Expiry date tracking with configurable alert thresholds at 90, 60 and 30 days
Certly tracks the expiry date you record on every certificate and computes its status against configurable thresholds, so the dashboard shows how long is left and your suppliers are chased as the date nears. This article shows where those thresholds live, how to change them for your plant or for a single certificate type, and when a change takes effect.
What this covers
Certly computes each certificate's status from the expiry date stored on its record, and the alert thresholds decide how far ahead of that date the status changes and the supplier contact is chased. Out of the box those thresholds are 90, 60 and 30 days before expiry, and they are configurable, per certificate type or as one plant-wide default.
You need this article when:
- a certificate type needs more notice than 90 days, because the supplier's renewal takes a quarter to come back
- a certificate type needs less, because the document is quick to reissue and three reminders are noise
- you want one plant-wide rhythm rather than a separate rule per type
- you have just uploaded your first certificates and want to know where the thresholds that act on them are set
Setting your alert thresholds
- Check the expiry date on the certificate record
Thresholds are counted back from the expiry date stored against the certificate, so the date has to be right first. Open the supplier, find the certificate type, and confirm the issue and expiry dates recorded against the document you uploaded. Certly validates the expiry date when the upload form is submitted and returns a field-level error if it is missing or not a real date.
- Open the alerts settings
Go to the alerts settings screen. It lists each certificate type you require from suppliers, allergen declaration, CoA and audit certificate, with the days-before-expiry thresholds currently in force for it.
- Set the plant-wide default
If every certificate type should run on the same rhythm, set the plant-wide default and leave the per-type rows alone. The default starts at 90, 60 and 30 days before expiry.
- Override a single certificate type
Where one document behaves differently, add, edit or remove a threshold on that certificate type's own row. A type with its own thresholds stops following the plant-wide default; remove the overrides and it follows the default again.
- Save and read the confirmation
Save the form and check the confirmation that your thresholds have been stored. Nothing is applied until it is saved.
- Open the dashboard to see what they produce
Status is recomputed against the thresholds in force, and the single-screen status view shows each certificate as current, expiring soon, expired or missing, per supplier. The same four states, with the same labels, appear on the PDF export you hand an auditor. From the thresholds you set, the automated chase sequence emails the supplier contact for certificates approaching expiry or already lapsed, with a one-click upload link, logged per send.
If it did not work as expected
A certificate still reads as current
Check the expiry date on the record before you touch the thresholds. A status is only as good as the date it was computed from, and a date typed a year out will read as current long after the paper has lapsed.
A type ignores the default you just set
That type almost certainly carries its own thresholds. Remove them on its row and it follows the plant-wide default again.
You want fewer reminders, not different ones
Remove a threshold rather than moving it. A type set to 90 and 30 days has two threshold points, not three.
A type has no expiry date to count back from
A certificate a supplier has never sent has no date, so no threshold applies to it. It shows on the status board as missing, alongside current, expiring soon and expired.
Nothing else explains it
Email support@usecertly.com with the supplier, the certificate type and the expiry date you recorded, and we will look at what the check computed for that record.
Questions
Are 90, 60 and 30 days fixed?
No. They are the starting thresholds. You can add, edit or remove a threshold per certificate type, or set a plant-wide default that every type follows.
Can different certificate types run on different thresholds?
Yes. The alerts settings screen lists each certificate type separately, so an audit certificate can start chasing earlier than an allergen declaration if that is how your suppliers behave.
When do my changes take effect?
The next time status is computed. Open the dashboard after saving and the status board reflects the thresholds then in force.
Who gets told when a threshold is crossed?
The supplier contact on the record, through the automated chase sequence, with a one-click upload link so they can return the renewal without a login. Every send is logged against the certificate. Your own view of where everything stands is the dashboard and its PDF export.
Does a threshold being crossed mean the certificate on file is valid?
No. Certly tracks the expiry dates you and your suppliers record and reminds the supplier contact before they pass. It does not verify certificate authenticity and it does not guarantee regulatory compliance.
Is expiry alerting on every plan?
Yes. Expiry alerts at 90, 60 and 30 days are included in Starter at £149 a month and in every plan above it, each with a 14-day free trial.
Where does the expiry date come from when the document has no printed expiry?
From the expiry date recorded on the certificate when it is uploaded, by you or by the supplier through an upload link. Thresholds are counted back from that stored date, so it is the field to get right.