Document expiry reminder software for supplier certificates
If you are looking for document expiry reminder software, Certly watches the expiry date on supplier certificates and speaks up before the date passes, at 90, 60 and 30 days by default, on thresholds you set. The reminder does not stop in your inbox: it goes out to the supplier contact as a chase email with a one-click upload link, and every send is logged.
The date is on the document, and nobody is watching it
People search for document expiry reminder software after a date has already gone past. Usually there is a specific document behind the search: an allergen declaration that lapsed in March, a CoA nobody noticed had run out, a third-party audit certificate that expired while the supplier was mid-recertification.
Certly is a reminder system for that one family of documents, the certificates your suppliers send you. Each one has three things in common: an expiry date, a certificate type you require from that supplier, and a person at the other end who has to send the next version.
The day it is built for looks like this. You keep an approved supplier list in a spreadsheet, with a column for the allergen declaration, one for the CoA, one for the audit certificate, and conditional formatting someone set up two coordinators ago. The tab only turns red if someone opens it. Chasing suppliers for their certs is a Friday afternoon job that slides, because nothing on the screen is on fire. Then an unannounced audit lands, the auditor asks for the current declaration from the supplier whose certificate ran out eleven weeks ago, and an out-of-date certificate on file becomes a non-conformance, a corrective action to close out, and in the worst case a re-audit fee and the days it takes to arrange one.
The job to be done is narrow and unglamorous: know every expiry date, be told early enough to do something about it, and have the asking already done.
What an expiry reminder has to do before it earns its keep
A reminder is only useful if it covers all four of these:
- Hold the date reliably, tied to the document and the supplier, not to someone's memory of which column it was in.
- Fire early enough to act. Thirty days is enough for a supplier who already has the renewal in a drawer. It is not enough for one waiting on a certification body, which is why the first nudge goes out at 90 days.
- Reach the person who can fix it. A reminder in your own inbox converts into another email you have to write.
- Leave a record. When an auditor asks what you did about a lapsed certificate, "I chased them" is weaker evidence than a dated log of what was sent.
Where this is the wrong tool
General-purpose expiry reminder software will remind you about anything with a date on it: insurance renewals, leases, calibration records, vehicle checks. It is flexible, and it stops at the reminder. Everything after the alert, finding the right contact, writing the email, filing what comes back, is still yours.
Certly narrows the subject deliberately. A certificate is stored against a supplier and a required certificate type, so the reminder knows who to ask and what to ask for. If you need a diary for every dated document in the building, this is not it, and you should know that before you read further. If the documents keeping you up are the ones your suppliers owe you, carry on.
How the reminder works, end to end
- Add the supplier and the certificate types you require
Each supplier record carries contact details and the certificate types you need from them, such as an allergen declaration, a CoA or an audit certificate. A required type with no document against it reads Missing rather than quietly not existing.
- Put the document and its expiry date on file
Your QA team uploads the certificate, tied to that supplier and that certificate type, with its issue and expiry dates. That date is the only input the reminder needs.
- Set the thresholds you want to be warned on
The alerts settings screen lists each certificate type with its days-before-expiry thresholds, 90, 60 and 30 to start. You can add, edit or remove a threshold per certificate type, or set one plant-wide default, and the change is saved and confirmed on the screen.
- The expiry check runs and the status moves
A scheduled check compares every expiry date against your thresholds and moves the certificate between current, expiring soon, expired and missing, so a date that passed overnight is not still showing green when you open the dashboard.
- The chase email goes to the supplier, not to you
When a certificate crosses a threshold, or has already lapsed, an automated chase sequence emails the supplier contact with a one-click upload link. Every send is logged against that supplier, so you can see what actually went out and when.
- The supplier uploads without an account
The link in the email is single-use and expiring, and needs no login. The supplier opens it, uploads the renewal, and the certificate status updates against their record.
- Show the dates to the auditor on one screen
The dashboard gives a single-screen view of certificate status per supplier, and exports as a PDF for auditor review, with the dates and statuses as the system computed them.
