HR Files App Overview

HR Files

1. What it is

HR Files is your secure document vault for employee records, contracts, compliance documents, and any other file that belongs in an HR file cabinet. You upload files, assign them to employees, choose who can see them, and the app tracks every view, download, and change in an audit log.

• Enablement: Requires a license. An admin enables it from Admin → Apps → All Apps. It is not turned on automatically.
• What it is not: HR Files stores and governs documents. It does not create them — offer letters come from Recruiting, signed forms from E-Signature, submitted forms from Forms, and so on. Those apps can sync their output into HR Files automatically (see Document sync in §3), but the authoring happens there.

2. Standing it up

1. Enable the app — go to Admin → Apps → All Apps, find HR Files, and enable it.
2. Choose which file categories and types to offer — go to HR Files → Settings → File organization. By default four categories are enabled (Employee Records, Candidate Documents, Contracts, Policies) and all 13 file types are available. Disable any your organization does not use so they do not appear in upload forms.
3. Decide on the approval workflow — under Settings → Approvals, the Approval workflow for sensitive files switch is on by default. When it is on, files that are sensitive — flagged Sensitive, matching a type on the File types marked Sensitive list, or marked as a compliance document — enter a pending-approval queue. Until an approver signs off, only the uploader, admins, HR Files app admins, the approvers Settings names, the assigned employee, and anyone with an explicit access grant can see the file. Turn this off if your organization does not need a review gate.
4. Grant access — any user with the app enabled can upload and view files scoped to them. The Admin tab appears only for business admins and HR Files app admins. The Requests and Approvals tabs appear for them too, and for anyone Settings names under Who can request a document from an employee? and Who can approve or reject a file?. The Compliance and Audit Log tabs appear for managers and above, HR Files app admins, and anyone with direct reports.
5. Confirm it worked — upload a test file from HR Files → Files → Upload File. You should see it in the file list, and the dashboard tiles should update.

Silent dependency: If you enable the approval workflow but leave the default sensitive file types unchanged, every Background Check, ID Document, Tax Document, and Performance Review will sit in the Approvals queue until an approver acts. Approvers are notified of each new file (and, while Daily summary for approvers is on, sent a daily summary of what is still waiting), but make sure someone is watching the queue.

3. How it fits together

Audience — who can see a file

Every file has a single Who can see this file? setting (the audience). This is the most important concept in the app — it governs visibility everywhere: the file list, search, the mobile app, and the AI agent.

Audience	Who can see the file
Just HR & admins	Business admins, HR Files app admins, and the uploader — not the employee the file is about
HR + the employee	Plus the assigned employee
HR + employee + reporting chain	Plus everyone above the employee in their reporting chain
HR + specific roles	Plus active members whose business role matches the roles you pick (and the employee, if one is assigned)
All active employees	Every active member of the business

Business admins, HR Files app admins, and the uploader, while they’re still a member of your organization, always have access regardless of audience. Explicit access grants (added from the file’s Manage Access page) also override the audience. The upload form opens on Just HR & admins and switches to HR + the employee when you choose an employee, until you pick an audience yourself.

Restricted file types override the audience. File types on File types limited to HR & the employee (Medical, Garnishment, and Disciplinary by default) are always treated as HR + the employee — narrower if the uploader picked a wider audience, and still open to the employee if they picked Just HR & admins; with no employee assigned, Just HR & admins. This prevents a manager from seeing a direct report’s medical record through the reporting chain. Beyond HR, the uploader, the employee and — while the file awaits approval — its approvers, only an explicit access grant opens a restricted file, and the employee is told when one is given.

Approval workflow

When the approval workflow is enabled, sensitive files are Pending approval. While pending — and if rejected — the file’s audience beyond the assigned employee is suspended: reporting-chain managers, role matches, and all-employees access are blocked until an approver approves. The uploader, admins, HR Files app admins, the employee, and explicit grants keep access throughout; the approvers Settings names see it only while it waits for them.

