Missed the digital waste tracking deadline? Catching up on the loads you have already taken in
If 1 October went by while the skips kept coming, the problem now is a backlog: loads already tipped in your yard that are not yet in Defra's waste tracking service. Skiplog is built for that catch-up, writing each load up as a digital transfer note in under two minutes and then showing you which ones are overdue, which are due today and which are due tomorrow.
Past the deadline, with a pile of tickets to work through
You are not here to read the regulation again. The date has gone, the yard did not stop, and somewhere in the office there is a spike of weighbridge tickets and a pad of carbonless transfer notes covering loads nobody has put into Defra's service yet.
From 1 October 2026 a permitted site that receives waste reports each load it takes in to Defra's receipt of waste service, and Defra's guidance gives you two working days from receiving a load to get the record in. Every load older than that is already outside the window. That is the honest starting position, and it is a common one: most yards in scope run on a clipboard, a delivery diary and a filing cabinet, with no clerk whose job is paperwork.
Whether your site is in scope at all depends on what you receive rather than how many trucks you run, and GOV.UK publishes a checker for that. If you have already satisfied yourself that it applies to you, the rest of this page is about the practical catch-up: getting the loads already on your weighbridge into records, in an order that puts the oldest first.
The decision in front of you: work backwards, or start clean from today
There are only really two ways to approach a backlog, and they pull against each other.
- Work backwards from today. Type up this morning's loads first, so the running two working day window stays clear, then chip at the older tickets in the evenings. The newest records are right, the oldest stay the furthest out.
- Work forwards from the deadline. Start at the first unreported load and work up. The oldest and most exposed records get dealt with first, but for a day or two you are still adding fresh loads to the bottom of the pile.
Skiplog does not make that call for you, and it does not pretend a late record is anything other than late. What it does is take the two things that make either approach slow. First, the typing: a note is built to be completable in under two minutes on the tablet you already carry across the yard. Second, the tracking: the dashboard carries a card of notes not yet reported, grouped as overdue, due today and due tomorrow, so the running order is on a screen instead of on a whiteboard and a sticky note.
One more thing worth being plain about. Skiplog produces the receipt rows in Defra's own template column order; your yard uploads them in Defra's service. Skiplog is not the regulator and does not submit on your behalf.
Working through the backlog
- Put the tickets in date order
Weighbridge tickets, the carrier's copy of the paper note, the diary page. Oldest load at the top, because that is the one furthest past its window. This part is still your hands and your desk.
- Write each load up as a transfer note
Waste type, EWC code, quantity, carrier details and destination site: the EA-mandated fields, on a form built to be finished in under two minutes on a phone or tablet. A shift's tickets becomes an evening, not a week.
- Keep typing where the signal drops
Notes save on the device first and carry a visible queued, syncing or synced status, then go up on their own when connectivity returns. The weighbridge cabin being a black spot does not stop the catch-up.
- Let the dashboard hold the running order
The card of notes not yet reported groups them as overdue, due today and due tomorrow, with the deadline worked out as two working days from receipt. No separate list to keep, and no second place to forget to update.
- Export the receipt rows for the dates you are catching up
Pick the date range you have just typed up and take the rows out in Defra's template column order, ready for your yard to upload. The receipts export has its own page on this site if you want the detail.
- Mark the batch as reported
After a receipts download Skiplog asks whether you uploaded them to Defra. Confirming stamps each note in that batch as reported, so it drops out of the overdue group and you can see what is genuinely still outstanding.
What goes on a late note, and where you find it
| Field on the note | Where it comes from on a load already taken in |
|---|---|
| Waste type and description | The description on the paper transfer note or the copy the carrier left with the weighbridge |
| EWC code | The code your yard files that waste under, picked on the form rather than looked up each time |
| Quantity | The weighbridge ticket for that load |
| Carrier details | The carrier's name and registration number from the ticket or from your own records of who tips here |
| Destination site | Where the waste went, or your own yard as the site that received it |
Why this suits a yard of one to twenty
The oldest load puts its own hand up
Overdue, due today and due tomorrow, on the dashboard you already open. The catch-up has an order without you maintaining a list of what you still owe Defra.
Two minutes a ticket
The note form is built to be completed in under two minutes on mobile or tablet, which is what makes a backlog finishable by one person after the gate shuts.
It works where the tickets are
Capture is offline first: the note is on the device before any network call, with a status chip that says queued, syncing or synced, and it syncs when the signal comes back.
The same record does the quarterly return
Notes you type up for the catch-up also feed the quarterly EA return, which comes out as a one-click CSV in an EA-specified column layout rather than something you reformat by hand.
No new hire in the plan
A sub-£200 a month subscription instead of a dedicated compliance clerk, with unlimited transfer notes on one site, so the cost of catching up is software and your own evenings.
The records stay where an inspector can see them
Everything is kept while the account is open. A note you remove comes off your register and your returns but stays on file for the two years the regulations require.
What it costs when accounts open
Annual, £1,188 a year
The same product for £99 a month, billed once a year, for yards that plan a season ahead. One site, unlimited waste transfer notes, unlimited registrations tracked. Starts with a 60-day free trial.
Monthly, £129 a month
The same product paid month by month, cancel whenever you like. One site, unlimited waste transfer notes, unlimited registrations tracked. Starts with a 60-day free trial.
Questions
I have missed the deadline. Is it still worth reporting the loads?
Reporting late is still reporting, and a load that is in the service beats a load that exists only on a weighbridge ticket. Skiplog's part is getting each load written up as a record and into the receipt rows in Defra's column order; what Defra does about the lateness is between your yard and the regulator.
How long do I actually have to report a load I receive?
Defra's guidance on reporting receipt of waste sets the window at two working days from receiving the load. Skiplog works that date out for each note and groups the unreported ones as overdue, due today and due tomorrow on the dashboard.
How do I know whether my site is in scope?
It depends on what your site receives rather than its size, and GOV.UK publishes a checker for exactly that question. Read it first; nothing on this page is a ruling on your permit.
Does Skiplog submit to Defra for me?
No. Skiplog exports the receipt rows in Defra's template column order, and your yard uploads them in Defra's service. After a download it asks whether you uploaded them, and confirming marks those notes reported so they leave the overdue group.
What happens at the weighbridge when there is no signal?
Capture is offline first. The note saves on the device with a visible queued, syncing or synced status and goes up on its own when connectivity returns, so a black spot delays the sync rather than losing the load.
Will I have to type everything twice for the quarterly return?
No. The notes you record feed the quarterly EA return, which generates as a one-click CSV in an EA-specified column layout, ready to submit without manual reformatting.
How do people sign in, and where does the data sit?
People sign in with an email address and a password. The application and its database are hosted on Amazon Web Services; Stripe takes card payments and card details never touch Skiplog.
Can I try it before paying?
Both plans start with a 60-day free trial: Annual at £1,188 a year, which is £99 a month billed once a year, or Monthly at £129 a month. Skiplog has not opened accounts yet, so joining the waitlist is how you hear when it does.