Learn how to create Certificates, associate them to your Courses, and automatically email them to your Delegates when they complete their Courses! |
Providing certificates to your Delegates when they complete a Course is essential to validate their efforts and achievements! Even when certificates are not logistically required, certificates add a tangible and rewarding element to the learning experience. These certificates can not only boost your Delegates' confidence, but also serve as an acknowledgment of their skills, and they can use them enhance their credibility in their respective field.
To offer a great customer experience, we recommend issuing out certificates as soon as possible following a Course so that your Delegates' can showcase their new skills and credentials quickly, give them an immediate sense of accomplishment, while also reinforcing their enthusiasm for your training and Courses!
With accessplanit’s Document Templates, you can upload your Certificate templates (created using Microsoft Word) and automatically send these out with your Delegate’s details populated in them, as soon as your Courses are completed.
Follow this page to learn the steps and best practice for sending out Certificates effectively and automatically!
Create your Certificate
With your accessplanit platform you can upload certificate templates, that have been created in Microsoft Word! There are special accessplanit merge fields that you can include in your Word documents, so that the information held in your accessplanit platform is automatically populated in your certificates when they are emailed out. |
To create a Certificate, you will follow these steps:
Build your Certificate in MS Word
Create a Certificate Document Template
Test the Certificate
Build your Certificate in MS Word
The first step is to open Microsoft Word and create your certificate template, using accessplanit merge fields
Top tip! Before you begin building your Certificate, first consider what you would like to include in your certificate, consider: What information do you want to include? The name and date of the Course, and the name of the Delegate are recommended as a minimum! Your brand - are there certain colours and logos that you need to include? Legal requirements - do you need to include a unique ID or an expiry date on your certificates?
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Open the Microsoft Word application If you have an existing Certificate document, you can open this and use it as your Certificate template
If you do not yet have an existing Certificate document, use Microsoft Word’s tools to build the structure of your Certificate Once you have the structure in place, you can add in ‘merge fields' which will pull information from your accessplanit platform into each Certificate that is generated, for example adding in the merge field of ‘course_label’ so that the name of the Delegate’s Course is included on their Certificate
The first step of adding a merge field is to find the label that is needed for the field, to do this, open the Document Template Merge Fields and Glossary and find the merge field that you would like to include, copy the label of the field from this page Click into your Word document where you would like to place the merge field Open the ‘Insert' menu in Microsoft Word and view the 'Quick Parts’ options notePlease note If you are using a Mac you will go to Insert > Field
Please note If you are using a Mac you will go to Insert > Field
Click the ‘Field…’ option to open the ‘Field’ pop-up window From the ‘Field names:' list scroll down and select the 'MergeField’ option Paste in the merge field label into the ‘Field name:’ textbox Click the OK button to add your merge field into your certificate template Repeat steps 5-11 for each merge field in your certificate Save your certificate file
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Create a Certificate Document Template
Once you have created and saved your certificate in MS Word, you will next upload this into your accessplanit platform as a ‘Document Template’.
