Physical asset tracking

Know where the paper original is and who holds it, from inside its digital file

Digitizing the archive does not eliminate paper: signed originals, original contracts and stamped documents stay in archive rooms and cabinets, and the question remains: which room? which drawer? and who took it last? Mstnd answers from inside the digital file itself.

Every document gets a physical-archive card from a shared template: room name, drawer number, shelf and current custodian. It is filled once, updated with every movement, and can be searched and filtered.

See physical asset tracking in Mstnd Start free

How does Mstnd track the location of a document's paper original?

Mstnd links every digital file to a physical-archive data template carrying the room name, drawer number, shelf and current custodian. The template is filled when the paper original is archived and updated when it is moved or handed over, and it appears in the document's metadata tab. Because the fields are part of the document's data, you can search for every original in a given room or held by a given employee, and every update is recorded in the document's history.

Demo

See Physical asset tracking inside Mstnd

A physical-archive card for every document: room, drawer, shelf and current custodian, filled from a shared template, so you know at once where the paper original is and who holds it.

The challenge

An auditor asks for the paper original of a signed contract. The digital file is in the system, but nobody knows whether the original is in the archive room, in the legal department's cabinet, or with an employee who borrowed it months ago.

How Mstnd solves it

The contract's physical-archive card carries the room name, drawer number, shelf and the name of the current custodian. The employee opens the digital file, reads the original's location in seconds, and updates the card when handing it to the auditor.

The result

A paper original for every document with a known location and custodian, without separate paper registers or searching through cabinets.

Physical asset tracking

Paper needs an address, just as a file needs a folder

In most organizations the location of paper originals is managed in a register or spreadsheet separate from the digital system, or in the archivist's memory. With every move or loan the record drifts from reality, until the day an original is requested and nobody knows where it is.

When the location of the paper original becomes part of the digital file's data, the two archives meet: whoever opens the file knows where its original is, and whoever needs the contents of a given drawer gets the list from the system.

Approved

What the physical-archive card holds

A shared template from the library

Add the "physical archive details" template from the template library or build it with your own fields: room name, drawer number, shelf and current custodian, with a help text for each field.

Linked to the document in one step

From the document's metadata tab, choose the template and its fields are added to the file; their values are filled once when the original is archived.

Manual or suggested fill

Fields are filled by hand, and automatic fill with the metadata agent Rasid can be enabled for fields that can be inferred from the document's content or context.

Updated with every movement

When the original moves to another drawer or is handed to an employee, the relevant field is updated so the digital record matches reality, and the change is recorded in the document's history.

Search and filter by location and custody

Show every original in a given room or drawer, or everything held by an employee before they leave or transfer, straight from advanced search.

Physical asset tracking

Originals worth tracking

Signed and stamped original contracts.
Certificates, licenses and official registers.
Paper employee files.
Handwritten signed minutes and decisions.
Bank guarantees and bonds.
Any document whose paper original must be kept.

Approved

Real-world example

The HR department completes the digitization of its training files and links the annual training plan to the physical-archive template: main archive room in Riyadh, drawer D-14, shelf R-03, custodian the archivist. When the department manager asks for the paper original, they open its digital copy, read its location, and collect it from the archivist, who updates the custodian field with the manager's name. A week later the file is returned and the field is updated again, with the full trail kept in the history.

Frequently asked questions

Does the feature need special devices or labels?

No. The card is a data template inside the system, filled from the screen, and the auto-numbering and barcode feature complements it by linking the sheet to the file when scanned.

Can the card's fields be customized?

Yes. Start from the library template or create your own with the organization's fields, such as box number, branch or deposit date.

Is it recorded who changed the original's location and when?

Yes. Every update to metadata fields is recorded in the document's history with the user's name and the time.

Can I see every original held by a given employee?

Yes. The custodian field can be searched and filtered, so the list of originals they hold appears in one result.

Does the feature work with scanned documents?

Yes. The template can be linked to any document in the system, whether created digitally or scanned from a paper original.

Give your paper archive a known address inside your digital archive.

Book a demo of physical asset tracking in Mstnd Start free

Related features

Auto-numbering and barcodes Document metadata Electronic Archiving

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Physical asset tracking

Know where the paper original is and who holds it, from inside its digital file

See physical asset tracking in Mstnd Start free

How does Mstnd track the location of a document's paper original?

Demo

See Physical asset tracking inside Mstnd

A physical-archive card for every document: room, drawer, shelf and current custodian, filled from a shared template, so you know at once where the paper original is and who holds it.

The challenge

How Mstnd solves it

The result

A paper original for every document with a known location and custodian, without separate paper registers or searching through cabinets.

Physical asset tracking

Paper needs an address, just as a file needs a folder

Approved

What the physical-archive card holds

A shared template from the library

Add the "physical archive details" template from the template library or build it with your own fields: room name, drawer number, shelf and current custodian, with a help text for each field.

Linked to the document in one step

From the document's metadata tab, choose the template and its fields are added to the file; their values are filled once when the original is archived.

Manual or suggested fill

Fields are filled by hand, and automatic fill with the metadata agent Rasid can be enabled for fields that can be inferred from the document's content or context.

Updated with every movement

When the original moves to another drawer or is handed to an employee, the relevant field is updated so the digital record matches reality, and the change is recorded in the document's history.

Search and filter by location and custody

Show every original in a given room or drawer, or everything held by an employee before they leave or transfer, straight from advanced search.

Physical asset tracking

Originals worth tracking

Signed and stamped original contracts.
Certificates, licenses and official registers.
Paper employee files.
Handwritten signed minutes and decisions.
Bank guarantees and bonds.
Any document whose paper original must be kept.

Approved

Real-world example

Frequently asked questions

Does the feature need special devices or labels?

No. The card is a data template inside the system, filled from the screen, and the auto-numbering and barcode feature complements it by linking the sheet to the file when scanned.

Can the card's fields be customized?

Yes. Start from the library template or create your own with the organization's fields, such as box number, branch or deposit date.

Is it recorded who changed the original's location and when?

Yes. Every update to metadata fields is recorded in the document's history with the user's name and the time.

Can I see every original held by a given employee?

Yes. The custodian field can be searched and filtered, so the list of originals they hold appears in one result.

Does the feature work with scanned documents?

Yes. The template can be linked to any document in the system, whether created digitally or scanned from a paper original.

Give your paper archive a known address inside your digital archive.

Book a demo of physical asset tracking in Mstnd Start free

Related features

Auto-numbering and barcodes Document metadata Electronic Archiving

Chat with us on WhatsApp