Binders and the index
How a binder is organised, how documents file themselves into it, and how to roll it forward.
A binder is the organised set of workpapers behind a piece of work. The index is its structure — sections, reference codes, and what belongs in each.
Set the index up once per type of work and it carries forward every year after.
Where to find it
The index
The index defines Sections and the rows within them. Each row carries a Reference — a Code (A, B, 100) — and a Title.
Reference codes are the point. A-3 means something specific and stays meaningful across years, across staff, and in a review conversation. A binder of files named by whoever uploaded them does not.
Rows can be reordered, and so can sections.
Documents that file themselves
Each index row can declare which document types belong to it. When a matching document arrives, it files itself into the right row.
A row with none set shows No types — documents won't auto-file here, meaning somebody has to place documents there by hand.
Files here: shows what's currently in a row, and an Undo — unfile this document action reverses a wrong placement.
Setting types on your common rows is the difference between a binder that assembles itself as documents arrive and one somebody spends an afternoon organising in March.
Linking a document
Rows showing No document linked yet are waiting for something. Link one by searching the client's documents.
Rolling forward
Roll forward index copies last year's structure into this year's binder.
The structure carries. The documents don't — you get the same sections, codes, and expectations, ready for this year's evidence.
A row Linked to a prior-year workpaper keeps that connection, which is what makes year-over-year comparison possible without hunting for last year's file.
Attaching workpapers automatically
A job template can carry Auto-create workpaper on a task, so the work arrives with its binder already in place.
Worth setting on any recurring work with a standard binder. It removes the step where someone creates the workpaper, which is the step that gets skipped when things are busy.
Notes and limits
- A binder belongs to a piece of work, not to a client in general.
- Removing a row doesn't delete the documents in it.
- Reference codes are yours — LedgerOS doesn't impose a scheme.
- A finalised binder can be assembled for export.