Records that hold up
Every entry is timed by the system, cannot be altered, and keeps a full history of strike-outs, notes and comments. PDFs are fingerprinted and can be checked later.
The digital pocket notebook
Every entry, timed, kept and beyond question.
Tabula puts a proper pocket notebook on every officer's phone, and gives managers the whole picture on one screen. Entries are timed as they are written, can never be rubbed out, and come out as clean PDFs that stand up when a client, insurer or court asks.
Works with no signalEntries save on the phone and send when back in range.
Nothing rubbed outStrike out with a reason or add a note. The original stays.
Fingerprinted PDFsCheck any copy to prove it has not been changed.
Phone, tablet, desktopNo app store. Add it to the home screen.
The tour, part one
An officer's shift
Follow Sam, a Street Ranger, through a day on the city centre patrol. Every screen below is the real app with sample data.
07:55SIGN IN
Sign in
Their own notebook, behind their own sign-in
Staff sign in with a staff number and PIN, or a work email. They only ever see their own notebook. Managers can add a code from an authenticator app for a second step.
- Use the same logins as your staff intranet, or add people just for Tabula
- Switch someone off the day they leave. Their notebook is kept.
07:58No. 1
On duty
Book on with one tap
Book on, start and end a break, and book off from the top of the page. Each one is a timed entry, so the notebook is also a record of hours on duty.
- Today's count, last entry and open follow-ups at a glance
- A notice when a supervisor has left a comment
09:05No. 3
Writing it down
Fast to write, even with cold hands
Pick a type and Tabula lays out the prompts: a vehicle asks for the registration, make and colour, and a person asks for the full description. Officers can type, or speak and let Tabula write it down.
- Dictate: speak, and say "full stop" or "new line" for punctuation
- Use my location fills in the nearest address and saves a GPS fix
- Camera on records when body-worn video started
- Up to three photos on an entry
09:40No. 4
Templates
The common entries, already set out
Alarm activations, refused entry, first aid, police called and more. Pick one, then fill each blank. You choose the templates for your whole team, in your own wording.
09:52No. 5
Incident
Once it is written, it stays written
Nobody can change or delete a saved entry, not even a manager. A mistake is struck out with a reason, and extra detail is added as a dated note, so the original is always readable. Entries written up later show both the time it happened and the time it was written.
- GPS fix with a link to the map
- Body-worn camera start time
- Supervisor comments sit under the entry, never inside it
11:30PACK
Evidence pack
From notebook to statement in minutes
When something needs following up, the officer adds the relevant entries to an evidence pack. One PDF holds them all, with photos, notes and sign-offs. Draft statement lays the same entries out as a witness statement, ready for the officer to check and put into their own words.
16:00BOOK OFF
Off duty
Nothing left open at the end of the shift
Booking off brings up a short checklist: sign today's page, and deal with any follow-ups still open. The officer signs with a finger. Anything written after that is marked as added after sign-off.
22:00NIGHTS
Night mode
Dark on night shifts
Night mode keeps the screen dark so the officer is not lit up on a quiet street. Large text helps outdoors and in poor light. Both are set on the phone in a couple of taps.
The tour, part two
The manager's view
Alex, the operations manager, keeps an eye on the whole team from a desktop. Supervisors see everyone, or only the teams, sites and people you choose for them.
08:30TEAM
All staff
Every notebook on one screen
See who is writing today, when they last wrote, and who has follow-ups open. Open any notebook to read it exactly as the officer sees it. Every time a supervisor opens someone's notebook, it goes in an access log that only you can see.
08:40CHECK
To check
Pages waiting for a supervisor
Every page from the last fortnight that nobody has checked yet, with whether it was signed off. Follow-ups that have been open too long are listed underneath, and so are notebooks that went quiet today.
08:45COACH
Quality
Rate the page, leave a coaching point
When a supervisor marks a page as checked, they can rate it Good or Needs work and add a coaching point the officer sees on their page. Quality shows the totals per person, ready for one-to-ones, training plans and SIA ACS evidence.
10:15INDEX
Index
The same van, seen three times, by two officers
Tabula reads every notebook and lists each registration and description of a person. Here YK19 ABC turns up on a loading bay, outside a bank and circling a service yard at night. Each sighting was written by a different officer on a different shift. Tap it to see all three entries side by side.
