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Certificates

Generate professional compliance certificates alongside your inspection reports. Certificates provide formal documentation of inspection completion and compliance, commonly required for pest inspections, pool barrier inspections, and other regulatory assessments.

The certificate system is designed to be flexible and powerful, supporting both simple text-based certificates and comprehensive structured certificates with multiple sections. Certificates are generated as separate PDF documents that can be emailed to clients, downloaded from digital reports, and customised for each individual inspection.

Understanding Certificates

Certificates are optional formal documents that accompany your inspection reports. Unlike reports which contain detailed findings, photographs, and comprehensive analysis, certificates are concise documents that formally certify inspection completion, compliance status, or specific findings.

When to Use Certificates

Certificates are particularly valuable for:

  • Regulatory Compliance - Required by regulations for pest treatments, pool barriers, electrical safety, and other compliance-based inspections
  • Client Requirements - Requested by property managers, real estate agents, or councils as proof of inspection
  • Professional Documentation - Providing formal certification separate from the detailed technical report
  • Legal Requirements - Meeting industry standards or professional association requirements
  • Ongoing Maintenance Programs - Documenting completion of periodic inspections and specifying next inspection due dates for termite management plans, smoke alarm testing, pool barrier re-inspections, and other scheduled compliance checks
  • Quick Reference - Giving clients a one-page summary they can easily share with third parties

Certificate Workflow

The certificate feature works in three stages:

  1. Template Setup - Define certificate structure, content, and styling at the template level
  2. Report Customisation - Override or customise certificate content for individual inspections (optional)
  3. Automatic Generation - Certificates are automatically generated when reports are completed and distributed alongside report PDFs

Setting Up Certificates in Templates

Certificates are configured at the template level and can be enabled or disabled for each template type. Once enabled, every report created from that template will include a certificate.

Enabling Certificates

To enable certificates for a template:

  1. Navigate to Template Manager
  2. Select the template you want to add a certificate to
  3. Click the Certificate tab in the sidebar navigation
  4. Toggle Enable Certificate to activate the certificate feature

Once enabled, you'll see the certificate editor where you can customise all aspects of your certificate.

Certificate Modes

InspectEasy supports two certificate modes to accommodate different use cases:

Simple Mode

Simple mode provides a straightforward approach to certificates with five main content fields:

  • Certificate Heading - The main certificate title (e.g., "Certificate of Compliance", "Pest Inspection Certificate")
  • Certificate Subheading - Additional context or standards reference (e.g., "AS 4349.3-2010 Timber Pest Inspection")
  • Featured Item - The main item featured on the certificate (e.g., client name, property address, or lot number)
  • Certificate Content - The main body of the certificate with rich text formatting support (bold, italic, etc.)
  • Certificate Footer - Optional footer text displayed at the bottom of the certificate

Simple mode is ideal for most inspection types where you need a clean, professional certificate without complex data fields or table layouts.

Comprehensive Mode

Comprehensive mode is currently in development and will support advanced features including:

  • Multiple structured sections with different layouts
  • Field groups for organizing related information
  • Custom formatting using tables

This mode will be ideal for complex certificates that require detailed information presentation, such as comprehensive building inspection certificates or multi-criteria compliance certificates.

Using Shortcodes for Dynamic Content

Shortcodes are powerful placeholders that automatically insert dynamic information from your inspection data. Instead of manually typing addresses, dates, or inspector names, shortcodes pull this information directly from the report, job, and inspector records.

How Shortcodes Work

When you insert a shortcode like {*inspection-date*} into your certificate content, it will be replaced with the actual inspection date when the certificate PDF is generated. This ensures every certificate contains accurate, up-to-date information without manual data entry.

Shortcodes are inserted using the {} button on the form fields. Simply press {} to see available shortcodes.

Available Shortcodes

The following shortcodes are available for use in certificate content:

Inspection Information

  • Inspection Type - Type of inspection being conducted
  • Inspection Address - Full address of the inspected property
  • Inspection Date - Date the inspection was conducted
  • Inspection Time - Time the inspection was conducted

Client Information

  • Client Full Name - Full name of the primary client/contact
  • Client First Name - Client's first name
  • Client Last Name - Client's last name
  • Client Email Address - Client's email address
  • Client Phone Number - Client's contact phone number

Inspector Information

  • Inspector Full Name - Full name of the inspector conducting the inspection
  • Inspector Email Address - Inspector's email address
  • Inspector Phone Number - Inspector's contact phone number

Company Information

  • Company Name - Business/company name
  • Company Email Address - Company contact email address
  • Company Phone Number - Company contact phone number

Template Information

  • Template Price - Template/inspection price

Styling & Design Options

Certificates support extensive styling options to ensure they match your brand and present professionally.