A file is considered sensitive when any of these are true: it is flagged Sensitive, the file’s type is on the admin’s File types marked Sensitive list, or the file is marked as a compliance document. Two things send a file back to the approvers automatically: editing an approved sensitive file (any change, whether it already was sensitive or the edit made it so), and replacing the document of a rejected file.

The Sensitive flag

The uploader can tick Sensitive on any file; a type on File types marked Sensitive sets it automatically, and so does the AI review when it finds personal data. The flag holds the file for approval while the workflow is on, keeps an All active employees file out of the Former Employee Portal, asks for identity re-verification before a download or preview when Re-verify identity before a sensitive download is on, and keeps the file’s contents away from AI suggestions while Never send sensitive or restricted file types to AI is on. It does not narrow who can see the file once it is approved — the audience and the restricted file types do that.

Document sync

Other apps can push their completed documents into HR Files automatically. You configure which sources are active under HR Files → Admin → Sync Settings. Seven source apps are available: Recruiting, Onboarding Hub, Forms, E-Signature, People, Employee Profile Documents, and Policy Hub. Each source has its own trigger rules (e.g., Recruiting syncs when a candidate is hired; E-Signature syncs when signing is completed; Policy Hub files the signature receipt when an employee signs a policy). Synced files are auto-approved and do not enter the approval queue, and only admins and HR Files app admins can edit or delete them. Documents that arrive while sync is paused, or while the Sync enabled switch is off, are held in Sync History as “Sync is paused” and filed when sync runs again. A source you switch off collects nothing while it is off.

Retention policies

Each file can carry a named retention policy (1 Year, 3 Years, 5 Years, 7 Years, 10 Years, or Permanent). The retention clock starts from the file’s document date (or upload date if none is set). When the retention period lapses, a daily check asks admins to review the file — archive it, extend its retention, or delete it. If Archive files automatically when they pass their retention period is on, the check archives those files instead and tells admins, who can restore any of them. Nothing is ever deleted automatically. Files on hold — compliance documents, and files under a legal hold placed in Admin → Compliance on the file or its employee — are exempt from the retention review entirely.

E-Signature integration

Files marked Requires signature can be sent to their assigned employee for signing through the E-Signature app, with Send for signature on the file’s page. Only PDF files are eligible and the E-Signature app must be enabled for the business. An employee with no email address signs in the app — from their notifications or Sign now on the file — after confirming it’s them with a texted code, their PIN or their password; one with none of those can’t be sent it. When something is missing, a note in place of the button says which. A dedicated signature page is appended to the document, and the employee receives the request. When the employee finishes signing, the file is marked signed with the date and signer, and the signed PDF is added to it as its newest version. A signed copy that prints protected personal numbers, or is too large to copy, stays on its E-Signature request instead.

4. Running it

Uploading files

1. Go to HR Files → Files and click Upload File.
2. Choose a file, pick an Employee (optional — leave it blank for a file about no one employee, which the file list shows with a dash under Employee), a category and a File type, and set Who can see this file?.
3. The Who can see this? card beside the form is a live preview of exactly who will be able to see the file with the settings you picked.
4. Click Upload File. If the approval workflow is on and the file is sensitive, it enters the Approvals queue.

After upload, AI reads the document and suggests a file type, category, and expiry date. These appear as pending suggestions on the file page — you review and apply or dismiss them. AI also auto-flags files that contain PII or sensitive content (it only ever promotes the flag, never removes it).

Bulk upload: Admins and HR Files app admins can upload up to 50 files at once from Admin → Bulk Upload. All files in a batch share one category, file type, audience and Sensitive mark, and are filed for no employee — assign each file’s employee, and add any tags, from its Edit page.

Approving files

1. Go to HR Files → Approvals to see the pending queue, oldest first.
2. Open a file to review it, or tick several and use Approve Selected or Reject Selected.
3. Approving makes the file’s full audience take effect. Rejecting needs a reason, which the uploader is told. A rejected file leaves All files on the Files tab and is listed under Rejected & archived, with who rejected it and why. To correct a rejected file, replace its document from Edit — that sends it back to the approvers.

