Credentials & CPD
The Credentials module tracks each staff member's professional credentials and their CPD (continuing professional development) hours against the regulator's cycle. Twenty Canadian regulators are pre-loaded with cycle length and hour target so most firms don't have to configure anything up-front.
[Screenshot: Credentials tab on an employee profile with cycle hours badge and CPD activity log]
What Credentials tracks
For each credential on an employee:
| Field | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Regulator | CPA Ontario, CPA BC, LSO, PEO, EGBC, etc. |
| Credential Number | The license or member number |
| Status | Active, Provisional, Suspended, Retired |
| Issue Date | When first granted |
| Expiry Date | Renewal date — feeds Partner Health widget and expiry alerts |
| Cycle Hours Target | Hours required per CPD cycle (from the regulator registry) |
| Cycle Length | Length of the CPD cycle in years (from the registry) |
| Hours Logged (cycle) | Hours logged in the current cycle |
The registry pre-loads target hours and cycle length so you don't have to look them up.
The 20 pre-loaded regulators
| Regulator | Scope |
|---|---|
| CPA Ontario | Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario |
| CPA British Columbia | CPA BC |
| CPA Alberta | CPA AB |
| CPA Saskatchewan | CPA SK |
| CPA Manitoba | CPA MB |
| CPA New Brunswick | CPA NB |
| CPA Nova Scotia | CPA NS |
| CPA PEI | CPA PE |
| CPA Newfoundland & Labrador | CPA NL |
| CGA-Canada | Legacy CGA designation holders |
| LSO | Law Society of Ontario |
| LSBC | Law Society of British Columbia |
| PEO | Professional Engineers Ontario |
| EGBC | Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia |
| APEGA | Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta |
| OAA | Ontario Association of Architects |
| LSA | Law Society of Alberta |
| CIA Canada | Canadian Institute of Actuaries |
| PMAC | Purchasing Management Association of Canada |
| HRPA | Human Resources Professionals Association (Ontario) |
Each regulator ships with cycle length and CPD hour target. Firms whose regulator isn't on the list can add a custom credential with cycle metadata entered manually.
Adding a credential
Open the employee's profile and select the Credentials tab. Click + Add Credential.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Regulator | Pick from the registry, or select "Other" to define your own |
| Credential Number | The license / member number |
| Status | Active, Provisional, Suspended, or Retired |
| Issue Date | Date first granted |
| Expiry Date | Renewal date (drives expiry alerts) |
| Cycle Length | Auto-populated from the registry — editable |
| Cycle Hours Target | Auto-populated from the registry — editable |
| Cycle Start Date | When the current CPD cycle began for this credential |
Click Save. The credential appears on the employee's card and is factored into the Dashboard's Partner Health widget.
Logging a CPD activity
From the employee's Credentials tab, click + Log CPD Activity on any credential.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Date | Date of the activity |
| Description | What the activity was |
| Hours | Hours of CPD credit |
| Activity Type | Verifiable, Unverifiable, Ethics, or Other |
| Ethics Hours | Ethics-specific hours (many regulators require a minimum) |
| Notes | Optional — provider, certificate number, etc. |
| Attachment | Optional — certificate of completion, receipt, etc. |
The hours-in-cycle badge on the credential updates as soon as you save. When the employee crosses cycle target, the badge flips from amber to green.
Cycle tracking
The cycle-hours badge shows:
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Green | At or above target hours for the cycle |
| Amber | Below target, on-pace for cycle end |
| Red | Behind pace and at risk of missing cycle target |
Cycle math is straightforward: hours logged in the cycle vs. hours required. Regulators generally require balanced distribution (verifiable, ethics, etc.), and Hibiscus HR surfaces per-category subtotals on the credential card so you can see how the mix is tracking.
Expiring credentials on the Dashboard
Credentials with an expiry date within 60 days feed the Credentials Expiring column on the Dashboard Partner Health widget. Urgency bands:
- 14 days — red
- 30 days — amber
- 60 days — grey
Clicking any expiring credential opens the employee's Credentials tab directly.
The endpoint
The Dashboard widget consumes GET /api/credentials/expiring. The endpoint returns credentials expiring within 60 days across the firm, grouped by employee.
Admins also receive expiring credentials on the weekly Partner Health email digest — see Partner Draws.
Common regulator setups
CPA Ontario
- Cycle: 3 years, 120 hours required
- Ethics: minimum 4 hours per cycle
- Verifiable: minimum 60 hours per cycle
- Renewal fee: annual (see Professional Dues for firm-paid dues handling)
CPA British Columbia
- Cycle: 3 years, 120 hours required
- Ethics: minimum 4 hours per cycle
- Similar structure to CPA Ontario
LSO (Law Society of Ontario)
- Annual, 12 hours required
- Ethics/professionalism content: minimum 3 hours annually
PEO (Professional Engineers Ontario)
- Annual, points-based (PEO does not use hours directly)
Full regulator details ship with the registry — treat this section as orientation, not the source of truth.
What Credentials does NOT do
- Not a CPD content library. Hibiscus HR does not host or sell CPD content. It's a system of record.
- Not a regulator API. Hibiscus HR does not sync automatically with regulator systems (e.g. CPA Ontario's PERT). You enter cycle progress here; you enter it there. That will change if regulators publish APIs.
- Not a licensing verifier. The regulator is the source of truth for whether a credential is in good standing. Hibiscus HR tracks what you enter.
Cross-links
- Firm-paid professional body dues: Professional Dues
- Expiring credentials on the Dashboard: Dashboard
- Employees setup: Employees