Employee Documents

Employee Document is Smooth HR's per-employee file cabinet. Each record stores one file—passport scan, signed offer letter, certification, or policy acknowledgment—linked to an Employee, classified by Employee Document Type, and optionally tracked with issue/expiry dates, verification status, and confidentiality flags.

Documents enter the system through manual HR upload, onboarding portal uploads, or automatic sync when e-signed PDFs complete on Signature Request or Signature Envelope flows tied to Employee Onboarding.

Help URL: smoothhiring.com/help/hrms/documents-compliance/employee-documents

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Who this is for
3. Employee Document vs Employee Compliance
4. Desk paths
5. Step-by-step: configure document types
6. Step-by-step: add a document manually
7. Step-by-step: documents from onboarding
8. Step-by-step: verify and manage expiry
9. Key fields
10. Employee Document Type reference
11. Scheduled expiry notifications
12. Tips
13. Troubleshooting
14. Related guides

Overview

Smooth HR ships default Employee Document Type records during setup—Passport, Driver's License, I-9 Form, W-4 Form, Offer Letter, and more—so HR can start filing immediately.

Who this is for

Employee Document vs Employee Compliance

Use Employee Document when you need the actual file. Use Employee Compliance when you need structured status tracking and renewal scheduling. Many workflows use both—a compliance record with Verification Document attached.

Desk paths

Step-by-step: configure document types

Before filing documents, review Employee Document Type at /app/employee-document-type:

1. Add Employee Document Type (or edit defaults).
2. Document Type Name — unique label (for example "Work Authorization").
3. Category — Identification, Education, Employment, Legal, Medical, Financial, Compliance, Other.
4. Is Mandatory for Employment — flag for reporting (does not block hire automatically).
5. Has Expiry Date — enable when renewals apply (passport, license).
6. Description — guidance for HR uploaders.

Default types installed with Smooth HR include Passport, Driver's License, National ID Card, Work Authorization, Visa, I-9 Form, W-4 Form, Offer Letter, Employment Contract, NDA, Background Check, and education credentials.

Step-by-step: add a document manually

1. Go to /app/employee-document → Add Employee Document.
2. Employee (required) — select the worker.
3. Document Type (required) — pick from Employee Document Type list.
4. Document Name (required) — friendly label (for example "Passport - John Smith").
5. Document File (required) — attach PDF, JPG, or PNG.
6. Optional: Description, Issue Date, Expiry Date.
7. Optional: Notify Before Expiry — check for IDs expiring within 30 days (scheduler emails employee + HR Managers).
8. Optional: Is Confidential — sensitive document flag.
9. Save.

To verify after review:

1. Open the saved record.
2. Check Is Verified — Verified By and Verified On populate automatically with current user and timestamp.

Step-by-step: documents from onboarding

When a new hire uploads or e-signs through onboarding:

1. Employee Onboarding must have an Employee linked (or resolvable via Job Applicant).
2. On portal upload, API _sync_employee_document_from_onboarding_upload runs:
   • Ensures Employee Document Type exists (creates "Other" category if new name).
   • Updates existing Employee Document with same employee + document name, or
   • Inserts new Employee Document with attachment URL.
3. On e-sign completion, signed PDF URL syncs similarly from Signature Request/Envelope onboarding handlers.

HR can review synced files at /app/employee-document filtered by employee.

Step-by-step: verify and manage expiry

Verification pass (recommended after onboarding)

1. List Employee Documents for new hire's Employee.
2. Open each record; confirm Document File opens correctly.
3. Check Is Verified for HR-reviewed items.
4. Set Expiry Date on IDs if not copied from upload metadata.

Expiry monitoring

1. Enable Notify Before Expiry on expiring document types.
2. Daily scheduler check_expiring_documents finds records with expiry between today and +30 days.
3. Email sent to employee (company or personal email) and all HR Manager users.
4. Proactively renew and upload replacement file—or update expiry on renewed document.

Key fields

Employee Document Type reference

Configure Has Expiry on types where renewal matters. Is Mandatory for Employment helps HR audits but pair with Employee Compliance for workflow status.

Scheduled expiry notifications

Smooth HR registers check_expiring_documents in scheduler hooks. The job:

• Queries Employee Documents where Notify Before Expiry = 1 and Expiry Date is within the next 30 days.
• Sends email with employee name, document type, document name, expiry date, and days remaining.
• Recipients: employee email (company_email, else personal_email) plus HR Managers.

Ensure employee email fields are populated for employee-facing notifications.

Reporting and list views

Use list view filters on /app/employee-document to audit your workforce file cabinet:

Export from list view when preparing external audits or merger due diligence. Confidential records remain in desk—ESS read access does not expose Is Confidential files to other employees when permissions are configured correctly.

Tips

• One file per record. Upload separate records for front/back of ID if needed—use clear Document Names.
• Match onboarding document names to Employee Document Type names for cleaner auto-sync.
• Verify after onboarding before marking onboarding complete—catch blurry ID photos early.
• Use Is Confidential for medical and SSN-related uploads; restrict ESS visibility via permissions if needed.
• Set expiry on work authorization even when compliance record also tracks status—document expiry drives notifications.
• Do not delete types in active use—update documents to new type first.

Troubleshooting

Related guides

• Documents & Compliance Overview
• Employee Compliance
• Signature Templates
• Employee Onboarding
• Onboarding Portal
• Employee Records

Last updated: May 2026

Smooth LMS (training)