Tradecert Review UK 2026: AI Board Import Tested on a Real EICR
This Tradecert review is based on a hands-on test, not the sales page. We imported a real 28-circuit, 3-phase commercial board from one photo (a board Tradecert supplied, which we checked line by line), filled in test results, raised a C2 observation, wrote the summary with AI, signed and issued the EICR, then did a Minor Works certificate and carried on from an iPhone in airplane mode. The AI board import got every breaker and label right, and Tradecert is a genuinely good certificate app for £18 a month. The things to know: its completeness check is optional, and it does not email certificates to your customer for you.
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What Is Tradecert?
Tradecert is UK electrical certification software. It produces EICRs, Electrical Installation Certificates, Minor Works certificates and danger notifications on the BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 forms, plus PAT, four EV charger certificates, three solar PV forms, emergency lighting and fire alarm certificates. It runs in a web browser and as an iPhone and Android app, saves to the cloud as you type, and works offline. Its AI features read board photos, check your results and write observations and summaries.
Tradecert Pricing (checked 5 November 2026)
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free trial | £0, no card needed | Every feature to try, but certificates are a watermarked preview: you cannot download or issue them |
| Subscription | £18/month (ex VAT) | Unlimited certificates, every certificate type, 250 AI tokens a month, web, iPhone and Android |
| Extra electricians | +£7/month each | Office staff are free |
| Extra AI tokens | 2p per token | Unused monthly tokens roll over |
The 250 monthly tokens go further than they sound. Importing a board costs one token per circuit, so our 28-circuit board used 28. An AI check of your results costs one token per warning it finds, capped at 10, and an AI summary costs one. The trial is good enough to judge the app, but you need to subscribe before you can hand a certificate to a customer.
TradeStack HQ readers: use code TRADESTACKHQ when you subscribe for two months free (the code shown in the app gives one).
What We Tested
AI board import
One photo of a 415V, 3-phase commercial board with 12 ways, handwritten labels and a taped-over spare way. Tradecert supplied the photo; we checked every result against it.
A full EICR
Test results, live warnings, AI Check, a C2 observation, the AI summary, a signature and issuing the PDF.
Minor Works
An extra double socket on a kitchen ring, using the one-tap circuit presets and the instant Zs warning.
Phone and offline
Opened the same EICR on an iPhone, made changes in airplane mode, then checked they reached the desktop.
How the AI Board Import Held Up
This is Tradecert’s headline feature, and it impressed us. The board details came back in about 10 seconds: three phases, a BS EN 60947-3 switch disconnector, 415V, 125A. The circuits took about two minutes: 28 circuits including 8 spares, across L1, L2 and L3, with the four triple-pole circuits picked out correctly. We checked every line against the photo. Every breaker type and rating matched, including a faded label on a taped-over spare way, and it told RCBOs (BS EN 61009, 30mA Type AC) apart from plain MCBs (BS EN 60898). Every circuit name matched the handwritten labels, including a second label column on the right-hand side that is easy for a person to misread.
It cannot see cable sizes or reference methods in a photo, so it fills sensible defaults (2.5/1.5 for sockets, 1.0/1.0 for lighting, bigger sizes for submains) and calculates the maximum Zs for each circuit. Check those against what you find on site. Tradecert says the import also reads a PDF, a Word document or handwritten notes.
Filling In the Certificate
The forms are quick because of small, sensible defaults. Ticking “previous inspection unknown” sets the previous certificate number to N/A, choosing TN-C-S ticks the distributor’s facility, picking a fuse fills in its type, and the board’s Zs and fault current are carried over from the supply. Reason, extent and limitations have built-in presets (19 for the reason, 16 for the extent) and you can save your own.
The test results grid works like a spreadsheet: Tab between cells, and entering R1+R2 fills in Zs. Readings that fail turn yellow straight away, without using any AI tokens. When we entered a measured Zs of 2.0 Ω on a B32 ring, the cell flagged that it exceeded the 1.37 Ω maximum and listed likely causes. On the Minor Works certificate, one tap on “Ring final 32A” filled the whole circuit row: cable sizes, disconnection time, a BS 60898 B32 and the correct maximum Zs.
How the AI Check and AI Writing Held Up
AI Check reviewed our results in about 90 seconds and raised 11 points, including Type AC RCDs on every RCBO, a 32A breaker on 2.5 mm² cable (it pointed out that if it was a radial the cable was undersized, and if it was a ring the continuity results were missing), a low insulation resistance reading and a missing L-E value. Any warning turns into an observation in one click: it drafted the wording, cited Regulation 643.3.2, coded it C2 and suggested the matching inspection schedule item.
