COI tracking: spreadsheet or software?

A spreadsheet works well while you have a handful of vendors and one careful person who owns it. It starts to slip when the list grows past a few dozen, when policies renew on different dates, or when nobody has time to read every certificate and chase every vendor. That is when software pays for itself.

A spreadsheet that actually works

If you're starting with a spreadsheet, give it one row per vendor and these columns:

• Vendor name, contact name and email, and their insurance agent's email.
• Trade or risk tier, so you know which requirements apply.
• For each coverage (general liability, auto, workers compensation, umbrella): insurer, limit and end date.
• Additional insured on file (yes or no) and waiver of subrogation on file (yes or no).
• Date the certificate was last checked, and who checked it.
• Status: okay to work, needs a fix, or expired.
• Date you last asked the vendor for something, and what.

Add conditional formatting to turn end dates red within 30 days, and keep the certificate PDFs in one folder named the same way as the rows.

Or download our free COI tracking spreadsheet with these columns ready to go.

What a spreadsheet does well

• It is free, and everyone already knows how to use it.
• You can shape it to your business in an afternoon.
• For ten or twenty steady vendors, it may be all you need.

Where it breaks

• It doesn't read anything. Someone has to open each PDF and type in the limits and dates. Typing errors in an end date are invisible until something goes wrong.
• It doesn't check anything. The sheet records what the certificate says. It doesn't tell you that the umbrella is below your requirement or that the certificate holder is a different company.
• It doesn't chase anyone. A red cell only helps if someone looks at it, writes the email, and remembers to follow up three days later.
• It forgets the details. Renewals arrive with new policy numbers, new insurers and sometimes missing endorsements. Updating only the end date is easy, and wrong.
• It depends on one person. When the person who owns it is on leave or leaves the company, the sheet goes stale quickly.
• It is weak proof. If a client or auditor asks who was covered on a given date, you need the certificate, the check and the dates together.

Signs it's time to switch

• You have more than about 30 active vendors, or the number keeps growing.
• You found an expired certificate after the vendor had already worked.
• Your insurer's audit charged you for uninsured subcontractors.
• Chasing certificates takes hours every month, or it just doesn't get done.
• A client or property owner asks you to prove your vendors are covered, and it takes a day to answer.

What to look for in software

• It reads the certificate for you and shows you anything it wasn't sure about, instead of guessing.
• It checks against your requirements and tells you in plain words what is wrong.
• It contacts vendors itself with the exact list of fixes, follows up, and stops when the right certificate arrives.
• It stays out of your way. You should only hear about the vendors who need you, not a dashboard of everything.
• It keeps a record of each certificate, each check and each request, so you can prove coverage on any date.
• The price fits your size. Some tools are built for large enterprises with long contracts and setup fees. A company with 20 to 300 vendors usually needs something simpler.

A middle path

You don't have to move everything at once. Start by running your current certificates through a checker to see how many have problems today. The answer usually makes the decision for you.