ZephCMS Document Archive is the entry-point product for organizations that need a searchable, governed records system—without the cost or complexity of a full case-management or enterprise content platform.
Archive starts at $750 per month ($9,000 per year) for organizations under 5,000 managed documents. Pricing scales through five annual-volume tiers. Implementation is scoped and priced separately.
Who the Document Archive is for
Archive is the right fit for any organization where:
- Records live in shared drives, email attachments, or disconnected folders that staff have to navigate by memory
- Finding a specific document requires knowing which office saved it and where
- There is no reliable way to tell if a document is the current version, who approved it, or when it expires
- Records need to be retained, placed on legal hold, or disposed of on a schedule—but there is no system enforcing that
- Staff spend time re-sending the same documents because there is nowhere public or shared to find them
Typical buyers include public agencies, local government offices, legal teams, compliance departments, and any team managing structured records that need to be searchable, versioned, and controlled.
What is included in Document Archive
Configurable search and metadata
Archive replaces folder-path navigation with search across document type, metadata fields, date range, category, tag, status, and indexed content. The metadata structure—document types, required fields, naming conventions, categories—is configured around the organization's actual records, not a generic template.
Permissions and access control
Access to documents is controlled by role, office, document type, and sensitivity level. Staff can see and work with the documents their role permits without administrators having to manage individual file permissions. Sensitive categories can be restricted to specific teams.
Version history and related records
Archive tracks document versions so staff know what changed, when, and who uploaded the replacement. Documents can be connected to related records, cases, requests, and correspondence so context does not disappear when a file is filed away.
Retention schedules and legal hold
Archive supports configurable retention schedules by document type. Records can be placed on legal hold to prevent premature deletion. Disposition workflows notify the right staff when records reach the end of their scheduled life instead of relying on someone remembering to check a spreadsheet.
Migration from legacy sources
Most organizations replacing shared drives have years of existing records. Archive includes migration tooling: mapping source structure to the new document type schema, validating records against required metadata, and reconciling what was imported. We handle the migration project as part of implementation.
Connection to Public Portal
Archive integrates cleanly with ZephCMS Public Portal so organizations do not have to maintain a separate public copy of records. Staff can publish approved documents from Archive to the Portal without re-uploading or reformatting. This is especially useful for agencies that need to make certain records publicly accessible while keeping working files internal.
How implementation works
An Archive implementation starts with a discovery session covering how documents are currently organized, what document types need to be defined, what metadata fields matter for search and governance, who needs what level of access, and what migration looks like. From there we build the document type schema, configure permissions and retention, plan the migration, and test with real records before launch.
Most Archive implementations run between $6,000 and $20,000 depending on migration volume, number of document types, integrations with existing systems, and configuration complexity. Implementation costs are written into scope before work begins.
What Archive does not include by default
Archive focuses on document storage, search, governance, and retrieval. It does not include a public-facing search portal (that is the Public Portal module), full case-management workflows, or medicolegal features. Those modules can be added when the organization is ready to expand. Archive is intentionally a clear, focused starting point.
The archive is where the documents live. The rest of the platform can grow around it when the organization is ready.
Starting price and next steps
Archive starts at $750/month. Full annual pricing by volume tier is published on the pricing page. Implementation costs are quoted per project after discovery.
The best starting point is a conversation about the current file problem—what people cannot find, what types of documents matter most, and what a better archive needs to do differently. We can show the Archive workflow around your specific records structure.
Keep reading
More in Product Spotlight
ZephCMS Public Portal: Staff-Controlled Publishing and Public Records Search
What the Public Portal includes, who it is for, how it works from a staff perspective, and what it costs to get started.
ZephCMS Custom Case Management: Your Workflow, Your Terminology
What Custom Case Management gives organizations that cannot fit their work into generic canned software—and what a real implementation looks like.
ZephCMS MDI Management: Complete Medicolegal Workflow in One System
What MDI Management covers across intake, investigation, examination, evidence, custody, certification, release, records, and reporting.