Troubleshooting
Something we already renewed still shows expired
The new paper is there, but the alert stays red. It is almost always one of four things, and none is a bug.
You renewed the policy, the supplier sent the new certificate, someone uploaded it — and the alert is still there. Before assuming something is broken, four things are worth checking: in practice the explanation is always one of them.
The four causes, in the order worth checking
| What happened | How to spot it | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The new document is somewhere else | It sits loose, or in another file | Move it to where the expiring one was |
| It is uploaded, but as a new document | There are two, and the old one still counts | Register it as a new version of the same |
| The document's date was not updated | New paper, old date | Correct the expiry date |
| The new document expires sooner than you thought | The alert is right and it surprises you | Nothing: the warning is doing you a favour |
Important
The second row is the commonest and ages worst: **uploading the new paper next to the old one replaces nothing**. Both remain, the expiry still hangs off the old one and, worse, anyone searching later may take the wrong one — because both look valid. A document that replaces another is registered as a new version of it, not as a separate document.
How to check it in a minute
- 1
Open the one raising the alert, do not hunt for the new one
The alert hangs off a specific document: start there.
- 2
See whether it has a later version
If not, the new one is somewhere else.
- 3
Check the expiry date on record
Sometimes the paper is right and the date lagged behind.
- 4
And if it all adds up, reread the new document's date
The fourth cause is the most uncomfortable and the most useful.
Watch out
A case that misleads far more than it should: **the supplier sends a certificate that is already expired or valid for a very short time**. It is issued dated months back, or covers only to the end of the quarter. The alert is not wrong — it is flagging something to raise with them before an audit does, not a system problem.
When the alert was right
Worth knowing
If after these four checks the alert still does not add up, write to support quoting the specific document: with that reference it takes minutes to look into.
›Should I delete the old document?
No: it evidences what was in force then. Replace it, do not delete it.
›Can I just change the date?
Yes, if the paper is correct. If the paper is different, upload the version.
›What if the warning comes too late to renew?
Widen the warning margin: it depends on how slow each supplier is.
A real case
The situation
A company uploads the renewed policy and the expiry alert stays on.
What you do
- Opens the document raising the alert and registers the new one as a version of it
What you get
The alert clears itself and there are no longer two documents that look equally valid.
The situation
The new document was uploaded without updating the date.
What you do
- Checks the document's recorded date
What you get
The warning clears as soon as the figure matches the paper.
The situation
The renewed document sits in another file.
What you do
- Attaches it to the file that raises the warning
What you get
The warning looks at the right document.
The situation
It was renewed but the supplier sent an old version.
What you do
- Checks the date on the document itself
What you get
You discover the renewal never actually arrived.
The situation
The warning refers to another document of the same type.
What you do
- Checks which specific document it points to
What you get
You renew what is missing rather than what was already there.
The situation
The validity date was misread from the document.
What you do
- Corrects the figure by checking the image
What you get
The warning becomes true again without touching the document.
This article answers
- still shows expired after renewing
- uploaded the new certificate and it stays red
- the expiry date does not update
- expiry alerts that will not clear