Product features · Setup
From install to file plan in four steps
When you add FilePlan 365 to a SharePoint site, a guided setup walks you through everything. Start blank or from a template, and FilePlan 365 builds your list, file plan and permissions for you.
01 · Let’s get started
Start from blank, or from a template
The first time FilePlan 365 is added to a SharePoint site, a “Let’s get started” screen guides you through setup. Start from a blank canvas, or choose a ready-made template such as HR files. Either way you follow the same four steps. A template simply fills them in for you to review and change.
- Templates for HR, casework, councils, housing, legal, education and more
- Every step can be changed, whichever way you start
- Nothing is created until you select Create on the final step
- Save and exit at any point, and pick up where you left off
HR Records Hub
02 · Step 1 · Context and columns
Choose who or what your records are about
First, choose your context: the person or thing each record is about, such as an Employee. Then choose the columns that describe it, such as employee ID, department, line manager and leaving date. FilePlan 365 turns these into a SharePoint list, with one item per record.
- Name your context and choose the column that names each record
- Add, remove, reorder and rename columns, and choose which are required and searchable
- Becomes a SharePoint list, such as Employees, ready to keep in sync with your HR system using Power Automate
- Date columns such as Leaving date can start your retention periods
HR Records Hub
03 · Step 2 · Document types
Build your file plan, in the order people expect
Next, define your document types and how they are grouped. Drag them into the order people expect to see them, nest them under numbered groups, and set what happens to each one: its retention label, its sensitivity label and the details to capture when a document is filed.
- Numbered groups and document types, as deep as you need
- Drag and drop to reorder types and move them between groups
- Set retention and sensitivity labels per document type from Microsoft Purview
- Choose the details to capture and the file names that suggest each type
HR Records Hub
04 · Step 3 · Roles
Drag roles onto document types
Then decide who can see and change each document type. Create roles, link each one to a Microsoft 365 group, and drag it onto the document types it should cover. In a simple setup, one role can cover every document type. In this HR example there are three.
- Drag and drop a role onto a group or a single document type
- Sub-types inherit their group’s role unless you change them
- Turn on “Use one role for everything” for a simple setup
- FilePlan 365 applies the SharePoint permissions for you
HR Records Hub
Read and write. For general HR documents such as recruitment, contracts and performance.
Read, write and delete. A smaller group for sensitive types such as right to work, pay, absence, and conduct and grievance.
Read, write and delete, for every document type. Applied automatically, so records management always has full access.
05 · Step 4 · Review and create
Check everything, then create it in one click
Before anything is built, FilePlan 365 checks your setup against the site and Microsoft Purview. It shows what will be created and flags anything to fix, such as a missing label or a document type with no role. When you’re happy, select Create file plan.
- Checks that your labels are published to the site and every document type has a role
- Suggestions you can fix in one click, without starting again
- A summary of the list, columns, document types and roles to be created
- Go back to any step to make changes
HR Records Hub
06 · Setting up
Watch your file plan being built
FilePlan 365 then builds everything for you and shows its progress as it goes: the SharePoint list, the document types, the labels, the roles and their permissions. It takes a few minutes, and you can leave the page and get an email when it’s done.
- Live progress for each part of the setup
- An activity log showing exactly what has been created
- Leave the page and get an email when it’s ready
- Records appear as soon as your list fills from your HR system
HR Records Hub
Set up your first file plan today
Start a free trial and be up and running in minutes, or talk to us about the right template for you.