Notify vs HandsHQ: which RAMS software is best?

If you are comparing RAMS software for your business, the best solution should help you standardise risk assessments, improve compliance, support workers on site, and scale across projects and teams.

In this guide, we compare Notify vs HandsHQ to help safety leaders understand where each platform is strongest and which may be the best fit depending on business needs.

What is the difference between Notify and HandsHQ?

At a high level, Notify and HandsHQ both support the creation of RAMS documents, but they are built for slightly different outcomes.

HandsHQ is a more narrowly focused solution designed specifically for the construction industry. It centres on the creation of RAMS documents, combining a method statement with a risk assessment for project-based work. That makes it particularly relevant for businesses sending workers out to complete one-off tasks at client sites, projects, or temporary work locations.

Notify, on the other hand, is a broader and more flexible risk assessment software solution. It is designed for larger, distributed organisations and supports construction businesses alongside other sectors such as manufacturing and transport and logistics.

Notify can create RAMS, but it also supports the wider range of risk assessments that many organisations need to manage health and safety effectively. The platform also includes additional health and safety management modules such as Risk Assessments, Incident Management, Audits and Inspections, Document Management, Action Tracking, and Safety Intelligence Dashboards. For organisations looking for complete health and safety software, rather than a narrower point solution, Notify stands out.

The distinction matters because, in practice, RAMS are only one part of the picture. Many businesses also need to manage general risk assessments, point-of-work checks, fire assessments, COSHH, confidential assessments, and statutory assessments. For those organisations, the best RAMS software is often the one that can support a broader safety management approach as well.

Where does Notify outperform HandsHQ?

For medium to large businesses, especially those with multiple sites, teams, or workflows, Notify stands apart. Notify is a stronger fit for organisations that need more comprehensive risk assessment software that sits alongside a broader range of health and safety processes, rather than operating as a standalone tool.

Notify supports checklist and hybrid assessments

Not every risk assessment is best suited to a hazards-and-controls table. Many point-of-work checks, fire assessments, and dynamic assessments work better as checklist-based workflows.

Notify supports hazards-and-controls assessments, checklist-style assessments, and hybrid formats, whereas HandsHQ is limited to hazards-and-controls style assessments. That gives Notify a clear advantage for businesses with more varied operational workflows.

Notify supports confidential risk assessments

Some risk assessments involve sensitive personal information, such as:

• Young workers
• New and expectant mothers
• Mental ill-health
• Certain physical health conditions

Notify supports confidential risk assessments, which restrict visibility to authorised individuals only, while HandsHQ does not. For employers managing a wider range of workforce responsibilities, this is an important difference.

Notify offers more risk matrix options

HandsHQ only offers a 5×5 risk matrix. Notify provides more flexibility, supporting organisations that use different approaches to scoring risk, including 3×3, 4×4, 5×5, or less matrix-based methods.

This makes Notify more adaptable across sectors, governance models, and internal approaches.

Notify gives customers more control over template structure

Notify allows organisations to control the order and structure of sections within each risk assessment template. This means different teams, clients, departments, or business units can use formats that reflect how they actually work.

HandsHQ is more fixed in its structure, with a smaller degree of flexibility through showing or hiding sections.

Notify enables self-serve template configuration

HandsHQ includes pre-defined templates, but organisations do not appear to have direct, self-serve control over building and maintaining them. Instead, template changes need to be handled by HandsHQ’s customer success team.

Notify includes a template builder, allowing organisations to create and manage their own templates whenever needed. For fast-moving businesses, this means more agility and less reliance on a third party.

Notify allows mandatory content to be locked

Notify allows template managers to lock critical controls and company-mandated content into templates. This reduces the risk of assessors removing or changing something essential.

This is particularly valuable for larger organisations where consistency and governance matter across multiple teams or sites.

Notify supports QR code completion and acknowledgement

Notify allows users to share, complete, and sign risk assessments via QR code, link, or PDF. HandsHQ supports sharing by link and PDF, but not QR code.

QR codes make it easier to embed risk assessments into day-to-day frontline workflows.

Notify allows search by signatory

In the event of an incident or audit, being able to search by signatory can be very important when demonstrating compliance. Notify allows organisations to easily search for and find which assessments an individual has read and signed, helping provide stronger evidence and auditability.

Notify supports wider health and safety management

For many organisations, RAMS software is only one part of the picture. Safety leaders are often looking for a platform that helps them manage health and safety more broadly, rather than solving one isolated workflow.

This is another area where Notify stands out. Alongside RAMS and risk assessment modules, Notify also offers a wider suite of health and safety modules.

This means organisations can go beyond creating assessments and start connecting the wider health and safety process – from identifying risks, documenting safe systems of work, and tracking corrective actions, through to managing incidents, completing inspections, and reporting on performance.

For businesses looking for more complete health and safety software, this is a major advantage. Rather than investing in a narrow point solution and then adding separate systems later, Notify provides a stronger foundation for a more connected and scalable approach to safety management.

Where are Notify and HandsHQ similar?

There are several areas where Notify and HandsHQ are well matched in terms of features and functionality.

Both platforms support RAMS documents

If your primary requirement is to digitise risk assessments and method statements, both software options can do that. Each gives teams a practical tool to move away from Word documents, spreadsheets, and manual processes towards a more structured and repeatable process.

Both platforms support hazards-and-controls risk assessments

Both systems can produce traditional hazards-and-controls risk assessments in the format familiar to many IOSH and NEBOSH-trained professionals. For teams already comfortable with this approach, both platforms will feel recognisable.

Both platforms allow mandatory PPE in templates

Each platform allows PPE requirements to be configured at template level, helping businesses reinforce standard site controls and reduce the chance of essential PPE being missed.