What happens at each threshold
| Threshold | What Certly does | What the supplier contact gets |
|---|---|---|
| 90 days before expiry | The certificate moves to expiring soon and the first chase in the sequence is sent and logged | An email naming the certificate type and its expiry date, with a one-click upload link |
| 60 days before expiry | The next chase in the sequence goes out, logged per send | The same plain upload link, no account and no password |
| 30 days before expiry | The last chase before the date passes | A final reminder ahead of expiry, with the upload link |
| After the expiry date | Status reads expired on the dashboard and in the PDF export, and the chase sequence continues for the lapsed certificate | A chase for a certificate that has now lapsed, with the upload link |
| Your own numbers | Add, edit or remove thresholds per certificate type, or set a plant-wide default, at the alerts settings screen | Nothing changes at their end; only the timing of what reaches them changes |
What this changes for the person doing the chasing
The date is held outside your head
Every expiry date sits against a supplier and a certificate type, and is checked on a schedule rather than when someone remembers to open a tab.
Warning at 90 days, not 9
The first alert lands while a supplier still has time to go back to their certification body. The 60 and 30 day thresholds are the follow-ups you would otherwise have to diarise.
Different documents, different notice
A third-party audit certificate takes longer to renew than an allergen declaration. Thresholds are configurable per certificate type, so you can give the slow ones a longer run-up.
The asking is already done
The reminder is not an item on your list, it is an email the supplier contact has already received, with the upload link in it.
A record of what was sent
Each chase is logged per send against the supplier, so the question "did anyone actually chase them" has an answer with a date on it.
It reminds, it does not vouch
Certly tracks expiry dates and sends reminders. It does not verify that a certificate is authentic and it does not guarantee regulatory compliance; that line sits on the dashboard and on the PDF export so nobody reading either can mistake one for the other.
Scope, plainly stated
Certly is built for one plant at a time, with every query scoped to that plant's data, so one site's suppliers and documents stay that site's. Starter covers a single plant and up to 50 suppliers at $3,228 a year, Professional covers up to 200 suppliers at $5,388 a year, and both carry a 14-day free trial. Multi-site, at $10,788 a year, is for groups and consultants covering up to 30 sites under one agreement.
Two honest limits on the reminder itself. First, it only knows the dates you give it, so an expiry typed wrong is an alert fired on the wrong day; field-level checks on certificate entry are covered on a separate page. Second, a chase email only works if it arrives, which is why delivery results are logged per send rather than assumed.
If you want the longer comparison of ways to keep on top of these dates, including the spreadsheet and the shared calendar, the method-by-method guide in this section covers it. If what you want is the four statuses and exactly when a certificate moves between them, that has its own page too.
Questions
Does the reminder come to me or to the supplier?
Both ends are covered. The expiry status changes on your dashboard when a certificate crosses one of your thresholds, and the automated chase sequence emails the supplier contact with a one-click upload link. The point is that you do not have to write the email after the alert.
Can I change the 90, 60 and 30 day reminders?
Yes. The alerts settings screen lists each certificate type with its current days-before-expiry thresholds, and you can add, edit or remove a threshold per certificate type or set a plant-wide default. Changes are saved against your plant and confirmed on screen.
What kinds of documents can it remind me about?
Supplier certificates, held against a supplier record and a required certificate type, such as an allergen declaration, a certificate of analysis or a third-party audit certificate. It is not a general diary for insurance renewals, leases or calibration records.
What happens to a certificate that has already expired?
It reads expired on the dashboard and in the PDF export, and the chase sequence keeps going for lapsed certificates, with the upload link in each email, rather than stopping at the date it should have been renewed.
Does my supplier need an account to send the renewal?
No. The chase email carries a single-use, expiring link that needs no login. They open it, upload the document, and it lands against their record and certificate type.
How is the expiry status kept up to date?
A scheduled check computes status against your thresholds, and status is recomputed when the dashboard is read, so a date passing overnight does not leave a row showing as current.
Does this make us compliant with our audit scheme?
No, and we will not say otherwise. Certly tracks certificate expiry and sends reminders. It does not verify that a document is genuine, it does not judge whether a certificate meets a scheme's requirements, and it does not guarantee regulatory compliance. That statement is shown on the dashboard and on the PDF export.
Can I use it for more than one site?
Starter and Professional each cover a single plant, with data scoped to that plant. The Multi-site plan covers up to 30 sites under one agreement, with sites added and switched from one sign-in.