AI board scan

Turn a photo of the consumer unit
into a schedule of test results.

Cover off, one photo. Certio reads the board make, the main switch and every way, with its device type, rating and RCD, into the circuit schedule on the BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 model form. What it cannot read is left blank, not guessed. You confirm every way before it is imported.

Starter free for 7 days, then £4.99 a month · Pro £9.99 a month, unlimited certificates · no VAT to add

Blank stays blank · nothing is invented You confirm each way before import BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 model forms
How it works

Four steps, on the phone, at the board

1
Photograph the board

Open a new EICR or EIC on the job, take the cover off and take one photo of the consumer unit with the legend in shot.

2
It reads the board

The make, model, main switch and every way are drawn out on screen: device type, rating and which RCD the way sits behind.

3
You confirm the ways

Go down the list against the real board. Include or skip each way, correct anything misread, fill the blanks. Nothing is imported until you say so.

4
The schedule fills in

The confirmed circuits land in the schedule of test results with their devices and ratings. You add the readings, code what you found, sign and send.

It does the typing, not the inspection. The board scan saves you writing out twelve ways on a phone keyboard in a meter cupboard. It does not look behind the board, test anything or decide a code. You are the competent person signing the report, exactly as on paper.
Field by field

What it reads, and what it does when it can't

The rule is the same everywhere: if it is not legible in the photo, it does not go in the certificate as fact.

What Certio's board scan reads from a consumer unit photo, and what happens when a value is not legible.
FieldWhat it reads from the photoIf it can't read it
Board make and modelThe manufacturer and model printed on the front of the enclosure.Left blank for you to type.
Main switchThe main switch and its rating where it is marked.Left blank.
Way numberEvery way in the board, in order across the rows.Blanked-off or spare ways are listed so you can skip them.
Device typeMCB, RCBO, RCD, AFDD or SPD, from the device body and its markings.Left blank for you to pick.
RatingThe current rating printed on the device, such as B32 or C16.Left blank. It never rounds to "the usual" rating for that circuit.
RCD protectionWhich RCD a way sits behind, from the layout of the board, and the RCD's own markings where they are legible.Left blank, or flagged as an assumption if it is inferred from the layout rather than printed.
Circuit descriptionThe legend, the printed label strip or handwritten labels, where they are legible.Flagged as an assumption for you to confirm, or left blank if there is nothing to read.
Cable size and reference methodNot printed on the board, so not read from the photo.Yours to enter. If it is inferred, it is flagged as an assumption.
Test readingsNot in the photo at all.Yours. They come from you typing them, from a photo of your tester's screen, or from a Megger MFT-X1 over Bluetooth.
Observations and codesNot from the board photo.Photograph the defect separately: Certio drafts the wording and suggests a C1, C2, C3 or FI with the regulation reference. You decide the code.
Why blank is the right answer. A guessed rating on a schedule of test results is a defect you have signed your name to. Certio only transcribes what is legible. Anything inferred rather than read is flagged as an assumption, and nothing enters the certificate until you confirm it.
Get a clean read

What makes a photo it can actually read

Most poor scans are poor photos. Six things fix nearly all of them.

🔩

Cover off

Take the cover off so the device bodies and markings are visible. A photo through a closed lid gives you way numbers and little else.

📐

Square on, whole board in frame

Stand in front of the board, not off to one side. A steep angle squashes the printing on the far end of the row.

💡

Light, but no flash glare

Meter cupboards are dark. Use a torch off to the side rather than a flash straight at the board, because the glare washes out exactly the small printing it needs.

🏷️

Legend in shot

Get the label strip or the legend card in the frame. That is where the circuit descriptions come from. Wipe the dust off old handwritten labels first.

🔍

A closer shot for the hard rows

If you cannot read a device's rating on your own screen, it can't either. Take a second, closer photo of that row.

🗄️

One board at a time

Photograph each distribution board separately rather than trying to get two boards and a henley block into one frame.

Straight about it

Where the board scan stops

The honest limits, so you know before you rely on it.

It only sees the front of the board

Loose terminations, a missing blank, the condition of the tails, the bonding: none of that is in a photo of the front. That is your inspection, and the schedule of inspections is yours to complete.

It needs the internet

Certificates, jobs and photos work offline, so you can keep going with no signal. The scan itself needs a connection, so the photo queues and runs when you are back on bars.

It fills EICR and EIC schedules

Those are the forms with a full circuit schedule. Minor Works certificates and PAT records are in Certio, but there is no circuit schedule for the scan to fill on them.

Starter has a monthly AI allowance

On Starter at £4.99 a month the board scans and tester-screen reads come out of a small monthly allowance. Pro at £9.99 a month does not have that cap.

Old and odd boards read worse

Faded handwritten legends, rewireable fuse carriers and boards with the labelling long gone will leave more blanks. The scan is a head start on those, not a finished schedule.

It never signs anything

It will not invent a reading, decide a code, or send a certificate you have not checked. The declaration is yours.

Pricing

7 days free. Then £4.99 or £9.99 a month.

The board scan is in both plans. Starter is £4.99 a month with a small monthly AI allowance. Pro is £9.99 a month with unlimited certificates, plus priced quotes, invoices with CIS and reverse charge VAT, payment links and receipts. No VAT to add, no contract. A card is taken at sign-up and nothing is charged for 7 days.

See pricing →
Straight answers

Questions about the board scan

Can you really make a schedule of test results from a photo of the consumer unit?
You can make the circuit half of it. Certio's board scan reads the board make and model, the main switch and every way, with its device type, rating and RCD protection, and puts those circuits into the schedule of test results. You confirm or skip each way before anything is imported. The test readings are not in the photo, so they still come from you, from a photo of your tester's screen, or from a Megger MFT-X1 over Bluetooth.
What does the board scan read off the photo?
The board make and model, the main switch, and for each way the number, the device type (MCB, RCBO, RCD, AFDD or SPD), the rating, and which RCD the way sits behind. Circuit descriptions are read from the legend or the labelling where they are legible. Anything printed too small, hidden behind the cover or missing from the board is left out.
Does the AI guess a rating it cannot read?
No. If it cannot read a value it leaves the field blank. Where it infers something that is not printed in front of it, such as a circuit description or a cable size, the field is flagged as an assumption for you to confirm. Nothing is imported until you have gone through the ways and confirmed them.
What makes a good photo of a consumer unit?
Cover off, the whole board in frame, taken square on rather than at an angle, with the legend or circuit labels in shot. Enough light to read the device markings, but not a flash straight at a shiny cover, because the glare hides the printing. Wipe the dust off old labels. Photograph each distribution board separately, and take a second, closer photo of any row you can barely read yourself.
Which certificates does the board scan fill in?
The board scan fills the circuit schedule on EICRs and EICs, laid out to the BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 model forms. Minor Works certificates and PAT records are in Certio too, but they do not have a full circuit schedule to fill.
Does the board scan work with no signal?
The certificate does, the scan does not. Certificates, jobs and photos live on the phone, so you can keep working in a cellar or plant room with no bars. The board scan needs the internet, so the photo queues up and the scan runs as soon as you are back on signal.

More on the AI: AI EICR software · What is a schedule of test results? · How to fill one in

Try it on your next board

Take the cover off. Take one photo. See what comes back.

Every plan is free for 7 days, cancel before day 8 and pay nothing. Then Starter is £4.99 a month and Pro £9.99 with unlimited certificates. No VAT to add, no contract.

Try Starter free for 7 days →

A card is taken at sign-up and nothing is charged for 7 days. Works in your browser, on Android, and on iPhone through TestFlight while the App Store build is in review.