Audits

Getting your spray and fertiliser records ready for an audit

Audits check that your spray and fertiliser records are complete, consistent and match your invoices. NZGAP says an audit can include a review of spray and fertiliser application records, and Zespri audits your spray diary before harvest. Records made at the time of the job, in one place, with the same names each time, are the easiest to defend.

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Last updated 17 October 2026. General information only, not legal or compliance advice. Rules differ by product, region and programme, so check the label, your regional plan and your programme’s current requirements.

What the programmes say about records

  • NZGAP. Its scheme rules say a desktop review before an inspection may include documents such as lists of products used and spray and fertiliser application records. That wording is from the 2017 scheme rules, so check the current rules with your NZGAP adviser. NZGAP also publishes “Am I Ready?” checklists for growers to prepare.
  • Zespri. The Canopy Spray Diary must be audited before fruit can be picked. Zespri says you must show invoices or procurement documents for all agrichemicals, full records of applications, and annual calibration records for application equipment.
  • Regional council. GROWSAFE notes that spray records can help you satisfy requirements your regional council has for recording agrichemical use.

An audit-ready records checklist

  1. Every application is in the diary. Sprays, and fertiliser if your programme asks for it. Include shelter, orchard floor and other applications if your programme counts them.
  2. Each entry has the basics. Product, date and time, amount, location, wind, and who applied it.
  3. Rates have units. Per hectare or per 100 litres, written out.
  4. Names match. The same paddock or block names in the diary, on the map and in your spray plan.
  5. Invoices match products. The products in your diary line up with the invoices and delivery dockets you have filed.
  6. Contractor records are collected. Get a copy of the contractor’s record before they leave, and keep it with yours.
  7. Calibration is recorded. Annual calibration of spray and spreader equipment, with date, who did it and how.
  8. Corrections are visible. If you fix an entry, the record should show that it was changed, not silently overwritten.
  9. You can print or export it. A PDF or spreadsheet on demand, not a notebook at home.
  10. There is a backup. The records are not only on one phone or one page.

What makes records hard to trust

  • Entries written days or weeks after the job, all in the same pen.
  • Rates without units, or units that change between entries.
  • Products that appear in the diary but not in your invoices, or the other way round.
  • Missing operators and missing wind.
  • Paddock names that change over the season.

None of these is hard to avoid. They mostly come from leaving the write-up to the end of the day, or the end of the season.

How Sowsay supports this

  • Each record is made at the time of the job and shows the date and time.
  • If you edit a saved record, it is marked “edited” and the earlier version is kept. You can also void a record; it stays in your history marked voided.
  • You can filter the diary by paddock or block and by date, then export a PDF or CSV.
  • Sowsay does not replace programme systems such as Zespri’s Canopy Spray Diary, and it does not store your invoices or calibration records.

Sowsay is a record-keeping aid. You remain responsible for the accuracy and completeness of your records.

Make the diary the easy part of audit prep

Log each job when it happens, keep paddock names consistent, and export a PDF or CSV on the day the auditor asks.

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Questions and answers

What do auditors look at in spray records?

We cannot speak for any auditor. Programme documents say that audits can include spray and fertiliser application records (NZGAP) and that the spray diary is audited before harvest (Zespri). Complete, consistent entries that match your invoices are the safest approach.

How long should I keep records for an audit?

GROWSAFE says spray records must be kept for three years. Your programme may require longer for some records, so check with them.

Do I need to keep invoices as well as the diary?

Zespri says you must be able to show invoices or procurement documents for all agrichemicals at your inspection. It is sensible for any grower to keep invoices that match the products in the diary.

Can I show an auditor records from an app?

Whether an auditor accepts a record format is for your programme to say, so ask your NZGAP adviser or packhouse. GROWSAFE says spray records can be electronic or paper, and Sowsay exports a PDF or CSV you can print or send.

What if I made a mistake in an entry?

Correct it and keep the fact that it was corrected. In Sowsay, an edited record is marked “edited” and keeps its earlier version, and a voided record stays in your history.

Sources

Checked 17 October 2026. Programme rules and legislation change, so check the current source. General information only, not legal or compliance advice. Rules differ by product, region and programme, so check the label, your regional plan and your programme’s current requirements.

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