How to install Illetro eCert, connect it to ServiceM8, and lodge a NSW Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work to Building Commission NSW from a job. Written to be read on a phone, on site.
1. What Illetro eCert is
Illetro eCert lodges NSW Certificates of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEWs) to the Building Commission NSW eCert portal, straight from a ServiceM8 job. You open a job, the certificate pre-fills from it, you add the electrical detail, and it lodges in seconds. A certificate reference comes straight back.
Illetro eCert is for New South Wales work only.
For a shorter overview of what it does, what it does not do, and what it costs, see lodging NSW CCEWs from ServiceM8.
Illetro is a private business. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of Building Commission NSW, the NSW Government, or any regulator or statutory authority. Illetro eCert lodges your certificates to Building Commission NSW because you ask it to.
Illetro eCert is an independent add-on for ServiceM8, not built by, endorsed by or affiliated with ServiceM8.
2. What you need
- A current NSW electrical licence appropriate to the work. Each certificate is your own legal declaration, so you lodge under your own licence.
- A ServiceM8 account.
- Illetro eCert installed and connected on that account.
Where Illetro eCert appears
Illetro eCert adds a Lodge CCEW action to a job in the ServiceM8 web dashboard and in the ServiceM8 app on iPhone, and an Illetro eCert item in the add-on menu. The usual way in is to open a job, tap More, then Lodge CCEW.
Illetro eCert is not currently available in the ServiceM8 Android app. On an Android phone, lodge from the ServiceM8 web dashboard in a browser instead.
On iPhone
When you open Illetro eCert from a job on iPhone, ServiceM8 hands off to your phone's browser to show the form. That is how it is meant to work, not a fault. The form already knows which job you opened it from, so you do not need to pick the job again.
3. Installing and connecting
The "not yet listed" notice
Illetro eCert is a private install while its ServiceM8 Add-on Store listing is being reviewed. Because it is not yet listed in the store, ServiceM8 shows a notice that it uses for add-ons that are not yet listed. That notice is ServiceM8 telling you, accurately, that the add-on has not finished store review yet. Read it so you understand what it is saying, the same as you would for any add-on you install.
Connecting
When you install, ServiceM8 shows a permissions screen. Illetro eCert asks to read your jobs, job contacts, job materials and staff, so it can pre-fill a certificate from a job, and, if you choose, to add a note to a job diary after a lodgement. Approve it to connect.
When it connects you see a card marked "CONNECTED", with the reminder to open any job, tap More, then Lodge CCEW.
Always open Illetro eCert from the job
Open Illetro eCert from the job each time, not from a saved browser bookmark. The link that opens the form carries a short-lived pass tied to that job. A bookmarked page does not carry it, so it shows the not-connected screen instead of a form. If that happens, go back to the job in ServiceM8 and open Lodge CCEW again.
4. First time setup: your licence details
The first time each electrician lodges, Illetro eCert asks for their licence details once and remembers them. ServiceM8 does not have an electrical-licence field, so the licence is typed once here rather than on every certificate.
The screen is Set up your licence details. You enter:
- first name
- middle name (optional)
- last name
- NSW licence number
- mobile
- business address
On the very first profile set up in the account there is also an optional question, "Were you referred by anyone?". Then press Save and continue to the certificate.
These details go onto every certificate that electrician lodges, so enter the name exactly as it appears on the licence.
The account default, and staff without their own details
The first identity saved becomes the account default. A staff member who has not set up their own details lodges under that default, and can set up their own at any time from a job.
If ServiceM8 does not tell Illetro eCert which staff member opened the add-on, it cannot set up licence details from that screen. It shows "ServiceM8 did not say which staff member opened this, so licence details cannot be set up from here". Reopen Lodge CCEW from a job as that staff member.
Changing your details later
At the top of the lodgement form there is a link, Wrong name or licence? Update details. Use it to change your saved details. When the form is showing the account default rather than your own saved identity, the licence field is left blank on purpose, with a note explaining why, so you enter your own licence rather than someone else's.