The observation Suggest button turned our rough note, “no rcd on bathroom lights, cover missing on kitchen socket back box”, into proper wording citing Regulation 701.411.3.3. Write with AI wrote the general condition summary in about 20 seconds. It called the installation unsatisfactory because of the C2, and used the property’s age, the consumer unit and the bonding results we had recorded. It shows an “AI isn’t perfect” reminder first, which is right: read everything it writes before you issue.
Issuing the Certificate and the PDF
The finished EICR is an 11-page PDF in the familiar model-form layout, with your brand colour, a summary of C1, C2, C3 and FI counts, and the observation, regulation and location laid out clearly. You add your signature once in settings; ours was added on the phone and appeared on the desktop PDF. Moving a certificate to “Issued to Client” locks it until you set it back to In Progress, and there is a “Ready for QS” and “In QS” stage if someone checks your work.
Two things surprised us. First, Menu, then Validate is an excellent completeness check. It listed 15 gaps on our test report, grouped by section, from a missing re-inspection date to 356 empty circuit fields, each with a link to jump to it. But it is optional: Tradecert let us mark the report Completed and Issued with all 15 still open, and it did not query a “Satisfactory” assessment with a C2 on the report. Make Validate a habit before you issue. Second, Tradecert does not email the certificate to your customer. On the phone, Download opens the iPhone share sheet, so you can send the PDF by email, WhatsApp or Messages in a couple of taps. On a computer you download it and attach it yourself.
Does the Tradecert App Work Offline?
Yes. We opened the same EICR on an iPhone and it matched the desktop exactly. We switched on airplane mode, added a note, and turned it off again; the note stayed on the phone and appeared on the desktop shortly after. The app ran smoothly throughout. If you work in plant rooms, lofts or basements with no signal, this matters more than any AI feature.
What we liked
- Accurate AI board import: 28 circuits from one photo, every device and label correct.
- Instant warnings on readings that fail, with no AI tokens used.
- AI Check and Suggest write observations with the right regulation and code.
- Works offline and syncs between phone and computer.
- £18 a month with unlimited certificates and free office users.
What to watch
- Validate is optional. You can issue a certificate with gaps and a contradictory assessment unless you run it yourself.
- No direct email to the customer. You send the PDF yourself, from the phone’s share sheet or as an attachment.
- The trial cannot issue certificates. You only see a watermarked preview until you subscribe.
- Cable sizes from the import are defaults. A photo cannot show them, so check every one.
Who Is Tradecert Best Suited To?
Tradecert does certificates, not quotes, jobs or invoices. Pair it with one of the tools in our UK electricians hub for the rest of the paperwork, and see our best EICR and electrical certificate software guide for the alternatives. If you are still choosing your tester, our best multifunction testers guide covers the kit side.
Tradecert FAQs
How much does Tradecert cost?
£18 a month ex VAT for the first electrician and £7 a month for each extra one, with office staff free. That includes unlimited certificates and 250 AI tokens a month. There is a free trial with no card needed, but you cannot download or issue certificates until you subscribe.
Can Tradecert read a consumer unit photo?
Yes. In our test it read a 28-circuit, 3-phase board from one photo in about two minutes, with every breaker and label correct. It costs one AI token per circuit. Cable sizes are filled in as defaults, so check them.
Does Tradecert work offline?
Yes. Changes we made on an iPhone in airplane mode were kept and synced to the desktop when the phone reconnected.
No card needed. Import a photo of one of your own boards and see what it gets right, then use code TRADESTACKHQ for two months free when you subscribe.
Verdict: Is Tradecert Worth It?
Yes, for most UK electricians. Tradecert’s AI board import got every breaker and label right in our test, the instant warnings and AI Check pick up the kind of mistakes that are easy to miss on a long schedule, and the app syncs between phone and computer and works with no signal. At £18 a month with unlimited certificates it is good value. It loses half a point because the Validate check does not stop you issuing an incomplete or contradictory report, and because sending the certificate to the customer is left to you. Run Validate before every issue and it is hard to fault.
This review is based on our own hands-on tests between 31 October and 6 November 2026, on the web app and the iPhone app, using a test company and a made-up client; nothing was sent to a real customer. Tradecert’s founder contacted us about the product, supplied the board photo we used for the import test, and gave us a free subscription code so we could test issuing certificates, but did not see or approve this review before publication. We don’t currently earn commission from Tradecert. See how we test and check.