CertFlow / CertPrepare: certification opportunity discovery and photo assistance guide

CertFlow helps certification sales teams collect a customer opportunity, choose likely service areas and markets, record evidence, and prepare a specialist handoff. Its companion CertPrepare, also called CertPrep, analyzes product photos to help with the first customer conversation. Open CertFlow or CertPrepare. This guide covers both apps, including scan history, editing, transfers and administration.

Choose a starting point

Use Open sales workspace when you already have a customer conversation to record. If a draft exists, the landing action becomes Continue opportunity and a resume card shows the current opportunity. Open workspace in the header returns to the same draft. Sales workflow explains the process on the landing page.

Use Scan with CertPrep or CertPrep scan when the customer has sent photographs. You can scan first and then enter the findings in the workspace, but these are separate tools: a scan does not automatically fill the six-step opportunity form.

All screenshots below show isolated test instances with fictional accounts, product photos and customer details. Photo-analysis replies were simulated for the walkthrough; they demonstrate the real interface, not a real assessment of a product. Existing CertFlow promotional material is a video composition project; no rendered video was present in the reviewed repository, so this page does not present that project as a playable tutorial.

Create and navigate an opportunity

1. Open Open sales workspace.
2. Enter Opportunity name and Product name. Both are required to continue from the first step.
3. Complete the remaining fields while the customer details are fresh.
4. Choose Continue to move forward. ← Back returns without clearing your entries.
5. Select a step directly in the sidebar or the numbered strip on phones to revisit it.

The six steps are Opportunity, Scopes, Markets, Product views, Evidence and Handoff. Scope and market steps each require at least one selection for Continue. Missing requirements show Complete the required selection. You can still navigate with the step bar to review other sections.

The percentage at the top updates as you fill the brief. It measures recorded completeness. Selecting a filename or changing a status can increase it without any independent verification of the content.

Record the product and customer context

The six fields together contribute the opportunity portion of the score. Completing only the two required fields lets you proceed, but leaves the brief less useful. There is no separate customer database or account synchronization for this workspace.

Select the likely certification scopes

Select each relevant card under Which certification areas may be part of the opportunity? Select it again to remove it. Multiple scopes combine their recommended evidence into one checklist without duplicate items.

These are prompts for a conversation. Recording a likely scope does not confirm that a particular standard or approval applies. Changing the selection can change both the recommended evidence and the percentage, because the checklist denominator changes.

Choose the target markets

1. Open Markets.
2. Select all regions where the customer intends to sell or install the product.
3. Put precise countries, importers, requested marks and assumptions in the discovery notes on Opportunity.
4. Continue to Product views.

There is no separate market-notes form in this step. The region cards guide the conversation; the opportunity notes hold the details.

Add, replace and remove product views

The four slots are Front view, Back view, Open enclosure and Marking plate.

1. Choose the upload control in a slot and select the matching picture.
2. Check its preview and filename. The marking plate should make ratings, model and warnings readable.
3. Choose Replace to select a different picture, or Remove to clear the slot.
4. Repeat for the views the customer has supplied; you can continue with missing views and ask for them later.

Each filled slot contributes five percentage points, for a maximum of twenty. The score counts recorded file metadata. Picture contents are held in memory only: reloading or leaving the workspace can remove the previews while saved filenames remain. Re-select files when you need to inspect them again. CertFlow does not upload these files or package them into the handoff export.

Track all twenty evidence items

Open Evidence to record the customer's document position. Items marked Recommended are chosen from the selected scopes. The entire catalog remains visible so you can record other relevant material.

1. Find the document row.
2. Choose its status from the dropdown.
3. Optionally choose Select file to record a local document's filename. Selecting a file also changes its status to Ready.
4. Use Replace file if the selected document changes.
5. Revisit recommended rows before preparing the handoff.

Not applicable raises the score just as Ready does. Use it only when you have a reason to exclude the item and explain the assumption to the reviewer.

The recommended ready counter includes both Ready and Not applicable. Choosing a local document records its name, size and type; its contents are not uploaded, checked or preserved. Send actual evidence through your normal customer-document process alongside the report.

Understand the handoff score and next actions

On Handoff, review the percentage, status, opportunity summary and Sales next actions. The app calculates the score locally from these five parts:

The rounded total maps to Starting below 30, Developing from 30, Nearly ready from 60 and Ready for specialist handoff from 80. A high number says the brief is organized, not that the product has passed tests.

Next actions respond to gaps: missing scopes, markets, views or recommended evidence create requests for more information. Functional Safety adds a lifecycle and traceability prompt; Hazardous Locations adds zone/class and related questions. At 80 or above, the app suggests a focused specialist review. These are deterministic suggestions based on entries, rather than a technical assessment of the selected files.

Print, export, update and clear the handoff

1. Choose Open handoff report from the last step.
2. Review Customer, product, and route, Open discovery gaps and Recommended next actions.
3. Choose Print / Save PDF to use the browser's print dialog. Select its PDF destination to save a document.
4. Choose Export JSON to download the opportunity data and calculated score as a structured snapshot.
5. Choose ← Back to workspace or Update opportunity to revise the same draft.

The report includes a score breakdown, selected scopes and markets, product details, outstanding evidence and the planning limitation. Neither PDF nor JSON includes the selected document binaries or a portable photo archive. There is no JSON import control in the main workspace, so do not assume the export can restore a cleared draft.

Clear local opportunity asks for confirmation, removes the saved opportunity from this browser and returns home. Export anything needed before confirming. This affects CertFlow's local draft; it does not delete a CertPrepare account or scan history.

