pencild
For Artists For Studios
Pricing News
Log in Start your free trial

Stay compliant, automatically

Track licences, certificates, and insurance with expiry reminders. Never miss a renewal.

← Back to Help Centre

Compliance Basics

Understand what compliance tracking is and how it helps your business.

The compliance system helps tattoo artists and studios track important documents such as licences, certificates, insurance policies, and training records. It provides expiry tracking, automatic renewal reminders, and compliance status visibility to ensure you stay legally compliant with industry regulations.

Documents are organised into five categories:

Category Examples
Licences Business licence, tattoo artist licence, establishment permit
Insurance Public liability insurance, professional indemnity insurance, business insurance
Certifications Bloodborne pathogens (BBP), first aid certificate, CPR certification
Training Infection control training, skin anatomy courses
Other Health department inspections, fire safety certificates

Documents have two scopes:

  • Owner-level – Business documents that apply to the studio or business as a whole (establishment permit, business insurance, health inspections)
  • Artist-level – Individual documents that each artist must maintain personally (artist licence, personal certifications, training records)

Studios can set requirements for both levels to ensure full compliance.

Document Types

Pre-configured types for common requirements, plus custom options.

Yes. Pencild includes system default document types for common tattoo industry requirements:

Licences:

  • Business Licence (12-month validity)
  • Tattoo Artist Licence (12-month validity)
  • Establishment Permit (24-month validity)

Insurance:

  • Public Liability Insurance (12-month validity)
  • Professional Indemnity Insurance (12-month validity)
  • Business Insurance (12-month validity)

Training & Certification:

  • Bloodborne Pathogens (BBP) Certification (24-month validity)
  • First Aid Certificate (36-month validity)
  • CPR Certification (24-month validity)
  • Infection Control Training (12-month validity)
  • Skin Anatomy & Physiology (no expiry)

Other:

  • Health Department Inspection (12-month validity)
  • Fire Safety Certificate (12-month validity)

You can also create custom document types for requirements specific to your region or studio.

Yes. If the system defaults don't cover your needs:

  1. Navigate to Compliance > Document Types
  2. Click Create Document Type
  3. Enter:
    • Name and description
    • Category (licence, insurance, training, certification, other)
    • Scope (owner-level or artist-level)
    • Default validity period (months, or no expiry)
    • Reminder lead days
    • Custom reminder schedule (optional)
  4. Save

Custom document types can then be used when adding documents and setting requirements.

Adding Documents

Record your documents and upload attachments.

  1. Navigate to Compliance > My Documents (or Studio Documents)
  2. Click Add Document
  3. Select the document type
  4. Enter the details:
    • Reference number (e.g., certificate number)
    • Issuer (e.g., training provider, licensing authority)
    • Issue date
    • Expiry date (if applicable)
    • Notes
  5. Save the document
  6. Optionally upload a file attachment (scan or photo of the document)

Yes. Each document can have file attachments (scans, photos, PDFs):

  1. View the document
  2. Click Upload Attachment
  3. Select the file
  4. The file is encrypted and stored securely

Expiry Tracking & Renewals

Get reminded before documents expire and track renewals.

Each document type has a configurable reminder schedule. By default, reminders are sent at:

  • 30 days before expiry
  • 14 days before expiry
  • 7 days before expiry
  • 1 day before expiry
  • On the expiry date

You can customise the reminder schedule and lead time for each document type.

Status Meaning
Valid Document is current and not expiring soon
Expiring Soon Document expires within the reminder lead period (default 30 days)
Expired Document has passed its expiry date
Pending Renewal You've marked that renewal has been submitted but new document not yet received
No Expiry Document has no expiry date (e.g., lifetime certifications)
Archived Previous version of a renewed document

When a document expires or is expiring:

  1. View the document
  2. Click Renew Document
  3. Enter the new reference number, issue date, and expiry date
  4. Save

The old document is automatically archived, and a new document record is created with a link to the previous version.

You can mark a document as "Renewal Submitted":

  1. View the expiring/expired document
  2. Click Mark renewal submitted
  3. Status changes to "Pending Renewal"
  4. Reminder emails are paused until you receive and record the new document

Compliance Requirements

Define what documents are needed and track your status.

Requirements define which documents are needed for compliance. You can set requirements at two levels:

  • Personal requirements – Documents you require for your own practice
  • Studio requirements – Documents the studio requires from all artists

Requirements can be marked as either "Required" (mandatory) or "Recommended" (optional but encouraged).

Navigate to Compliance > Compliance Status to see a checklist showing:

  • All requirements that apply to you
  • Which requirements are met (valid document on file)
  • Which requirements are missing or expired
  • Your overall compliance percentage

Studio Compliance Management

Manage artist compliance across your studio team.

Studio managers have access to an Artist Compliance dashboard:

  1. Navigate to Compliance > Artist Compliance
  2. View a grid showing all studio artists with compliance percentages
  3. Click on any artist to see their detailed compliance status
  4. See which requirements each artist has met, is missing, or has expired

Yes. If an artist has a valid reason not to provide a specific document, managers can grant an exemption:

  1. Go to the artist's compliance detail page
  2. Click Grant Exemption
  3. Select the requirement to exempt
  4. Enter a reason for the exemption
  5. Optionally set an expiry date for the exemption
  6. Submit

The artist is marked as compliant for that requirement while the exemption is active.

Yes. Managers can request that artists upload missing documents:

  1. Go to the artist's compliance detail page
  2. Click Request Document
  3. Select the missing document type
  4. Add an optional message
  5. Submit

The artist receives a notification and sees pending requests in their compliance dashboard.

Storage & Notifications

How documents are stored securely and reminders work.

Documents and their attachments are stored securely:

  • Sensitive fields (reference numbers, notes) are encrypted at rest
  • File attachments are encrypted using AES-GCM encryption
  • Access is controlled by permissions (personal vs studio documents)
  • Files are stored securely in enterprise-grade cloud storage

When a document approaches its expiry date:

  1. The system checks daily for documents needing reminders
  2. Email notifications are sent based on the reminder schedule
  3. Notifications respect your preferences (can be disabled in settings)
  4. Once you mark renewal as submitted, reminders pause

You can configure notification preferences in Settings > Notifications.

Related Topics

Studios & Teams

Learn about studio permissions and roles

Security & Privacy

How your documents are protected