By L8MS Team · Updated 10 Nov 2026
This guide is for duty holders, responsible persons, facilities and estates managers, landlords and water treatment contractors in the UK who are deciding whether legionella management software is worth using, and what it should do. In short, legionella management software is a digital system for planning, recording and evidencing the work you do to control legionella risk. That work includes risk assessments, monitoring checks, flushing, remedial actions and training. It does not reduce your legal duties. Used well, it makes them easier to meet and much easier to prove.
The essentials, in plain English
The Health and Safety Executive has produced an excellent free leaflet - Legionnaires' disease A brief guide for dutyholders. This 5-page document is a very concise guide. It will help you to understand the health risks associated with Legionella. Legionnaires’ disease: The control of legionella bacteria in water systems (ACoP L8 and HSG274) provide further detail about how to manage and control the risks in your system.
The duty holder is the employer or the person in control of the premises. This includes landlords who rent out property. The duty holder must identify and assess the risk, prepare and carry out a scheme to prevent or control it, keep records, and appoint a competent responsible person to manage the day-to-day controls. Contractors can carry out the work, but responsibility stays with the duty holder.
What the law and guidance say, and who is responsible?
Record keeping – Legal requirements
The legal framework that requires suitable records to be maintained: -
HSW Act, sections 2, 3 and 4.
COSHH, regulations 6 and 9;
Management Regulations, regulations 3 and 5;
These Regulations require employers, where they have five or more employees, to record the significant findings of their risk assessment and the steps taken to prevent exposure to substances hazardous to health. Employers are also required to keep suitable records of examinations, tests and repairs of control measures.
More specific guidance on records for Legionella control is offered in ACoP L8 Paragraph 70 - An assessment of the risk must be carried out and those appointed under paragraph 48 must record the significant findings and ensure appropriate records are kept. This should include any groups of employees identified as being particularly at risk and the steps taken to prevent or control risks. If the employer has less than five employees, there is no statutory duty to write anything down, but it may be useful to keep a written record of what has been done.
Paragraph 71 - Records should include details about:
the appointed responsible person(s) for conducting the risk assessment, managing, and implementing the written scheme;
- any significant findings of the risk assessment;
- the written scheme and its implementation;
- details about the state of operation of the water system, ie in use/not in use;
- the results of any monitoring inspection, test or check carried out, and the dates.
Paragraph 72 - These records should be retained throughout the period they are current and for at least two years afterwards. Retain records of any monitoring inspection, test or check carried out, and the dates, for at least five years.
Further guidance is offered under paragraph 74 -
The following items should normally be recorded:
- names and positions of people responsible, and their deputies, for carrying out the various tasks under the written scheme;
- a risk assessment and a written scheme of actions and control measures;
- schematic diagrams of the water systems;
- details of precautionary measures that have been applied/implemented including enough detail to show that they were applied/implemented correctly, and the dates on which they were carried out;
- remedial work required and carried out, and the date of completion;
- a log detailing visits by contractors, consultants and other personnel;
- cleaning and disinfection procedures and associated reports and certificates;
- results of the chemical analysis of the water;
- results of any biological monitoring;
- information on other hazards, eg treatment chemicals;
- cooling tower and evaporative condenser notification;
- training records of personnel;
- the name and position of the person or people who have responsibilities for implementing the written scheme, their respective responsibilities and their lines of communication;
- records showing the current state of operation of the water system, eg when the system or plant is in use and, if not in use, whether it is drained down;
- either the signature of the person carrying out the work, or other form of authentication where appropriate.
Various terms are used to describe software for this purpose, legionella control software, water risk management software, legionella compliance software or legionella project management software. The labels overlap. What matters is whether the systems cover all of the above requirements for the tasks relevant to the water systems on your site.
a) Risk assessment software: structured surveys of water systems, asset registers, schematics, risk ratings and a generated Legionella risk assessment report.
b) Monitoring and record-keeping software: digital logbooks for temperature checks, flushing of little-used outlets, cleaning and disinfection, and a planner that schedules tasks across the year.
c) Compliance and control software: dashboards showing overdue tasks, open remedial actions and the status of each site.
d) Field service and inspection software: mobile apps that let engineers and site staff record readings and photos on site, often offline.
e) Testing software: logging of sample results from laboratory testing, where sampling forms part of your scheme.
f) Training: online legionella awareness or management courses, with records of who has completed what.
