All BERRI user accounts are manually verified and activated. The subscribing organisation determines each user’s level of access to the data, whether they can see a single child (eg a foster carer), or a set of children (eg a therapist or home manager) or data from across a whole service (eg a service manager). Different features are available to each level of account. Each account has its own username and password, and we record which account makes each entry or change to the data.

The BERRI system does not store a child or young person's personal information like their name, date of birth or address. It gives each child a record number, and links that record to the account that sets it up with an encryption key that allows that user to identify the appropriate record again if they lose the record number. When individual reports and charts are produced, these are produced on the local computer of the user, and become part of your confidential record – they are not stored on the BERRI system.