VOCUS runs your SMS. FileFlo proves your records.
An SMS platform like Polaris Aero's VOCUS runs your Part 135 safety program: hazard reporting, risk management, safety assurance. It is not a records system, and it does not keep your pilot, maintenance, training, and drug & alcohol documents classified and audit-ready. FileFlo does exactly that: it reads the Google Drive, SharePoint, or OneDrive you already use, maps every document to its CFR citation, tracks every expiration, and ships the inspector's binder, your SMS records included. FileFlo doesn't replace your SMS. It proves the records beside it.
Not an SMS replacement · Works alongside VOCUS · Live the same afternoon
A safety program is not a records system.
VOCUS: the SMS
Polaris Aero's VOCUS runs the four SMS components under 14 CFR Part 5 (safety policy, safety risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion) with hazard reporting, risk analysis, and safety-performance dashboards. It manages the safety process. It is not a document-classification or records-compliance system.
FileFlo: the records layer
FileFlo reads the storage you already have, classifies each file to its CFR section, tracks every expiration, flags what's missing, and exports the inspector's binder across pilot, maintenance, training, drug & alcohol, OpSpecs, and your SMS records. No migration, no safety-program build, no per-seat tax.
They fit together.
VOCUS owns the safety-management process. FileFlo owns the compliance records, including the records your SMS itself generates. Most Part 135 operators run both.
| Capability | VOCUS SMS | FileFlo |
|---|---|---|
Safety hazard reporting & confidential safety reports VOCUS's core. FileFlo is not a safety-reporting system | ||
Safety Risk Management (SRM) workflows & risk matrices An SMS process FileFlo does not run | ||
Safety assurance, internal audits & performance monitoring (14 CFR Part 5) | ||
Safety policy & promotion / safety-culture campaigns | ||
Runs your FAA SMS program for the 2024 Part 135 mandate FileFlo does NOT replace your SMS | ||
Classifies every compliance document to its CFR citation 14 / 49 / 29 / 42 / 40 CFR + state | ||
Tracks regulatory expirations across all records (90/60/30/7) Medicals, currency, AD status, permits | ||
Required-document gap report per regulator | ||
One-click inspector-format audit binder (all records) VOCUS documents the safety program; FileFlo assembles the whole binder | Partial | |
Keeps the SMS manual, SRM worksheets & training records audit-ready FileFlo holds the SMS records alongside everything else | Partial | |
Works on the Drive / SharePoint you already use, no migration | ||
Transparent pricing ($89 / $299), 5-day free trial SMS platforms are typically quote-based |
What an SMS doesn't do.
CFR-cited classification
Every document mapped to its exact regulatory citation (the language an FAA inspector uses) across pilot, training, maintenance, drug & alcohol, OpSpecs, and your SMS records.
Regulatory expiration alerts
Medicals, pilot currency, AD status, recurrent training, and permits, all tracked to the regulatory interval and surfaced at 90/60/30/7 days, automatically.
One-click audit binder
Inspector-format, indexed binder generated in 60 seconds from the files already in your storage, your SMS documentation included.
Live the same afternoon
No migration. Connect read-only to the Drive or SharePoint you already use and get a baseline gap report within 24 hours.
Adds to your stack, doesn't replace it.
Keep VOCUS for safety management. FileFlo connects read-only to the cloud storage your team already uses and adds the compliance-records layer on top: no migration, no new repository, no disruption to your SMS.
Platform definition.
VOCUS SMS, by Polaris Aero, is an aviation Safety Management System application that implements the four SMS components defined in 14 CFR Part 5 (safety policy, safety risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion) through hazard reporting, risk analysis, internal audits, and safety-performance dashboards. It is the system of record for an operator's safety program. FileFlo is not an SMS. It is a compliance document intelligence layer that connects read-only to the cloud storage an organization already uses (Google Drive, SharePoint, OneDrive, or Dropbox) and classifies each file against its governing regulation (FAA 14 CFR Part 135, FMCSA 49 CFR, OSHA 29 CFR, CMS 42 CFR, EPA 40 CFR, and state programs).