Sign in to CertPrepare and prepare pictures

CertPrepare is the app name on the companion's sign-in screen and installation manifest. The main CertFlow navigation calls it CertPrep.

1. Open CertPrepare.
2. Choose Sign in with Google. First sign-in registers an account.
3. Choose Take photo for the phone camera, Upload photo for gallery/files, or drop images on the desktop picture area.
4. Add up to six clear photos of the same product. Put the most useful identifying picture first, normally its label or nameplate.
5. Remove a wrong image with its remove control. Add a front/back view, connectors and internal construction when helpful.
6. Add Customer context (optional): target markets, supply voltage, environment, intended use and the customer's request.

The browser resizes images to at most 1280 pixels and re-encodes them as JPEG before submission, stripping the original metadata. The processed images still contain everything visible in the photo. Check the image itself for confidential labels or customer information before uploading.

Scan, cancel and read a result

Choose Scan pictures. A blocking progress overlay shows phase text and elapsed time; the underlying page is temporarily unavailable. Cancel stops waiting for the request. Processing time depends on the service and images; the display is guidance rather than a completion guarantee.

The result contains:

Selecting a scope opens a detail dialog. Its estimated hours are orientation estimates for that proposed scope; they are not a quote or a guaranteed total. Close the dialog to return to the result. Use the customer evidence to confirm or correct the findings before passing them on.

Start over clears the current input/result view for another product; saved history remains. To change markets or context and request a fresh interpretation, select photos again as necessary and use Scan again.

Handle duplicate pictures and saved results

The service checks the first photo against saved history. Identical and visually similar versions can return a previously saved result. The green message You already scanned this picture… Showing the saved result means the service reused history instead of producing a fresh analysis.

Choose Scan again to force a new request when the other photos, customer context or required interpretation changed. Merely adding more angles while keeping the first photo may still hit the saved result. Duplicate matching is a convenience; compare the returned product and details with the current request.

Edit a scan and its findings

1. Open a saved result, then choose Edit.
2. Update Product name, Confidence, Summary and Context note.
3. In Visible markings, Likely certification scopes or Missing or unclear evidence, use Add, Edit or the remove control for individual findings.
4. Edit each finding's label and detail; scope findings can carry estimated hours.
5. Add, edit or remove individual next steps.
6. Choose Save changes to persist the revised result, or Cancel to discard the draft.

The editor allows up to eight entries in each findings/next-steps group. Editing corrects the saved interpretation; it does not run the AI again. A user can edit their own stored scans. Tags belong to the administrative data editor.

Use Recent scans, export, import and delete

Recent scans shows saved product thumbnails, titles, confidence and times. Select a row to reopen its stored result and processed photos. History is account-based and requires the server. Existing legacy records without an owner can also be visible to signed-in users.

To transfer results:

1. Use Export on a result, or its history row's export control, to download JSON.
2. For several scans, choose Select, check rows or Select all, then Export (n). Multiple selections create a collection file.
3. Choose Done to leave selection mode.
4. Choose Import and select a compatible result/collection JSON to view it.

Import is a viewer: it does not restore an entire collection into server history. For a collection, the app explicitly says That file holds … scans. Showing the first one. Imported results may also refer to pictures still hosted by the original server, so retain access to that server if those references are needed.

Use a row's delete control, or Select → Delete (n), to remove saved history after confirmation. Deletion cannot be undone in the interface. Start over, Sign out, and deleting a record have different effects: the first clears the current view, the second removes this browser's session, and the third removes stored history.

Manage users, data and settings

The Admin button appears only for accounts with an administrative or manager role. Its tabs follow the account's permissions.

Users

Open Admin → Users. Review names, roles, last sign-in and session counts. Toggle the per-role checkboxes to change a user's permissions. A user can hold more than one manager role. Remove deletes the user and their scans. Managers cannot edit their own roles or an administrator's roles, and only administrators grant or revoke admin access.

Data

Open Data to review scans across all users, including owner, model, upload date and tags. Use Edit to correct the saved result and comma-separated tags, then Save changes. Deleting here removes the record for everyone, including its owner. Reload refreshes the list; additional records can be loaded when available.

Settings

Open Settings to see the current AI configuration and stored key/value entries. Update an existing value and choose Save, or enter a new key/value and choose Add. Remove, or saving an empty value, removes the override so the built-in/environment default can apply. The AI model override affects new scans; it does not recompute existing results. The API key status indicates configuration without displaying the key itself.

Generic keys should only be changed when the operator knows the application uses them. Adding an arbitrary name does not create a new feature.

Mobile, installation, offline use and privacy

On phones, the workspace stepper becomes a compact numbered strip. CertPrepare's camera action is convenient for a customer visit, and long results scroll vertically. You can install each web app through the browser's install menu; on iPhone use the Share menu's Add to Home Screen when available. There is no native store listing in the reviewed source.

The CertFlow app shell can be cached after the first online load. Ready offline indicates that local availability; An update is ready → Refresh loads a newer version. Offline caching does not make CertPrepare's account, scanning or history available without the server. About in CertPrepare shows version/build information that is useful when reporting an issue.

CertFlow's browser draft is device-specific. Clearing site data, using another browser or replacing the device does not move it. Photo/document previews are temporary. CertPrepare has different privacy behavior: processed pictures, context and results go to its service and analysis provider, and stored scans can be administered. Sign out on a shared device and export the records you need before deleting them.

Troubleshooting

For a support report, include the action, exact error and About build information. Describe which tool you used—CertFlow workspace or CertPrepare—because their storage, sign-in and exports differ.