Frequently Asked Questions

SWMLabs is a cloud-based platform that automates the stormwater Nutrient Loading calculations required for Environmental Resource Permits (ERPs) in Florida. The platform covers the requirements and methodologies of Sections 8 and 9 of Volume I of the ERP Applicant's Handbook - the statewide stormwater quality rules that apply uniformly across all five Water Management Districts.

The platform is built for licensed Professional Engineers and Engineers-in-Training at civil and environmental engineering firms of all sizes preparing ERP submittals. It does not replace engineering judgment - it automates both the data gathering and calculation portions of the Section 8.3 compliance workflow.

All five: NWFWMD, SRWMD, SJRWMD, SWFWMD, and SFWMD.

The platform implements the methodologies specified in the Applicant's Handbook:

• Controlling reduction standard evaluation - the platform computes both the percentage-reduction requirement (e.g., 80% TP / 55% TN) and the pre/post-development loading comparison, and applies whichever is more stringent as the required performance standard for the BMP system.
• Mean Annual ROC Method (Appendix N) - annual runoff volume calculations for both the pre- and post-developed condition using zone-specific Runoff Coefficient tables, cross-referenced by meteorological zone, DCIA percentage, and non-DCIA Curve Number.
• Annual Nutrient Loading Calculations (Section 9.2) - TP and TN loading calculations for both the pre- and post-developed condition using land use-specific coefficients and event mean concentrations.
• BMP performance calculations - treatment efficiency analysis for the BMP system, applied against the controlling reduction standard.

Yes. OFW and Impaired Waters status are determined automatically at the time of project boundary submission. The platform applies the appropriate treatment requirements under Sections 8.3.3 and 8.3.4:

• Section 8.3.3 (OFW): 90% TP / 80% TN reduction, or no net increase over pre-development - whichever is more stringent.
• Section 8.3.4 (Impaired Waters): 80% TN/TP reduction (95% if also OFW), or no net increase over pre-development - whichever is more stringent.

Yes. Engineers identify their project as a redevelopment on entry, and the platform applies the redevelopment performance standards of Section 8.3.5, which lower the required reductions accordingly.

No. Your Nutrient Loading Analysis comes from defined, rule-based calculations, not an AI model. The same inputs give the same results every time, and each value in the Technical Report traces back to a rule, a coefficient, or an input you entered. Our methodology is built and reviewed by licensed Professional Engineers.

After purchase the project enters a 9-month editable window, sized to cover a full permit application cycle including any revisions required by agency comments. You can modify inputs and regenerate the Technical Report as many times as needed during that window.

The 9-month clock runs from the purchase date and does not pause. If your firm holds a subscription seat that covers the project size, the project stays editable under that seat after its window ends, for as long as the coverage lasts.

Yes, as many times as needed during the active window. Each generation is timestamped and logged for audit trail purposes. The Technical Report is produced as a PDF formatted for direct attachment to an ERP submittal.

Reach out to us directly. If your project is running long due to an extended agency review or other extenuating circumstances, we can work with you on extending the window. We'd rather help you get across the finish line than have a timeline get in the way.

Not at all. Once the project's editable window closes it moves to Read-Only status, and you can Re-Open it at any time. All your inputs, calculations, and reports are still there, so you pick right up where you left off. Re-opened projects are priced at 50% of current rates.

If your firm starts a subscription, projects you already purchased at or below your plan size become editable again at no charge, including projects whose window had already expired before you subscribed.

The PIN is a firm-level code required to confirm any purchase: project activation, a Re-Open, a subscription checkout, or the confirmation that ends your free trial. It is a simple safeguard against accidental transactions and gives you a clean audit trail for every charge.

If a change in inputs moves the project into a higher acreage tier, the platform flags it when you reach BMPs & Routing and asks you to pay the upgrade difference before you continue on to the Technical Report. It's a quick step and you'll be back on your way.

The Technical Report is the calculation record generated by the platform, produced as a PDF formatted for direct attachment to an ERP submittal. It documents all inputs, regulatory classifications, methodology references, and results in a format agency reviewers expect. It cites the edition of the Applicant's Handbook the calculations follow and flags any instances where the Engineer overrode auto-populated regulatory values, along with the platform's original determination.

Every Technical Report you generate is recorded permanently, with a timestamp and a Verification ID printed on the report that can be checked at any time. Each report is a complete snapshot of the inputs, classifications, and results at that moment, so the record you submit is the record that stands.

The platform does not keep a line-by-line history of every edit made between reports. If you want a point-in-time record before making a change, generate a report first; regenerations are unlimited.

Yes, it's built for that purpose. You review the inputs and results, apply your judgment, and stamp accordingly - the platform handles the documentation.

Nothing is charged when you start. At checkout you provide a payment method, set your firm PIN, and accept the Terms.

Your firm is charged at whichever of these comes first:

1. Day 14, counted from your firm's first seat, or
2. The first Technical Report you generate on a subscription-covered project.

Before that first report generates, you will see a confirmation showing the exact amount charged that day. You enter your firm PIN to confirm. If you would rather not convert yet, you can generate reports on individually purchased projects without ending the trial.

We send a reminder three days before the day-14 charge with your itemized total.

During the trial you can add or remove seats, change plans, and switch between monthly and annual. New seats can be added up to two days before the day-14 charge; after that, add them once the trial converts. Every change re-confirms your new pending total, so the last amount you approved is always the amount charged.

One trial per firm.

Remove your seats before the charge. Nothing is owed and nothing is charged.

Projects you created during the trial return to their unpurchased state and can be purchased individually at the published rate. Individually purchased projects are not affected: their 9-month windows keep running as before.

