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Turn a paper document into a filed record

documents.scan-paper·version 1.0.0·draft2 to verify

Turn a paper document into a filed record

The paper document is scanned, readable, filed under the right type and retention term, linked in the register, and the original is kept or discarded by rule.

DaceOffice Managerruns itProfile ›
Whenon an event — paper-received — a letter, invoice, contract or certificate arrives on paper
Who actsthe agent acts after approval
Time5–10 min active per document; discard batch runs monthly
CountryLatvia
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When to use

A paper document has arrived and must become a company record. Not for a document that only exists as a file — filing an e-mail attachment is a documents-module action, not a scan. Not for a document waiting for a signature — that is documents.sign-with-eparaksts, and the signed result comes back here as paper or PDF. Not for deciding how long to keep things in general — that is documents.archive-retention; this playbook applies the term it already defines.

Before you start

  • The document type list with retention terms exists in the documents module settings. If it does not, stop
  • The scanner or phone-capture path is set up and produces PDF into the doc-scan inbox.
  • Decisions already made: nothing. Any document, any sender.

What a run requires3

  • Approval · S6 · owner if sensitivethe run stops until a named person records the decision
  • Approval · S8 · ownerthe run stops until a named person records the decision
  • Irreversible · S8an agent never closes it alone

Any step can wait until a date and reopens by itself; every closed step leaves evidence (a note, a link, a number).

The trail9 steps

  1. Captureagent

    Scan every page at ≥ 300 dpi, both sides where the reverse carries content (stamps, notes, signatures on the back).

    Done when a PDF for the document exists in the doc-scan inbox with all pages.

  2. Read it once, as a personagent

    Note what the document is, its date, the counterparty, and any amount, deadline or personal data on it.

    Done when the agent can state type, date and counterparty in one line.

  3. Check qualityagent

    Open the PDF and read the smallest text on the worst page. Run OCR where the module offers it.

    Done when every page is readable and searchable text exists (or OCR is recorded as failed with a re-scan).

    ⛔ A scan you would not want to read at an audit is not a scan — re-capture, do not file and hope.

  4. Classifyagent

    Assign the document type from the company list (invoice in, contract, authority letter, certificate, other).

    Done when the type is set and the retention term filled in from the list.

    ⛔ "Other" is allowed once — three documents of the same kind under "other" means the list needs a new type.

  5. File and nameagent

    File the PDF in the documents module under the type, named by the company convention (type, counterparty, date).

    Done when the document is findable by searching the counterparty or the date.

  6. Record the register rowagentneeds approval · owner if sensitive

    Approval · S6 · owner if sensitive — the run stops until a named person records the decision

    Create the register row: type, date, counterparty, retention term, link to the PDF, original location. If the document carries special-category personal data (health, biometric) or is an authority demand, the owner confirms the classification.

    Done when the row exists and links open the PDF.

  7. Handle deadlines and linksagent

    If the document carries a deadline (payment, response, renewal), create it with bc tasks add or bc goals add. If it belongs to a deal, employee or vehicle, link it there.

    Done when the deadline exists as a task with a date.

  8. Decide the originalownerneeds approval · ownerirreversible

    Approval · S8 · owner — the run stops until a named person records the decision

    Irreversible · S8 — an agent never closes it alone

    For each document the owner chooses: keep the paper (file it in the physical folder matching the register row) or discard it. Discard only when the law and the retention list allow destruction after scanning, and never same-day for anything from a state authority or anything signed.

    Done when each original is filed or in the discard batch with the owner's decision recorded.

  9. Reportagent

    Send the requester (or the owner in the weekly review) a one-line summary: what arrived, where it is filed, any deadline created.

    Done when the summary is sent.

Checks — how we know it worked

  • Read the PDF back: page count matches the paper, smallest text legible, search finds a distinctive word from the body.
  • The register row opens the PDF from the row link — not from a search.
  • Retention term on the row equals the term for that type in the settings list.
  • Every document with a deadline has a task with a date, not a mental note.

If it goes wrong

SymptomResponse
Scan illegible or a page missingRe-capture immediately; do not file a known-bad PDF. If the paper is already discarded, request a copy from the sender.
Wrong type, found laterRe-classify and fix the retention term; check whether anything was discarded in the meantime based on the wrong term.
Document from an authority with a short deadlineCreate the task before filing is finished; the deadline outranks the tidy register.
Original discarded too earlyRecord what was lost, when, and by whose decision; request a duplicate from the counterparty; this is a change-note item for the playbook.
OCR produces garbageFile without searchable text, note it in the register row, and rely on the manual naming convention for findability.

What each step leaves behind

  1. S1a PDF for the document exists in the doc-scan inbox with all pages.
  2. S2the agent can state type, date and counterparty in one line.
  3. S3every page is readable and searchable text exists (or OCR is recorded as failed with a re-scan).
  4. S4the type is set and the retention term filled in from the list.
  5. S5the document is findable by searching the counterparty or the date.
  6. S6the row exists and links open the PDF.
  7. S7the deadline exists as a task with a date.
  8. S8each original is filed or in the discard batch with the owner's decision recorded.
  9. S9the summary is sent.

Evidence to keep

The PDF (the record itself) · the register row id · the retention term applied and where it came from · the owner's classification or discard decision in S6/S8 (who, when) · the physical folder location for kept originals · the discard batch list per month with the owner's approval.

How this playbook improves

After every 20 documents ask: how long from paper-received to filed, and which step waited? How many documents sat under "other"? Did any scan fail the quality check after filing rather than before? Did any original get discarded against its term? A new version fixes the step that caused the wait or the error and says so in its change note; if the type list keeps producing "other", the fix belongs in the settings, not this playbook.