This article explains how to add documents to an employee profile. You can choose to create a document using one of the templates you have stored in Personio, or upload an existing file to a profile in Personio.

Create documents from a template

By storing document templates in Personio, you can create customized employee documents more efficiently. When you include placeholders in the templates, the documents you create automatically generate based on employee information stored in Personio. See Manage Document Categories and Templates for info about creating and storing templates, or upgrade your plan.

Before you start

To create documents from a template and store them in an employee profile, ensure you have the following:

• The Core Plan. To get these features, upgrade your plan or contact your Account Manager.
• Permissions to Documents.
• If a template has no signature placeholders, you can only request one signature during document creation. To request multiple signatures, disable the Request signature option and add multiple signers after you save the document to the employee profile.
• If a template has signature placeholders, you must select a signer for each placeholder. If you want to request a different number of signatures than the number of placeholders in the template, disable the Request signature option and add signers after you save the document to the employee profile.
• When creating a document for multiple employees using a template, you can request a signature at the same time. You can select the document recipient as the signer, or choose someone else. If you select a user other than the document recipient, they will be the required signer for all documents created in that session.

For a single employee

Templates can contain placeholders which use an employee's data in Personio to generate personalized documents. To create a document for an employee by using a template, follow these steps:

1. Go to the relevant Employee Profile > Documents tab. 
2. Click Add document > Create from template.
3. Select a saved template. If the template contains placeholders, click any of the variables to edit as needed.
4. Click Preview changes to view the most up-to-date version of the file. Once ready, click Next.
5. Optionally, edit the document name and file type.
6. Optionally, request a signature. 
   • Select a signer from the dropdown. If the template contains signature placeholders, select a signer for each placeholder. You can disable the Request signature option and request signatures later. 
   • Choose the language for the signature request email and enter an optional message. 
   • Choose to send automatic reminders to the signee until they sign the document. Select the frequency for reminders.  
7. Click Next to review the document, then Create.

The generated document appears in the employee's Documents tab under the assigned category, and they receive a notification in their Personio Inbox. Depending on your permissions, you'll be able to access the document and have the following options:

• Request a signature and check the status of signature request.
• Click the document name to see a preview.
• Download or delete the document.
• Edit the document category, title, date, or comments.

Consider creating a document upload notification workflow to alert an employee's supervisor when their reports have documents uploaded to their profiles.

Tip:
Templates uploaded to the Work Contracts system category automatically display in the Recruiting section when creating a job offer.

For multiple employees

To create a personalized document for multiple employees at once using a template, follow these steps:

1. Open the People list.
2. Select the checkbox next to all the employees necessary, and click Create documents.
3. Choose a template. Filter by category and language, or search as needed. 
4. Review and adjust the Editable variables. These changes apply to all selected employees. 
5. Enter the document details to adjust the Name, File type, and Document date. 
6. Optionally, request a signature. Select one person to sign all documents, or set each employee as the signer of their own document. Then select the notification language and add a message if needed. To skip this, disable the Request signature option. 
7. Check the accuracy by selecting an employee from the menu to preview the document. 
8. Optionally, select the checkbox to notify employees about the document. The notification appears for recipients in their Personio Inbox. You can also create a document upload notification workflow to alert Supervisors.
9. Review and click Create documents. 

The generated document appears in the employee's Documents tab under the relevant category, and each placeholder is filled using information saved in their employee profile or inputted while reviewing the variables. If the document includes a signature request, the employees will receive an email. 

Accounts with the Core Plan have a defined number of e-signature requests per month. Upgrade your plan to add unlimited e-signature requests.

Upload existing documents

You can manage and store all important employee documents directly in their Personio profile. This helps maintain records for things like Time off certificates, Application documents, Development plans, and more. You can use the Imports feature to upload employee files in bulk.

Upload a document

To upload a pre-existing document to an employee's profile, follow these steps:

1. Go to the relevant Employee Profile > Documents tab. 
2. Click Add document > Upload.
3. Upload or drag and drop the file.
4. Enter a name and select the category for the document.
5. Optionally, add a date and comment.
6. Optionally, enable the Request signature option to request electronic signatures on the document.
   • You can add up to 12 signers.
   • Select the signature type, email language, and enter an email message.
   • Choose to notify the requester and all signers once the signatures are completed. 
   • Choose to send automatic reminders about pending signatures and the frequency
7. Choose to notify the employee about this document and send them an Inbox and e-mail notification.
8. Click Upload.

Tip:
Your IT department can create an API integration that will automatically upload a document to the respective employee profile. They can find technical documentation in our Developer Hub.

Supported file types

Personio supports uploading files in the following formats:

File types you can preview in Personio

You can preview the following file types in Personio:

• bmp
• csv
• doc
• docx
• gif
• jpeg
• jpg
• ods
• odt
• pdf
• png
• rtf
• txt

Edit the details of a document

Uploaded documents are stored in the Documents tab of an employee's profile under their assigned category. To access and edit documents, follow these steps:

1. Go to the relevant Employee Profile > Documents.
2. Select the category where the document is stored.
3. A list of all documents within the selected category appears. Click a document name to preview it. While previewing, you can:
   • Find additional information about the size, file type, and creation date of the file.
   • Edit the document name, date, comments, or category by clicking Edit at the bottom.
   • Download, delete, or print the document.