people-on-site view.Time & attendance is foundational; digital timesheets are auto-created at sign-in/out with real-time hours.
CIS payrollHours flow straight to payroll with CIS calculated automatically — a clear differentiator versus Site Control.
Live people-on-siteTriggered evacuation + muster roll-call: snapshot who is on site, mark each person safe, export a roll-call PDF.Real-time field management shows who is on site at any moment via GPS-verified clock-ins.
Multi-company isolationEach contractor company sees only its own workforce — test-verified.Built to manage in-house teams and subcontractors together from a contractor's account; no advertised test-verified per-contractor-company data isolation portal.
RFIsCreate, attach, comment, answer and close — unique in this category.
Document-review evidenceVersion-specific read/acknowledge audit chain.Documents are distributed and acknowledged in-app, but there is no advertised version-specific read/acknowledge audit chain like Site Control's.
Handover sign-offPer-plot, per-trade hand-over sign-off signed in person on one phone; certified PDF emailed to developer and contractor; per-plot progress board. Unique in this category.
Toolbox talksToolbox talks are distributed and acknowledged in-app alongside RAMS.
Site inspectionsInspections and checklists are part of the platform, with photo and location capture.
Incident logDigital forms/checklists and reporting can capture incidents, but a dedicated incident log is not separately named in public materials.
Plant / asset managementAsset tracking is an advertised module — an area Site Control does not cover.
Workforce schedulingReal-time field/workforce management is central, though public materials emphasise time capture and management rather than dispatch/rostering.
Multi-site dashboard & exportsAttendance CSV, monthly H&S CSV/PDF and project audit-log exports.Centralised multi-site view with real-time management reporting and PDF/share/save exports.
Mobile appNative iOS and Android app (Chime Construction Software) for clock-in, documents and checklists.
Offline modeField app captures data on site; an explicit offline mode is not confirmed in public materials.
Single sign-on (SSO)SAML single sign-on with Okta or Microsoft Entra; can be required across your company email domain.
Public APIRead-only REST API with scoped account keys, rate limiting and an OpenAPI 3.1 spec (projects, documents, workers, certifications, attendance).
Outbound webhooksSigned real-time webhooks — documents generated/signed, certificates expiring, workers checking in — with retries and a delivery log.

Who each tool is for

At-a-glance fit per product - pulled from the same data that drives the snapshot table.

The Site Book Site Control

Best for
Principal contractors and builders running live sites with subcontractors who need UK CDM documents generated plus on-site contractor access, attendance, RFIs and audit-ready evidence in one per-site tool.
Not ideal for
No biometric turnstiles or physical access control, so it cannot secure a Tier-1 perimeter the way hardware-led platforms like MSite can.
Team size
Per active site with unlimited workers (~75+ typical); multiple contractor companies per site

Chime Software

Best for
Subcontractors and labour-heavy trades digitising timesheets, CIS payroll and field workforce management across multiple sites
Not ideal for
Distributes RAMS rather than generating them — no built-in UK RAMS/CPP/COSHH document creation, so the compliance pack still has to be authored elsewhere.
Team size
Best for growing subcontractor firms with payrolled and CIS workforces, from roughly 20 operatives upward

The bottom line

Pick the option that matches how your team actually works.

Subcontractors with mobile crews and CIS payroll

Chime is the better fit: GPS clock-in straight into automatic CIS payroll and asset tracking is exactly its sweet spot. Site Control is honest here — it has no GPS geofence, no CIS payroll and no plant/asset module, so it is not the right tool for a payroll-led subcontractor.

Principal contractors running a shared site

Site Control wins: it generates UK RAMS/CPP/COSHH, gates inductions until acknowledged, runs RFIs and isolates each contractor company's data (test-verified). Chime is built around a single firm managing its own workforce, not multi-company isolation, and distributes rather than generates documents.

Smaller builders wanting fast, transparent rollout

Site Control's no-hardware QR entrance, unlimited workers per site and published per-site pricing make it quick to budget and deploy. Chime is also hardware-free but quote-only, and its depth suits larger payroll-led teams; for a lighter UK-CDM-first pack, Site Control fits better.

Full breakdown per product

Strengths, weaknesses, fit, and the sources every claim came from.

