Frequently Asked Questions

CertifyVendor is a comprehensive vendor insurance certificate management platform. It helps businesses track, verify, and manage insurance certificates from all their vendors and contractors in one centralized dashboard. Our platform automates expiration tracking, sends alerts before certificates expire, and provides a secure portal for vendors to upload their own documents.

CertifyVendor is designed for property managers, property owners, general contractors, facility managers, and any business that works with vendors or contractors who need to maintain insurance coverage. Whether you manage 5 vendors or 500, CertifyVendor scales to meet your needs.

Unlike spreadsheets or generic file storage, CertifyVendor is purpose-built for insurance certificate management. It automatically tracks expiration dates, sends alerts to you and your vendors, provides compliance dashboards, generates reports, and offers a dedicated vendor portal. This eliminates manual tracking, reduces human error, and ensures you never miss an expiring certificate.

No! CertifyVendor is a cloud-based platform that works entirely in your web browser. There's nothing to install, and you can access your account from any device with an internet connection. We also offer mobile-responsive design for managing certificates on the go.

You can sign up and start using CertifyVendor in minutes. Simply create an account, add your properties and vendors, and begin uploading certificates. Most users are fully set up within an hour. We also offer data import tools if you're migrating from spreadsheets or another system.

CertifyVendor supports all types of insurance certificates including General Liability, Workers' Compensation, Auto Liability, Professional Liability (E&O), Umbrella/Excess Liability, Property Insurance, and any other certificate types. You can also create custom certificate types specific to your industry or requirements.

CertifyVendor automatically monitors all certificate expiration dates and sends email alerts at customizable intervals (e.g., 60, 30, 14, and 7 days before expiration). Alerts are sent to you and optionally to your vendors, reminding them to submit updated certificates. You can customize alert schedules per property or globally.

Yes! CertifyVendor includes a secure Vendor Portal where your vendors can log in and upload their own insurance certificates directly. This eliminates the back-and-forth of email requests and ensures certificates go directly into your system. Vendors receive automatic reminders when their certificates are expiring.

Absolutely. CertifyVendor allows you to set custom compliance requirements for each property. For example, you might require $2M in liability coverage for a commercial property but only $1M for a residential property. The system automatically flags vendors who don't meet the specific requirements for each property they're assigned to.

CertifyVendor helps you organize, track, and manage certificates, but we do not independently verify certificate authenticity with insurance carriers. However, our platform makes it easy to review certificate details, track the issuing agent information, and maintain an audit trail. For critical verifications, we recommend contacting the insurance carrier directly.

Yes! CertifyVendor offers comprehensive reporting features. You can generate compliance reports showing which vendors are compliant, expiring, or expired. Reports can be filtered by property, date range, or vendor. Professional and Business plans include PDF export and scheduled report delivery.

Yes, our Business plan includes full API access, allowing you to integrate CertifyVendor with your existing systems such as property management software, accounting systems, or custom applications. Our RESTful API documentation includes examples and SDKs for common programming languages.

Yes! CertifyVendor supports CSV import for vendors, properties, and certificates. Simply export your existing data from Excel or Google Sheets, map the columns to our fields, and import. Our support team can also assist with complex migrations.

Yes! Our Free plan is free forever and includes up to 5 vendors, 3 properties, and basic features. It's perfect for small operations or for testing the platform before upgrading. No credit card is required to sign up.

Our plans differ primarily in the number of vendors, properties, users, and storage allowed, plus access to advanced features. The Free plan is limited to 5 vendors and 3 properties. Starter ($49/mo) allows 25 vendors and 10 properties. Professional ($99/mo) allows 100 vendors, 50 properties, and adds automated vendor emails and PDF reports. Business ($199/mo) offers unlimited vendors and properties, API access, and advanced features.

Yes! You can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time from your account settings. When you upgrade, you'll be prorated for the remainder of your billing cycle. When you downgrade, the change takes effect at the start of your next billing period.

