Documents and AI
Documents that arrive by messaging
The delivery note someone sends you on WhatsApp exists, and you must decide what to do with it.
Like it or not, a lot of real documentation now arrives by messaging: the photographed delivery note, the PDF certificate, the photo of damage. Banning it does not work — people will keep doing it — and accepting it as is leaves company documentation on someone's personal phone.
The three problems with leaving it there
| Problem | Consequence |
|---|---|
| It is on a personal phone | It leaves with the person and the phone |
| There is no context | A loose PDF in a chat does not say which order it belongs to |
| There is no useful record | "I sent it on WhatsApp" is not a delivery record |
Important
The third causes the most arguments. Messaging shows a file was sent, but that evidence lives on two private phones and is easy to lose or dispute. It is not the same as a recorded send.
What to do, without falling out with anyone
- 1
Accept it as a notification route, not a delivery route
"Great, now upload it here" turns a chat into documentation.
- 2
If it already arrived that way, upload it yourselves
Ten seconds. Better than losing it on principle.
- 3
And for anything that matters, ask via the recorded route
Signatures, formal submissions, deadlines. Messaging is not enough there.
Watch out
The dangerous case is signing. An "agreed" in a chat may count as an indication, but it does not leave the evidence a signature does: identity, moment and exact content accepted. That is what a signature request is for, and it costs the same as arguing afterwards.
When messaging is the right channel
Used that way it is an excellent channel: it arrives, it gets read, it unblocks. The problem was never the channel, it was using it as an archive.
Worth knowing
If you send requests through that channel, the recipient can still supply via the link, with nothing to install. That is how to benefit from messaging's reach without losing the record.
›Can reminders be sent there?
Yes, and for some recipients it works considerably better than email.
›Is a delivery note photo sent by chat valid?
As a document yes, if you upload it. As proof of delivery, no.
›What about site or team groups?
They are good for coordinating; whatever is decided there, if it matters, goes into the file.
A real case
The situation
A site manager receives every delivery note by chat and keeps them on his phone.
What you do
- Uploads each to the site's file on receipt
What you get
Changing phones loses nothing and delivery notes can be searched by supplier.
The situation
The document arrives on paper by courier.
What you do
- Captures it on receipt
What you get
It enters the file the same day.
The situation
The envelope is opened and the paper sits in a tray.
What you do
- Digitises at reception itself
What you get
There stops being a pile waiting.
The situation
Nobody knows whether a document came by post or courier.
What you do
- Records the entry route
What you get
The history reflects what happened.
The situation
The original must be kept as well as the copy.
What you do
- Notes where the original is stored
What you get
It is located without walking the archive.
The situation
Something arrives that belongs to no file.
What you do
- Records it and finds who it belongs to
What you get
It does not sit in an ownerless tray.
This article answers
- they send me documents on whatsapp
- documents via instant messaging
- saving a pdf received in a chat
- the supplier sends photos on whatsapp