What Trackline is and how to request documents with it

Trackline is for requesting documents and data from someone — a supplier, a client, an employee, your own team — without having to stand over them. You define what is needed, the platform asks for it, chases it if it does not arrive, reads what does arrive, and tells you when the case is complete.

The idea: process and case are different things

This is the only idea you need to grasp about Trackline, and everything else follows from it. On one side is the process — also called a schema: the template that says which documents are needed to onboard a supplier, for example. On the other is the case: what gets created every time you onboard one specific supplier.

In email those two things are mixed together, which is why it is such hard work: every onboarding is written again from scratch. Here the process is designed once and run a hundred times.

What you can ask for

Not just files. Trackline distinguishes several request types, and picking the right one is what stops you having to chase the same person twice.

How to build a process, step by step

1. 1

   Go to Trackline → Schemas → New schema

   Give it a name you will still recognise in six months. "Supplier onboarding" beats "Process 1".

2. 2

   Create the first phase

   A phase is a block of things asked for at the same time. For example "Tax documentation".

3. 3

   Add the requests inside it

   Each request is one thing you ask for: a document, some data, or both. Give it a clear title, because that is what the person outside will read.

4. 4

   Say who each one goes to

   It can be someone outside (with their email or phone), someone on your team, or yourself if you are the one uploading it.

5. 5

   Mark which ones are mandatory

   The case is not considered complete until every mandatory request is closed. The rest are nice to have but do not block.

6. 6

   Add any further phases, and save

   There is no limit on phases. Once saved, the schema is ready to run as many times as you like.

What happens when you run it

Running the schema creates a case and sends out the first phase's notices. Each person gets their own link — by email, SMS or WhatsApp, depending on what you hold for them — and uploads their part without registering anywhere. You can see at all times what has arrived and what has not.

When a document arrives, automatic reading opens it, pulls out the data you asked for and fills it in. You review and confirm. Once every mandatory request in a phase is closed, the next phase opens by itself.

Common mistakes when starting out

• Putting everything in one phase. Ask for twelve documents at once and the person freezes and sends none. Split them into sensible blocks.
• Marking everything mandatory. If 80% genuinely is, the case ends up blocked by the 20% that never mattered.
• Writing request titles for yourself instead of for the recipient. "Doc 3" means nothing to a supplier; "Tax clearance certificate" does.
• Creating one schema per client. The schema is the template: one per client and you are back to email.

Frequently asked questions