How do you automate document filing?
Efficiency question :
Creating and sending documents are tasks that can be automated very effectively. Document filing can also be automated to reduce manual handling and make documents easier to locate.
One approach is to create a Copilot agent that analyzes documents according to predefined criteria, such as their source, subject or attachment type. Based on the established rules, the agent can determine the action to take. Power Automate can then carry out the actual filing of the document in the appropriate location.
Key considerations:
Before automating document filing, sufficiently precise rules must be established to determine where each document should be stored. The source, document type, content, subject or specific information it contains can all serve as filing criteria.
The folder structure and access rights must also be considered so that documents are available to the right people while confidential information remains protected.
Challenges:
Some emails, communications or documents will not match the established rules perfectly. An exception rule should therefore identify these situations and route them for specific handling rather than risk automatically filing a document in the wrong location.
Automation must define not only what happens when criteria are met, but also what should happen when a document cannot be classified with sufficient certainty.
Technology:
Power Automate and Copilot agents are particularly well suited to this type of automation. A Copilot agent can help analyze and interpret information, while Power Automate can perform the actions required to move, save or file documents in the intended locations.
Depending on the process, these technologies can also be combined with Outlook, SharePoint and OneDrive.
Developer's advice:
When a report or document is generated from Excel using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), it is also possible to automate saving it to a specific folder. Depending on the file type, different protection measures can be applied to help preserve the confidentiality of the information.
Before automating document filing, however, we recommend mapping the various locations where data and documents will be stored. Define secure access rules and favour locations covered by appropriate backup and recovery mechanisms.