Certio and Quickler both let an electrician turn what they find on site into a PDF, but they are different kinds of product. Quickler is a WhatsApp-based inspection tool that builds a structured report from messages, photos and voice notes; its own EICR page says the output is "not a replica of specific certification body formats". Certio is a dedicated certification app that produces EICR, EIC, Minor Works and PAT certificates laid out to the BS 7671:2018 model forms, reads test results from a Megger MFT-X1 by phone camera, and fills the circuit schedule from a board photo. All Quickler facts below were checked on quickler.co on 25 September 2026 and are dated so you can re-check them.
- Quickler works inside WhatsApp with no app to install; engineers answer questions by text, voice note or photo and the office gets a timestamped report.
- Quickler's EICR output is a clean PDF, not a BS 7671 model form. Quickler itself recommends a dedicated certificate tool where exact NICEIC or NAPIT formats are needed.
- Certio produces EICR, EIC, Minor Works and PAT certificates on the BS 7671:2018 model forms, with the schedule of test results filled from a consumer-unit photo and from a Megger MFT-X1 screen.
- Pricing (25 Sep 2026): Quickler free for 20 reports a month, then £20 per active user per month. Certio Free plan with no card, Starter £4.99 a month, Pro £9.99 a month, both with 7 days free.
- Quickler covers gas CP12s, van checks, care-home and nursery audits too, so it suits mixed-trade or facilities teams; Certio is built for electricians only.
What is Quickler and who is it for?
Quickler is made by Quickler Ltd, a company registered in Scotland (SC882439). Rather than a standalone app, it runs entirely over WhatsApp. Your engineer receives a set of questions as messages, replies with text, photos and voice notes, and Quickler assembles those replies into a timestamped, structured record. Issues are flagged automatically as they are entered, and a finished web or PDF report is generated on demand for sharing.
The pitch, in Quickler's words, is "no app install" and "no login needed for field users". Because everyone already has WhatsApp, there is nothing to train people on. The same platform is sold for daily van checks, cleaning and facilities inspections, nursery checks, care-home CQC audits, mock inspections, and gas CP12 records as well as EICR work. That breadth matters: if you run a facilities or compliance team where the electrician is one of several trades, one WhatsApp workflow for everything has obvious appeal.
For the EICR use case specifically, Quickler lists real-time flagging of C1 and C2 codes when they are entered, an office dashboard showing every report's status, engineer identification and timestamps on each record, and an evidence trail with the property address and observations.
What is Certio and who is it for?
Certio is an electrical certification app for UK electricians, made by Certio Software Ltd and built by a working electrician. It produces Electrical Installation Condition Reports, Electrical Installation Certificates, Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificates and PAT testing records, laid out to the BS 7671:2018 model forms, and exports them as branded PDFs. The forms are being updated for Amendment 4 ahead of Amendment 2 being withdrawn on 15 October 2026.
Where Certio differs from a general reporting tool is in how the test data gets onto the certificate. Photograph the consumer unit and the AI reads the ways, device types and ratings into the schedule of test results, leaving anything it cannot read blank rather than guessing. Point the phone camera at a Megger MFT-X1 and the live readings on its screen go straight into the right cells; the Megger MFT-X1 is the only tester supported at present. Readings can also be dictated by voice while your hands are on the probes. When you write up observations, Certio suggests C1, C2, C3 or FI wording in line with EICR observation codes explained: C1, C2, C3 and FI so the report reads consistently.
Certio runs as an iPhone app (on the App Store since September 2026), an Android app and a web portal in any browser, on one login, and works offline on site. Pro adds quotes and invoices with CIS and reverse charge VAT handling.
How do the two compare feature by feature?
Every Quickler entry below comes from quickler.co and its EICR software page as read on 25 September 2026. Certio entries come from certio.uk on the same date.
| Feature | Certio | Quickler |
|---|---|---|
| Type of product | Dedicated electrical certification app | WhatsApp-based inspection and audit platform |
| Certificates | EICR, EIC, Minor Works, PAT to BS 7671:2018 model forms | EICR report as a clean PDF; "not replicas of specific certification body formats" |
| Other trades | Electrical only | Gas CP12, van checks, care-home and nursery audits, facilities inspections |
| How data is entered | App forms; AI board-photo circuit schedule; MFT-X1 screen reading; voice dictation | Text, photos and voice notes sent over WhatsApp |
| Test-instrument reading | Megger MFT-X1 live screen reading by phone camera | None listed |
| Observation coding | AI-suggested C1/C2/C3/FI wording | Real-time flagging of C1 and C2 as entered |
| Office view | Web portal; team members on Pro | Office dashboard with report status, engineer ID and timestamps |
| Platforms | iPhone app, Android app, web browser; works offline | Anywhere WhatsApp runs; no app install |
| Quotes and invoicing | On Pro, with CIS and reverse charge VAT | Not listed |
| Pricing (25 Sep 2026) | Free plan; Starter £4.99/month; Pro £9.99/month; 7 days free on paid plans; no VAT added | Free for 20 reports a month; £20 per active user per month; dormant users free |
| Company | Certio Software Ltd (UK) | Quickler Ltd (Scotland, SC882439) |
Is a WhatsApp report acceptable as an EICR?