Both platforms provide pre-populated template content

Both systems allow content, controls, and standard settings to be pre-populated, making it easier for assessors to complete documentation consistently and efficiently.

Both platforms support collaborative working

Both platforms allow multiple contributors to work on a risk assessment. That is useful where supervisors, site managers, and operational teams all need to contribute to the final RAMS.

Both platforms offer a responsive web app

Notify and HandsHQ both allow assessments to be completed through a web-based interface, making them accessible across devices without requiring a specialist desktop installation.

What else should buyers consider when comparing Notify and HandsHQ?

Both Notify and HandsHQ are well suited to organisations looking to digitise RAMS and risk assessment processes. As with any software comparison, some factors may matter more depending on the complexity of your operations, the number of sites you manage, and how your teams work in the field.

Web-based access rather than a native mobile app

Both platforms allow risk assessments to be completed through a responsive web application. For many organisations, this offers flexibility across devices without the need for a separate app. However, businesses looking specifically for a native mobile app experience may want to take this into account during their evaluation.

Limited offline access for some teams

Because both products are primarily web-based, offline functionality is more limited than it would be in a fully native mobile solution. For teams working in remote areas or on sites with unreliable signal, this is worth considering.

Review reminders rather than advanced scheduling

Both platforms support review reminders for risk assessments, however assessments can’t be scheduled. Organisations with more complex needs around scheduling assessments at scale may want to consider how this process would be managed.

Where does HandsHQ outperform Notify?

A balanced comparison also means recognising the areas where HandsHQ has a genuine advantage.

HandsHQ includes a built-in hazard library

HandsHQ includes a categorised library of pre-defined hazards and controls. That means when a user is creating an assessment for a common activity, they can pull in relevant risks and controls without building them manually.

Notify does not currently offer this same hazard library capability.

HandsHQ includes a ready-made template library

HandsHQ comes pre-loaded with a library of templates for common construction tasks. For smaller contractors or businesses wanting a quick start with familiar industry content, this can be a useful addition.

HandsHQ supports invitation-based read and sign

HandsHQ allows organisations to email individuals a trackable signing link and monitor exactly who has signed and who has not. This invitation-based workflow is a useful strength for businesses that want tightly managed sign-off by named workers.

HandsHQ offers a more integrated MSDS upload workflow

Both products can support COSHH documentation, but HandsHQ integrates Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) uploads into the COSHH workflow in a more streamlined way, placing them within the document alongside the rest of the substance information.

In Notify, attachments can be included, but they sit more generally at the end of the document.

HandsHQ includes a built-in chemicals database

HandsHQ claims a chemicals database with more than 10,000 substances. That can save time when building COSHH assessments, as users can search for products and pull in information rather than entering details manually.

HandsHQ supports cascading template changes

HandsHQ provides revision history for templates and RAMS documents, clearly marks outdated versions, and supports cascading changes when a template is updated. This allows authors to review what has changed, decide whether to apply those updates, and then republish their RAMS documents. This can be particularly useful when businesses need to roll out revised controls or PPE requirements quickly after an incident or process change.

How does Notify pricing compare to HandsHQ pricing?

Pricing is always an important part of the decision-making process, although Notify and HandsHQ take different commercial approaches.

How is Notify priced?

Notify’s pricing is structured around the number of licences required and the number of modules selected.

There are no hidden platform fees and no implementation fees. Customers can expand by adding licences or modules as their needs evolve across teams, sites, and regions.

In other words, Notify prices around user roles and scalability.

How is HandsHQ priced?

HandsHQ uses a subscription model with tiered plans based on the number of RAMS documents created each month and the features required.

• Basic: 1 RAMS per month, £52.80 per month including VAT – suitable for small businesses or single users
• Pro: 3 RAMS per month, around £118.80 per month including VAT
• Advanced: 6 RAMS per month, around £228 per month including VAT
• Enterprise/Teams: custom pricing, often on an annual basis

Sending RAMS to workers to read and sign does not incur an additional cost

In other words, HandsHQ prices around RAMS volume and plan tiers.

How do Notify and HandsHQ compare at a glance?

At a glance, Notify offers a broader and more flexible platform for organisations looking to manage risk assessments and wider health and safety processes in one place, while HandsHQ is a more focused RAMS solution.

Which RAMS software is best?

For smaller businesses with a narrow requirement focused almost entirely on RAMS creation, HandsHQ has some clear strengths. Its construction-specific template content, hazard library, invitation-based sign-off, and strong version control make it a focused and practical tool.

But for medium to large businesses, especially those with distributed teams, more complex risk requirements, or a wider health and safety remit, Notify is the more flexible option.

That is because Notify is not just RAMS software. It is a broader risk assessment solution that can adapt to different teams, work types, industries, and governance requirements. It gives safety leaders more control over templates, more flexibility over assessment style, better support for confidential and point-of-work processes, and a clearer route to scaling risk assessment consistently across the business.

For many larger organisations, that makes Notify the stronger long-term fit.

Final thoughts

When evaluating RAMS software, it’s worth stepping back from feature lists and asking a more strategic set of questions.

• Do we only need a RAMS point solution, or do we need broader risk assessment capability too?
• How much control do we need over our templates and mandatory content?
• Do our site teams need quick access through QR codes or point-of-work workflows?
• How important are confidentiality, flexibility, and scalability across multiple teams or locations?
• Will this platform still fit our needs as the business grows?

If your business is reviewing RAMS software, now is a good time to assess not just how your RAMS are created, but how they are governed, shared, reviewed, and evidenced across the organisation.

Book a demo to see how Notify can help you manage risk assessments and method statements more effectively at scale.