Document Assets vs attachments
UniAsset holds documents in two places. Picking the right one takes one question.
The question
What are you actually tracking — the document, or the thing it describes?
- Tracking the document → Document Asset
- Tracking the thing → attachment on that asset
Side by side
| Document Asset | Attachment | |
|---|---|---|
| The record is about | The document itself | The asset the file belongs to |
| Found at | Dashboard → Documents | On the asset, and at Dashboard → Files |
| Has its own expiry monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Has a type | Passport, License, Insurance, Certificate, Other | Licence, insurance, warranty, compliance, invoice, manual, certificate, other |
| Carries | Identifier, issuer, issued date, expiry date, owner | Title, description, type, expiry date, the file |
| Counts toward storage | The record itself does not hold a file | Yes |
Worked examples
A forklift operator's licence. The licence is what expires and what an inspector asks about. It is not about any one forklift. → Document Asset
A forklift's purchase invoice. It is evidence about that forklift. → Attachment on the forklift.
A van's registration. If you are tracking the van, the registration document is an attachment. If your business is managing registrations across a fleet and the registration itself is the thing with a renewal date you chase → Document Asset.
An HVAC unit's service manual. It is about the unit. → Attachment.
A building's fire safety certificate. It expires, it is inspected, and it is not about one piece of equipment. → Document Asset.
Tip If the answer to "when does this expire and who is chasing it?" is more interesting than "which asset is this about?", it is a document asset.
Both are monitored for expiry
Whichever you choose, UniAsset warns you ahead of the expiry date and again once it has passed. You do not lose expiry tracking by picking one over the other.
What changes is where the record lives and what it is filed against.
Common mistakes
Attaching compliance certificates to whichever asset seems closest. A certificate that covers the whole site does not belong on one pump. Make it a document asset.
Creating a document asset for every invoice. Invoices are evidence about an asset. Attach them.
Storing the same document in both places. Pick one. Two copies means two expiry dates that will eventually disagree.
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