MillCert Reader
Automatically read mill certs and stop typing data
MillCert Reader extracts data from scanned and PDF mill certificates automatically. Save 120+ hours a year and sync clean data with your ERP.
14-day free trial · No credit card required
What It Actually Does
AI-Powered Extraction
Upload any mill certificate — scanned paper or digital PDF — and our AI pulls every heat number, grade, and property automatically.
120+ Hours Saved per Year
One production manager saved over 120 hours annually. That's three full working weeks spent NOT typing into spreadsheets.
Bulk PDF Renaming
Get heat-code-named PDFs in bulk. Send exactly the right cert with every order. No more hunting through a folder of "cert1.pdf".
Linked to Inventory
Certificate data flows straight into your inventory records. No double-entry, no errors, no excuses.
The problem with manual cert handling
Nobody likes chasing suppliers for certificates. Nobody likes downloading five different PDFs from five different portals. And nobody likes typing heat numbers into a spreadsheet.
But someone has to do it — or orders get delayed, audits fail, and customers complain.
The average metals business spends hours every week on certificate data entry alone. It is error-prone, mind-numbing work that adds zero value to the material being shipped. Mistakes introduce risk: a wrong heat number in a record means a traceability failure when someone checks it later.
How it works
Our AI reads the certificate, pulls the data, and links it to your inventory. Done.
Upload a paper scan or a digital PDF. The AI extracts every heat number, grade, chemical composition, and mechanical property — in seconds. That data flows straight into your stock records, so you always know exactly which certificate belongs to which material.
We work with every customer and have tuned our AI against certificates from many of the world’s largest steel mills. Unusual formats, faded scans, mixed-language documents: it handles them all.
It’s as simple as: log in, upload any mill certificate, and get your extracted data and renamed PDFs immediately. No model training, no configuration, no waiting.
What the AI actually extracts
From a typical EN 10204 Type 3.1 certificate, the system reads:
- Heat number and cast number
- Material grade and specification (e.g., S355JR, EN 10025)
- Chemical composition (C, Mn, Si, P, S, and more)
- Mechanical properties (yield strength, tensile strength, elongation, impact)
- Test result pass/fail status
- Mill name, order reference, and certificate date
That data goes directly into your inventory record — no transcription, no manual checking.
It doesn’t just extract — it validates. Extracted values are cross-checked against expected ranges for the declared grade and standard. A carbon content that looks wrong for S355JR. A missing impact test result on material destined for a structural application. A heat number on the cert that doesn’t match the delivery note. These get flagged before anything reaches your stock record. Catch the problem at goods-in. Not on the shop floor after the cut is made.
What bulk PDF renaming means for your team
One production manager saved more than 120 hours in a year — just from getting bulk mill certificates converted into single-page, heat-code-named PDFs.
Before: hunt through “cert1.pdf”, “cert2.pdf”, “cert (1) copy.pdf” to find what you need. After: every PDF is named by heat number. Send exactly the right cert with every order, every time.
From filing cabinet to searchable database — in a day
Got a pile of PDFs? Still typing heat numbers by hand? You’re ready to switch today. No IT project. No migration consultant.
Step 1 — Sign up and log in. Browser-based, nothing to install. Your 14-day free trial starts immediately — no credit card required.
Step 2 — Upload your first batch of certificates. Drag and drop a folder of PDFs — scanned paper certs, digital certs from mills, anything you’ve got. The AI extracts your data and renames your PDFs within seconds.
Step 3 — Build your archive (optional). Upload your historical certificates to build a fully searchable archive. Search by heat number, grade, mill, or date — without opening a single PDF.
Step 4 — Connect to Metals Manager (optional). If you use Metals Manager, certificate data links to stock items automatically as material is received. No manual entry.
Step 5 — Feed cert data into your ERP or QMS (optional). Export via CSV or use the REST API to push heat number data straight into your ERP or quality management system. Need to send certs to customers automatically? That works too. See the integration strategy — from standalone use to full ERP sync.
From cert to cut plan in one system. GoSmarter extracts your cert data and links it to your stock records. It knows exactly what material you have, what grade it is, and which jobs it can fill. Feed that into Cutting Plans. Your cut list runs on verified material. Not a guess. See how Cutting Plans works →
MillCert Reader saves a typical team 120 hours a year. Based on that level of time saved, many teams can cover the monthly subscription cost in the first month after go-live — depending on labour cost and workflow. Not sure what it looks like for your operation? Run the Business Case Calculator →. No account required.
Start with certs. Many GoSmarter customers begin with MillCert Reader alone — no inventory module, no cutting plans. It is the fastest path to day-one value: upload your first batch of certificates, get extracted data back in seconds, and prove the return on investment (ROI) in a single session. When you’re ready, cert data connects straight to stock records and cut plans. One step at a time.
£350/month rolling. £275/month paid annually.
MillCert Reader is priced per workspace, not per user. One flat fee covers your whole team. No per-seat surprises as your team grows.