11:00MAP
Map
Where the entries were written
Entries made with Use my location are plotted on a street map, coloured by type. Pick a day and a person to see their patrol joined up in time order, then tap a point to open the entry. It gives quick proof of coverage for a client.
Illustration. In Tabula the points sit on an OpenStreetMap street map.
12:00SHEET
Day sheet
Everyone's day, in one timeline
Every team member's entries for a day, merged in time order. It is ideal for a morning briefing, an events debrief or a client's daily report, and downloads as a PDF.
14:00ACCESS
Supervisors
You decide who sees what
Staff only ever see their own notebook. You choose who can supervise, and for each supervisor whether they see everyone, or only chosen teams, sites or people. New starters in a ticked team are included automatically.
15:30REPORT
PDF reports
PDFs that look like the notebook
Download any period as a PDF that matches the screen: times in the margin, entry numbers, struck-out entries still readable, notes, photos, comments and the officer's signature. Spreadsheets are there too.
Every PDF carries a reference in its footer, and Tabula records a fingerprint of the exact file.
16:45VERIFY
Check a PDF
Prove a copy has not been changed
When a PDF comes back months later from a solicitor, an insurer or a client, choose the file in Check a PDF. Tabula says Genuine and unchanged if it matches the file it made. If a single character has been altered, it says Not recognised. The file is checked on your device and is not uploaded.
Why teams switch
What changes when the notebook goes digital
Supervision that happens
Unchecked pages and stale follow-ups come to the supervisor. You can see notebook quality and coaching points per person, which pays off at appraisal and audit time.
Less time writing up
Templates, dictation, one-tap duty times and location fill-in cut the typing. Statements start from the notebook instead of a blank page.
Nothing lost or illegible
There are no soaked pages, no lost books and no handwriting to decipher. Notebooks stay safe if a phone is lost, and a leaver's whole notebook downloads in one go.
Patterns you would miss
The index joins up the same vehicle or person across officers, shifts and sites. The map shows where the work was done.
Data you control
Access is by role, every supervisor view is logged, and you set how long entries are kept. Old entries are archived to a spreadsheet before they are removed.
Security officersMobile patrolsStreet Rangers and wardensTown centre teamsEvent stewardsFacilities and site teamsRetail loss prevention
Paper against Tabula
The same job, done better
| Day-to-day | Paper notebook | Tabula |
|---|---|---|
| Time of each entry | Whatever the officer writes | Set by the system, with the write-up time if later |
| Corrections | Crossed out, sometimes torn out | Struck out with a reason; original always readable |
| Supervisor checks | When the book is handed in | Same day, from anywhere, with a coaching point |
| Finding a registration | Leafing through every book | One search across every notebook |
| Copies for a client or court | Photocopies, hard to verify | Fingerprinted PDFs you can check later |
| Lost or damaged | Gone | Kept safely, even if the phone is lost |
Questions managers ask
Before you decide
Does it work without a signal?
Yes. Officers keep writing, and entries are kept on the phone and sent when it is back in range. A badge shows anything still waiting to send.
Can anyone change or delete an entry?
No. Not the officer, not a supervisor, not the owner. Mistakes are struck out with a reason and extra detail is added as a dated note, so the original is always readable.
Can staff see each other's notebooks?
No. Staff see only their own. Supervisors see the people you choose for them, and every time they open someone's notebook it is logged.
Do staff need to install an app?
No. Tabula runs in the phone's browser and can be added to the home screen like an app. It works on iPhone, Android, iPad and any desktop.
How do our staff sign in?
With a staff number and PIN, or a work email and password. Managers can add a second step with an authenticator app.
Where is the data kept?
On Google's Firebase cloud platform, with access controlled by role. You decide how long entries are kept, and old entries are archived to a spreadsheet before removal.
Is the statement draft a finished statement?
No. It is a starting draft built from the officer's own entries. They check it, fill any blanks and put it into their own words before signing.
What does it cost?
It depends on the size of your team and what you need. Get in touch and we will show you round with your own example and give you a price.
Talk to us
See Tabula with your own team in mind
Tell us about your team and we will set up a demo. Tabula is built and run by Eboracum UK Ltd in York, a security company that uses it every day.
Email
mail@eboracumuk.com
Phone
01904 295570
OfficePopeshead Court Offices, Peter Lane, York YO1 8SU