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Solution

Document Management Systems

Systems that store, version, index and retrieve your documents, with permissions that hold and retrieval that finds the right clause rather than the right file name.

Discuss Your Project
Sunlit workspace with a meeting table and glass partitions

Overview

What the system does

A document management system is the difference between having a contract and being able to find the clause in it. It handles storage, versioning, metadata, permissions, retention and search.

Most businesses run on a shared drive with a folder convention that three people follow. It works until someone needs the current version of a document under time pressure.

A built system adds the parts a drive cannot: enforced metadata, version history with a clear current version, access by role, retention rules, and search that reads inside documents.

Who needs this

Teams handling contracts, project files, policies or case material across email attachments and shared folders.

What we build

Build an ingestion pipeline with file validation, OCR where needed, versioned metadata and review queues. Search should return the correct revision and permission scope. Classification confidence is a reason to review a document, not permission to publish it.

Modules

Core modules

01

Ingestion

Upload, email intake, scanner drop and API submission, with virus scanning, file type validation and size limits applied before anything is stored.

02

Metadata and classification

Required fields per document type, with automatic extraction of dates, parties, amounts and reference numbers, validated against a schema before the record is saved.

03

Versioning

Immutable versions with one unambiguous current version, a comparison view, and a record of who superseded what and when.

04

Permissions

Access by role, team and record relationship, applied to both the document and its metadata, with a separate rule for who may download versus view.

05

Full text and semantic search

Text extracted from PDFs and images with optical character recognition, indexed for keyword search, and embedded for retrieval that finds a passage by meaning.

06

Retention and legal hold

Retention schedules per document type with automatic disposal, and holds that suspend disposal for a defined set.

07

Audit trail

Every view, download, edit, share and deletion recorded with the actor and the time.

08

Sharing

Time limited links with optional passwords and download controls, so material leaves the system on terms you set.

Architecture

How it fits together

A typical implementation flow, with explicit responsibilities at each boundary.

Integrations
  • Object storage for the files themselves
  • Optical character recognition for scanned material
  • Language models for extraction and retrieval
  • Email systems for intake and notification
  • Signature platforms
  • The operational system that owns the related records
  1. 01

    Ingest

    Validate file type and size, scan uploads and extract text without executing file contents.

  2. 02

    Organize

    Attach document type, owner, matter or project, revision and retention status.

  3. 03

    Retrieve

    Combine structured filters and semantic search with server-enforced document access and source citations.

AI retrieval and document integration

Security and controls

Design for the exceptions, not just the happy path.

Use expiring download URLs, audit access and separate legal holds from ordinary deletion. Treat uploaded text as untrusted input to AI tools. Preserve original files and extraction provenance.

Technology options

We select the final stack after reviewing your existing systems and operating requirements.

Security and IP practices

Fit

Industries that use this

Services involved
Case studies

FAQ

Questions people actually ask

Can it search inside scanned documents?

Yes. Scanned pages go through optical character recognition, and the extracted text is indexed for keyword search and embedded for retrieval by meaning.

How does semantic search differ from keyword search?

Keyword search finds the words you typed. Semantic search finds passages that mean the same thing, which matters when the document says termination and you searched for cancellation. We index both and combine the results.

Can we enforce retention rules?

Yes. Retention is set per document type, disposal runs automatically at the end of the period, and legal holds suspend disposal for a defined set until released.

Where are the files stored?

In object storage inside an account you own. The application holds metadata and the index, and the file itself never lives in the database.

Can we share a document externally without giving access to the system?

Yes, through time limited links with optional passwords and download restrictions. Every access through a link is logged.

Does it replace our shared drive?

For documents that need control, yes. Working files often stay where they are. We scope which document types move in and which stay out.

Let’s talk about the system you need.

Tell us where the current process breaks down. We can map the workflow, examine the integration requirements and define a practical scope for the build.

Discuss Your Projectsupport@sawhorsesoftware.tech
  • A mutual NDA is signed before project details are shared.
  • Scope is fixed in writing before any build starts.
  • You own the source code, the IP and the documentation at delivery.
  • Support plans are available and tailored on a discovery or technical call.