Open the ‘Administration’ menu from the Profile options at the top-right of your platform Open the ‘Document Templates’ menu option to access the page where you can add and edit Document Templates such as certificates and sign-in sheets Click the ‘Add Document Template’ button to open the pop-up window where you can create a new Document Template From the 'Add Document Template' window, complete the form to upload your certificate template Select your Training Provider from the ‘Account’ select option Provide a name for your Document Template, such as ‘Certificate of Attendance’ or ‘Certificate of Achievement’ Optional: Provide a description for your document to inform your team what it is for Make sure the ‘Active’ checkbox is checked Leave the ‘Keep original document type when emailed’ option unchecked, this will mean that your certificate is sent in a PDF format so your Delegates cannot edit it easily Upload your file Leave the ‘Applies to’ option selected as ‘Course’ and the ‘Details Used’ option selected as ‘Delegate’
Click ‘Save & Close’ to finish creating your Document Template
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Test the Certificate
Before you move onto automating your certificate to send out from your platform, first test that the certificate generates as you are expecting
From the Document Templates DataGrid, right-click your Certificate Document Template to view the context menu options Click the ‘Edit’ option to view to the Document Template’s Details Click the ‘Preview’ button at the bottom of the form to open the Document Generator window From the Document Generator window, use the ‘Delegate IDs’ selector to select a Delegate who has completed a Course Click the 'Generate' button to download a copy of the certificate for this Delegate
Review the certificate to check that the correct information is included, no information is missing, and everything is formatted as you expect If you need to make any changes to your certificate, you can make these on your Microsoft Word document and save your changes, then update the file that is linked to your Document Template by using the ‘Upload New File’ option when editing your Document Template
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Associate your Certificate to your Course Templates
To send your Certificate out automatically before or after your Courses run, the first step is to link your Certificate to the relevant Course Templates. |
Open your ‘Course Templates’ DataGrid from your main menu on the left Find the Course Template that you would like to assign your Certificate to by applying filters and/or searching the Course Templates DataGrid Right-click on this Course Template in the DataGrid, this will show you the context menu options for this Course Template and click on the 'Edit' option Scroll down to the ‘Document Templates’ section on the page Use the ‘Select’ button to assign your Certificate to your Course Template
Click ‘Save’ at the top of the page to apply your changes
Top Tip! To save time, a member of the accessplanit team will be able to arrange for all of your Course Templates to have the same Certificate Document Template assigned (in bulk). Please get in touch with us if this would be helpful for you. |
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Create your Certificate Email Template
To send your Certificates out via email, you will need to create an Email Template which contains a link to the Certificate. |
Create your Certificate Email Template
This step will teach you how to add a new Email Template into your platform which contains a link to your Certificate. Once you have added your Email Template, you will be able to build a Workflow to send this Email Template out to your Delegates automatically, or send it out manually yourself via the Delegates DataGrid.
Top Tip! accessplanit platforms come with many pre-built Email Templates to save you time! These pre-built templates include a ‘Delegate - Certificate of Attendance’ Email Template which you can use or copy from. |
Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform Click on the ‘Email Templates’ menu option to open the Email Templates DataGrid If you plan to copy from an existing Email Template, search for that Email Template, right-click on it and select ‘Edit’, then copy the contents of the Body, return back to the Email Templates DataGrid
Click the ‘Add Email Template’ button at the top of the Email Templates DataGrid Give your Email Template a ‘Name’ We recommend labelling your Email Template with the name of the anticipated recipient followed by a description of the email, such as “Delegate - Certificate of Attendance” Select which Module your Email Template relates to, as Certificates only send about Delegates you will use one of the following: Delegates - this module is for sending emails to all Delegates and Trainers, please note that this module does not include course type specific fields for you to include in your email (such as eLearning Package information, Venue information, or Webinar Course joining information) Class Delegates - this module is for sending emails to Delegates and Trainers on Class Courses only, and it includes classroom specific fields such as venue that can be included in the body of your email Web Delegates - this module is for sending emails to Delegates and Trainers on WebCourses only, and it includes webinar specific fields such as webinar joining information that can be included in the body of your email eLearning Delegates - this module is for sending emails to Delegates on eLearning Courses only, and it includes eLearning specific fields such as the eLearning launch link that can be included in the body of your email Knowledge Document Delegates - this module is for sending emails to Delegates on Knowledge Document Courses only
Leave the ‘Email Type’ selected as ‘Normal’ as this is a transactional email, not a marketing email Leave the ‘Creation Mode’ as ‘Free Text’ as you will be defining the content of your Email directly in the Email Template rather than first building Text Templates Add in a ‘Subject’ for your email We recommend including the name of the Course within the subject to catch the recipient’s attention in their inbox, you can do this by adding the merge field @@CourseOrAliasName into the Subject text box Add in the ‘Body’ of your email If you copied the content from an existing Email Template, you can paste this content into here! Use the ‘Field' drop-down option in the text editor to include merge fields such as the Delegate’s name within your Email Template Ensure that you include the link to the Certificate, if you do not already have this link included, click on the ‘Quick Link’ option and select the ‘Certificate Link’ option to insert the link into your email Update the wording of your Certificate link by clicking on the ‘Edit’ Link button We also recommend making sure that your certificate link is underlined and centred so that it stands out on the email to your Delegates Click ‘Save and Close’ to save your Email Template If you would like to test your Email Template before continuing, remain on the Email Templates DataGrid, search for your Email Template, right-click on it and select the ‘Edit’ context menu option Click on the ‘Preview’ option at the bottom of the Email Template editor Select a Delegate from the ‘Preview Object’ Enter your Email Address into the 'Send sample to' option Click the ‘Send Email’ button to send a copy of this Email Template for this Delegate to your Email Address
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Optional - Manually send out your Email Template
This step will teach you send your Email Template out manually, if you want your Email Template to send out automatically please jump ahead to the next section where you will create your Certificate Workflow.