What to do, step by step
List your sites and water systems. Know which properties you are responsible for and what systems each has: hot and cold water, cooling towers, spa pools, humidifiers and so on.
Check where your current records are. Gather existing risk assessments, schematic diagrams, logbooks and contractor reports. Perform a gap analysis and note overdue reviews.
Decide what the software must cover. Do you need risk assessment authoring, routine monitoring, contractor visits, training, or all of these? A landlord with a few flats has different needs from an estates team with hundreds of buildings.
Map your scheme of control into the system. Set up assets, outlets and tasks with the frequencies your risk assessment and written scheme specify. Make sure these follow your risk assessment and HSG274, not a supplier's default template.
Assign people and train them. Give each task a named owner. Make sure the responsible person and anyone doing checks have suitable training, and record it.
Record checks as they happen. Capture readings on site, with dates, times, names and flag any out-of-range results straight away.
Act on exceptions. Out-of-range temperatures, missed flushing and risk assessment actions should create remedial tasks that are tracked to completion.
Review regularly. Use reports and dashboards to review compliance, and trigger a risk assessment review when something changes.
The risk assessment should be reviewed regularly and whenever there is reason to think it is no longer valid, for example after changes to the system or the building's use, or after a positive sample. Nothing in L8 requires you to use software. Paper records are acceptable if they are complete, accurate and available.
For landlords of domestic housing property types, the HSE expects the risk to be assessed and controlled in domestic rented property too. This is usually a simpler assessment than for commercial premises.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Treating software as compliance. A system full of overdue tasks is evidence of a problem, not a defence. Review dashboards often and act on them.
Copying generic task lists. Monitoring frequencies and checks should come from your own risk assessment and written scheme. Check that templates match your site.
No one owning remedial actions. Risk assessment recommendations often sit unresolved. Give each one an owner, a priority, and a target date.
Poor data at the start. Wrong asset lists or missing outlets mean checks are missed. Verify the asset register on site before you rely on it.
Untrained users. People recording readings need to understand why the readings matter and what to do when one is out of range.
Losing records when contracts change. Make sure you can export or keep your records if you change contractors or suppliers.
Choosing on price or features alone. The best Legionella software for you is the one your team will actually use, that fits your sites, and that produces records an inspector can follow.
How L8MS helps
L8MS provides three connected tools. The first, L8MS Risk, is legionella risk assessment software for surveying systems and producing reports. The second, L8MS BRS, is a digital water hygiene record-keeping system for temperature checks, flushing, logbooks, and a 52-week planner. The third is online Legionella awareness training. If you want to try the system, free trial accounts are available on the login pages (no credit card details or commitments required).
FAQs
What is Legionella management software?
It is a digital system for planning, recording and evidencing Legionella and other water hygiene-related controls. This includes risk assessment findings, monitoring, remedial actions and training.
What is legionella risk assessment software?
It is software for carrying out structured water system surveys and producing a Legionella risk assessment report, with risk ratings and recommended actions.
Is there legionella risk assessment software for landlords operating tenanted housing?
Yes. Many systems can handle domestic rented property, which usually needs a simpler assessment. Landlords remain responsible even when they use a contractor.
What does legionella monitoring software do?
It schedules, allocates and tracks records of routine checks, such as water temperatures and flushing, and flags missed or out-of-range results.
What is legionella field service or inspection software?
It is mobile software that engineers and site staff use to record inspections, readings and photos on site, usually feeding into a central system.
What is the best legionella software?
The best system is the one that covers your actual tasks, fits your number of sites, is easy for your team to use, and keeps clear, exportable records.
Do I need Legionella management training?
Anyone with responsibilities for legionella control should be competent. Responsible persons usually need more in-depth training than staff doing routine checks.
Can I take a legionella management course online?
Yes. Awareness and management courses are widely available online.
Is software required by law?
No. ACOP L8 requires suitable records, not a particular format. Software simply allows centralised, report-by-exception records to be kept and reviewed more easily.