Document Management

The DMS is the central storage for all business documents - invoices, contracts, receipts, and more - with the technical building blocks for GoBD retention: locking, retention periods, checksums, and an access log. GoBD refers to the German principles for retaining tax-relevant records; full GoBD compliance is additionally a procedure at the operator, one that goes beyond the software. Here you upload documents, track simple signature requests, configure retention periods, and keep an eye on your archive's metrics.

What can I do here?

• Upload, search, download, archive, lock, or delete documents
• Tag documents with a type, category, tags, and a linked entity (e.g. order, invoice, supplier, customer)
• Track simple signature requests on a document
• Define retention policies per document type and apply them with one click
• Review retention metrics: integrity verification, access log, expired retention periods

Step by step

Upload a document

1. Click Upload Document, give it a title, and choose the document type.
2. Optionally add a description, a category, and comma-separated tags.
3. Optionally link the document to an entity (order, invoice, supplier, customer, shipment).
4. Set the number of retention years and decide whether the document should be made immutable after upload (GoBD-compliant, no longer editable afterward).
5. Select the file by clicking or dragging, then click Upload.

Lock or archive a document

1. Open a document from the list.
2. Use Lock (GoBD) to make it immutable, or Archive to move it out of the active view.

Set up retention policies

1. Switch to the Retention Policies tab and click New Policy.
2. Choose the document type, the number of retention years, and whether it should be auto-archived or auto-deleted.
3. Save the policy, then click Apply Policies to apply it to existing documents.

Check compliance

1. Switch to the GoBD Compliance tab to review metrics like total documents, locked/active documents, expired retention, and documents without a checksum.
2. Click Verify Integrity to verify the checksums of all locked documents.
3. In the Access Log, see who performed which action on which document, and when.

Fields explained

Values & Status

Document type

Note: The filter list in the admin area may differ slightly from this (e.g. different labels for individual types); the list above is authoritative for stored documents.

Document status

Note: "Locked" is not a document status in its own right — it's a separate flag (immutable/GoBD lock) set in addition to the status; a locked document, for example, can still be in status "Active." The filter options in the admin area may differ slightly here.

Signature status (DMS signatures)

Signing asks first. In the signature overview the sign tick sits right next to the decline cross. Because a signature is legally binding, a confirmation appears before it is carried out, naming the document and the signer. Confirm only once both are right: signing records the IP address, user agent and consent text, moves the entry to "Signed" - and a second attempt is refused. Nobody can take it back, not even the platform operator.

Signature method

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between the DMS and SCS Sign?
The DMS is the general document archive, including simple signature tracking with eIDAS methods (simple/advanced/qualified; eIDAS is the EU regulation for electronic signatures). SCS Sign is the dedicated module for complete, multi-step electronic signature processes with multiple recipients, form fields, and reminders.

Can I edit a locked document afterward?
No, a GoBD-locked document is intentionally immutable, to meet legal retention requirements.

What happens when a document's retention period expires?
Depending on the configured policy, it's automatically archived or deleted once you run "Apply Policies".

What's the integrity check for?
It compares the checksum stored on the document at upload against the checksum of its latest version. It does not re-hash the file in object storage.

Related topics

• Envelopes (SCS Sign)
• Tasks