• Unlimited projects at or below your plan size
• Unlimited edits, whenever a covering seat is free
• Technical Report generation included, with unlimited regenerations
• No window expiration on covered projects for as long as you hold a covering seat
• Free read-only access firm-wide, on every project, regardless of who started it
• 15% off per-project purchases above your plan size

Seats belong to your firm, not to a person. There is no assignment step and no admin reassignment to manage.

One seat supports one person editing at a time. A firm holding three seats supports three people working at once.

Opening a covered project automatically claims the smallest free seat that covers it, which keeps your larger seats available for the work that needs them.

Viewing never costs anything. Opening a covered project checks out a free seat for you automatically, and you can release it from the seat panel when you are done. If every seat is taken, the project still opens in Read-Only, so any member of your firm can always look at any project.

The seat panel on your Projects page shows every seat your firm holds and who is holding it. You can request a held seat. The holder sees the request in the app right away and has 90 seconds to keep the seat or release it.

If they take no action within those 90 seconds, the seat passes to you automatically. Work autosaves frequently, so nothing in progress is lost.

Seat activity and Technical Report generation are recorded against the user who performed them, regardless of which seat was held.

Any individually purchased project at or below your plan size is picked up by your coverage:

• While its 9-month window is open, nothing changes. The window keeps running on its original clock and you edit the project as usual.
• Once its window has ended, including projects that expired before you subscribed, the project stays editable under your plan at no charge. Opening it checks out a covering seat, like any other covered project.

Coverage does not grant a new 9-month window. If your subscription ends at the close of a paid term, the project returns to Read-Only and the 50% Re-Open is the route back.

You have two options:

• If the project is under 200 acres, but above your current plan's ceiling, you are able to upgrade your subscription for the remainder of your term.
• You can purchase it individually through the Per-Project lane. Active subscribers get 15% off the published price.

The discount applies to new per-project purchases only. It does not apply to a Re-Open or to a seat price, and it starts once your trial converts. Purchases made during the trial are charged at the full published price.

You choose at the same true-up point that already exists for per-project work:

1. Upgrade a seat to a plan that covers the project, paying the prorated difference for the rest of your term, or
2. Convert the project to a per-project purchase at the published rate for its new band, less the 15% subscriber discount, with a standard 9-month editable window.

True-up is based on acreage only. Reducing acreage later does not produce a refund.

Upgrades, yes, at any point while your subscription is active and in good standing. You will see a preview of the exact amount before confirming.

If you prepaid annually, a prorated amount for the rest of your term is due at the upgrade, calculated on the prepaid rates so your 5% discount carries through. If you pay monthly, the prorated difference for the rest of the current month is charged today, and your monthly rate rises by the difference between the two plans from the next installment on.

Downgrades and seat removals take effect at renewal rather than mid-term, and you can schedule them yourself from the billing page any time. During the free trial, seat removal is immediate.

Your firm has a single renewal date, 12 months from your first subscription conversion. Seats added later are prorated so everything renews together.

Subscriptions auto-renew at the price you signed up at. We send a renewal notice about 10 days before the charge listing the renewal date, the seats renewing, and the price. Non-renewal is self-serve from the billing page.

Cancelling mid-term stops the auto-renewal. Your access continues through the term you have already committed to.

Nothing is deleted and everything stays viewable.

• Projects created under the subscription become Read-Only. After a completed paid term they can be Re-Opened at 50%; otherwise they can be purchased at the published rate.
• A purchased project that was editing under your coverage after its own window ended returns to Read-Only, with its 50% Re-Open available
• A purchased project whose 9-month window is still open keeps running as before
• Technical Reports you already generated and downloaded are yours to keep

We email you right away and the payment is retried automatically. Your firm keeps full access for 3 days after the first failed attempt.

If the payment still has not gone through after those 3 days, covered projects drop to Read-Only. Nothing is deleted. The moment a payment succeeds, everything unlocks on its own with no support ticket and no manual step.

The dashboard gives you a running view of all your projects - status, acreage, activation date, days remaining in the editable window, engineer of record, and internal project number. Projects are grouped by status: Pending Activation, Active, and Read-Only. An Overview panel beside the list shows your active project count, reports generated, your next upcoming expiry, and your account credit balance when you have one.

Yes. Firm-level accounts support multiple users under one account. Every project can be attributed to a specific engineer of record and internal project number for your records, and all users can view all projects.

On a subscription, editing works through firm seats. Seats belong to the firm rather than to named individuals, and one seat supports one person editing at a time. Viewing is always free: opening a covered project checks out a free seat for you, and if every seat is taken the project still opens in Read-Only.

Your current balance, how each credit was earned, and its expiration date are visible in the billing section of your account. Your balance is also shown on the purchase screen each time you activate a project, so there are no surprises.

The fastest way in is the Free Site Check - no account required. Run it on your first project and review the regulatory classification and pricing. When you are ready, create a free account with your email and a password; the Site Check comes with you as a pending project, and you can purchase it from your dashboard whenever you like. You can also sign up first and start from there.

For the Free Site Check you just need the project acreage, whether it is new development or a redevelopment, and a general idea of the project boundary - you'll sketch it directly on the GIS map or upload a shapefile.

For the full analysis after purchase, you will also need your proposed land use breakdown, DCIA percentages by use, and BMPs. The platform walks you through each input in sequence and flags anything that looks out of range before you finalize.

For a typical project with inputs already in hand, most Engineers complete the full analysis and generate the Technical Report in under an hour - including the pre-development classification, post-development loading, BMP performance evaluation, and report output. Projects with multiple land use zones or complex BMP configurations may take a bit longer, but the platform guides you through each step so there's no backtracking.

Yes. The Help Center (sign in with your platform account) includes step-by-step walkthroughs of each stage of the platform and reference articles on the underlying methodology, and the Resources page links the source documents it is built on. If you run into anything that isn't covered, please reach out through the Contact page.