Prepare and rename PDF documents for audits

Anyone preparing a certification audit, an internal audit or a supplier audit knows the bottleneck: the evidence exists, but it sits scattered across drives, mail attachments and project folders under names like Nachweis_alt.pdf. During the audit itself, every minute between question and produced document counts. This page describes how to build, in the weeks beforehand, a staging folder that holds up during the audit week.

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Before & After

Nachweis_alt.pdf 2024_Audit-ISO9001_Prozessdoku_Qualitaetsmanagement.pdf

From the audit plan to the evidence list

The audit plan names areas and dates, often referencing standard clauses or individual processes. Translate it into a list first: which piece of evidence belongs to which point, who holds it, in which version, and whether it is still current. That list is the basis for everything else, because it determines which documents get staged at all. Only afterwards is it worth thinking about filenames. Without a list you may end up naming fifty documents of which eight are asked for, and still scrambling for the rest the day before.

A staging folder of copies, not originals

Create a dedicated folder for the audit and copy the required evidence into it. The reason is simple: you want consistent names for the audit, but you do not want to rename inside other departments' working files, where links, templates and references depend on them. In a folder of copies you can work freely without wrecking anyone's day. After the audit that folder can be archived or discarded without anything missing from the live stock. Filery works on exactly this folder and leaves the sources alone. Just make sure the copies reflect the approved state and not an older one.

A naming pattern for the audit week

Auditors ask about topics, not filenames. A pattern that answers that starts with the reference: standard or audit type, then process area, then document type, then year or revision state. The folder then sorts by topic, and the line in the file list already answers half the question. Filery reads title, date and document type out of the PDFs and places them into the pattern; fields such as process area or standard clause, which are not printed in the document, you add in the suggestion list before confirming. That is manual work, but only once.

During the audit and afterwards

When the auditor asks for evidence, you open the staging folder, type the process area into the search box and show the file. That is the entire point of the preparation, and this is exactly where it pays off. Alongside, note what was additionally requested and not in the folder; those notes are the basis for the next evidence list. After the audit, complete the folder with the missing documents and keep it as the starting point for the next cycle, instead of beginning at zero next time. The evidence list then grows from cycle to cycle while the effort shrinks.

Limits and how content is handled

Filery is not a quality management system and not document control. It keeps no evidence list, manages no approvals, checks no validity, reminds nobody of deadlines and moves no files into target folders. It renames, with preview and confirmation, and records each pass in a history. On data handling: the PDF is read on your computer and its content transmitted encrypted for AI analysis; the recognised details come back, the renaming then runs again in your file system, and the documents are not stored permanently. With your own keys you work on the Custom plan.

FAQ

No. A QM system manages approvals, validity, distribution lists and records across the whole lifecycle. Filery only delivers consistent filenames for the folder you produce evidence from during the audit. The two complement each other, but one explicitly does not replace the other.

Copies. That leaves links, references and filing paths in the productive structure untouched, and lets you run a pattern in the audit folder that applies only for this purpose and may disappear afterwards without anyone having to clean up behind it.

Yes, through the naming pattern. Details that do not appear in the document itself are not recognised by the analysis, because it can only evaluate what is present in the PDF. You add such fields in the suggestion list before confirming the run.

The free Starter plan covers 50 documents per month, which is often enough for a smaller internal audit. For larger staging, or several audits in the same month, there is Business with 500 documents monthly for 30 euros. Custom costs 5 euros and assumes your own API keys.

Related topics

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