If you run an internal audit programme under BRC Issue 9, SALSA or FSSC 22000 in a UK food manufacturing site, your options are a spreadsheet, a paper folder, a generic audit app, or one of a handful of tools actually built for your world. This is a practitioner's comparison of what's available right now.
Before comparing software, it helps to be specific about what the major standards expect. BRC Issue 9 Clause 3.4 requires a scheduled programme of internal audits covering all sections of the standard, with risk-based frequency, competent auditors, and documented corrective actions. FSSC 22000 v6 requires the same through ISO 22000 Clause 9.2, with additional scheme-specific requirements. SALSA is lighter-weight but still requires documented internal audits with corrective actions and management review.
In practice, that means your software needs to handle: an annual audit schedule tied to standard clauses, NC tracking with severity grading, a two-phase CAPA workflow (correction then root cause/prevention), independent verification of completed actions, and a management review report that pulls it all together. Most generic audit tools cover the first two. Fewer cover the rest.
Six tools compared against what a UK food manufacturing Technical Manager actually needs. Ratings are based on published product documentation, free trials where available, and direct experience.
| Feature | AuditCore | audIT.app (Techni-K) | AuditForm | GoAudits | SafetyCulture | FoodDocs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built for food manufacturing | ✓ UK food only | ✓ Food industry | ✓ Food + supply chain | ~ Multi-sector | ~ Multi-sector | ✓ Food focused |
| BRC / SALSA / FSSC 22000 pre-built | ✓ All three | ✓ BRC + FSSC | ~ Configurable | ~ Configurable | ~ Templates | ✗ HACCP focus |
| NC management with severity | ✓ 4 levels | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Two-phase CAPA (correction + prevention) | ✓ Enforced workflow | ✓ | ~ Configurable | ~ Action tracking | ~ Action tracking | ✗ |
| Independent verification of CAPA | ✓ Built in | ✓ | ~ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Risk-based audit scheduling | ✓ Auto-scored | ✓ | ~ Manual | ~ Manual | ~ Manual | ✗ |
| GMP inspections (offline) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Management review report | ✓ PDF export | ~ Dashboard | ~ Reports | ~ Reports | ~ Analytics | ✗ |
| NC pattern intelligence | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ~ Analytics | ✗ |
| Multi-site | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| All features on all plans | ✓ | ✗ Tiered | ✗ Custom | ✗ Tiered | ✗ Tiered | ✗ Tiered |
| Pricing (entry) | £59/site/mo | From £49/mo | Custom quote | From $25/user/mo | Free tier + paid | From $84/mo |
| Free trial (no card) | ✓ 14 days | ✓ | ✗ Demo only | ✓ 14 days | ✓ | ✓ 14 days |
Full disclosure: this is our product. AuditCore was built specifically for UK food manufacturing Technical Managers who need an internal audit programme that works across BRC Issue 9, SALSA and FSSC 22000 v6 without configuration. Two-phase CAPA with independent verification, risk-based audit scheduling that auto-adjusts based on historical NC data, NC pattern intelligence that surfaces repeat failure areas, and a one-click management review PDF. Every feature is included on every plan. Pricing is per site, not per user, which matters if your audit team has more than a couple of people. The 14-day trial gives full access with no credit card. It's newer than the other tools on this list, which means it was designed around these standards from scratch rather than adapted to them.
The closest direct competitor to AuditCore. Built specifically for food industry internal audits, with pre-loaded templates for BRC, FSSC 22000, SQF and IFS. The NC management workflow is solid, including verification. Techni-K also offers accredited auditor training courses alongside the software, which is a genuine differentiator if your audit team needs upskilling. Starts at £49/month but features are tiered, so the entry plan may not include everything you need. Worth a trial if you're evaluating options.
Established platform used by Waitrose and other major UK retailers for supplier audits. Strong on configurable audit templates and can handle complex multi-site, multi-supplier audit programmes. The trade-off is that it's a general-purpose audit tool that you configure for food safety, rather than one that comes pre-structured for BRC. No self-service trial. Pricing is custom and quote-based, which typically means it's aimed at larger operations with budget to match.
Polished platform that works across food, retail, hospitality and facilities management. Good mobile experience, offline capable, and the corrective action workflow is straightforward. The weakness for food manufacturers is that it's not food-specific. You'll need to build your own BRC audit templates or configure their generic ones. Per-user pricing can escalate quickly if your audit team is more than 3-4 people. Solid option if your organisation audits across food and non-food operations and wants one tool for both.
The biggest platform on this list by a wide margin. Over 75,000 companies worldwide. Excellent for high-frequency inspections and checklists, with a generous free tier for small teams. The food safety audit templates in their library are community-contributed and vary in quality. For a BRC Issue 9 internal audit programme specifically, you'll be building from scratch. NC management exists but the CAPA workflow lacks the structured two-phase approach BRC expects. If you need a quick, low-cost inspection tool and your BRC programme is managed elsewhere, it works. If you need your audit programme in one system, it's not purpose-built for that.
Strong product for HACCP plan creation, daily monitoring tasks and food safety management in hospitality and food service. Uses AI to generate an initial HACCP plan from your business description. The limitation for food manufacturers is that it doesn't cover the internal audit programme. No NC management, no CAPA workflow, no system audits. If your primary need is HACCP documentation and daily task monitoring rather than an audit programme, FoodDocs is worth evaluating. For BRC Issue 9 internal audits, it's not the right tool.
Most UK food manufacturing sites still run their internal audit programme on Excel or paper. It works right up until a BRC auditor asks to see the corrective action trail for a major NC from seven months ago, or wants to know how your audit frequency was determined from risk assessment data. We've written detailed comparisons of AuditCore vs spreadsheets and AuditCore vs paper-based audits if you want the full breakdown.