Open the Delegates Smart Grid that relates to your Email Template, for example if you have used the ‘Web Delegates’ module to build your Email Template, open the ‘Web Delegates' Smart Grid If you have used the 'Delegates’ module, you can use any Delegate Smart Grid Apply filters to your Smart Grid to only display the Delegates that you would like to send your Certificate to For example, apply a filter to only display Delegates that have completed Courses, and their Invoice is paid Use the Select-All checkbox option at the top left of your Delegate list If your list of Delegates spans over multiple pages, there will be an option at the top of your list of Delegates which will quickly selected every Delegate that meets your filter Click on the bulk ‘Email’ option besides the Select-All checkbox In the ‘Email Details’ pop-up window, set the Creation Type to ‘Template’ as you will be using an Email Template instead of writing an email from scratch, select your recipient from the ‘To Address’ Property, and finally select your 'Email Template' Click ‘Send’ to send your Email Template for each of your selected Delegates!
To view the emails that you have sent, open the Communications DataGrid.
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Create your Certificate Workflow
Workflow Templates are used to automate communications, this is the step where you will define the circumstances needed for your Certificate email to send, when it will be sent, and who it will be sent to! |
Create your Certificate Workflow
This step will teach you how to add a new Workflow into your platform and set up a Workflow Action to send your Certificate Email Template out automatically!
Top Tip! accessplanit platforms come with many pre-built Workflows to save you time! These pre-built templates include a ‘Delegate - Certificate of Attendance’ Workflow which you can update or clone. |
Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform Click on the ‘Workflow Templates’ menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid If you are creating a new Workflow from scratch, click ‘Add Workflow Template’ to open the new Workflow form From the new Workflow form, enter a ‘Title’ for your Workflow Template We recommend labelling your Workflow with the name of the anticipated recipient followed by a description of the email, such as “Delegate - Certificate” Select the same Module that you used for your Email Template
Provide a useful Description so that your team know what this Workflow is for
Leave your Workflow inactive for now Click ‘Save’ to create your Workflow After you have saved your Workflow Template with the basic details, you will be able to access the tab menu on the left to add further information Click to open the ‘Settings’ page for this Workflow Template using the tab menu on the left Add Rules to your Workflow to decide which Delegates will receive your automated Certificate Email Here are some common rules used for automated Certificate Emails, you can include any combination of these, as required:
Only send to Delegates that have completed the Course Do not send to Delegates for their sessions (i.e. they will only receive certificates for completing non-sessional Courses and the parent Course of Sessional Courses, not each Session) Do not send to Delegates that have not yet completed the post-Course Survey Only send to Delegates that have completed specific Courses Only send to Delegates that have a fully paid Invoice
It is very unlikely that you will need to make any changes to any of the other settings available in the Settings page, to read more about these options please see our guide Workflows Overview
Once you have saved your Rules in the Settings page, open the Actions page to add your Workflow Email Action! Click the 'Add Workflow Action' button Enter an ‘Action Label’ for your Email Action We recommend labelling your Workflow Email Actions with the details of the email and when it will send, such as “Certificate - when the Delegate completes the Course” Select the Action Name ‘Send an email message’
Click the ‘Save’ button at the top of the form to display the other settings on the page After you have saved your Workflow Action with the basic details, you will be able to provide more information
Use the Action Date options to define when your email will send For example: ‘1 Days After Course End Date' to send the email a day after the Course For example: '5 minutes After Current Date Time’ to send the email 5 minutes after the Delegate meets the Workflow rules (recommended for this Workflow Action) Check the ‘Send on Action Date Only’ if you do not want Delegates that are added to your Course after the email should have sent to receive it
Use the ‘To Address’ options to select who you would like to receive this email
Select your 'Email Template' from the drop-down box As you have included a link to the certificate within the body of the email, you do not need to use the Attachments options to also attach the certificate to your email By including a link rather than an attachment for the certificate, your emails will have a smaller size and they will be less likely to be caught by spam filters
Click the 'Save' button to save your Workflow Email Action Once you have added your Workflow Action, your Workflow is ready to be tested!
