Getting started with Certly
This article takes you from your first sign-in to the moment Certly first does its job for you, which is your first chase request leaving for a supplier with an upload link on it. It covers only what a first session needs, so bring one supplier you currently chase by hand.
What this article helps with
You have an account and an empty dashboard, and you want one supplier set up properly rather than all fifty entered at once. That is the right instinct: the quickest way to see whether Certly earns its place is to take a single supplier whose allergen declaration, certificate of analysis or audit certificate you currently chase from a spreadsheet, put that supplier into Certly, and let Certly send the next chase.
By the end of the steps below you will have sent your first supplier chase request. That one action means the supplier is on file, the certificate requirement is recorded, the expiry clock is running, and the email you used to write by hand now leaves with a one-click upload link on it. Everything else can wait for a second session: the rest of your suppliers, the audit PDF, erasing a supplier contact's name and email when they ask for it.
One thing to hold in mind as you go. Certly tracks certificate expiry and reminds you and your suppliers. It does not verify that a certificate is authentic and it does not guarantee regulatory compliance, and that line sits on the dashboard and on the PDF export so an auditor reads it too.
From sign-in to your first chase
- Sign in with your email and password
Certly signs you in with the email address and password set when the account was created. There is no supplier login to arrange alongside it, because suppliers never sign in at all.
- Add one supplier
Enter the supplier's company name, then the contact name and contact email address of the person who actually sends you documents. That email address is where every chase for this supplier goes, so it is the single field most worth getting right.
- Tick only the certificate types you require
Choose from allergen declaration, certificate of analysis and audit certificate. Each type you tick becomes a slot Certly tracks for that supplier, and a slot with no document on file reads as missing on the dashboard, so tick what your approved supplier list actually asks of them and nothing more.
- Upload the certificate you already hold
If you have a current document for one of those types, upload it as a PDF, PNG or JPEG against that supplier and that certificate type, with its issue and expiry dates. The expiry date you enter is what the status and the reminders run on, so take it from the document rather than from memory.
- Check the expiry alert points
Certly alerts at 90, 60 and 30 days before expiry. In the alert settings each certificate type is listed with its days-before-expiry thresholds, and you can add, edit or remove a threshold per type or set a plant-wide default. If your allergen declarations need a longer run-up than your CoAs, change it now rather than after the first reminder lands.
- Send your first chase request
Use chase now on the supplier's row or on the supplier's own page. Certly emails the contact you entered with a single-use upload link that expires, so the supplier returns the document without creating an account or replying to you with an attachment, and the send is logged against that supplier. That is the moment the product has taken over the chase you were doing by hand, and the end of your first session.
What to do next, and what to do if it did not work
Your next session
Add the rest of your suppliers with their required certificate types, upload the documents you already hold, and open the dashboard. It shows every certificate as current, expiring soon, expired or missing, per supplier, on one screen, and exports as a PDF you can hand to an auditor. From there the alert thresholds and the chase sequence handle certificates approaching expiry and ones already lapsed.
If the chase did not arrive
Every chase is logged per send with its result, so look at the supplier's chase history before assuming the email landed. An entry shown as failed means the message did not get through, and there is a resend action next to it. If a supplier tells you the upload link no longer opens, that is the link doing its job: it is single-use and it expires, so send a fresh chase request and the supplier gets a new one.
If something else is wrong
Email support@usecertly.com with the supplier name and roughly when you sent the chase, and the team can trace it from the log.
Questions
Does my supplier need a Certly account to send the document back?
No. The chase email carries a single-use upload link that expires, and the supplier uploads straight through it with no login. That is the point of the link: nothing new for them to sign up to.
Do I have to add every supplier before the first chase works?
No. One supplier with one required certificate type is enough to send a chase request and see exactly what the supplier receives. Add the rest once you are satisfied with how it reads.
What file types can a supplier upload?
PDF, PNG or JPEG, which covers both a document the supplier exports and a scan of a signed form.
Do I need to enter a card to start?
No. Starting the free trial needs no card, and every plan carries a 14-day free trial, including Starter at £149 a month for a single site and up to 50 suppliers.
How do I know the chase was actually sent?
Each send is logged against the supplier with its delivery result, so the chase history tells you what was sent, when, and whether it got through. A failed send shows as failed and can be resent, rather than sitting there looking delivered.
Can I change the 90, 60 and 30 day alert points?
Yes. The alert settings list each certificate type with its days-before-expiry thresholds, and you can add, edit or remove a threshold per type or set a plant-wide default.
Does Certly check that a certificate is genuine?
No. Certly tracks expiry dates and reminds you and your suppliers. It does not verify certificate authenticity and it does not guarantee regulatory compliance, and that statement appears on the dashboard and on the PDF export.