Keeping building documents in order: spreadsheet or software?
Short answer
Yes, a spreadsheet register plus one shared folder is a fair way to keep building documents, and for one building with one person looking after the papers it is enough. It stops working when the files live in several places, when residents keep asking for the same documents, or when nobody can say which version is current.
Minutes, inspection reports, acts of completed works, project drawings, contracts: a building collects paper, and the paper ends up in a drawer, a shared drive and a few inboxes. A register in a sheet says what exists and where it is.
The task: find the right document when a resident, a board member or an inspector asks for it, and let the right people see it.
A document register you can copy
Use one row per document. The register points to the file; it does not hold it. Keep the file in one folder per building and put its name in the last column.
| Building | Document | Category | Date | Valid until | Visible to residents | Kept by | File name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building A | Minutes of the annual owners’ meeting | Meeting minutes | 2026-04-18 | Yes | Board secretary | a-minutes-2026-04.pdf | |
| Building A | Lift inspection report | Inspection act | 2026-05-12 | 2027-05-12 | No | Manager | a-lift-2026-05.pdf |
| Building A | Completed works act for the roof | Works act | 2026-09-30 | Yes | Manager | a-roof-act-2026-09.pdf |
Paste into cell A1 of a new sheet (tab-separated):
Building Document Category Date Valid until Visible to residents Kept by File name Building A Minutes of the annual owners’ meeting Meeting minutes 2026-04-18 Yes Board secretary a-minutes-2026-04.pdf Building A Lift inspection report Inspection act 2026-05-12 2027-05-12 No Manager a-lift-2026-05.pdf Building A Completed works act for the roof Works act 2026-09-30 Yes Manager a-roof-act-2026-09.pdf
Add a Version column if a document is replaced, and fill Valid until for anything that expires, such as certificates and insurance. Sort by Valid until once a month. The Visible to residents column only records your decision; the sheet cannot enforce it.
Signs you have outgrown the sheet
A register tells you a document exists. It does not put it in front of the person who needs it.
- 1
The files live in several places
A shared drive, a few inboxes and a drawer each hold part of the set, and the register is only as good as the last time someone updated it.
- 2
Residents ask for the same documents again and again
Each request is a search and an email. With no place where residents can open the document themselves, the same file is sent many times.
- 3
You cannot tell which version is current
A replaced act and the old one sit side by side, and the file name is the only clue.
- 4
A new manager or board takes over
The register is in one person’s head and one person’s drive. Handing it over means copying folders and explaining names.
- 5
Some documents are for residents, some are not
A shared drive is open to everyone or closed to everyone. Deciding per document who may see it is a column nobody enforces.
- 6
Documents belong to a building, not to a folder
With several buildings you need to find a document by building and by category, and a folder tree turns that into a search by name.
The same task in Unitify
Start on the Free plan ($0 / apartment / month). A plan, not a trial. No card, no expiry. The pricing page lists which plan includes documents.
- 1
Attach documents to a building
Upload a file to a building and give it a name, an optional description and a category, such as inspection acts, defect acts, completed works acts, minutes of owners’ meetings, project documentation, technical documentation or work plans.
- 2
Decide who sees it
Tick one box to show a document to residents in the resident app. Leave it unticked and the document stays with staff.
- 3
Find it again
The building’s documents list shows each document with its category and its upload date.
- 4
Control who manages documents
Staff need the permission to read documents and, separately, to manage them. You give it through roles.
The pricing page lists which plan includes documents: Free is $0 / apartment / month, Base is $1 and Pro is $3. Prices follow the live pricing page, which shows euro excluding VAT in Europe.
What Unitify does not do here
- Unitify stores documents. It does not draft them, check them or make them legally valid.
- It is not a certified statutory building record, and it does not replace an official register or the inspections your law requires.
- It does not warn you when a document or certificate expires. There is no valid-until field; put the date in the description or keep it in your sheet.
- The resident setting is a single tick per document, and the rule behind it is by organization. A ticked document can be read by the residents of your organization, not only of the building it is attached to, so keep building-specific papers unticked.
- Residents need the app to open a document.
- A deleted document cannot be restored, because its file is removed with it.
Building documents: questions
Can I keep a register of building documents in Excel or Google Sheets?
Yes. One row per document with its building, category, date, expiry, who keeps it and the file name, plus one folder per building, is enough for a single building with one person looking after the papers.
What should a building document register contain?
The building, the document, its category, the date, a valid-until date for anything that expires, whether residents may see it, who keeps it and the file name.
Can residents open documents in the app?
Yes, the ones you tick. The tick is per document, and residents of your organization can read a ticked document.
Does Unitify remind me when a certificate expires?
No. There is no valid-until field and no reminder; keep expiry dates in the description or in your own sheet.
Does Unitify replace an official building record?
No. It stores your files and does not make them a statutory record. What you must keep and for how long comes from your law.
Keep reading
Try it on one building
Sign up for the free plan, add one building and move one task over. Or book a demo if you want to see it on your own building first.