5. Lodging a certificate
Building Commission NSW publishes its own advice for electricians whose software lodges on their behalf: BCNSW's guide for electricians using integrated software.
The same ground in one continuous walkthrough: how to lodge a CCEW from ServiceM8.
Open the job
Open the job in ServiceM8, tap More, then Lodge CCEW. The form opens pre-filled from that job.
If you open Illetro eCert without a job, from the app menu, it first asks Which job is this certificate for?. Type a job number, address or client name to search, tap the job, or press Skip and enter the details manually.
What is pre-filled from the job
The Job section fills in from the ServiceM8 job: work completed date, site address, customer first and last name, and customer email.
The customer name and email come from the job's contact in ServiceM8, preferring the one marked as the job contact. If that contact has a name but no email, the name is filled in and the email is left for you to add, because Building Commission NSW will not accept a customer name without one.
What you add
- Installation: type of installation, work type, and whether it is connected to supply. Choosing "Other" for the installation type or the work type reveals a short description field beneath it, which is required.
- Equipment: add your equipment lines, each with a category, rating, quantity and description. You can fill equipment from the job's own items automatically with the "Fill equipment from this job's items automatically" checkbox and the Add from job items button. An "Other" description is limited to 20 characters. A row with content but no category shows a note that it will not reach the certificate until you choose a category.
- Tests performed: tick the tests, and choose the network provider if the work needs one. An "NMI" field follows, with the hint "National Metering Identifier, if available and applicable to this installation. Optional." It is always shown, it is optional, and it can be left blank when it does not apply.
- Someone else tested this work (optional): leave this off when you tested the work yourself. Turn it on when a different licensed person tested it, and a Tester details section appears for the tester's name, NSW licence number, address, email and mobile, and two confirmations. The tester must hold a current NSW electrical licence.
- Copy to employer (optional): tick to send a copy to an employer, then enter an employer email, either the company name or a contact last name, and at least one of ABN, ACN or licence number.
Metering work
Ticking the work type "Metering" reveals a section headed Metering. The note under the heading reads "Required when the work type includes Metering. Building Commission NSW's eCert user guide says a separate CCEW is required for each meter." Three fields follow. All three are required when Metering is ticked, and none is pre-selected: you choose each one.
- "Meter type", with the options Type 1, Type 2, Type 3, Type 4, Type 8, Type 9.
- "Meter service provider", chosen from the list. The list is Building Commission NSW's. Their eCert user guide says "only providers with a Safety Management Plan approved by Building Commission NSW will appear in the list".
- "Metering system", with the options Network metering, Embedded network.
When Metering is the only work type ticked, the Equipment section and "Connected to supply?" are hidden, because neither is required for a meter-only certificate. Ticking any other work type alongside Metering brings them back.
One certificate per meter. Building Commission NSW's eCert user guide says a separate CCEW is required for each meter, and the metering screen in their portal puts it as a separate CCEW for each NMI. In the add-on, lodge the first meter, then open that job and press Lodge CCEW again for the next meter. Each lodgement receives its own certificate number.
The declarations
The Declarations section always asks for three ticks before the certificate can lodge. The wording of the first one follows the Someone else tested this work toggle.
When you tested the work yourself (the toggle is off), the three are:
- I tested this work myself and declare it complies (installer declaration)
- Privacy notice acknowledged
- I authorise Illetro to submit this CCEW on my behalf
When a different person tested the work (the toggle is on), the first tick changes to say only that you declare the work complies, because you are no longer claiming to have tested it yourself:
- I declare this work complies (installer declaration)
- Privacy notice acknowledged
- I authorise Illetro to submit this CCEW on my behalf
With the toggle on, the Tester details section also carries two ticks of its own. These do not declare anything on the tester's behalf; they record that you have confirmed the tester did:
- I confirm the tester above tested this work and declared that it complies
- I confirm the tester above acknowledged the privacy notice
If a different licensed person tested the work, turn on "Someone else tested this work" and enter their details, including their address. You no longer need to lodge those certificates outside the add-on.