This is the question that decides it for most electricians, so it is worth being precise. BS 7671:2018 Appendix 6 sets out the model forms for the Electrical Installation Certificate, the Minor Works certificate and the Electrical Installation Condition Report, together with the schedule of inspections and schedule of test results. Section 644 requires that the report is compiled and signed or otherwise authenticated by a competent person and that it includes the schedules, and Appendix 6 says the forms should be based on the models in Appendix 6, and scheme providers such as NICEIC and NAPIT expect their members to use model-form-compliant certificates. IET Guidance Note 3 reinforces this: an inspection and test that is not recorded on the right schedule is not complete.
Quickler does not claim otherwise. Its EICR page says plainly that its reports are "not replicas of specific certification body formats" and recommends "dedicated certificate tools for firms requiring exact NICEIC or NAPIT model form compliance". Read that as an honest description of a general-purpose tool, not a criticism. A timestamped WhatsApp record with photos and a C1 flag is useful evidence for a facilities manager tracking a portfolio, or for an internal audit trail. It is not, on its own, the certificate you hand a landlord to satisfy the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, which require a report containing the results of the inspection and test; see Landlord EICRs in England: what the 2020 regulations require.
The practical line is this. If you are the person signing the EICR, you need a schedule of test results with Zs, R1+R2, insulation resistance and RCD trip times per circuit, on a form your scheme will accept at assessment. That is what Certio, and the other certification apps compared in Best Electrical Certification Software UK (2026): 6 Apps Compared, are built to produce. If you are coordinating a team and want a lightweight way to collect evidence and flag defects across several trades, Quickler's WhatsApp workflow does that with almost no set-up.
How do the prices compare?
Quickler's public pricing on 25 September 2026 is a free tier of 20 reports a month, then £20 per active user per month, with dormant users free. Its site makes the point that office staff who never file a report cost nothing. So a one-person electrical firm doing fewer than 20 reports a month could use Quickler at no cost, and a three-engineer team where all three file reports would pay £60 a month. Quickler's site does not state whether VAT is added to that figure, so check before you budget.
Certio's pricing on the same date is a Free plan with no card and no time limit (PDFs carry a small Certio mark and the AI features are off), Starter at £4.99 a month and Pro at £9.99 a month with unlimited certificates. Both paid plans start with 7 days free, there is no VAT to add and no contract. Pricing is per business, not per user, and on Pro you can add workers with the money side hidden from them.
| Scenario (monthly, 25 Sep 2026) | Certio | Quickler |
|---|---|---|
| Sole trader, under 20 reports | £0 (Free), £4.99 (Starter) or £9.99 (Pro) | £0 |
| Sole trader, 40 EICRs | £9.99 (Pro, unlimited) | £20 (1 active user) |
| Three engineers all filing | £9.99 (Pro, per business) | £60 (3 active users) |
The numbers favour Certio once you are past the free tier or have more than one engineer, but that is not the whole picture. You are paying Quickler for a multi-trade reporting layer and paying Certio for model-form certificates with MFT-X1 and board-photo input. If you need both, the combined cost is still modest.
Where does Quickler win?
Be straight about it. Quickler is better if you need one workflow for van checks, gas CP12 records and cleaning audits alongside electrical work, because Certio only does electrical certification. It is better if you have field staff who will not install or learn another app, because WhatsApp is already on their phone. Its office dashboard, with every report's status, the engineer's name and a timestamp, is a good fit for a compliance manager overseeing a portfolio. And 20 free reports a month with no card and no trial clock is a generous way to try it.
Where does Certio win?
Certio is better if you are the electrician signing the certificate. It gives you the BS 7671 model forms for EICR, EIC, Minor Works and PAT, a schedule of test results that fills itself from a consumer-unit photo, live readings from a Megger MFT-X1 through the camera, voice dictation of readings, and AI-suggested observation wording. It works offline in a plant room with no signal, runs on iPhone, Android and the web on one login, and on Pro brings quotes and invoicing with CIS and reverse charge VAT into the same app as the certificates; see CIS and domestic reverse charge VAT on electrician invoices, with a worked example. Migration from another app is free on every plan.
How Certio helps
Certio produces the EICR, EIC, Minor Works certificate and PAT records on the BS 7671 model forms and turns them into branded PDFs. Photograph the consumer unit and the circuit schedule drafts itself; point the phone camera at a Megger MFT-X1 and the reading goes straight into the schedule of test results, or dictate it while your hands stay on the probes. Suggested observation wording with the regulation reference is there for you to check and confirm. The judgement stays yours; the typing goes. Starter is free for 7 days, then £4.99 a month.