Getting started with CertClass

The first time you log in, CertClass walks you through a short wizard. It is seven steps and takes a few minutes. Your progress is saved, so you can close the tab and pick up where you left off.

1. Welcome. A summary of what comes next. Tap or click Continue.
2. Quick Setup. Enter your business phone number and website. The phone number is shown on your booking page so students can reach you. Address and other details can be added later under Settings.
3. Add Payment Method. Add a card for your CertClass bill. This step is required before you can finish the wizard, and instructor invitations and other sending actions need a card on file. What you are charged is explained in how you are billed.
4. Invite Instructors. Add up to three instructors by name and email. Each one gets an email with login details. You can also choose Skip for now and add them later from Instructors. If you teach classes yourself, do not invite yourself here: after the wizard, turn on I also teach classes on your My Profile page instead, which puts you on the instructor list with the login you already have. See if you teach too.
5. Create Your First Class. The same class form you will use every day (your template and category lists are still empty at this point). Fill it in or choose Skip for now.
6. Accept Student Payments. Tap or click Connect with Stripe to set up online card payments that go straight to your bank account, or Skip for now. You can connect Stripe any time from Settings.
7. You're Ready. The last step shows the link to your hosted registration page with buttons to copy it or open it. Tap or click Go to Dashboard to finish.

After the wizard, a Get Started with CertClass checklist tracks what is left to set up. It checks steps off on its own as you complete them, for example when you upload a logo or create your first class. Where you find it depends on your screen:

• On a phone or tablet, it is the Finish setup card at the top of your dashboard. Your next step is one big button, and the button under it lists every step. Until setup is done, the menu also starts with Finish setup and a count of the steps you have finished.
• On a computer, it floats in the bottom-right corner of your admin pages (it stays out of the way on the Communication page).

The steps are:

• Add a Payment Method (the card for your CertClass bill, on the Billing page). You need it before you can invite instructors, send payment links, or email and text students yourself.
• Complete Company Information (address and phone under Settings)
• Customize Your Branding (logo and colors)
• Create Course Categories
• Create Your First Class
• Add an Instructor (or add yourself, if you teach)
• Connect Stripe Payments (shown while your subscription is active)
• Share Your Booking Page. This is done when you share or copy your booking page link, or embed the widget on your website.
• Configure Automated Communication

Each open step has a link that takes you to the right page. You can also tap or click the circle next to a step to mark it done yourself, which is useful if a step does not apply to you. The X in the corner hides the checklist on every device you use; bring it back from Settings with Reopen Onboarding Checklist. Once every step is complete, the checklist goes away on its own.

The View setup guide link at the bottom of the checklist (Setup guide on the phone card) opens the in-app Getting Started with CertClass page, which walks through the main setup steps with links. You can also reach it from Help in the menu, or from Settings under Help & Documentation.

Dashboard is the first item in the menu and the page you land on after logging in. It shows four numbers and two lists.

• Upcoming Classes: how many scheduled classes are still ahead.
• Total Students: all-time registrations, with the change compared to last month.
• Revenue Collected: net payments received, including deposits and partial payments, with the change compared to last month.
• Balance Outstanding: money students still owe, and how many students owe it.

Below the tiles, Upcoming Classes lists your next five classes with the date, time, instructor, and how many seats are filled. Recent Registrations shows the latest five sign-ups with their payment status. Both have a View all link. The Create Class and Add Instructor buttons at the top are the two things you will do most often.

The menu is where everything else lives, in two groups. Run holds the pages you use day to day: Dashboard, Classes, Students, Payments, and Instructors. Set up holds the pages you set once and come back to now and then: Templates, Widget, Communication, Billing, Settings, and Help. Every section is there on any screen, so you can run the whole business from your phone. On a phone, open the menu with the ☰ button at the top of the screen.

Your company details appear on your booking page and in the emails CertClass sends for you. Your logo and colors appear in your admin menu and on your booking page. Course categories let students filter your booking page and help you organize classes. All of these live under Settings. On a phone, the row of buttons under the Settings heading jumps straight to each section.

Company information. The Company Information card at the top of Settings holds your Company Name, Business Address, Primary Email, and Phone Number. The email and phone are shown on your booking page, and the email is where student replies land unless you set a Reply-To address. Your Company URL Slug is the last part of your booking page address and cannot be changed here.

Logo and brand colors. Open Settings and tap or click Access Advanced Branding.

1. Under Custom Logo, tap or click the logo box to choose an image (on a computer you can also drag one in). PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP, and SVG all work, and large photos are resized automatically. The logo saves as soon as it uploads, and your menu shows it right away. A square logo around 512 pixels with a transparent background looks best.
2. Under Brand Colors, pick a Primary Color (buttons, links, and active menu items), a Secondary Color (gradients), and an Accent Color (highlights). Tap or click a swatch to open your device's color picker, or type a hex code such as #8e181d in the box next to it. The Live Preview updates as you pick. On a computer it sits on the right; on a phone a smaller one sits just above the buttons.
3. Tap or click Update Brand Colors to save your colors. Reset to default puts the colors back after you confirm. Your logo stays.

Course categories. Back on the main Settings page, scroll to Course Categories and tap or click Add Category. Give it a name (for example American Heart Association, American Red Cross, or Lifeguarding), an optional description, and a color. You pick the category on the class form. When four or more classes are listed and they span more than one category, students can filter your booking page by category (controlled by Show Sort & Filter Controls on the Widget page).

Tap or click your name at the bottom of the menu to open My Profile. From there you can:

• Upload a Profile Photo and crop it. It appears next to your name in the menu.
• Choose Edit Profile to change your first name, last name, or login email.
• Choose Change Password under Security to set a new password.
• Turn on I also teach classes under Teaching if you run classes yourself. See if you teach too.

The Account Information card on the same page shows your organization, account status, and when you last logged in.

Once branding is in place, work through these in order. Each one has its own guide.

1. Set up a class: create your first public class, or a private one you share by link.
2. Connect Stripe and record payments: take card payments online, and record cash and checks by hand.
3. Invite instructors: give your team access to rosters and attendance without giving them everything, and add yourself if you teach.
4. Share your booking page or embed the widget: put registration on your own website.
5. Set up email and SMS: confirmations, reminders, and messages to a whole roster.