> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.allshore.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.allshore.ai/clients-and-pipeline/document-types-and-the-ledger.md). # Document types & the ledger Every piece of client paperwork you keep — NDAs, MSAs, statements of work, anything else your firm files — lives in one ledger on the client, typed by your own taxonomy. ## Document types NDA, MSA, and SoW come seeded. You can **define** your own types, **rename** them, and **deactivate** ones you no longer use (deactivating hides a type from new documents; it doesn't touch documents already filed under it). Types are managed from the **Clients & contracts** screen. ## The lifecycle A document moves through four states: * **draft** — created or generated, not yet in force. * **active** — the executed document. * **expired** — reached the end of its term. * **terminated** — ended early. Separately, a document can be **voided with a reason** — for a paper that should never have existed (wrong client, superseded before signature). Voiding requires you to say why, and the reason is kept. **Nothing is ever hard-deleted.** A voided or terminated document stays in the ledger with its file and its history. This is deliberate: the question "what did we send this client, and when" must be answerable years later. ## Linking paperwork to a contract A document can be attached to the **commercial contract** it papers. When it is, the two ledgers join up: the contract's page shows its own paperwork, and the platform's paperwork checks can reason at contract precision ("this contract has no executed MSA") rather than only at client level. Documents not linked to a contract are still fine — they show on the client and are found by the client-wide list. ## Files A document row can carry a PDF: either one you **upload**, or one Allshore **generates** from a template (see [Generating documents from templates](/clients-and-pipeline/generating-documents-from-templates.md)). The row exists first, the file attaches to it — so a document can be tracked before its paper exists. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.allshore.ai/clients-and-pipeline/document-types-and-the-ledger.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.