A supplier’s insurance certificate expires next month. Their quality certificate lasts another year. Both PDFs are in the right folder, but the buyer still needs to know which one to chase, when to chase it and whether a replacement has been checked.
For supplier certificate expiry tracking in Folderit, create one form record per certificate, attach the evidence, record its expiry date and assign an owner. Configure date-based reminders for records that still need tracking. When a renewal arrives, keep the old evidence and create a separate record for the replacement.
The setup below is an illustrative procurement process built from documented Folderit features. The supplier and dates are fictional; test the combined setup in your account before relying on it. eForms and custom records are included in the Tailor plan.
Give each certificate its own deadline
A single Expiry date on a supplier record becomes ambiguous as soon as that supplier has two documents. Use a Supplier certificate form for each certificate and coverage period. Keep the supplier name consistent so you can find all their records together.
For example, North Quay Services has an insurance certificate expiring on 30 November 2026 and a quality certificate expiring on 15 March 2027. These need two records, two dates and potentially different reviewers. Replacing one must not close the follow-up on the other.
Under Admin tools → Form templates, create the template and add these fields. The eForms guide explains field configuration and required values.
| Field | Type | What to enter |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier | Text | The agreed supplier name, for example North Quay Services. |
| Certificate type | Select | A short list such as Insurance, Quality or Other. |
| Certificate reference | Text | The identifier on the evidence, where available. |
| Expiry date | Date | The date checked against the certificate. |
| Responsible buyer | User | The person who owns the renewal follow-up. |
| Tracking state | Select | Tracked, Superseded or No longer required. |
| Certificate file | File | The certificate being tracked. |
| Review and renewal notes | Textarea | Scope checks, supplier contact, next action and previous record reference. |
Make Supplier, Certificate type, Expiry date, Responsible buyer, Tracking state and Certificate file required for this dated-certificate process. Tracked means the team must still monitor the record. It does not mean the certificate is valid, approved or unexpired.
If you already maintain suppliers as form records, a Relation field can replace the free-text Supplier field. Set Fetch options from to your supplier template so people choose an existing supplier. This gives the certificate a structured supplier reference; matching text labels alone do not create that connection.
A person must read the evidence and enter the correct date. Attaching a PDF does not, in this setup, extract its expiry date or decide whether its coverage is acceptable.
Assign collection, review and follow-up
The buyer requests the replacement and records progress. A procurement or quality reviewer checks the legal entity, certificate type, reference, relevant scope or sites, and validity period before the team relies on it. One person may do both jobs in a small team, but the responsibilities should be explicit.
Store the records in a clearly named Supplier certificates folder. Give staff who maintain them appropriate editing access and give readers only the access they need. Folderit’s permission levels explain those differences. Selecting someone in Responsible buyer does not itself grant them access.
The template can be used in other folders where users have sufficient rights. Naming it Supplier certificate does not restrict it to the intended folder, so include the storage location in the team’s instructions.
Configure the 30-day reminder
Use automated reminders for form records to connect the date, tracking state and recipient:
- Open Admin tools → Form templates, find Supplier certificate and open the gear menu in its Actions column.
- Select Manage reminders → Add reminder.
- Choose Expiry date. Set Amount to 30, Unit to Days and Timing to Before.
- Add a condition requiring Tracking state to equal Tracked, using the equality operator available for that field.
- Use Add recipient from field if Responsible buyer is offered as an eligible recipient field. Otherwise select an appropriate named user or procurement group. Check the available choices in your form.
- Enter a subject and message, review the settings and save.
The message should identify the supplier, certificate type and expiry date, then explain the action. Insert the exact field placeholders shown by the reminder editor. Do not copy invented placeholder names from an example.
Example message content: North Quay Services’ insurance certificate expires on 30 November 2026. Request the renewal, check the replacement evidence and record the outcome in the certificate register. If no replacement is available, raise the gap with the procurement lead.
For the fictional expiry above, a 30-day offset gives a target reminder date of 31 October. Choose a lead time that reflects how long your suppliers actually need. Date-based email reminders are automated; requesting the renewal and assessing the answer remain assigned work.
Conditions are checked when the reminder starts and again when it is due. That makes Tracking state useful for excluding superseded records. It is still worth testing a state change before a reminder becomes due, along with date and recipient changes.
Keep an overdue list as well as email reminders
Add Supplier, Certificate type, Expiry date, Responsible buyer and Tracking state through the folder’s Columns settings. Buyers can then inspect the key details without opening every record.
For a renewal review, use search filters: select Supplier certificate under Item type, choose its form fields in Metadata filter, and look for Tracked records with expiry dates in the coming month. Run a separate search for Tracked records with dates before today’s date. That second list catches overdue work even when a reminder was missed.
The general Date filter is not a substitute for selecting the certificate’s Expiry date field. Use the field-specific date conditions available in your account and check that a known overdue example appears. Search results remain subject to permissions.
A separate seven-day reminder can go to a procurement lead or group. If configured only with Tracking state = Tracked, it applies to all qualifying records at that offset; it does not detect whether the buyer read the earlier email or contacted the supplier.
Record a renewal without losing the old evidence
When a new certificate arrives, review it before closing the old follow-up. Create a new Supplier certificate record with the replacement file and its own date. Put the previous record’s reference in the new record’s notes and record the replacement reference on the old one. This is a human-maintained cross-reference.
After acceptance, mark the old record Superseded and the replacement Tracked. Keep the old file and notes for the period required by your retention policy. If the replacement starts later than the old certificate ends, record that gap and get the responsible person’s decision; a new PDF does not resolve it.
Do not overwrite an old expiry date just to remove it from the overdue list. If the supplier relationship ends, use No longer required with a reason, rather than pretending a renewal was received.
Check validity separately from expiry
A future expiry date is only one part of a certificate check. For accredited management-system certificates, the IAF CertSearch verification guide explains checking certification status, including suspended, withdrawn and expired certificates. Use the appropriate issuer or verification source for other evidence types, such as insurance.
Record who checked the evidence, when and what they checked in the review notes. This register organises evidence and follow-up; it does not automatically verify certificates, approve suppliers or block purchasing.
Try the exceptions before rollout
Use fictional records to check the reminder and the team’s response:
- Missing or uncertain date: confirm required-field validation. Do not invent a date for undated evidence; use a separately defined review-date process for that material.
- Replacement received early: change the old record to Superseded before the reminder is due and verify the condition behaves as intended.
- Date or owner changed: confirm the resulting reminder timing and recipient, and check that the new owner can open the record.
- Existing overdue records: reminder rules apply to existing records, but check how dates already past the offset are handled. Review the overdue list directly instead of assuming a catch-up email.
- No renewal received: have the buyer record the supplier’s response and refer the decision to the procurement lead. Keep the outstanding evidence visible.
Start with one certificate type and one buyer group. Once the dates, reminders and renewal handoff work as intended, add the next type using the same register. For the broader record structure, see the master document register guide.