The two solve different problems and are commonly used together. VOCUS answers "how do we identify, assess, and mitigate safety risk, and prove our safety program is functioning?" FileFlo answers "which regulation does each document satisfy, what is expiring, what is missing, and how do we hand an inspector the right binder?" An operator standing up an SMS still has to keep pilot currency, medicals, training, drug & alcohol, OpSpecs, and maintenance records, plus the SMS's own documentation, classified, current, and producible on demand. That records job is FileFlo's, on top of the storage the operator already has.
The 2027 SMS mandate is the process. The records are still on you.
The FAA's 2024 Safety Management System final rule extends SMS requirements to all 14 CFR Part 135 operators, with a compliance deadline of May 28, 2027. It applies regardless of fleet size; there is no small-operator threshold. Meeting it means running the four SMS components, and a platform like VOCUS is built for exactly that.
But an SMS program does not, by itself, keep your §135.293 competency checks, §135.247 currency, medical certificates, recurrent training, drug & alcohol program records, OpSpecs revisions, and maintenance records classified to their CFR section and current. Nor does it assemble the inspector-ready binder spanning all of them. That is the documentary, records-compliance side, and it is what gets operators written up even when the safety program itself is sound.
FileFlo is the records layer for that gap. Keep VOCUS (or your chosen SMS) for the safety-management process; add FileFlo to classify every compliance document (including your SMS manual, SRM worksheets, and safety-training records), track every expiration at 90/60/30/7 days, flag what's missing, and export the inspector binder in one click. The SMS proves your safety process; FileFlo proves your records.
Built by an operator, against the rules themselves.
Chad Griffith, Founder & CEO of FileFlo, built FileFlo's rule packs against the actual inspector and safety-investigator protocols, not a generic "compliance" abstraction. FileFlo is deliberately scoped to the records layer: it does not run your SMS, your dispatch, or your safety program. It proves the documents behind all of them are complete, current, and audit-ready.
Quick answers.
Last reviewed June 15, 2026.
Is FileFlo a replacement for VOCUS SMS (or any SMS platform)?
No, and it's important to be clear about this. FileFlo is NOT a Safety Management System and will not make you SMS-compliant on its own. VOCUS (Polaris Aero) runs your safety program: hazard reporting, safety risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion, the four components required under 14 CFR Part 5. FileFlo is the records/document layer that keeps your compliance documents, including your SMS manual and SMS records, classified to their CFR citation, current, and audit-ready. Most Part 135 operators need both.
We're implementing an SMS for the 2027 Part 135 deadline. Where does FileFlo fit?
Your SMS platform runs the four SMS pillars and the safety-management process. FileFlo sits alongside it as the documentary proof layer: it classifies and tracks every compliance document (pilot currency, medicals, training, drug & alcohol program, OpSpecs, maintenance records, and your SMS documentation) to its CFR section, flags expirations at 90/60/30/7 days, surfaces what's missing, and produces the inspector binder in one click. Put simply: the SMS proves your safety PROCESS; FileFlo proves your RECORDS.
Does FileFlo do hazard reporting or safety risk management?
No, intentionally. Hazard reporting, SRM, and safety assurance are SMS functions. Keep VOCUS (or whichever SMS you run) for them. FileFlo does one thing deeply: classify compliance documents to their CFR section, track regulatory expirations across every regulator, surface missing records, and export inspector-format audit binders. It is the records brain on top of your existing storage, not a safety program.
What does FileFlo cost compared to an SMS platform?
They aren't substitutes, so it isn't apples-to-apples. SMS platforms are typically quote-based enterprise tools. FileFlo is transparent: $89/mo Starter, $299/mo Professional, 5-day free trial, no setup fee, added on top of the cloud storage you already use, with no migration.
Can FileFlo hold our SMS manual and SMS records?
Yes. FileFlo classifies and version-tracks your SMS manual, SRM worksheets, safety-training records, and safety-assurance artifacts alongside the rest of your compliance documents; so when an inspector asks for SMS evidence, it is in the binder with your pilot, maintenance, and drug & alcohol records, not scattered across folders.
Keep your SMS. Add the records proof.
Connect FileFlo to the Drive or SharePoint you already use and get a baseline compliance gap report within 24 hours, your SMS records included. Or run the free FAA readiness score first. 5-day free trial.
Not an SMS replacement · $299/mo · Cancel anytime