2011-06-16> This document is identifies an idea Cyrious is developing for document management (DM). The attached document has gone through several rounds of internal and external reviews and idea generation. Because of the potential impact DM can have, Cyrious is opening this for a public comment before development starts. Please post your input and comments on the discussion thread here .

2011-06-16> 1) Download the full specification document (version 0.95) as a PDF here. (Note: The yellow highlighted areas show changes from the last revision. They do not signify anything more important than any other part.)

2011-06-16> 2) Download a sample application as a zip file here. You will need to unzip it and run the application inside the top folder. Not all features are implemented, but this will give you an idea of the User Interface we are anticipating at this time.

Some of the common questions Cyrious receives from new Control users are:

  • “Is there a way to attach a file to an order?”
  • “How can I organize my artwork
  • “Is there a good place to put the proof of company tax exemption?”
  • “How can I save email so that I can find it for an order?”

All of these are questions about documents (files) that have some relationship to orders or customers. Document Management refers to the system that each company has (implicitly or explicitly) to manage all of the documents associated with their business.

Every business has to manage the documents associated with its business processes. For most of our users, Control is the primary organizational tool for keeping track of customers, orders, estimates, and often purchase orders and bills.

Because it is already integrated into the company processes, Control provides a natural place to coordinate the documents associated with any particular order, estimate, company, etc. By providing a new “Documents” tab on each of these records (and others), and then managing the underlying folder structure, Control provide a simple framework that works for most businesses.

Sample documents that might be managed through Control:

  • Artwork
  • Photos
  • Scanned Documents (like signed invoices, etc.)
  • Tax Documents
  • Word and Excel Documents
  • Emails
  • Checklists
  • Purchase Order confirmations
  • Bills
  • Anything else you can think of!

Finally, you should understand that though Control will manage the documents, they are still stored as separate files in Windows on a common file-server. This will usually be the SSLIP computer, but does not necessarily need to be. Backing up the documents is also a separate activity that is not handled by Control, so please be sure to read the section on backup carefully.

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