Yes! When you choose annual billing, you save 2 months compared to monthly billing (about 17% savings). Annual plans also include a 30-day money-back guarantee.

We accept all major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover) through our secure payment processor. Enterprise customers can also pay by invoice or ACH bank transfer.

Annual plan customers have a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you're not satisfied within the first 30 days, contact us for a full refund. Monthly plans can be cancelled anytime, but we don't offer prorated refunds for partial months. See our Refund Policy for complete details.

You'll receive notifications as you approach your plan limits. If you reach your limit, you won't be able to add new vendors, properties, or certificates until you upgrade or remove existing items. Your existing data remains safe and accessible.

Yes! We offer a 20% discount for verified nonprofits and educational institutions. Contact our sales team with documentation of your organization's status to apply for the discount.

Security is our top priority. CertifyVendor uses 256-bit SSL encryption for all data in transit, AES-256 encryption for data at rest, and is hosted on enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure with SOC 2 compliance. We perform regular security audits and penetration testing.

All data is stored in secure, SOC 2 compliant data centers located in the United States. We use redundant storage with automatic backups to ensure your data is always safe and available.

Only authorized users on your account can access your data. CertifyVendor staff do not access customer data unless explicitly requested for support purposes, and all access is logged. We never share or sell your data to third parties.

Yes! CertifyVendor offers role-based access control. You can assign different permission levels to team members, such as Admin, Manager, or Viewer roles. This ensures users only see and modify data appropriate to their role.

Yes! CertifyVendor maintains a complete audit log of all actions taken in your account, including who uploaded certificates, made changes, or accessed data. This is essential for compliance and accountability.

SSO with SAML 2.0 is available for Enterprise customers. This allows your team to log in using your organization's identity provider (such as Okta, Azure AD, or Google Workspace). Contact our sales team to learn more.

Yes! You can export all your data (vendors, properties, certificates, and reports) at any time in CSV format. If you close your account, you can request complete deletion of all your data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable regulations.

The Vendor Portal is a secure, separate login area for your vendors. When you invite a vendor, they receive an email with a link to create their account. Once logged in, they can view what certificates you need, upload their insurance documents, and receive reminders when certificates are expiring.

Yes! There's no cost for vendors to use the portal. They simply create an account when you invite them and can upload their certificates at no charge. This makes it easy for vendors to participate in your compliance program.

No. Vendors can only see their own profile and certificates. They cannot see other vendors, your properties, or any other data in your account. Each vendor's view is completely isolated for privacy and security.

No problem! You can still manually upload certificates on behalf of vendors who prefer not to use the portal. The vendor portal is an optional convenience feature, not a requirement.

Yes! Professional and Business plans include custom branding options for the vendor portal. You can add your company logo and customize colors so the portal looks like an extension of your business.

From your dashboard, select a vendor and click "Request Certificate." You can choose which certificate types you need and add a custom message. The vendor receives an email with a direct link to upload the requested certificates.

All plans include email support with response within 24 hours. Professional plans include priority support with faster response times. Business and Enterprise plans include dedicated support channels and optional phone support. We also offer comprehensive documentation and video tutorials.

Yes! All new customers receive access to our self-service onboarding guides and video tutorials. Professional customers get a complimentary onboarding call. Business and Enterprise customers receive dedicated onboarding with a customer success manager.

Yes! We provide comprehensive documentation in our Help Center, including step-by-step guides, video tutorials, and best practices. We also offer periodic webinars on advanced features and compliance topics.

Email support is available Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern Time, excluding major holidays. Priority support for Professional and Business customers is available with extended hours. Enterprise customers can arrange 24/7 support as part of their agreement.

You can report bugs or request features through the Help menu in your dashboard, by emailing support@certifyvendor.com, or through our feedback portal. We review all submissions and prioritize based on customer impact and alignment with our roadmap.

Yes! You can check our system status and uptime at status.certifyvendor.com. We post updates there for any planned maintenance or service disruptions. You can also subscribe to receive status notifications by email.