Who it’s for: Administrators (see Access roles note)
Platform: Sense HR web app
Available on: All plans
Before you begin
Make sure you’ve:
☑️ Logged into the Sense HR web app
☑️ Been assigned administrator permissions
☑️ Opened the relevant employee profile
🖊️ Access roles note:
On Professional, Elite, and Enterprise plans, organisations using Access Role Management can also allow certain manager-type roles to manage documents for the employees or groups they have access to.
Overview
Personal documents are documents stored against a specific employee profile.
They can include:
Uploaded standard documents
Uploaded merged documents (PDFs with merge tags)
Documents created from templates
External document links
Once added, personal documents can be managed directly from the employee’s Documents tab.
From the document list, administrators can:
Edit document settings or permissions
Download the document
Delete the document
View document history and activity
🖊️ Note:
Personal documents belong to an individual employee profile. For documents shared across the organisation or selected groups, use Company documents instead.
Navigation path
People > [Select profile] > Documents
Steps to manage personal documents
Open the employee’s document list
Go to People
Select the employee profile
Open Documents
(Optional) Use search or filters to help locate the document.
Open the document actions menu
Find the document you want to manage
Click the More actions (...) menu next to the document
From here, you can choose:
• Edit
• Download (not available for document links)
• Delete
• View history
Edit a personal document
Select Edit from the More actions (...) menu.
Use this option to update the document’s settings or permissions.
This includes
Details tab: Document name, category, description.
Access tab: View, Edit, To be read permissions and requirements.
🖊️ Note:
Editing a personal document updates its details and access settings. It does not allow you to change the document content after it has been sent.
🖊️ Note: Duplicate To Do tasks
If the document includes e-signature fields, do not enable To be read, as this would create a second To Do task alongside the signature task.
Download a personal document
Select Download from the More actions (...) menu.
A copy of the document file downloads immediately to your device.
Delete a personal document
Select Delete from the More actions (...) menu.
If prompted, confirm the deletion.
⚠️ Important:
Deleting a document is permanent and cannot be undone. Any To Do tasks linked to that document, such as To be read or To be signed, are cancelled when the document is deleted.
View document history
Select View history from the More actions (...) menu.
This shows document activity, including:
History — document change log
View — who viewed the document and when
Downloads — who downloaded the document and when
Shares — who shared the document and when
Personal documents and To Do tasks
When a personal document is marked To be read or includes signature merge tags, Sense HR automatically creates To Do tasks for the relevant people.
This includes:
Each recipient with To be read turned on
Each assigned signatory
These tasks track completion automatically:
To be read creates a Read Document acknowledgement To Do task
An assigned signature merge tag creates a Sign Document To Do task
The document status updates automatically once the required action is completed
Access and visibility
Access to personal documents depends on both:
Access Roles
Document-level permissions
By default:
Administrators can access all documents
Managers (advanced roles) can access documents for the people or groups allowed by their Access Role
Employees can access their own documents only
Document-level permissions are then used to give specific users access or actions for an individual document.
This is especially important for documents that need to be read or signed by people who wouldn't otherwise have access to the document.
🖊️ Note:
If someone is assigned as a signatory for another person’s document, they can access that document through the To Do in order to sign it. Once the To Do is completed, they do not keep ongoing access to the document unless their Access Role would normally allow them to view it.
What happens after signing
Documents cannot be changed after they are sent and signed. If changes are needed, a new document version must be created and reissued.
🖊️ Note:
Changes to a template do not affect documents that have already been created from it. Each saved document instance is independent.
Best practice
Review document permissions carefully before saving changes
Avoid using both To be read and To be signed for the same document
Use View history or Reports to audit access and activity
Delete outdated or duplicate documents to avoid confusion
Reissue signed documents as a new version rather than trying to edit them
FAQ
Click to see answers to frequently asked questions
Click to see answers to frequently asked questions
Q: Can I edit a personal document after it has been sent?
A: You can edit a personal document’s settings or permissions from the More actions (...) menu. You cannot edit content once a document has been sent.
Q: What happens if I delete a personal document that has a To Do task linked to it?
A: Deleting a personal document removes it permanently and cancels any linked To Do tasks.
Q: Can I see who viewed or downloaded a personal document?
A: Yes. Use View history to see document changes, views, downloads, and shares or use Reports > Documents.
Q: Why can one user see a document but another cannot?
A: Whether a user can see a document depends on both document-level assignment and Access Role permissions. See access and visibility.