Blog
Product updates, notes, and announcements from the Actis Docs team.
Best Document Collection Software for Professional Firms in 2026
Looking for the best document collection software in 2026? Compare shared folders, practice management platforms, e-signature tools, and dedicated document collection solutions. Learn which features matter most and discover how professional firms can automate document requests, reminders, reviews, and exports to save time and reduce manual administration.
Read moreHow Actis Docs Works: A Full Walkthrough
Learn how Actis Docs automates document collection from start to finish. This step-by-step walkthrough covers creating contacts and templates, automated document requests, secure client uploads, document review, automated re-requests, and clean exports, helping accounting firms, legal practices, HR teams, and compliance professionals eliminate manual admin and save valuable time.
Read moreDocument Collection Checklists: Templates for Legal, Compliance, Accounting, and Vendor Onboarding
Most incomplete document submissions aren't the result of clients or vendors being difficult. They're the result of ambiguity — not knowing precisely what's needed, or assuming a document already sent covers a new period or requirement. A clear checklist removes that ambiguity. This post covers the most common document checklists across professional and business contexts — FICA/KYC, vendor onboarding, monthly bookkeeping, annual returns, legal due diligence, and HR onboarding — along with practical guidance on how to structure requests so submitters actually follow them the first time.
Read moreClient Upload Portals: Why Your Clients and Vendors Don't Need an Account
When firms first consider a document upload portal, the assumption is usually that submitters will need an account. It seems logical — a login means authentication, and authentication means security. The reality is the opposite. Requiring clients, vendors, or third parties to create an account is one of the biggest sources of friction in document collection — and it's entirely unnecessary. The firms seeing the highest submission rates aren't adding more security theatre. They're removing the steps that cause people to give up. This post explains why secure links are sufficient, what submitters actually experience, and why the no-account model gets documents in faster than any login-based portal can.
Read moreHow to Set Up a Recurring Document Request Workflow
If your firm collects the same documents from the same people on a regular basis, you shouldn't have to rebuild that process each time. Most firms still rely on a mix of emails, shared drives, and memory — and it works well enough at small volume. The problem is that it doesn't scale, and it places the entire operational burden on whoever is managing it that week. A recurring document request workflow changes that. You define what you need once, set the cadence, and the system handles the sending, reminders, and tracking from there. This guide walks through the four building blocks of a well-structured workflow, how to set it up step by step, and what to get right from the start so you're reviewing documents rather than chasing them.
Read moreWhat to Look for in a Document Collection Tool
If you've decided to stop managing document collection manually, the next question is which tool to use. The options in the market differ significantly in what they actually solve — and some features that sound useful don't move the needle at all. This post walks through what actually matters: the five parts of a document collection workflow that need to be solved, the features that address them, and what to test during a trial to make sure the tool works the way it needs to before you commit to it.
Read moreThe Hidden Cost of Manual Document Collection
Most firms have a rough sense that document collection takes time. What they rarely do is add it up. The emails, the follow-ups, the sorting, the renaming, the re-requests — none of it shows up as a line item on a timesheet. It happens in fragments, between other tasks, and because it's spread thin it never gets treated as the serious operational problem it actually is. This post puts a number on it — and looks at the costs that never appear on a timesheet but quietly affect your business anyway: deadline risk, error accumulation, client experience, and the ceiling manual processes put on how efficiently you can grow.
Read moreHow to Stop Chasing Clients for Documents (And Automate It Instead)
Stop spending hours on follow-ups. Here's how to automate document collection and reclaim your month-end.
Read moreWhat to Look for in a Client Document Collection Tool
Not all document collection tools solve the same problems. Here's what to look for before you choose one.
Read moreThe Hidden Cost of Manual Document Collection for Accountants
Most firms know document collection takes time. Few realize it can cost over R130,000 a year in lost productivity.
Read more
Ready to stop chasing documents?
Start your free trial with full access — 10 clients, 10 requests, 3 templates. No credit card required.
Setup in minutes · No client accounts · Cancel anytime