Comparison
Your training matrix: Excel or Certly?
Let's start honestly: we give away a free Excel training matrix template ourselves — call it a skills matrix or competency matrix if you prefer — and for a small team it's fine. This page is about the point where a spreadsheet starts losing — and how to spot that point before it becomes an incident.
The comparison at a glance
| Excel | Certly | |
|---|---|---|
| Warns you by itself | No — someone has to look | Yes: email at 90, 60 and 30 days |
| Reminds the worker directly | No | Yes, with an upload link and escalation |
| Inspection cycles (interval, not date) | Recalculate by hand every round | "Inspection done" → next date is set |
| Evidence attached to every document | Loose folders and emails | Upload per document, audit PDF in one click |
| Shows what's missing | No — what isn't in it, you don't see | Role requirements: present vs. missing |
| Survives the admin leaving | Rarely | Yes: team access, no column logic in one head |
| Works in the worker's own language | No | Yes: reminders in English, Polish or Romanian |
| Tests readiness per job or project | Cross-checking tabs per client, weekly | Pro: green, amber or red per job |
| New starter complete before day one | Send an email and hope | Pro: onboarding with their own upload link |
| Subcontractors keep their own paperwork current | No — you collect copies | Add-on: portal + company file |
| Cost | Free | from £21.95/month, bundle grows with you |
When Excel is enough
A crew of five with just CSCS cards and first aid? Grab our free template, put the dates in and glance at it every Monday — that works. Excel breaks on scale and on discipline, not on the concept: a spreadsheet is a document that does nothing when nobody looks.
The four tipping points
1. Inspection cycles come in. LOLER thorough examinations, PUWER inspections, PAT testing: not an expiry date but an interval that shifts with every round. From that moment, someone has to recalculate all the dates after every inspection.
2. More than one rhythm. Five years (CSCS, SMSTS, IPAF), three years (first aid), annual (MOT, inspections), plus running deadlines like the 35 Driver CPC hours. The more rhythms, the smaller the chance one weekly glance catches everything.
3. More than one pair of eyes needed. As soon as the planner, the H&S manager and the worker themselves all need something from an expiry date, a file on someone's drive is the bottleneck. When the admin leaves, the system leaves with them.
4. Clients start setting requirements per job. Once a principal contractor demands valid tickets per project — from your agency workers too — the question is no longer "what's expiring" but "who's cleared for the gate tomorrow". That's cross-checking across tabs, redone every week; Certly Pro answers it per job with green, amber or red.
Switching without retyping
Certly's import reads your existing list in one go — the columns of our own template are even recognised automatically. Expect about fifteen minutes for an average file: create an account and upload it.
Frequently asked questions
Is Excel good enough for a training matrix?
For a small team with a handful of documents: yes, provided the file holds dates as real dates and someone checks it weekly. The tipping point sits around 15 to 20 documents, or the moment inspection cycles come in: from then on, the chance of an expiry date slipping past unseen grows faster than the list itself.
What's the biggest difference between Excel and Certly?
Excel does nothing when nobody looks; Certly emails you itself — 90, 60 and 30 days before every expiry date, to multiple recipients and, if you like, the worker too. On top of that: evidence attached to every document, inspection cycles that recalculate themselves, role requirements that show what's missing, and an audit export in one click. Going further, Certly Pro also tests readiness per project and onboards new starters complete before their first day — which a spreadsheet by definition cannot do.
Can I import my existing spreadsheet into Certly?
Yes. The import reads the columns of the free Certly training matrix template directly, and other lists with a name or registration, document type and expiry date too. A file with dozens of workers is in within a few minutes — no retyping.
What does Certly cost compared to Excel?
Excel is free; Certly starts at £21.95 a month, billed in pounds (entry bundle up to 25 workers, vehicles and machines — the full tiers are at gocertly.com/uk/pricing). The maths is that of one incident: driving without a valid MOT risks a fine of up to £1,000, and one day of a turned-away worker costs a multiple. Anyone who has ever missed one expiry date has already paid the difference.
Try it alongside your Excel
Import your file and run both side by side for a month — you'll see for yourself which of the two speaks up first. 14 days free, then from €24.95 a month — see all pricing.