Business admins and HR Files app admins can approve or reject, and so can anyone Settings names under Who can approve or reject a file?. A named approver can’t approve or reject a file they uploaded, replaced with a new version, or that is about them — another approver has to. Admins can, so a one-admin company is never stuck.

Requesting documents from employees

1. Go to HR Files → Requests and click Request a document.
2. Choose an employee, a file type, and optionally a due date and note.
3. The employee is notified. When they (or anyone) uploads a new file of that type for that employee — on the web or on the phone — the request is automatically fulfilled and the requester is told. A bulk-uploaded file has no employee; it answers a request once you assign the employee on Edit.

A document that arrives through sync (for example a signed form from E-Signature) does not fulfil a request; once it is there, withdraw the request. One open request per employee per file type. You can send a reminder with Remind (at most once a day) or Withdraw the request — the employee is told they no longer need to upload, unless they have left; while Weekly reminders for open document requests is on, overdue requests — and requests with no due date that are a week old — are also reminded automatically once a week, until 90 days after the request was made.

Reviewing compliance

Go to HR Files → Compliance (managers and above, HR Files app admins, and anyone with direct reports). This page shows:

• Expiring Soon — files whose expiry date is within the next 30 days.
• Compliance Documents — files with the Compliance Document box ticked. A file filed under the Compliance category alone is not listed here.
• Document Coverage — a roster of every employee with their file count. Admins and HR Files app admins see every file on record; a manager’s counts include only the files that manager can see. When the minimum-documents rule is enabled, employees below the threshold or missing a required document type are flagged.

From the coverage roster, anyone who can open this page can download an employee’s files as one zip with Employee packet (N) — managers for the people on their roster, admins for anyone. The same button appears on the Files list when it is filtered to one employee. The packet holds only the files the person downloading it is allowed to download, and leaves out archived, rejected and expired files.

Reviewing the audit log

Go to HR Files → Audit Log (managers and above, HR Files app admins, and anyone with direct reports). Every file view, download, upload, edit, approval, access grant, and export is recorded with the user, timestamp, IP address, and file version at the time.

Each entry is one sentence saying who did what to which file, and whose file it is, under a heading for its day. Repeats by one person on one file within 30 minutes are combined while Combine repeats is ticked (it is by default). The quick filters above the list narrow it to one kind of activity, and More filters holds the exact action and a custom date range.

Admins and HR Files app admins see the full business-wide log; everyone else sees the entries for files they can view. The log shows the last 30 days unless you pick another range. Admins and HR Files app admins can export it as CSV, JSON, or PDF from the ⋮ menu. A file’s own log is reached from the file’s page.

5. Settings

All settings are under HR Files → Settings (in the Admin tab), in this order.

