---
title: Company documents
description: Where workspace-wide policies and handbooks live, and who can manage them
order: 1
---

Company documents is the workspace's shared document library - policies, handbooks, and
forms.

SquadBear keeps three kinds of file apart. Company documents (this page) belong to the
whole workspace and are readable by every member unless the document is restricted to
managers. An employee's own files - contracts, certificates, ID scans - live on that
person's profile "Documents" tab, visible to them, their manager, and admins. Attachments
on a leave request, like a sick note, are evidence for that one request and follow the
request's own access rules - see [How leave approvals work](/docs/leave/approvals/).

## How

1. Go to **People → Company documents**. One list, one row per document - file metadata
   plus the versions published from it. Admins get two tabs, **Files** and **Campaigns**,
   and publish a new version or start a signature campaign from a document's own page
   ([Policies & acknowledgments](/docs/documents/policies/)).
2. Click **Upload**, choose a file, then set a title, a category (**Policy**, **Guide**,
   or **Form**) and a visibility (**Everyone** or **Managers only**). The upload publishes
   the file as version 1.
3. An **Everyone** document is readable and downloadable by every member from that moment.
   **Managers only** keeps it out of members' libraries unless they have been asked to
   sign it. Uploading, editing and publishing versions are admin-only.
4. Open a document to download it, edit its details, or publish the next file -
   **New version** on a Policy, **Replace file** on a Guide or Form.

Uploads accept PDF, PNG, JPG/JPEG, WEBP, plain text, CSV, Word (.docx), and Excel
(.xlsx) files, up to 20 MB each. Storage counts against the plan's quota - an upload that
would take the workspace over it is refused with 402 `upgrade_required`.

> [!NOTE]
> Version 1 pins the file the moment it uploads, so `DELETE /api/files/:id` answers 409
> `file_in_use` and Company documents carries no delete control. A document is superseded
> by publishing a new version, never removed; see
> [Policies & acknowledgments](/docs/documents/policies/).

Company documents is an optional module. An admin turns it off in the **Modules** tab
under **Workspace settings → Workspace** - the sidebar leaf disappears, `/documents` says
which module is off, and agent calls answer 403 `module_disabled`. Nothing is deleted, and
turning it back on restores the library exactly as it was.

## Worked example

Marta uploads `Employee Handbook 2026.pdf` as a **Policy** visible to **Everyone**. All
15 people at Northlake can open it from **People → Company documents**.

> [!AGENT]
> List our company documents and tell me which ones are Policies and which are Guides.

## Related

- [Policies & acknowledgments](/docs/documents/policies/)
- [How leave approvals work](/docs/leave/approvals/)
- [Turn modules on or off](/docs/admin/modules/)