From £675/site per month plus £5,000 one-off setup; volume tiers as sites scale

Best for
Principal contractors and builders running live sites with subcontractors who need UK CDM documents generated plus on-site contractor access, attendance, RFIs and audit-ready evidence in one per-site tool.
Team size
Per active site with unlimited workers (~75+ typical); multiple contractor companies per site
Sweet spot
A principal contractor running one or more active sites who must generate the CDM pack, control who is inducted and on site, run RFIs, and produce audit-ready attendance and H&S exports without hardware.

Strengths

  • Generates the full UK CDM pack — RAMS, CPP, COSHH and method statements — and captures sign-off on site; no direct competitor in this category generates UK compliance documents.
  • Per-site pricing with unlimited workers (~75+) and test-verified multi-contractor-company data isolation, instead of per-seat or per-turnstile economics.
  • No hardware: a permanent entrance QR plus browser sign-in on the worker's phone means a new site goes live in days with no turnstile capex or install.
  • Combines RFIs, document-review evidence, CSCS and induction gating, attendance and audit-grade exports in one tool — plus SSO (Okta / Microsoft Entra), a scoped REST API and signed webhooks for enterprise IT.
  • Plot-by-plot hand-over sign-off: capture every trade signed off on every plot in person, with a certified PDF and a live progress board — no other tool in this category does per-plot trade sign-off.
  • Provable safety, not assumed: per-worker RAMS sign-off (which can block check-in until the current method statement is signed), right-to-work evidence records with expiry, and a triggered evacuation muster roll-call with a roll-call PDF — all rolled into one Audit Pack export.

Weaknesses

  • No biometric turnstiles or physical access control, so it cannot secure a Tier-1 perimeter the way hardware-led platforms like MSite can.
  • No CIS payroll or GPS-geofenced clock-in, so payroll-accuracy-led buyers may prefer Chime or Donseed.
  • No plant/asset management or workforce scheduling — adjacent operations tools cover those.
  • New plan on a recently launched product, with a shorter track record than established incumbents.

Source basis

  • pricing - https://thesitebook.co.uk/pricing (fetched 2026-06-06) · Site Control: from £675/site per month plus £5,000 one-off setup; volume tiers; unlimited workers per site.
  • features - https://thesitebook.co.uk/features/site-management (fetched 2026-06-06) · Per-site contractor access: QR sign-in, CSCS, induction gating, attendance, RFIs, document-review evidence, audit exports.
  • features - https://thesitebook.co.uk/site-control (fetched 2026-06-17) · Handover sign-off: per-plot, per-trade sign-off signed in person, certified PDF emailed to developer and contractor, per-plot progress board.
  • features - https://thesitebook.co.uk/features/site-management (fetched 2026-07-01) · June 2026 additions: per-worker RAMS sign-off, right-to-work evidence records, triggered evacuation/muster roll-call, and Audit Pack v2 evidence export.
  • features - https://thesitebook.co.uk/docs/api (fetched 2026-07-05) · July 2026 (#994): SAML SSO (Okta/Entra) with enforce-SSO, public REST API v1 with scoped keys + OpenAPI spec, signed outbound webhooks — Site Control tier.

Chime Software

Chime Software

Quote-only — no public per-user figures; ROI calculator on site, talk to sales

Best for
Subcontractors and labour-heavy trades digitising timesheets, CIS payroll and field workforce management across multiple sites
Team size
Best for growing subcontractor firms with payrolled and CIS workforces, from roughly 20 operatives upward
Sweet spot
A subcontractor running mobile crews who wants GPS-verified clock-in flowing straight into CIS payroll, with RAMS distribution and asset tracking bundled in

Strengths

  • GPS-verified clock-in feeding digital timesheets straight into CIS payroll with calculations automated — a genuinely strong field-to-pay pipeline Site Control does not attempt.
  • Hardware-free deployment that explicitly removes the burden of hardware procurement, making it fast and cheap to roll out across mobile crews.
  • Broad workforce-management footprint: T&A, onboarding, skills, right-to-work, asset tracking and inspections in one subcontractor-focused platform.
  • Real-time multi-site reporting with native iOS/Android apps, well suited to labour-heavy subcontractors managing operatives across many jobs.

Weaknesses

  • Distributes RAMS rather than generating them — no built-in UK RAMS/CPP/COSHH document creation, so the compliance pack still has to be authored elsewhere.
  • No request-for-information (RFI) workflow or version-specific document-review audit chain, so project Q&A and acknowledgement evidence live outside the tool.
  • Quote-only pricing with no public per-user figures on the UK site (just an ROI calculator), making budgeting harder for smaller buyers.
  • Built around a contractor managing its own workforce, not multi-contractor-company data isolation for a principal contractor running a shared site.