Validation, then Lodge
When you press Lodge, Illetro eCert checks the form first. If anything is missing or wrong, it re-shows the same form with every problem listed at once, so you fix them together and lodge again. If Building Commission NSW itself rejects the certificate, each of their messages appears on the form prefixed "BCNSW:".
Nothing is ever submitted until you deliberately press "Lodge with Building Commission NSW". Opening the form, pre-filling and editing send nothing to Building Commission NSW. Only the Lodge button lodges.
While it lodges you see "Lodging with Building Commission NSW", a seconds counter, and "Keep this window open". Leave the window open until the receipt appears.
6. After you lodge
The certificate reference
The certificate reference comes back in seconds, on a receipt showing the reference, the site, the round trip time, and how many days were left in the 7 day window. That reference is your proof the certificate lodged. Keep it.
The BCNSW eCert portal generates and stores the certificate and remains the system of record.
The email can take up to 60 minutes
After a successful lodgement, Building Commission NSW does its own backend work: generating the certificate PDF and sending the emails. The receipt says this is usually 2 to 15 minutes, and it can take up to 60 minutes. Those timings are a guide, not a guaranteed turnaround from Building Commission NSW or from Illetro. An email that has not arrived yet, within that hour, does not mean the lodgement failed. The certificate reference on the receipt is your confirmation, not the email.
What is sent, what comes back, and who stays responsible for the certificate: how the ServiceM8 eCert integration works.
The job diary note
If you have turned on diary records, Illetro eCert writes one note into the ServiceM8 job diary after a successful lodgement. It reads:
When you sent a copy to an employer, the last line instead reads that Building Commission NSW emails the certificate PDF to the electrician and the nominated employer.
To turn diary notes on, use the Enable diary records link on the lodgement form or on the receipt. It sends you back through the connect step to grant the one extra permission.
7. When something goes wrong
Every screen below is one Illetro eCert can actually show you. For each: what it says, what it means, and what to do.
A field is missing or wrong
Illetro eCert checks the form before it sends anything. If a field is missing or wrong, it re-shows the same form with an error box listing every problem at once. Nothing was sent. Fix the listed items and press Lodge again.
The site address has no state on it
"The site address needs NSW in it. Edit the site address on the form and add NSW after the suburb, for example 12 Smith St, Suburb NSW 2000." Building Commission NSW will not accept a site address that does not carry the state, so Illetro eCert checks for it before sending anything. Add NSW to the site address and lodge again. The same sentence appears as a hint under the site address field before you lodge, so most of the time you will see it there first and can fix it as you go.
The site address is not in NSW
"Illetro eCert lodges NSW certificates only. This site address is not in New South Wales." Nothing was sent. A CCEW lodged through Illetro eCert goes to Building Commission NSW, which covers New South Wales only. If the address is wrong, correct it and lodge again. If the work really was in another state or territory, it has to be certified through that jurisdiction's own scheme instead.
Building Commission NSW rejected it
If Building Commission NSW rejects the certificate, the form comes back with each of their messages prefixed "BCNSW:". These are the regulator's own words. Correct what they name and lodge again.
For the rejections below, a plain sentence appears first and Building Commission NSW's own wording stays underneath it in smaller type, so you can read either.
The licence number and the name do not match
"The Building Commission could not match this licence number to the name entered. Two common causes: the number is the business's contractor licence rather than the electrician's own licence, or the name is not exactly as it appears on the licence. Use Wrong name or licence? Update details at the top of the form to correct it, then lodge again." Check the licence card: the name has to match it exactly, and the number has to be the individual electrician's, not the business's.
The licence number is not recognised
"The Building Commission does not recognise this licence number. Check the number on the licence card and correct it with Wrong name or licence? Update details, then lodge again." Read the number off the card again, including any letter at the end, and correct it before lodging again.