Free trial:
- 14 days, full access, no credit card required
- Upload real certificates from your own suppliers
- Get extracted data and organised, heat-code-named PDFs immediately
- Never search through a folder of “cert1.pdf” again
After your trial:
- £350/month, billed monthly — cancel any time
- £275/month, billed annually — save £900 a year (£75/mo × 12)
- See the full pricing page for plan comparison and volume options
The free trial is the only sales pitch we need. Upload a certificate and see what comes back. If a human can read it, the AI can read it faster.
What our customers say
"Our tool saves hours every month by automatically pulling key data from mill certificates. Renaming documents in seconds used to be painfully manual — now it just happens."
— QC Manager, UK Steel Stockholder
AI That Actually Works
Forget the buzzwords. We just automate the boring stuff so you can go home on time. Stop doing compliance by hand.
Get Up and Running Fast
Most teams are live in 1-2 days. No IT project. No consultant. No software to install. See how it works →
Common Questions
What types of mill certificates does it support?
It works with paper scans and digital PDFs from all major steel mills worldwide. If a human can read it, our AI can read it.
Does it handle formats from different suppliers reliably?
Yes. We train the AI against certificate templates from mills around the world including European, US, and Asian producers. It handles every major format: single-heat certs, multi-heat documents, CE-marked certificates, and bespoke mill layouts. If a format trips it up on the first upload, our team tunes the extraction at no extra charge.
What data does it extract?
Heat numbers, material grades, chemical composition, mechanical properties, and test results i.e. everything you'd normally type in by hand.
What happens when a certificate has missing or incomplete data?
GoSmarter flags missing fields and highlights values that fall outside the expected ranges for the declared grade — before the gap causes a production or audit problem. You get a clear list of what needs following up with the supplier. The AI surfaces the issue; your team decides what to do next. You stay in control. We are continuing to extend the rules engine to add fine-grained validation across more grades and standards.
How does it handle errors in cert data like values that look wrong or out of spec?
Extracted values are cross-checked against known valid ranges for the stated grade and standard (live for rebar, more to come). Anything outside those ranges is flagged for human review before you accept it into your inventory record. Nothing slips through without your sign-off.
How quickly can I digitise a backlog of historical certificates?
Fast. You can use the API to upload hundreds of PDFs in one go. A typical backlog of a few thousand certificates is ingested, extracted, and searchable within a single working day. You do not need to prepare or rename the files beforehand.
Does it work with my existing systems?
Yes. Data links directly to your GoSmarter inventory, and you can export in CSV or PDF formats to feed into any other system. A REST API is available for direct ERP or QMS integration. See our [integration strategy guide](/docs/integration-strategy/) for common patterns.
How long does it take to process a certificate?
Seconds to minutes depending on the quality of the mill certificate and if we've seen the supplier before. Upload the file and get your data back faster than you can make a coffee.
How can we standardise mill cert data coming from different mills and formats globally?
GoSmarter's AI is trained on certificate templates from mills across Europe, North America, Asia, and beyond. These include mills in Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Turkey, China, and South Korea. You do not need to map or configure each supplier's format manually. Upload a cert from any mill and the extraction runs automatically. The output is always a consistent, structured data set: the same fields, the same format, regardless of which mill produced the original document. That consistent output is what lets you compare material properties across suppliers, feed data into your ERP, and pass audits confidently.
Which solutions address the pain of missing or incomplete mill certs arriving from suppliers?
MillCert Reader flags missing data at the point of upload rather than leaving it buried in a folder. If a field expected for the declared grade is absent (a missing impact test result, an incomplete chemical composition), the system surfaces it immediately so your team can chase the supplier before the gap causes a production or audit problem. You can also configure mandatory fields per grade or standard, so every cert that enters your archive meets your minimum data requirements.
Which software makes it easy to link mill certs to customer orders for audit trails?
GoSmarter links every mill certificate to the inventory items it covers, and from there to every order and despatch that used that material. When a customer or auditor asks for the cert for a specific delivery, you retrieve it in seconds by order number, heat number, or despatch date. From incoming certificate to outgoing order, the chain of custody is automatic and immutable. You never need to manually cross-reference a cert to an order again.
Go deeper
- Mill Certificate Automation: The Complete Guide — everything about how GoSmarter reads, extracts, validates, and links mill cert data
- Integrated Cert Traceability & Auditability — how GoSmarter builds your EN 10204 audit trail automatically
- Midland Steel Manufacturing Case Study — how a leading rebar supplier automated certificate handling and removed audit prep pain
- Metals Manufacturing Glossary — plain-English definitions: mill certificates, EN 10204 types, heat numbers, and more
- ROI of AI in Metals Manufacturing — worked payback period example for mill cert automation: ~10 months at 120 hours saved per year
- GoSmarter vs Generic OCR/IDP Tools for Mill Certificates — why metals-specific AI outperforms generic document processing