Short answer

Record it as a one-off inspection on the asset it covers, dated the day the inspector or contractor visited, with the report or certificate reference in the Description. Set it to repeat at the interval on the certificate, so the next one shows up when it falls due. If the report lists problems, add each one as a defect or job from that inspection record.

This works the same for a play area's annual RoSPA inspection and for a building's fire alarm service, emergency lighting test, extinguisher service, gas safety certificate, electrical test (EICR) or fire risk assessment review.

Detail

Record the inspection

  1. In the web app, go to Assets, find the asset (the play area, or the building the certificate covers) and click Create Inspection.
  2. Leave the checklist blank. A passed or failed result is a clean, dated record on its own, and the report or certificate holds the detail.
  3. Give it a clear title named after the certificate, such as "Annual independent play inspection", "Fire alarm service" or "Gas safety certificate". Assign it to yourself and set the due date to the day the visit took place.
  4. In the Description, note the company, the engineer or inspector, and the report or certificate reference.
  5. Set the Recurrence to match the certificate. Most are Annually. For a six-monthly service, such as many fire alarm contracts, choose Bi-annually, which means every six months.
  6. Click Create Inspection, then open it from the Inspections list and set the status to Passed, or Failed if the report found problems.

The next occurrence now lands in Civic.ly at the right interval, so the renewal no longer relies on someone remembering it.

If the certificate is already past its next date

Create it anyway, dated when it was last done. If it has been redone since, use the new date instead and the cycle carries on from there. Either way, you can now see what is due.

Track what the report recommends

Open the inspection record and use the buttons in the top right-hand corner to add a defect or a job for each item the report lists. Each one links back to the inspection and shows under its Related Records tab, so you can see everything the report recommended and what is still outstanding.

Watch-outs

  • Your own checks don't replace this, and this doesn't replace them. The external inspection or service is the specialist layer. Your weekly and monthly checks (testing a fire alarm call point, checking each extinguisher, the emergency light check) are the operational layer, and contractors' certificates often say those in-house checks are the council's responsibility.
  • You can't attach the report or certificate yet. The Attachment tab on the inspection is marked Coming Soon. Keep the document on file and let the reference in the Description point to it.
  • Put each certificate on the asset it covers. If you have more than one building, check which one the certificate names before you create the inspection.
  • Match your asset names to the report. Name the play area or building as the report names it, and each piece of equipment as the report names it (there's no need to repeat the site's name on each item, because the location tag shows where it is). It makes the report easy to cross-check today, and it will make it far easier to match report items to assets automatically once document upload arrives. Renaming only affects tasks created after the change.
  • Name each defect after the item and the report's finding, so the list reads sensibly without opening the report.