Manage Certificates

The Manage Certificates area provides a central location for generating, previewing and downloading job and sample certificates.

Access to Manage Certificates is controlled by the Manage Certificates permission.

Users with the required permission can access the function from:

• Reporting > Manage Certificates menu
• Job Details
• Sample Details
• Approve Samples

Finding a Job

The left-hand panel displays a list of available jobs, ordered by the most recently created first.

Use the search box to quickly locate a job using the Job ID or client name.

When a job is selected, the following information is displayed:

• Job ID
• Job status
• Primary client

The Samples section displays all samples associated with the selected job. Users can view:

• Sample ID
• Product
• Sample status

An approval summary is also displayed, showing how many samples within the job have been approved.

Certificate Types

Certificates can be generated at either job or sample level.

Job Certificate

A Job Certificate produces a single certificate covering all samples within the selected job.

Job certificates can only be generated once all samples within the job have been approved.

Sample Certificate

A Sample Certificate is generated for an individual sample.

Sample certificates can only be generated once the selected sample has been approved.

Previewing a Certificate

Certificates can be previewed before generation to verify their content and formatting.

To preview a certificate:

1. Locate the required job or sample.
2. Select the Preview button.
3. Select the required report template.
4. Select the client the certificate should be generated for.
5. Generate the preview.

The certificate preview will be created using the selected template and client.

When previewing a certificate, the client will default to the job's primary client.

The default product report template is always selected where configured but may be changed before previewing.

Generating a Certificate

To generate a certificate:

1. Locate the required job or sample.
2. Select the Generate button.
3. Select the required report template.
4. Select the client the certificate should be generated for.
5. Generate the certificate.

When generating a certificate, the client will default to the job's primary client.

The default product report template is always selected where configured but may be changed before generation.

Generated certificates are stored within LabHQ. These can be found under the Certificates tab of the associated job or sample.

Configuring Test Outputs

When generating sample certificates, users can choose which test outputs are included on the certificate.

This allows certificates to contain only the results relevant to the recipient while leaving other recorded outputs off the report.

Default Output Selection

When a user selects to generate a sample certificate, the system automatically selects all test outputs that are configured to show on the report. This setting is applied within the test method configuration.

Selecting Test Outputs

To configure which outputs appear on a sample certificate:

1. Locate the required approved sample.
2. Select Generate.
3. Open the Test Output Settings tab.
4. Review the available test outputs.
5. Select or clear the output(s) to include on the certificate.
6. Select OK to generate the certificate.

The selection screen groups outputs by test method, making it easy to identify which outputs belong to each test performed on the sample.

Users can use the Select All or Deselect All options to quickly modify the selection.

Generated Certificates With Output Selection

Generated sample certificates include only the outputs selected during certificate generation.

The output selection applies only to the certificate being generated and does not change the report setting configuration for the test method, or affect future certificates.

Regenerating Certificates Following Output Selection

When regenerating an existing sample certificate, the system uses the settings from the certificate being regenerated as the starting point.

This includes:

• Selected client
• Report template
• Selected test outputs

Users may change any of these settings before generating the new certificate version.

Client Certificates

Certificates can be generated for multiple clients for the same job or sample.

This allows different customers to receive their own certificate where required.

When accessed through the customer portal, only certificates belonging to the job's primary client are available.

When assigning a client to a certificate, the certificate is permanently associated with that client.

Regenerating Certificates

Certificates may be regenerated whenever an updated version is required.

When a certificate is regenerated, a new version is created and the new copy is clearly identified.

Previous versions of the certificate will remain available in the certificate history.

Viewing Generated Certificates

Manage Certificates displays all certificates that have been generated for the selected job or sample.

For each certificate, users can view:

• Report type
• Client
• Generation date and time

Where multiple versions exist, all versions are displayed and the most recent certificate is clearly identified.

Generated certificates can also be viewed and downloaded from the relevant Job Details and Sample Details screens via the Certificates tab.

Downloading Certificates

Generated certificates can be downloaded at any time from:

• Manage Certificates
• Job Details
• Sample Details

Only previously generated certificates can be downloaded.

Deleting a Certificate

If a generated certificate is no longer needed or contains errors, it can be permanently removed from the system.

To delete a certificate:

1. Locate the generated job or sample certificate from the manage certificates area.
2. Click the Delete (trash bin) icon next to the certificate.
3. Confirm the deletion on the dialog that follows.

🛑 Warning: Deleting a certificate is permanent. There is no way to recover a deleted certificate. If a certificate is deleted by mistake, a new one must be regenerated using the standard  process.

To see the delete icon and remove a certificate, users must explicitly have the Delete Certificates permission.

Certificate Templates

Certificate templates control the layout and content of generated certificates.

When generating or previewing certificates, a template must be selected. The product default template will be selected automatically, where this has been configured. Alternative templates can be selected if required.

The selected template applies only to the current generation or preview and does not change the product's default template.

Auditing Certificate Activity

LabHQ maintains an audit trail of certificate management activities, providing visibility of who performed certificate-related actions and when they occurred.

Certificate audit entries are recorded whenever a certificate is generated or deleted for either a job or a sample.

Each audit entry includes:

• User who performed the action
• Date and time the action was performed
• Action that was completed

Auditing Certificate Generation

When a certificate is generated, an audit entry is created against the associated job or sample.

If a certificate has previously been generated for the same record, the audit entry clearly identifies the action as a regeneration rather than an initial generation.

For sample certificates, the audit entry also records the client the certificate was generated for.

Auditing Certificate Deletion

When a generated certificate is deleted, an audit entry is created against the associated job or sample.

The audit records:

• User who deleted the certificate
• Date and time of deletion

For sample certificates, the audit entry also records the client associated with the deleted certificate.