A vault folder per client: versions and restores
How a firm organises client documents in Achekam's vault, with versions, tags and restores, shares them by link and chooses the storage behind them.
By Achekam · · 5 min read · For Accountants & audit firms in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
Ask around a practice where last year's signed management representation letter for a client is kept, and you may get a different answer from each person: the shared drive, the partner's e-mail, the audit file, a folder called "Scans", or "the client has it". Each is partly right, and none is reliable when an inspector or a successor firm asks for it.
A firm's documents are only useful if everyone files them the same way and can find them again. This article explains how Achekam's document vault is organised around clients, how versions and restores work, how documents are shared without giving anyone an account, and how a firm can choose the storage that sits behind it all.
One folder per client, and per lead
The Document Centre is a vault with a folder for each client and each lead. Staff upload files and whole folders into it, keep versions, tag, archive and restore with a reason, and search across it.
Several things arrive in the right folder without anyone filing them:
- What a client uploads in response to a request is filed in that client's folder.
- Files sent for financial intake are filed as originals in the client's "Uploads for processing" folder.
- When everyone has signed an e-signature envelope, the signed PDF and its completion certificate are filed in the client's "Signed documents" folder.
Inside each client's folder, agree a simple structure and stick to it. One that works for many practices: a permanent folder for constitutional documents, registrations and long-term agreements, then one folder per financial year, each split into correspondence, source documents and deliverables. Lead folders hold proposals and pre-engagement material, which is why it is useful that leads have folders too. For South African companies, CIPC's company records page lists the records the Companies Act requires every company to keep, such as its MOI, share register and director details, and how long to keep them.
Versions, tags, archive and restore
When a newer copy of a document is uploaded, the vault keeps versions, so the earlier copy is not lost. That matters for anything that changes over a relationship: a shareholders' register, a lease schedule, a set of draft statements sent to the client for comment.
Tags cut across folders. A tag such as "going concern" or "related parties" lets a manager pull together every relevant document for one client without moving anything.
Documents can be archived, and restoring one needs a reason. That arrangement protects the firm: a document that turns out to be needed after it was archived can be brought back, with a record of who did it and why.
Several menu entries, one console
A point that confuses new staff: the Documents menu entries "Evidence Vault", "Shared Documents", "Engagement Files", "Client Folders" and "Document Templates" all open the same document console. They are not separate stores with separate contents.
Tell staff this on their first day. Otherwise someone will look for a file in "Engagement Files", fail to find it because they did not search, and upload a second copy.
Sharing a document by link
Staff can share a vault document with a named person by an e-mailed link. The link can block downloading, can require a code and can be revoked, and every view and download is recorded. Shared links last 7 days by default, and the recipient needs no account.
Use the controls deliberately. A draft for comment can be view-only, so it is not saved and circulated as if final. A document with personal information can require a code. A link sent to the wrong person can be revoked. And the record of views answers the familiar question "did the client actually open it?" The full set of links a client may receive is described in do clients need a login?.
What happens to each file on the way in
Every stored file gets a SHA-256 fingerprint, a value calculated from its content that changes if the file changes. Executable files are refused by default. Every upload passes a malware check, which uses ClamAV only when the server is configured for it; otherwise a built-in heuristic check runs. Uploads that come through client requests carry a record of which check was applied.
Choosing the storage behind the vault
A firm administrator can point the workspace's file storage at the firm's own storage: an S3-compatible bucket, SharePoint, OneDrive or a Google Shared Drive. Existing files can be copied across. This is under Settings, Cloud Storage.
Firms choose this for their own reasons: an existing document management policy, a preference for keeping files in an account the firm already administers, or a client contract that requires it. If you take this route, the firm becomes responsible for that storage account: who administers it, who can reach it outside Achekam, how it is backed up and how long files are kept. Settle those questions in writing before copying anything.
| Task | Where it happens |
|---|---|
| Filing a client upload from a request | Automatically, in the client's folder |
| Filing a signed envelope | Automatically, in "Signed documents" |
| Keeping an earlier copy | Versions, when a newer one is uploaded |
| Removing a document | Archive, with restore needing a reason |
| Giving an outsider a copy | Share by link, with optional code and download block |
| Changing where files are kept | Settings, Cloud Storage, by an administrator |
A filing checklist for the firm
- Agree one folder structure inside every client folder and document it.
- Agree a short list of tags and their meanings.
- Tell staff that the five Documents menu entries open the same console.
- Share by link rather than by e-mail attachment, and use the download block for drafts.
- Archive rather than delete, and give a real reason when restoring.
Once documents are in the vault, a common next step is sending one for signature, covered in sending letters for e-signature and filing them.
A first step
Choose one client and reorganise its vault folder into the structure your firm agrees, with tags applied. Use it as the model for staff, and apply the same structure to every new client from today rather than trying to tidy every old folder at once.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