Building Commission NSW is refusing every submission
"The Building Commission's system is refusing all submissions at the moment. Nothing is wrong at your end. If the seven day window is tight, lodge this certificate in the BCNSW eCert portal. We have been alerted and will let you know when it is fixed." Nothing you change on the form will help. We are told automatically when this happens. If the deadline is close, lodge in the BCNSW eCert portal rather than waiting.
Building Commission NSW returned an error
"The Building Commission's system returned an error. Nothing is wrong with what you entered. Try again in a few minutes, or lodge in the BCNSW eCert portal if the window is tight." This is usually brief. Wait a few minutes and press Lodge again; if the deadline is close, use the portal instead.
It timed out
If Building Commission NSW does not answer in time, you see a message that the attempt may still have succeeded, that Building Commission NSW can take up to 60 minutes to email the certificate, and that an empty inbox before then proves nothing. The safe move is to wait the hour. If a certificate for this job arrives, it did lodge and must not be submitted again.
Confirm relodgement
If a previous attempt for this job timed out and you open Lodge CCEW again, you get a confirmation gate rather than a straight re-lodge. It has two forms.
- Within the hour: it tells you the earlier attempt timed out, how long ago, and that Building Commission NSW can take up to 60 minutes to email the certificate. It recommends waiting the remaining minutes and checking the electrician's email for a certificate that arrived after the stamped time. The button reads "I cannot wait and accept the risk of a duplicate. Lodge now".
- After the hour: it says that hour has passed and to check the electrician's email for a certificate that arrived after the stamped time, and that an older certificate for the same address does not count. The button reads "I've checked - nothing after that time. Lodge now".
Only press the button if you have checked and there is no certificate. Lodging again creates a second legal certificate if the first attempt succeeded.
The lodgement service is busy
If Illetro eCert cannot start your lodgement because another certificate is going through, you see "The lodgement service is busy with another certificate" and "Nothing was sent to Building Commission NSW", with a Try again button. Nothing was sent. Press Try again in a moment.
This certificate is already being lodged
If a lodgement is submitted twice at once, for example a double tap, you see "This certificate is already being lodged" and that nothing extra was sent. Wait a moment, then press Lodge once more if you need the receipt.
Already lodged (the original receipt)
If you submit a form again after it already succeeded, for example with the Back button, you get the original receipt with an amber note explaining that this is the original receipt and no second certificate was created. To lodge a different certificate, open that job and press Lodge CCEW again.
Not connected
If you see the NOT CONNECTED screen, Illetro eCert could not confirm that the sign-in belongs to the ServiceM8 account the link was opened from, so nothing was saved. To connect the right account, open any job, tap More, then Lodge CCEW in that account, and press the Re-authorise or Enable diary records link on that screen. If the connection screen was sent to you by someone else, do not use it. You can still lodge certificates in the meantime.
Auto-fill needs re-authorisation
If the pre-fill could not read the job, you see an amber bar reading "Auto-fill needs re-authorisation" with a Re-authorise now link. Use the link, then reopen the form. You can still lodge by typing the details in.
This staff member has no licence details
If ServiceM8 does not identify which staff member opened the add-on, Illetro eCert cannot set up or change licence details from that screen and says so. Reopen Lodge CCEW from a job as that staff member. If it repeats, email [email protected] with a screenshot.
Session expired
If you left the add-on open too long, or opened a stale link, you see "Session expired - reopen the add-on from the job". Go back to the job and open Lodge CCEW again.
Metering fields are missing before lodging
Shown before lodging, when Metering is ticked and one or more of the three Metering fields is empty: "Metering is ticked: choose a meter type, a meter service provider and a metering system before lodging." The message names only what is still missing, so it may read, for example, "Metering is ticked: choose a metering system before lodging." Choose the named field or fields, then lodge.
The Metering section was rejected
Shown inside the Metering section after a lodge attempt, when the relay rejects the form. The first of these is what appears if the browser did not run the page script: choose the three Metering fields and lodge again.