Related comparisons

Best Construction Site Access Software UK (2026)

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Best Construction Site Attendance Software UK

The Site Book Site Control is the best fit for principal contractors running live UK sites who need site attendance tied to per-site contractor access, induction gating with CSCS credential capture, and the generated CDM pack in one tool; Procore fits enterprise project management, Velappity fits configurable mobile forms, and Evalu-8 fits broader UK EHS teams.

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Best Contractor Site Portal Software UK

The Site Book is the best contractor site portal fit for small UK builders who need workers, subcontractors, visitors, and site participants to access assigned H&S information, attendance and files without becoming internal team seats.

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Site Control vs Causeway Donseed (2026)

Donseed wins biometric payroll accuracy and offline GPS capture; Site Control wins UK-CDM document generation, RFIs and fast no-hardware per-site access.

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The Site Book Site Control vs Assignar

Assignar owns crew-and-plant scheduling for self-performing heavy-civil contractors; Site Control wins when you need per-site contractor access, induction gating, UK-CDM document generation and multi-company isolation at a transparent price.

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Frequently asked questions

Short, straight answers - the same questions real builders ask.

Does Chime Software generate RAMS like Site Control?

No. Chime distributes RAMS, toolbox talks and other documents you upload, sending them to individuals, groups, sites or trades, but it does not author the documents. Site Control generates UK CDM documents — RAMS, CPP, COSHH and method statements — from the core Site Book platform. So with Chime you still author compliance paperwork elsewhere; with Site Control the generation and the on-site sign-off live in one place.

Which is better for CIS payroll and timesheets?

Chime, clearly. Its headline strength is GPS-verified clock-in that creates digital timesheets and flows hours straight into payroll with CIS calculated automatically. Site Control is honest about this gap: it records check-in and check-out attendance and exports it, but it has no geofenced GPS clock-in and no timesheet-to-pay or CIS payroll engine. If automated CIS pay is your priority, Chime is the right tool, not Site Control.

Who is each product built for?

Chime targets subcontractors and labour-heavy trades managing their own operatives across many jobs, with timesheets, CIS payroll and asset tracking front and centre. Site Control is built for the principal contractor running an individual site, controlling access, gating inductions, running RFIs and keeping each contractor company's data isolated. They sit at different ends of the same project, so the right choice depends on which role you play on site.

Does Chime offer RFIs and document-review evidence?

No. Chime focuses on workforce management — attendance, payroll, onboarding, skills and document distribution — and does not advertise a request-for-information workflow or a version-specific read-and-acknowledge audit chain. Site Control includes both: RFIs to create, attach, comment, answer and close, plus version-specific document-review acknowledgements that build an audit trail. If you need project Q&A and acknowledgement evidence inside the tool, that is a Site Control strength.

How does pricing compare?

Chime's UK pricing is quote-only: the site offers an ROI calculator rather than published per-user figures, so you must talk to sales to budget. Site Control publishes transparent pricing — from £675 per active site per month plus a one-off setup fee, with volume tiers, and unlimited workers per site. If you want to model cost before a sales call, Site Control's per-site figure is easier to plan around than Chime's quote.

Do both work without hardware?

Yes. Both are deliberately hardware-free. Chime explicitly removes the burden of hardware procurement and runs through its iOS and Android app with GPS clock-in. Site Control uses a permanent entrance QR plus browser sign-in on the worker's phone, with no turnstiles, biometrics or gates. Neither requires access-control capex, so both deploy fast — the difference is what they do once people are on site, not the hardware to get them there.

How we built this comparison

Feature and positioning details are drawn from Chime's public vendor pages (chimesoftware.co.uk homepage, product-features, time-attendance and payroll pages, ROI calculator) and the Apple App Store listing, all fetched 2026-06-06. Chime's UK pricing is quote-only (ROI calculator, no published per-user figures), so no price comparison is asserted. Site Control figures are our own published per-site pricing.

Every pricing, feature, and fit claim in this comparison is checked against public vendor documentation and, where relevant, independent sources. The “source basis” footer on each product card lists the exact URLs and the date we fetched them. The internal freshness dashboard flags source evidence after 45 days; priority pricing is scheduled for monthly review and feature or ownership claims for quarterly review. Last reviewed on .

Next review due: .

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