---
id: KB-GL-011
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/glossary/what-is-a-case
idioma: en
categoria: glosario
subcategoria: procesos
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-TL-001, KB-GL-012]
citadoPor: [KB-TL-014, KB-GL-018, KB-GL-019, KB-GL-012]
---

# What is a case

_Everything to be gathered about one matter, together and with its dates._

**Responde a:** what is a case in trackline · difference between case and process · what is a documentation folder · how supplier documentation is organised

**Case** — The unit of work grouping everything about one specific matter: what was asked for, from whom, what arrived, when, and what state it is in.

It is the familiar folder, with two differences that matter: it knows what is missing, and it knows when each item arrived.

## Case, process and template

| Word | What it is | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Template or schema | The mould: what is always asked for | "Supplier onboarding" |
| Case | One specific instance from that mould | "Onboarding Muñoz Engineering" |
| Phase | A block of requests inside the case | "Company documentation" |

Confusing template with case is the commonest organisational mistake: a template gets created per supplier, and what made templates useful is exactly what is lost.

> [!NOTE]
> A case can have several participants, and each sees only their own part. That is what lets you ask two competing subcontractors for documents without them seeing each other.

**Does a case close?**

Yes, when it is complete or when it is decided it will not progress.

**Can it hold documents I did not request?**

Yes, they can be added without having been a request.

**Can it be reopened?**

Yes.

## Ejemplos

**A company creates a new template for every supplier it onboards.**

- Keeps a single "Supplier onboarding" template
- Each supplier becomes a case

→ The process can be improved in one place and every future onboarding benefits.

**A new file is opened for every document that arrives.**

- Groups everything on the same matter into one file

→ The matter is seen whole rather than in pieces.

**A file is closed with a document still missing.**

- Checks what is outstanding before closing it

→ Closing means the same thing to the whole team.

**Nobody knows where a matter stands without asking.**

- Checks the file's status

→ The answer does not depend on who you ask.

**Two people request the same thing from the same supplier.**

- Works on the shared file

→ The supplier receives one request, not two.

**Months later somebody must explain how a matter was resolved.**

- Opens the file with its complete history

→ The explanation comes from the file itself.