Disclaimer: ArrivHQ does not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. The information in this article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional guidance. Consult a qualified tax professional before making decisions based on your specific situation.

Overview

Compliance Gap Detection identifies missing companion entries across your compliance records in real time. When you log a mileage trip to a property, ArrivHQ checks whether a matching work log exists for that day. When a reservation ends, it checks whether a turnover was recorded. Detected gaps appear as Needs Review items — suggested compliance entries that you approve, edit, or dismiss. No record is ever created automatically.

The goal is to catch gaps at entry time, while the details are still fresh, rather than discovering them months later during tax preparation.

How it works

Detection directions

Gap detection watches four relationships between your compliance records:

  • Mileage to work log — You logged a trip to a property but have no work log for that property on the same day. ArrivHQ suggests a work log entry.
  • Work log to mileage — You logged onsite work at a property but have no mileage entry for the trip. ArrivHQ suggests a mileage entry using your default start location and the property address.
  • Reservation to turnover — A reservation checked out but no turnover work log was recorded. ArrivHQ suggests a turnover entry.
  • Turnover to cleaner — A turnover was completed but the assigned cleaner has no mileage entry for the trip. ArrivHQ suggests a cleaner mileage entry.

Detection runs when you create or update an entry. It is rules-based: deterministic checks compare dates, properties, activity types, and time windows to identify likely gaps. For ambiguous cases where the rules produce a borderline score, an optional AI tiebreak (Claude Haiku) resolves the ambiguity. The rules do the heavy lifting; AI handles the edge cases.

The Needs Review queue

Every detected gap appears in the Needs Review queue on the Compliance page. Each item shows the source entry that triggered detection, the suggested companion entry, and a plain-language review reason explaining why it was flagged.

For each item, you have three options:

  • Approve — Creates the suggested record with the proposed details. You can edit the details before approving if anything needs adjustment.
  • Quick approve — For high-confidence items where the suggested details are complete, a one-click approve creates the record immediately without opening an edit form.
  • Dismiss — Marks the item as not needed. You can optionally select a reason, which helps ArrivHQ learn your patterns.

Learning from dismissals

When you dismiss a suggestion, ArrivHQ records the pattern. If you repeatedly dismiss the same type of suggestion for the same property — for example, dismissing mileage suggestions for supply runs because you do not track work hours for those trips — ArrivHQ learns to suppress similar suggestions in the future. After five dismissals of the same pattern, that suggestion type is automatically suppressed.

Suppression is not permanent. Learned patterns decay over time if not reinforced, so if your workflow changes, suggestions will gradually return. You can also view and reset your learned patterns in the gap detection settings.

Compliance export integration

When you generate a compliance export, ArrivHQ checks for open Needs Review items in the selected date range. If unresolved items exist, a warning appears before the export is generated. This ensures you have the opportunity to address gaps before sharing records with your CPA.

Records created through gap detection are marked as system-suggested, host-approved in exports, providing clear provenance for any auditor reviewing your documentation.

Default mileage start location

Work-log-to-mileage suggestions use your default mileage start location to estimate trip distances. This is a label and address you set in settings — it represents the location you typically drive from to your properties. It is not home address tracking; you can set any location you choose, and the label is entirely up to you.

If you have not set a default start location, mileage suggestions will still appear but without pre-filled distance estimates. A prompt in the Needs Review queue will remind you to configure this setting.

Limits and requirements

  • Gap detection is available on the Host ($34/mo) and Portfolio ($49/mo) plans.
  • The Comply plan ($19/mo) does not include gap detection. Entry creation works normally; detection simply does not run.
  • Detection runs automatically when you create or update compliance entries. There is nothing to enable or configure beyond plan eligibility.
  • Cleaner mileage suggestions only appear for cleaners with mileage tracking enabled in their assignment settings.
  • No records are created without your explicit approval.

FAQ

Does gap detection create records automatically? No. Every detected gap is presented as a suggestion in the Needs Review queue. You decide whether to approve, edit, or dismiss each one.

What is the AI tiebreak? Most gaps are detected by deterministic rules that compare dates, properties, and activity types. In a small percentage of ambiguous cases, an AI model (Claude Haiku) is used to resolve the ambiguity. The AI does not generate records — it helps the rules engine decide whether a gap is worth surfacing.

Will I get too many suggestions? The system learns from your dismissals. If you consistently dismiss a certain type of suggestion, it will stop appearing after a few dismissals. You can also reset learned patterns if needed.

What happens to approved records in an audit? Records created through gap detection carry a system-suggested, host-approved label in compliance exports. This provides clear provenance showing the system identified the gap and you confirmed the record. Your approval is the operative compliance event.

Can I run gap detection on past records? In v1, detection runs at entry time — when you create or update a record. A manual scan for a specific month is available from the Compliance page, but full historical backfill is not included.