How to Move COI Tracking From Excel to Software
Migrate the vendor list, source documents and unresolved decisions as separate parts of the project. A successful CSV import does not establish that historical policy information or approvals were transferred correctly.
Reconcile the source tracker
Define which vendors are active and which duplicate names refer to the same legal entity. Keep different businesses separate even if they share a contact. Preserve one row per policy and period in the source archive rather than compressing every vendor to a single expiration date.
Identify outdated requirements and unreviewed records before import. Do not carry a spreadsheet’s green cell forward as an approval without knowing what was checked. Use the CSV validator for formatting issues, then review the underlying evidence.
Map what the destination actually imports
Certy imports vendor records by CSV. That is different from importing an arbitrary spreadsheet as already-reviewed policy history. Check the supported vendor fields in the import flow, then upload and review the applicable certificate evidence. Keep the original workbook and any decisions that do not map to supported fields.
Certy uses one requirements set per account. A tracker containing several property-specific programs needs a deliberate process for those differences before migration.
Pilot a representative set
Choose a few vendors with different situations: multiple policy dates, a missing certificate, an upcoming renewal and an approved exception. Confirm contact details and private upload links. Review the extracted insured names, policy periods and limits against the source documents.
For a hypothetical migration, the first vendor has GL renewing in January and workers comp in March. The pilot checks that receiving a new January certificate does not hide the March follow-up. A second vendor’s old spreadsheet approval remains pending until its missing endorsement is reviewed.
Cut over with ownership
Choose a transition date, tell the collection team where to record new submissions and stop maintaining two conflicting live trackers. Preserve the old file as an archive, with a named owner for unresolved migration questions.
Verify the first renewal cycle
Confirm that the expected person receives and acts on renewal information, that vendor replies reach the right place, and that the next date is recorded after review. Keep an export and retrieval process. The spreadsheet template remains useful as a temporary staging or audit worksheet, even after active tracking moves to software.
Frequently asked questions
Does Certy import every policy field from my spreadsheet?
Its CSV import is for vendor records. Review the actual import fields and upload the relevant certificates rather than assuming an arbitrary policy-history workbook becomes reviewed insurance data.
Should I delete the old spreadsheet after import?
Preserve the source under your retention process until reconciliation and historical-record requirements are resolved.