Following a year of uncertainty, it’s good to know that you can still be certain with CertOn. PE catches up with electrician, Boyd Goulden, to find out how his award-winning idea has evolved to suit an increasing number of industry sectors.
Founded in 2018 by electrician Boyd Goulden – an individual who has amassed years of experience issuing and producing certificates and manuals – CertOn is a simple and easy to use online, paperless document management system.
Utilising QR codes and a mobile App, it allows electricians, plumbers, property managers, housing associations and landlords to seamlessly pull up any certificate or document they please by scanning the corresponding QR code around the property or facility.
By allowing for instant retrieval of any linked document – in a PDF or JPEG format – CertOn saves the user time and unnecessary hassle tracking down lost and forgotten paper certificates or documents. It also allows for savings, too, with the need for replacing certificates and documents – sometimes necessary in order to remain compliant with regulations – now gone.
Growth in the face of adversity
The last time PE featured Boyd on our pages was in 2019, with CertOn still in its first year of operation, picking up a coveted PE ‘Top Product’ award in the process. Although the pandemic has presented obvious challenges for every business, in the case of CertOn it has allowed the product to shine.
“The product really proved its worth during the first lockdown,” explains Boyd, “when a team of engineers arrived at a building needing to view the asbestos report prior to work commencing. “The building had been empty and therefore access to the filing cabinets wasn’t possible. The engineers simply downloaded our App and were given access to the documents stored on CertOn by the account holder, allowing them to continue with their work.
“What could have been an aborted mission ended up turning into a productive visit and they were able to work safely. This is exactly what we designed CertOn for.”
Not just a tool for electricians
Satisfying a demand across many sectors, it’s little surprise that CertOn has seen a sharp increase in use in a wide variety of industries.
“Our initial meetings pre-launch made it clear that this is much more than a tool for electricians,” Boyd says. “Our customers are growing, with landlords having a big uptake due to the new legislation for the private rented sector (PRS) and the necessity for up-to-date records. They like our simple cloud-based system where notifications get sent via email and in the App to remind them (and we can remind the tenants) when a test is due.”
PRO and HUB launches It’s not just CertOn’s customer base which has evolved since launch, with several exciting developments added to the system itself. One such variant is CertOn PRO, which has been designed specifically with Housing Associations and multi-property estate companies in mind.
Allowing full transparency of documents for every party involved with a property or building, CertOn PRO adds a number of exciting new features as well as incorporating communal areas into the system. Any location or asset in a building can have a unique QR code assigned and tagged. This includes fire doors, fire panels and detectors, lifts and more – simply scan the corresponding QR code to retrieve up-to-date certificates, plans and manuals associated with them.
Boyd adds: “We’re also in the process of introducing some of these new features to the direct-to-consumer product which we’ll be launching towards the end of this summer.
“CertOn HUB is a further enhanced product that will completely change the way we issue and receive documents at properties. The Property Passport HUB is an ‘off the shelf’ product, pre-packaged in a branded envelope and available in wholesalers’ and builder’s merchants. This will be connected to an affiliates scheme so the installer can earn whilst installing the product.”
CertOn PRO is designed to supplement asset management software, not to replace it, ensuring compliance for landlords and property managers at a time of ever-increasing legislation.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has proved an obvious challenge for many, the outlook for CertOn may never have been brighter.
40% DISCOUNT EXCLUSIVELY FOR PE READERS
Courtesy of CertOn, PE readers can redeem a 40% discount on CertOn software by entering the code PE40 when they check out.
Discount only valid for card purchases, PayPal payments don’t qualify. Offer valid until 31/08/2021.
Get more details about CertOn and redeem the PE special offer by clicking here