- "advanceMeterType, meterServiceProvider and meteringSystem are required when work type includes Metering." Choose the three Metering fields and lodge again.
- "Metering fields must be excluded unless work type includes Metering." Check the work types, then lodge again.
- "Meter service provider must be one of the listed companies." Choose a provider from the list, then lodge again.
- "Metering system must be 'Network metering' or 'Embedded network'." Choose one of the two, then lodge again.
- "Unknown meter type" followed by the value in quotes. Choose a meter type from the list, then lodge again.
8. If Illetro eCert is unavailable
If Illetro eCert is ever unavailable to you, lodge directly through the Building Commission NSW portal.
Illetro eCert is a convenience layer over that portal, never a replacement for it and never a barrier to it. Nothing about using Illetro eCert removes or delays your ability to lodge directly. Do not let a problem with Illetro eCert put the seven day lodgement window at risk: if you cannot lodge through the add-on, lodge through the Building Commission NSW portal instead.
9. Billing
Illetro eCert is free to install. The lodgement service is billed separately by Illetro, from $20 per month plus GST ($22 inc GST). The price tier is set by the number of licensed electricians in your business who lodge certificates, so a larger team is on a higher tier. Current prices and tiers are shown at illetro.com/ecert, where you can also ask for access.
Cancel at any time. There is no lock-in, and after you cancel your access continues to the end of the period you have already paid for, so billing never puts a lodgement deadline at risk.
You manage your subscription, update your card details, and cancel through the Stripe billing portal at billing.stripe.com, or by emailing [email protected].
The full terms and privacy policy are at illetro.com/ecert/terms and illetro.com/ecert/privacy.
10. Subscription and access
A brand new account can lodge straight away. From the first time the lodgement form is opened, the account has three days to use Illetro eCert before a subscription is needed. Nothing has to be set up for this and nobody has to ask: the three days start on their own.
After that, if there is no subscription, the lodgement form is replaced by a short screen saying so. The certificate is never the thing that gets blocked, which is covered at the end of this section.
The subscription screen
It is headed Illetro eCert subscription needed and carries one sentence saying why. The sentence is one of:
- "Your trial period has ended. Subscribe below to keep lodging certificates from ServiceM8."
- "Your subscription has ended. Subscribe below to keep lodging certificates from ServiceM8."
- "A payment did not go through, and the extra time we allowed has now run out."
- "We cannot confirm your subscription right now. Email us and we will sort it out."
Under the sentence are the tiers you can subscribe to, each opening in a new tab, with the note "The price is per month for the whole business, not per person. The tier is set by how many licensed electricians lodge certificates."
The last two sentences above belong to an account that already has a subscription. That screen does not offer a second one: it offers Update payment details instead, so a payment problem is fixed rather than paid for twice.
Whichever sentence it shows, the screen ends the same way: "You can lodge this certificate in the Building Commission NSW eCert portal in the meantime."
When a payment has failed
A failed payment does not shut the door straight away. The form opens as normal with a banner across the top of it reading "Payment failed. Your subscription ends on <date> unless the payment details are updated.", with the real date in place of the placeholder. The banner carries an Update payment details link, described as "Opens your billing page in a new tab."
You keep lodging normally for that period. Only once it passes does the subscription screen appear.
A lodgement already under way is never stopped by billing. The check happens when the form is opened, before anything has been entered. Once a form is open in front of you, filling it in, correcting a rejected field and pressing Lodge all behave exactly as they always do.
The Building Commission NSW eCert portal is open to you at any time, whatever your subscription is doing. It generates and stores the certificate and remains the system of record, so a subscription that has lapsed never puts the seven day lodgement window at risk.
11. Support
Email [email protected]. We aim to respond within one business day.
When something has gone wrong, a screenshot of the screen you are on helps us answer quickly.
Illetro (ABN 25 757 457 608), NSW, Australia.