Remove a supplier from certificate tracking
To remove a supplier from certificate tracking in Certly, archive it: the supplier comes off the live status board and the audit PDF, and its expiry reminders and chase emails stop. Nothing is deleted, the certificate documents, their issue and expiry dates, the versions a renewal replaced and the chase history are all kept, because that trail is what an auditor asks for.
A screenshot of Certly, showing sample data. Nothing in it is a promise: what the product does is what this page says in words.
The supplier you stopped buying from, still on the audit board
You moved the contract in March. The allergen declaration on file expired in June and nobody is going to renew it, because there is nothing left to declare. The deliveries stopped, and the row did not.
Certly's status view reports every required certificate per supplier in four states, current, expiring soon, expired and missing, on one screen, and exports that same screen as a PDF for an auditor. A company you no longer trade with keeps contributing expired and missing rows to both, sitting in the same list as the gaps that are real work this week. Two weeks out from a BRC or FSSC 22000 audit, the count that should tell you how much is outstanding is padded with companies you have delisted, and the only thing separating the two is your memory.
Archiving is what Certly gives you for that. It takes a supplier out of the live tracking set, stops its expiry reminders and its chase emails, and keeps everything it holds: the certificate documents your team or the supplier uploaded, their issue and expiry dates, the versions a renewal replaced, and the log of every chase that went out. Nothing is deleted, because the trail is what an auditor asks for. The board simply stops asking you to act on a supplier you no longer buy from.
One working habit to keep: after you archive, look back at the list and confirm the company has gone from it. If the request does not reach the server, the button becomes clickable again rather than telling you plainly that it failed, and a glance at the list is a faster check than finding the row again on audit day.
How archiving a supplier works
- Open the supplier in your list
Your supplier database holds each company with its contact details and the certificate types you require of it, the allergen declaration, the CoA, the audit certificate. The supplier's own page carries those certificate slots, its chase history and the archive action.
- Archive it
The archive action takes the supplier out of the live tracking set. It stops appearing among the suppliers Certly is tracking for you, so its rows no longer sit in the status view you work from each week.
- Check the company has left the list
Reload the supplier list and confirm the company is no longer there before you move on. If it is still listed, archive it again. The list is the confirmation, and five seconds of checking is cheaper than meeting the row again in front of an auditor.
- The counts and the audit PDF settle
The single-screen status view, current, expiring soon, expired and missing per supplier, now describes the suppliers you actually buy from. The PDF export renders that view with the same four badges, labels and colours as the screen, with the two-sentence line near the top stating that Certly tracks and reminds on certificate expiry and does not verify certificate authenticity or guarantee regulatory compliance.
- Reminders and chases stop for that supplier
Your alert thresholds at 90, 60 and 30 days before expiry, set per certificate type or as a site-wide default, no longer raise that supplier, and no automated chase email leaves for it. Everyone else's timing is untouched, because you changed the supplier, not the thresholds.
- Its records stay where they are
Certificate documents, issue and expiry dates, the versions superseded by a renewal and the full chase log are kept while your account is open. When an auditor asks which declaration was valid last March for a supplier you have since dropped, the document is still on file to answer with.
What archiving changes on a working week
The needs-attention count means something again
Expired and missing rows on the status view belong to suppliers you are still buying from, so the number you read in the morning is the number of jobs in front of you.
The auditor sees your current supplier base
The PDF export is a render of the live status view, so a delisted company is not on the document you hand across the table, and you are not explaining a lapsed certificate for a contract that ended last spring.
Nothing you hold is thrown away
Archiving keeps the supplier's records. Expired certificates, versions replaced by a renewal and the chase history are all retained while the account is open, which is what lets you answer a question about a past date.
No more mail leaves for a former contact
Chase sequences stop for an archived supplier, and the chase log for it still shows every send that happened with its status, sent, opened or failed, so you can confirm what went out rather than assume.
What each action touches
| Action | Certificate documents and dates | Reminders and chase emails |
|---|---|---|
| Archive the supplier | Kept, including versions replaced by a renewal | Stop for that supplier |
| Erase a supplier contact's data | Kept | No contact name, email or phone left on the record |
| Delete the account in Settings, Site details | Removed at once, after a JSON download if you want one | Stop |
Who reaches for this, and when
This is for the QA manager or coordinator who owns the approved supplier list and the documents behind it, on a single BRC, SQF or FSSC 22000 site. Three moments bring people here.
- A contract ends. Procurement moves a line and the certificate slots for that supplier become permanently outstanding. Archive the supplier the week you stop receiving deliveries, not the week before the audit.
- An annual review trims the list. Working through the approved supplier list, archive as you go. The count on the status board drops to the suppliers in scope, and the trail behind each archived company is still there if a complaint or a traceability exercise reaches back.
- The job changes hands. A board made only of live suppliers is a far easier thing to hand to the next coordinator than a list where half the expired rows are explained by someone who has left. The sibling page on handing certificate records over covers that transition in full.
Sign-in is by email and password. Starter is £149 a month for one site and up to 50 suppliers, Professional £249 for one site and up to 200, and Unlimited £399 with no cap on suppliers, each with a 14-day free trial and each available annually for 15% less than paying monthly. If you want the wider picture first, the sibling glossary page sets out what current, expiring soon, expired and missing each mean, and the chase log page covers what the product records about every reminder that leaves.
Questions
How do I remove a supplier from certificate tracking?
Open the supplier in your list and archive it. The supplier leaves the live tracking set, so it no longer appears on the single-screen status view or in the PDF export, and its expiry reminders and chase emails stop. Reload the list afterwards to confirm the company has gone from it, and archive again if it has not.
Does archiving delete the certificates I already hold?
No. Archiving keeps the supplier's records. Certificate documents, their issue and expiry dates, versions a renewal replaced and the chase log are all retained while your account is open, because that trail is what an auditor asks for.
Will chase emails still go to an archived supplier's contact?
Archiving stops that supplier's reminders and chase emails. The chase log on the supplier's page still shows each send that already happened with its status, sent, opened or failed, so you can see exactly what went out and when.
A former contact asked us to remove their details. Is archiving enough?
Archiving stops the mail, and erasure is a separate action. On the supplier's page, deleting the contact data sits behind a confirmation dialog explaining what goes, the contact name and email, and what stays, the certificate records. A contact's name, email and phone number can be erased on their own this way.
Will an archived supplier appear on the audit PDF?
No. The PDF export renders the live status view, with the same four status badges, labels and colours as the screen and the same two-sentence note stating that Certly tracks and reminds on certificate expiry and does not verify certificate authenticity or guarantee regulatory compliance.
Where are an archived supplier's documents kept?
In the same place as everything else: Certly's own Postgres database on Amazon Web Services, where uploaded certificate documents are stored rather than in a shared file store. They stay there while your account is open.
What if I want everything gone, not archived?
Delete your account from Settings, Site details, confirming with your email address. Your sites, suppliers, certificate documents, chase history, settings and sign-in details are removed at once and any live subscription is cancelled. The same screen downloads a JSON file of your data first.