Per-certificate fees vs a flat monthly plan
Certification software bills two ways: per certificate or flat subscription. At three or four reports a week the difference is real money — and the per-certificate model has a second sting: locked certificates.
Who charges per certificate
- NICEIC Online Certification System — billed per use. NICEIC's own pitch is "no software, no platform fees, just pay for what you use"; electricians on trade forums report around £1.20 per certificate finalised. Volume users also report the per-use billing simply scales with workload — your best month is your most expensive.
- Legacy desk software (Electraform-style) — credit- or certificate-based, and notoriously: completed certificates get locked after sign-off. Need to correct a typo or reissue for the tenant after payment lapsed? That's another charge.
- Per-report app add-ons — several mobile apps are free to fill in but charge per export/PDF.
Who charges a flat rate
- Unlimited-certificate subscriptions — e.g. Tradecert at £18/month with "unlimited certificates, no contract", additional users about £7/month, and AI-assist features metered separately via tokens (250 free monthly, ~2p each after). Comparable all-in-one platforms sit in the £15–£40/month band.
- Scheme membership (NICEIC/NAPIT annual assessment) — a fixed annual business cost; certification within their online tools is usually still per-use.
- Free generators — browser tools like this one: unlimited PDF generation, local archive, zero marginal cost per certificate.
The maths at volume
| Reports per month | Per-certificate (~£1.20) | Subscription £18/mo | Free generator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | ~£6 | £18 | £0 |
| 15 | ~£18 | £18 | £0 |
| 40 | ~£48 | £18 | £0 |
| 100 (facilities/portfolio work) | ~£120 | £18–£39 | £0 |
Below ~15 certificates a month the models are comparable; above it, per-certificate billing quietly becomes one of the bigger line items in the van. The locked-certificate problem is separate from price — it bites exactly when a client asks for a reissue years later.
What to check before you commit
- Are completed certificates editable after sign-off, or do edits cost again?
- Is there an offline mode? Site work happens in cellars and lofts with no signal; cloud-only editors stall.
- Per-user fees — office staff and mates' logins can double the subscription.
- Data ownership and export — can you take your job archive (CSV/JSON) with you if you leave?
- Where the report form matches the current edition — BS 7671:2018+A2:2022 model forms, with the residential inspection schedule and full test-results columns.
Sources: niceic.com (Online Certification System: "just pay for what you use"); trade-forum reports of ~£1.20/finalised certificate; tradecert.app pricing page (£18/month, +£7/additional user, 250 AI tokens); Tradecert's comparison pages on per-certificate locking in legacy software; MyBuilder/ElectriciansForums threads on certificate charge disputes.