Section	Setting	Default	What it changes
AI	Enable AI Agent	On	Lets people find, review and act on HR files by asking Ask AI. Approve, reject, archive and restore — and, for the people who send document requests, asking an employee for a document, reminding them and withdrawing the request — run through the same permission checks as the buttons on the page and ask for confirmation first.
AI	AI metadata suggestions on upload	On	After each upload, AI suggests a file type, category, and expiry date for the uploader to apply — it never changes them itself. Whoever can edit a file sees its suggestion on the file’s page, and on the Files list: a banner counts the files waiting, AI suggestions lists them with Apply and Dismiss on each, and Review one by one walks through them. If it finds personal or sensitive information it marks the file Sensitive (it never unmarks one), which sends an approved file back for approval while the approval workflow is on.
AI	Never send sensitive or restricted file types to AI	On	Files of the types under File types limited to HR & the employee and File types marked Sensitive, and any file marked Sensitive, are never sent to the AI provider. Off lets AI read them too.
File organization	Categories people can file under	Employee Records, Candidate Documents, Contracts, Policies	Which categories are offered when a file is uploaded or edited. A file already in another category keeps it.
File organization	File types people can choose	All 13 types	Which file types are offered on upload, edit and document requests.
Approvals	Approval workflow for sensitive files	On	When on, sensitive files and files marked Compliance Document wait for an approver before the reporting chain, specific roles, or all active employees can see them. When off, new files are approved on upload; files already waiting stay hidden from their wider audience until someone approves or rejects them.
Approvals	Who can approve or reject a file?	App admins only	Admins and HR Files app admins can always approve; this decides who else can — on the Approvals queue and on a single file. Anyone named here can never decide a file they uploaded, replaced with a new version, or that is about them.
Approvals	Daily summary for approvers	On	Sends each approver one daily summary of the files still waiting for approval. The alert an approver gets when a file first arrives is sent either way.
Sensitive files	File types marked Sensitive	Background Check, ID Document, Tax Document, Performance Review	Ticking a type marks every file of that type Sensitive, including files already uploaded (Save tells you how many) — so a new file of that type needs approval while the approval workflow is on, and every file of it is kept off the Former Employee Portal and re-verified at download when that is on. Files already approved stay approved, and unticking a type does not remove the mark.
Sensitive files	File types limited to HR & the employee	Medical, Garnishment, Disciplinary	File types always treated as HR + the employee (or Just HR & admins with no employee assigned), regardless of the uploader’s choice.
Sensitive files	Re-verify identity before a sensitive download	Off	Requires users to re-verify their identity before downloading or previewing a file marked Sensitive, a file of a type marked Sensitive, or one of the types limited to HR & the employee. Verification lasts 15 minutes.
Reminders	Expiry reminders, and mark overdue files Expired	On	Reminds the uploader, and the employee when they can see the file, before it expires (admins and HR Files app admins when neither can be told; nobody for a file about someone who has left) — 30 and 7 days ahead by default; choose the days under Remind this many days ahead — and marks overdue files as expired. A rejected file gets no reminder and is not marked expired.
Reminders	Weekly reminders for open document requests	On	Reminds the employee once a week about an open request that is past its due date — or, with no due date, has been open a week — until 90 days after the request was made; the request itself stays open. Remind on the Requests page works either way.
Document coverage	Flag employees below a document minimum	Off	Surfaces employees with fewer than the minimum number of HR files — or missing a required document type — on the Compliance page.
Document coverage	Minimum documents	3	The threshold for the rule above: a whole number from 1 to 20. A value outside that is not saved; the previous one is kept and Save says why.
Document coverage	Required document types	None	Each employee must have at least one file of every checked type — a count alone can pass three resumes while the ID document is missing.
Offboarding & retention	Archive HR files when an employee is deactivated	Off	Archives the active files of someone who leaves, except files on a legal hold (every file marked Compliance Document is one). Archived files are kept and can be restored. Whether this is on or off, when someone leaves HR Files withdraws the document requests asked of them (each requester is told) and revokes the access grants they hold.
Offboarding & retention	Notify admins when files pass their retention period	On	A daily check asks admins to review files past their retention date. Files on a legal hold, including every file marked Compliance Document, are exempt.
Offboarding & retention	Archive files automatically when they pass their retention period	Off	Moves retention-expired files to Archived and notifies admins to confirm or restore. Legal-hold files are never touched.
Offboarding & retention	Retention policy durations	1 Year, 3 Years, 5 Years, 7 Years, 10 Years	How long each named policy keeps a file, counted from its document date (or its upload date when it has none). A change reaches files added afterwards and files whose policy or document date is changed; every other file keeps the retention date it has. Permanent never expires.
Who can do what	Who can grant a person access to a file?	App admins only	Admins and HR Files app admins can always grant; this decides who else can. A grant overrides the file’s audience for one named person, including on restricted file types.
Who can do what	Who can request a document from an employee?	App admins only	Admins and HR Files app admins can always request; this decides who else can. Anyone named here can ask any employee for a document and sees every request, open or closed.

Reset to Defaults at the bottom returns every setting to the defaults above, including the three Who can… rules.

Two platform protections are always on and cannot be switched off: encrypted storage (files are encrypted at rest by the cloud storage provider) and the audit trail — every file view, download, upload, edit, approval and access change is recorded, on desktop, phone and in Ask AI. Browsing and searching the file list are not recorded.

6. More help

• HR Files FAQ — specific setup and operating questions.
• Ask AI — the assistant answers questions about HR Files from these articles.