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Test and enable your Certificate Workflow
Before you set your Workflow to ‘Active’, we recommend that you first run a few tests to check that the formatting of your email works as you expect and to test your Certificate links. |
Test your Certificate Workflow - Single Email Test
This testing approach is best used for Workflows where you want to view/test the content of the email only, if you would like to test that your rules are set up correctly, please jump ahead to the “Test your Certificate Workflow - Become the Recipient” below.
Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform Click on the 'Workflow Templates' menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid Search for your Workflow Template by applying filters and/or searching the Workflows DataGrid Right-click on your Certificate Workflow, this will show you the context menu options for this Workflow Click on the ‘Actions’ context menu option to open the Workflow Actions DataGrid for this Workflow
From the Workflow Actions DataGrid, right-click on your Workflow Email Action and select the ‘Edit’ option Click on the ‘Preview’ button at the top right of the Workflow Email Action edit page Select a Delegate from the ‘Preview Object’ This will show you a preview of the email and how it will display in the ‘Content’ section Enter your Email Address into the 'Send sample to' option Click the ‘Send Email’ to send a copy of this Email Template for this Delegate to your Email Address If you notice any changes are needed to your Email Template, open the ‘Email Templates’ DataGrid from the ‘Administration’ menu option, edit your Email Template and save. You can then run through these testing steps again. Once you are happy with the content of your Email Template and Workflow you can set your Workflow to Active!
Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform
Click on the ‘Workflow Templates’ menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid Search for your Workflow Template, right-click on it to view the context menu options and select the 'Edit' option Scroll down to the ‘Active’ checkbox and check this box Click the ‘Save’ button at the top of the page to save your Workflow as active!
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Test your Certificate Workflow - Become the Recipient
This testing approach is best used for Workflows where you are not confident with the rules of your Workflow, and you would like to ensure that you will not send out your Certificate emails to the wrong Delegates. With this approach you will start using your Workflow, but all of the Emails will be sent to an Administrator's email address temporarily.
Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform Click on the ‘Workflow Templates' menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid Search for your Workflow Template by applying filters and/or searching the Workflows DataGrid Right-click on your Certificate Workflow, this will show you the context menu options for this Workflow
Click on the ‘Actions’ context menu option to open the Workflow Actions DataGrid for this Workflow
From the Workflow Actions DataGrid, right-click on your Workflow Email Action and select the ‘Edit’ option Scroll to the ‘To Address’ option and change the setting from ‘Field’ to ‘Constant’ Remove the existing content from the ‘To Address’ bar, and type in the email address(es) that you would like to receive your Certificate emails to, press enter after you have typed in each email address Click the ‘Save’ button at the top of your page to save these changes Repeat steps 4-6 if you have any additional Workflow Email Actions for this Workflow
Once you have set all of your Workflow Actions to send to an Administrator’s Email Address you can set your Workflow to Active!
Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform Click on the ‘Workflow Templates’ menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid Search for your Workflow Template, right-click on it to view the context menu options and select the 'Edit' option Scroll down to the ‘Active’ checkbox and check this box Click the ‘Save’ button at the top of the page to save your Workflow as active!
During this testing period where the Certificate emails are being sent to an Administrator, if you would like to send your Certificate Email Template out to your Delegates you can do so manually by following the Manually send out your Email Template steps above
After a period of time, when you are confident that your Certificate emails are sending for the right Delegates at the right time, you then then update the Workflow Actions 'To Address' to the correct recipient and Save.
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