First Time Setup

After installation, Certum Draft guides you through initial setup. Here’s what each step involves.

Terms of Use

The first screen shows the Terms of Use. These cover:

• The software is provided as-is for testing purposes
• You’re responsible for verifying all generated documents
• Your data stays on your computer (no cloud storage)

Click Accept & Continue to proceed.

Licence Activation

You’ll need a licence key to use Certum Draft.

1. Enter the email address associated with your licence
2. Paste your licence key in the field below
3. Click Activate

Note

Don’t have a licence key? Contact [email protected] to request one.

Once activated, you’ll see a confirmation screen. Click Continue to proceed.

Document Engine Setup

Certum Draft uses a Python-based engine to generate documents. The document processing libraries are bundled with the app, so setup just verifies your Mac has the bits it needs and configures the engine.

What’s happening:

• Looking for Python 3 on your Mac
• Checking the bundled document processing libraries
• Configuring the template engine

This usually takes a few seconds. When complete, click Continue.

Tip

If setup fails, the most common cause is a missing system Python 3. Install Python from python.org or via Homebrew (brew install python) and try again.

Quick Setup

The final step configures where Certum Draft stores your files.

Matters Folder

This is where all your client matter folders will be created.

Recommended: Use your firm’s existing matters folder, such as:

• A shared network drive
• A Dropbox or iCloud folder
• A local folder on your Mac

Click Choose Folder to select the location.

Templates Folder

This is where Certum Draft looks for document templates.

Your administrator will set up templates here. Each template type (Estates, Conveyancing, etc.) has its own subfolder.

Matter Numbering

Choose how matter numbers are generated:

Format	Example	Best For
Sequential	000001, 000002, 000003	Simple numbering
Year-Sequential	2026-0001, 2026-0002	Reset each year
Custom Prefix	ABC-000001	Firm-specific codes

Folder Naming

Choose how matter folders are named:

Default format: {matterNumber} - {surname} {givenName} - {matter.name}

Example: 000107 - SCHRUTE Dwight - Estate of Mose Schrute

All Done!

Click Get Started to complete setup and open Certum Draft.

Adjusting Settings Later

Every option from Quick Setup can be changed later from Preferences (⌘ + ,). The General pane shows your licence, weather location, and configuration status; the Matters, Paths, Notion, and Legal panes hold the rest.

Optional: Connect Notion

If your firm uses Notion as its client and matter register, you can connect it from Preferences → Notion. This is optional — Certum Draft works happily without it — but the connection unlocks shared notes, team status, and the Potential New Matter (PNM) workflow.

1. In Notion, create an internal integration and copy the integration token
2. In Certum Draft, open Preferences → Notion and paste the token, then click Save Token
3. Paste your Clients database URL (or ID) and your Matters database URL (or ID), then click Save Database IDs
4. Click Find or Create Leads Database… — Certum Draft locates an existing Leads database in the same Notion workspace, or offers to create one with the full schema if none exists
5. Optionally pick Default watchers — these workspace members are automatically tagged on every new PNM lead so Notion can notify them

Tip

Share your Clients, Matters, and Leads databases with your Notion integration (via each database’s Connections menu) or Certum Draft won’t be able to see them.

You’re now ready to:

• Create your first matter
• Generate documents