A certificate of insurance spreadsheet with email reminders
Record vendor and subcontractor certificates in Google Sheets, then email the person who follows up before an expiration date you already entered.
What a certificate of insurance list is for
A team that hires vendors or subcontractors often types certificate dates into a spreadsheet after the file arrives. The useful part of that list is knowing which date is coming up, and who is supposed to ask for a renewal.
Each row is one certificate. The vendor name tells you who it belongs to. The certificate type tells you which policy it is. The expiration date is the date the reminder can follow.
What a COI tracking spreadsheet should include
Keep the columns your team will look at when a date comes due. The reminder uses a small subset of them.
| Field | What it stores | Why keep it | Reminder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vendor | The vendor, contractor, or subcontractor | The row has to say whose certificate this is | Map this as the name |
| Certificate type | General liability, workers compensation, auto, or another label you use | One vendor often has more than one certificate | Sheet only |
| Carrier or policy reference | A carrier name or policy number, if you want it written down | Helps the person following up open the right file. The add-on does not read it | Sheet only |
| Issue or effective date | When the certificate was issued, if you record that | Useful history. It is not the date the email follows unless you choose to map it, which you usually should not | Sheet only |
| Expiration date | The date this certificate runs out | This is the date someone may need to request a replacement | Map this as the date |
| Owner | The person on your team who follows up | So the sheet shows responsibility, not only a date | Sheet only |
| Reminder email | The address that should get the email | Often the owner, sometimes a shared project inbox | Map this as the recipient |
| Document link | A link to the file in storage you already use | The email can include it. The file stays where it is | Optional mapped link |
| Status | Current, expiring, requested, or whatever words you use | A human updates this after they act. The add-on does not set it | Sheet only |
| Notes | Project name, a job site, or a follow-up instruction | Context for the person who gets the email | Sheet only |
If you only want the email, map vendor, expiration date, and reminder email. Leave the other columns in place for the people using the sheet.
Give each certificate its own row
Northwind Electric can send a general liability certificate that expires in June and a workers compensation certificate that expires in September. Those are two dates. If both sit in one row, a single date column can only follow one of them.
Use two rows with the same vendor name and different certificate types. Filter by vendor when you want the whole set. Filter by expiration date when you want what is coming up. The example below is that pattern, with a third vendor that has only one certificate on file.
Example: three vendors, five certificates
Fictional. Status is something the team types. The reminder does not decide that a certificate is expiring.
| Vendor | Certificate | Expires | Owner | Reminder email | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwind Electric | General liability | 12 Jun | Priya Shah | projects@example.com | Current |
| Northwind Electric | Workers compensation | 3 Sep | Priya Shah | projects@example.com | Current |
| Harbor Plumbing | General liability | 28 Apr | Jordan Lee | jobsite@example.com | Requested |
| Harbor Plumbing | Auto | 19 Jul | Jordan Lee | jobsite@example.com | Current |
| Lumen Glass | General liability | 2 Nov | Sam Ortiz | sam@example.com | Current |
A carrier column, a policy number, and a link can sit beside these if the follow-up person needs them. Nothing in the table was verified by the add-on.
How to track vendor certificates in Google Sheets
The sheet is the log of what you already received. The email is the prompt to run the follow-up you already do.
1. Start from the certificates you have
When a vendor sends a certificate, add a row or update the row for that certificate type. You do not need a new workbook for every project unless your team already splits the work that way.
2. Write one expiration date per row
If the PDF lists several policies, split the ones with different end dates into separate rows. Keep the vendor name the same so you can still see the set.
3. Name an owner and a recipient
The owner is who on your team chases the renewal. The recipient is the email that should arrive before the date. They are often the same person, and they do not have to be.
4. Link the file you already store
Put the PDF wherever your team keeps vendor files, and paste the link into the sheet. The tracker points at the file. It does not become the file cabinet.
5. Mark status in words your team understands
Current, requested, or expired are enough for a light list. Update the status when someone actually follows up. The reminder will not change it for you.
6. Turn on the email for the expiration column
Map that date and the recipient. Choose 30 days before, 7 days before, 1 day before, and/or the date itself. When the email arrives, the owner uses the same renewal request they already send.
When a spreadsheet is enough
A sheet fits when someone on the team already receives the certificates and types the dates. The missing piece is remembering which date is next.
A sheet is a reasonable fit
- You already collect the files yourself
- You need a list of vendors and end dates
- One person, or a small group, does the follow-up
- You want an email before a date you typed in
A dedicated system may fit better
- You need vendors to upload certificates into a portal
- Someone must review limits or additional-insured wording
- You need a record of that review, not only a date
- The follow-up itself has to run inside a compliance product
Date & Email Reminders does not collect certificates, read coverage, or decide that a vendor is acceptable. If that review is the job, use a system built for it, and keep this sheet only if you still want a date email. Your own insurance policies belong on the insurance expiration tracker. Mixed files that are not certificates of insurance belong on the document expiration tracker.
Questions
At minimum, the vendor, the certificate type, the expiration date, and the person who should hear about it. Carrier, policy number, status, a file link, and notes are useful for the people reading the sheet.
Yes. Give each certificate its own row when the expiration dates differ. A general liability date and a workers compensation date should not share one cell if both need attention.
No. A date in a cell does not prove the certificate is real, and this add-on does not read limits, additional insured wording, or endorsements. The email only says the date you stored is coming up.
Yes. Map the expiration date and the recipient email. You can send the email 30 days before, 7 days before, 1 day before, and/or on the date.
No. Put a link in the sheet if the file already lives in your own storage. The add-on does not keep the PDF and does not collect certificates from vendors.
Company, vehicle, and general policy dates are a different list from vendor certificates. Insurance expiration tracker
A license, a training credential, or another certificate that is not a vendor certificate of insurance has its own page. Certificate expiration tracking
Related pages
Your own policies, mixed document dates, and professional certificates are neighboring lists, not extra columns on this one.
Use the certificate list you already keep
Add Date & Email Reminders from the Marketplace, map the expiration column and the recipient column, and save. There is no Excel or Google Sheets file to download from this page.