Certificate Type & Orientation

When configuring your certificate, you'll first choose between two certificate types, which automatically determines the page orientation:

  • Simple Certificate - Landscape format (297mm × 210mm) - Clean, stylish certificate using your branding
  • Comprehensive Certificate - Portrait format (210mm × 297mm) - Detailed certificate with columns and extra information

The orientation cannot be changed independently - it's determined by your certificate type selection. All certificates use standard A4 page size.

Visual Customisation

Access the Styling tab in the certificate editor to customise colours and fonts:

Border & Heading Colour

Choose the primary colour used for the certificate's vertical border stripe and main heading. This defaults to your company's primary brand colour but can be customised for individual certificate templates.

Typography

  • Heading Font - Used for the main certificate heading and featured item (defaults to your brand primary font)
  • Content Font - Used for body text, company name, and all supporting content (defaults to your brand secondary font)

Font and colour settings are inherited from your branding settings by default, ensuring consistency across your reports and certificates. You can override these for individual certificate templates if needed.

Note: Text colour is fixed to a dark slate for optimal readability and cannot be changed. This ensures certificates remain professional and easy to read when printed or viewed on any device.

Certificate Delivery

Choose how certificates are included with your inspection reports. Both delivery methods are available in the certificate editor.

Separate Attachment (Recommended)

Certificates are generated as independent PDF files and attached separately when emailing reports to clients. This is the recommended option and is ideal when clients need standalone compliance certificates. If the digital report is enabled, then the certificate can be downloaded from the viewer and will not be added as an attachment to the email.

How it works:

  • Certificate is generated as a separate PDF document with its own file
  • Stored alongside the report PDF in secure cloud storage
  • Certificate PDF is attached as a second file when emailing reports
  • Certificate preview is available on the emailer screen before sending
  • Both files are available as separate downloads from digital reports
  • Clients can share the certificate independently without sharing the full report

Best for: Compliance certificates that need to be shared independently, forwarded to councils, or presented to third parties without the full inspection report.

Inline (Within Report PDF)

Certificates are inserted directly into the report PDF immediately after the cover page, creating a single combined document.

How it works:

  • Certificate pages are inserted after the cover page in the main report PDF
  • Single combined PDF file containing both report and certificate
  • One file attachment in client emails
  • One download button on digital reports
  • Certificate and report are always distributed together as a single document

Best for: Keeping everything together in one document when the certificate and report are always reviewed together, or when clients prefer a single file for record-keeping.

Report-Level Certificate Customisation

While certificates are configured at the template level, you can customise certificate content for individual reports. This is useful when specific inspections require unique wording, additional details, or different certification statements.

Overriding Certificate Content

To customise a certificate for a specific report:

  1. Open the report in the Report Editor
  2. Click the Certificate tab in the sidebar
  3. Modify any of the certificate fields (heading, subheading, content, disclaimer)
  4. Save the report - your changes will be applied to this report's certificate only

How Overrides Work

Report-level customisations take priority over template defaults. When you modify certificate content in a report:

  • Your changes are stored in the report's certificate data
  • The template certificate remains unchanged (other reports are unaffected)
  • You can clear your customisations to revert to template defaults
  • Shortcodes continue to work normally in customised content

Common Use Cases for Overrides

  • Special Certifications - Adding specific compliance statements required for unique properties
  • Additional Parties - Including multiple recipients or stakeholders
  • Conditional Statements - Changing certification language based on inspection findings
  • Custom Disclaimers - Adding property-specific disclaimers or limitations

Tip: If you find yourself making the same customisations repeatedly, consider updating the template certificate instead. This ensures consistency across similar inspections and saves time.

Certificate Generation & Delivery

Certificates are automatically generated when reports are completed and processed. The generation happens in the background, so you don't need to wait for certificates to be created.

Email Delivery

When you send a report to your client via email:

  • Both the report PDF and certificate PDF are attached to the email
  • The certificate filename clearly identifies it as a certificate
  • Clients receive both documents in a single email

Digital Report Downloads

Certificates are also available on digital reports:

  • A Download Certificate button appears alongside the report download
  • Clients can download the certificate independently
  • The same PIN or access controls that protect the report also protect the certificate