Restricting client access using Offices in Doc.It

Overview

This article explains how to use the Offices feature in Doc.It to control which staff members can access specific client binders. Use this guidance when you need to restrict access to certain clients — for example, when some clients have not consented to their records being accessed outside a specific geographic region, or when the firm engages offshore or overseas staff and needs to segregate client visibility.

How office-based access works

Doc.It uses the Offices feature to control client visibility on a per-staff basis. Each staff member is assigned to one or more Offices, and each client is assigned to a single Office. When a staff member logs in, they can only access clients assigned to the Offices they belong to. This provides a straightforward way to segregate client data across teams — for example, between staff who are permitted to access all clients and staff whose access must be limited to a subset.

  • Staff assigned to multiple Offices can access all clients assigned to any of their Offices.

  • Staff assigned to a single Office can only access clients assigned to that Office.

  • Clients assigned to an Office that the staff member does not belong to are invisible and inaccessible to that staff member.

Example scenario

A common use case is separating clients whose records may be accessed by overseas staff from clients whose records must remain accessible only to domestic staff. In this example, two Offices are created — one for foreign access and one for domestic access — and staff and clients are assigned accordingly.

Step 1 — Create the Offices in Doc.It Maintenance

The first step is to create the Offices that will represent each access group.

  1. Open Doc.It Maintenance.

  2. Navigate to Offices.

  3. Create two Offices — for example, one named Foreign and one named Domestic. Office names are flexible; choose names that clearly reflect the access groups.

  4. Save the new Offices.

Step 2 — Assign staff to the appropriate Offices

Next, assign each staff member to the Offices that reflect their permitted client access.

  1. In Doc.It Maintenance, navigate to Users.

  2. Open each staff member's user record.

  3. Assign the staff member to the Foreign Office, the Domestic Office, or both, based on which clients they should be permitted to access.

  4. Save the changes.

Assigning a staff member to both Offices allows them to access all clients regardless of the Office assignment. Assigning them to only one Office limits their visibility to clients assigned to that same Office.

Step 3 — Assign clients to the appropriate Office via import

Client-to-Office assignments are made by exporting the client data grid, updating the Office column, and importing the updated file. Do not make any other changes to the exported file — only the Office column should be modified.

  1. Export the client data grid from Doc.It Maintenance – clients to a .csv file.

  2. Open the .csv file in a spreadsheet application.

  3. In the Office column, assign each client to either the Foreign or Domestic Office (matching the Office names created in Step 1).

  4. Save the .csv file as a .xlsx  file without changing any other columns.

  5. In Doc.It Maintenance, open the Client Import utility.

  6. Import the updated ..xlsx file.

  7. Confirm the client-to-Office assignments have been applied successfully.

Applying the changes

Once the Offices, staff assignments, and client assignments are all in place, the updated access takes effect the next time staff log out of Doc.It and log back in.

  • Staff assigned to both the Foreign and Domestic Offices can access all clients regardless of Office assignment.

  • Staff assigned only to the Foreign Office can access clients assigned to the Foreign Office. Clients assigned to the Domestic Office will be invisible and inaccessible.

  • Staff assigned only to the Domestic Office can access clients assigned to the Domestic Office. Clients assigned to the Foreign Office will be invisible and inaccessible.

Tips for a smooth setup

  • Choose Office names that clearly reflect the access groups they represent (for example, Foreign and Domestic, or Region A and Region B).

  • Only edit the Office column in the exported .csv — changing other columns can cause unintended updates when the file is imported.

  • Test the setup with a small group of staff and clients before rolling it out firm-wide to confirm access behaves as expected.

  • Communicate the change to affected staff so they understand which clients they will and will not have access to after the update.

  • Review Office and staff assignments periodically, especially when new clients are added or staff roles change.

Key takeaways

  • Doc.It's Offices feature allows client access to be restricted on a per-staff basis by assigning each staff member and each client to one or more Offices.

  • Staff can only access clients assigned to the Offices they belong to; clients in other Offices are invisible.

  • Create Offices in Doc.It Maintenance > Offices, assign staff in Doc.It Maintenance > Users, and assign clients using the Client Import utility with the updated Office column in the exported .csv.

  • Changes take effect the next time each affected staff member logs out and logs back in.

  • Only the Office column should be modified in the exported .csv to avoid unintended changes to other client data.