How document processing works
Understand classification, extraction, validation, and filing.
1. Collect
Files can arrive through uploads, email, or monitored folders, depending on the firm’s setup. Ziffa needs to associate them with the correct Entity and Service.
Clients do not need a Ziffa account for normal document collection. They use the request or sharing method your firm provides.
2. Classify
Classification identifies the type of file, such as an invoice or identity document. A wrong or uncertain type may need a person to review it.
The document type determines which details Ziffa expects to extract. Changing the type can therefore change the fields shown.
3. Extract
Extraction reads information from the file into fields. For example, an invoice may provide a date, recipient name, and amounts.
Compare important values with the original. Extracted data can need correction, especially when a scan is unclear or the document is unusual.
4. Validate
Validation checks the file against the rules configured for its type and requirements. A file may need review, correction, or replacement.
Validation is not the firm’s KYC, AML, or client-acceptance decision. Your firm remains responsible for those decisions.
A Service can send emails for Unknown Document or Invalid Document problems. The configured recipient may be the main Contact, eligible colleagues for the Entity, or both. See Understanding document emails for when they send and what happens to the file.
5. File
Once ready, the document is renamed and organised according to the firm’s filing settings in its connected storage.
The storage connection and folder rules must be correct. A classified document can still have a filing problem; check the processing status rather than assuming classification means the whole process has finished.
Where to look
- Processing files: in-progress files and recently finished processing.
- Documents: the searchable document list and file details.
- Dashboard review queue: files needing human attention.
- A Job’s Documents section: files relevant to that work and its requirements.
Read Request missing documents, Connected storage, and Document Filing settings.
Where the files go
The provider root holds a folder for each Entity. Its managed areas separate:
| Area | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Contract of Service | Engagement documents. |
| Pending Review | Documents needing a human decision. |
| Document Folder Root | Organised records in the configured category folders. |
| Folder Archive | Originals retained when archiving is enabled. |
| Shared and Service subfolders | The client-facing intake area, where eligible. |
Base and organised folders can exist for a Prospect. Shared folders are eligible at Pending Review or Active and depend on each Service’s shared-folder setting. Creation runs in the background and requires a working storage connection.
Shared-folder intake and manual upload use the same processing flow. An original is archived or removed according to the archiving setting when it is taken for processing, rather than only after filing finishes. The organised copy has its own destination. A file disappearing from Shared is therefore not, on its own, proof that processing completed.
Turning off automatic sharing in Automations leaves folder creation enabled. A Service’s Do not share option skips that Service’s shared folder. Neither setting is a replacement for checking the provider’s access permissions.
Start with Collect client documents, then Upload documents, Review processed documents, or Resolve documents needing attention.