Certifications record qualifications a trainee holds that were not earned through a QTRACA course: a HACCP certificate, a first aid certificate, a forklift licence, a PCQI qualification. You record who issued it, when, and when it expires. QTRACA then shows how close each one is to expiry and emails the trainee and their supervisor as the date approaches, so a licence does not lapse unnoticed.
Where to find it: Training > Trainees, open a trainee, then the Certifications tab. It is the tab the trainee screen opens on.
Concepts
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Certification | A qualification held by one trainee, with issuing body, issue date and optional expiry. |
| External / Internal | External (3rd Party) is issued by an outside body such as a training provider or licensing authority. Internal (Company) is one your own business issues. |
| Certificate vs certification | A certificate is the document QTRACA generates when a trainee completes a course. A certification is an outside qualification you record here. See Certificates and verification for the former. |
Quick start
- Open the trainee and stay on the Certifications tab.
- Click Add Certification.
- Pick from Quick Select (Common Certifications), or type a Certification Name and Issuing Body.
- Enter the Issue Date, and the Expiration Date if it expires.
- Click Save & Continue, attach a scan of the certificate if you have one, and click Done.
The Certifications tab
Three counts sit above the table: Active, Expiring Soon and Expired. Rows are shaded amber when expiring soon and red when expired.
| Column | Notes |
|---|---|
| Certification | The name, with the certificate number beneath it. |
| Issuing Body | With an External or Internal badge. |
| Issue Date | |
| Expiration | The expiry date, plus “N days left” when expiring soon or “Expired N days ago”. Shows No expiration when left blank. |
| Status | Worked out from the expiry date each time the tab loads. See the table below. |
| Actions | Edit (pencil) and Delete (bin). |
| Status | When |
|---|---|
| Active | The expiry is more than 30 days away, or there is no expiry date. |
| Expiring Soon | The expiry is within the next 30 days. Ben Carter’s forklift licence, with 12 days left, is one. |
| Expired | The expiry date has passed. |
Adding a certification
Add Certification takes two steps: the details, then an optional file.
Step 1: details
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Quick Select (Common Certifications) | Fills in the name and issuing body for common food-industry qualifications: PCQI, HACCP Certification, ServSafe Food Handler, ServSafe Manager, SQF Practitioner, Internal Auditor - ISO 22000, Lead Auditor - GFSI and Allergen Control Certification. You can change both afterwards, for example to name your local provider. Custom leaves the fields for you to type. |
| Certification Name * | Must be different from the trainee’s other certifications. Names containing PCQI or “Preventive Controls Qualified Individual” put the trainee on the PCQI register. |
| Type * | External (3rd Party) (the default) or Internal (Company). |
| Issuing Body * | Who issued it. |
| Issue Date * | |
| Expiration Date | “Leave blank if no expiration”. A certification with no expiry is always Active and never gets reminders. |
| Certificate Number | The licence or certificate number, for auditors. |
| Notes | Anything else, such as endorsements or conditions. |
Save & Continue stays disabled until name, issuing body and issue date are filled in. It saves the certification straight away.
Step 2: attach the certificate file
The second step confirms “<name> saved successfully.” and offers Attach Certificate File for a PDF, JPG or PNG scan of the certificate. It is optional: “You can also do this later by editing the certification.” Click Done to finish. Closing the window at this step does not undo the save.
Renewing, editing and deleting
- Edit opens Edit Certification with every field on one screen, including Certificate File. Click Update Certification to save.
- Renewing: when the trainee renews a qualification, edit the existing certification. Change the Issue Date and Expiration Date, update the number, and attach the new certificate. You cannot add a second certification with the same name for the same trainee, and the save is refused if you try.
- Delete asks “Are you sure you want to delete the certification "<name>"?” and removes it permanently.
Editing the dates replaces the old ones; QTRACA does not keep the previous expiry. If you need the history of past certificates for an audit, attach each one as a file, or put a new name on the renewal such as “First Aid Certificate 2026”.
Expiry reminders
QTRACA checks certifications once a day, early in the morning, and emails about any with an expiry date in the next 90 days or already past.
| Who | |
|---|---|
| The trainee | “Certification Expiring Soon: <name>”, or “Certification Expired: <name>”, with a View Details button that opens the Training Centre. Only sent if the trainee has an email address. |
| Their supervisor | “Team Member Certification Expiring: <trainee>”, or “Team Member Certification Expired: <trainee>”, with the days remaining and a View Dashboard button. Only sent if the trainee has a supervisor. |
- Warnings go out when a certification comes within 90, 60, 30 and 7 days of expiry, each one once. A certification added with 12 days left gets the 30-day warning straight away, then the 7-day one.
- When it expires, the expired email is sent once.
- Changing the Expiration Date, for example when you renew the certification, starts the warnings again for the new date.
- A trainee with no email and no supervisor gets no reminders at all. Set a supervisor on every trainee who holds a certification that matters.
- To remind someone now, and to see how many reminders each certification has had, use the Certification expirations report. See Certification expirations and the PCQI register.
Availability and permissions
- Certifications are part of the Training module.
- Adding and editing certifications is allowed for Admin, Setup Admin User, Supervisor and Training Coordinator users.
- Deleting is allowed for Admin and Setup Admin User users.
- Operator users cannot see certifications.
Things to know
- Status comes from the dates. There is no way to mark a certification expired or revoked by hand on this tab; change its expiry date or delete it.
- “Expiring Soon” means 30 days on this tab, but reminder emails start at 90 days.
- One certification per name per trainee. Renew by editing, or give the renewal a distinct name.
- Certifications do not count towards training role compliance. A role’s compliance only looks at the courses and documents it requires.