September restart: the administrative checklist for a training organisation

Every September restart is, for a training organisation, a moment of administrative reset as much as a commercial one: the catalogue gets refreshed, the terms of sale are dusted off, pricing is recalibrated for the year ahead. This year, that ritual coincides with a precise deadline — the 33-indicator Qualiopi framework takes effect on 1 November 2026. Between the restart and that date, there are roughly eight weeks left to tackle both projects together rather than face them separately. Here is the checklist that covers both.

Why handle the restart and the new framework together

Decree n° 2026-728 of 1 August 2026 was published in the Official Journal on 4 August, taking effect on 1 November. In practice, any surveillance or renewal audit scheduled from that date onward will be assessed against the new text. The September restart, a period when catalogues and commercial documents get revised anyway, is the most natural window to fold in these new requirements without piling up separate projects across the year.

1. Catalogue and training programmes

Every training programme should display updated learning objectives, session dates consistent with the year that is starting, and assessment methods that match what will actually be delivered. It is also the right moment to check that your training catalogue reflects the actions actually scheduled for the restart — a gap between the published catalogue and the real offering is a classic finding auditors raise under indicator 1.

2. Terms of sale, quotes and the standard agreement

Terms of sale should be reviewed at least once a year, and the restart is a natural trigger. Check that your terms of sale include up-to-date cancellation, rescheduling and complaint-handling clauses, that your quote template carries every mandatory mention, and that your training agreement still complies with the latest applicable rules.

3. CPF pricing: two caps not to forget

Two 2026 regulatory changes must appear in your pricing communication before any new enrolment campaign:

• the flat-rate contribution, raised to €150 since 2 April 2026, which must be clearly shown in the price displayed to the trainee;
• the €1,500 cap on CPF funding for Répertoire Spécifique certifications, in force since 26 February 2026, to be reflected in your EDOF listings if your catalogue relies on them.

An EDOF listing or a quote still showing an outdated amount exposes you as much to a trainee complaint as to a finding under indicator 1 during an audit.

4. Mandatory public notices and public information

Legal notices, internal rules, pricing and access arrangements displayed on your website or on your premises should be reviewed: mandatory notices are among the first things checked during an audit, and an outdated mention — an old price, an old address, an old Datadock number still visible — is an avoidable finding.

5. The countdown to 1 November 2026

This is the project specific to this 2026 restart. The new framework primarily strengthens indicator 12: every category of action — continuing education, apprenticeship, VAE, skills assessments — must now have a documented procedure for handling reports of violence, harassment or discrimination, with an identifiable process and a named point of contact. A simple mention in the internal rules is no longer enough. Our guide to drafting this procedure walks through the steps.

If you are a CFA or an organisation delivering apprenticeship training, add the new indicator 33 to this list, which requires a system for apprentices to evaluate their own training, distinct from the general feedback collection.

6. Regulatory watch and evidence log

Indicator 23 requires a documented, traceable legal and regulatory watch. The restart is the moment to check that your watch log actually mentions the 1 August 2026 decree and its effective date — a log that stops before this news is, in itself, a sign that the watch has not been kept up over recent weeks.

7. HR and insurance

Check that the single staff register reflects trainers who joined or left over the summer, that contracts for instructors up for renewal are signed before sessions resume, and that your professional liability insurance actually covers the activity volume planned for the new year.

8. Annual accounting report and calendar

Use the restart to pull up your calendar of administrative obligations and pencil in the year’s deadlines now — filing next spring’s annual accounting report, surveillance or renewal audit dates where relevant, insurance renewal. A calendar set in September avoids last-minute scrambles at year end.

What research says about checklists and deadlines

The value of a structured checklist for reducing oversights is not just manager’s intuition: a review by Hales and Pronovost, published in 2006 in the Journal of Critical Care, shows that checklists improve the reliability of complex processes by reducing the mental load of tracking multiple steps — a mechanism that transfers readily to the administrative management of a training organisation. On the timing itself, the now-classic study by Ariely and Wertenbroch, published in 2002 in Psychological Science, shows that voluntarily set intermediate deadlines — tackling the checklist in September rather than waiting for the 1 November deadline — significantly improve actual task completion rates compared with a single distant deadline.

Quick restart checklist

• Catalogue and training programmes up to date, session dates consistent with the new year
• Terms of sale, quotes and standard agreement reviewed and compliant with the latest rules
• CPF flat-rate contribution (€150) and RS cap (€1,500) reflected in displayed pricing
• Mandatory public notices (legal notices, internal rules, pricing) reviewed
• Harassment/violence reporting procedure drafted for the strengthened indicator 12
• Apprentice evaluation system in place if you are a CFA (indicator 33)
• Regulatory watch log mentions the 1 August 2026 decree
• Single staff register and trainer contracts up to date
• Professional liability insurance checked against upcoming activity volume
• Annual deadline calendar (accounting report, audits) set

Take action

This restart checklist overlaps heavily with the points checked during a Qualiopi audit. The Kit Certif Complet (€297, 14-day guarantee) brings together the evidence tables for the 32 current indicators and up-to-date templates for the 2026 changes, turning this restart review into audit preparation. If you are just starting out, the ebook Create your training organisation in 30 days (€67) lays the administrative groundwork from day one, and the Complete Pack (€347) brings both resources together.