Project archive-digitise-and-normalise-one-archive · revised 11 October 2026
Project
Turn one scanned and old-format file archive into an organised, searchable collection
You scan the paper. We turn the scans and your old Office files into one organised, searchable collection, with a manifest and a spreadsheet index, for an agreed inventory.
This asks for a proposal by email. Nothing is charged, and nothing starts, until you have agreed the inventory, the price, the terms and a secure way to hand the files over in writing. No upload portal exists yet; if we cannot offer a way you are comfortable with, we decline and nothing is charged.
The result you are buying
An archive built over years mixes scanned pages with no searchable text, files in formats that new software flags or cannot open, and names and folders that only their authors understand. Each problem has a small fix, but together they leave nobody able to say what the archive holds, what was processed and whether anything was lost along the way.
Who it’s for: An office manager or administrator responsible for one archive of business documents: scanned boxes of paper, old Word and Excel files and folders nobody can navigate.
Usually starts when: A move to new storage, a staff change or a request that cannot be answered without searching hundreds of files by hand.
The result: You buy the finished archive, not the individual steps. Every file in the agreed inventory ends up converted, made searchable and renamed into the agreed structure, or is listed as an exception, and a manifest and an index spreadsheet account for all of it.
How the work fits together
The project is complete when every file in the agreed inventory is accounted for in the manifest as organised or listed as an exception, the agreed checks have passed and your named person has accepted the result. You accept the finished archive, not each internal step.
Convert a batch of old .doc and .xls files to current formats and check them Job Included
Every old Word and Excel file in one folder is converted to a current format in a parallel folder structure, with a log of what converted, what did not and a sampled check against the original.
One run over the old Word and Excel files in the agreed inventory, up to 300 files
The same conversion you can buy on its own, at project scale.
Make a batch of scanned PDFs searchable and test it with terms you choose Job Included
Image-only PDFs in one folder get an added text layer, with originals kept. A search test of terms you choose is held to a floor agreed in writing beforehand, and poor pages are listed.
As many runs as the scanned PDFs in the agreed inventory need, up to 1,500 pages in total
The same searchable-text job you can buy on its own, with the same search test.
Rename and sort one folder of files into a clear structure, with a manifest Job Included
A folder of badly named files, handed over by an agreed secure route, is copied into an agreed naming scheme after you approve a dry run. A manifest has a row for every file and shows none changed.
One run over the finished files
Renaming happens last, so the manifest covers the final files.
After: Convert old Office files, Searchable scanned PDFs
Fix mixed date and decimal formats in one spreadsheet or CSV export Job Optional
Dates typed as text, day-first and month-first entries mixed together, and comma or point decimals become real dates and numbers. Ambiguous rows are listed, not guessed.
Only if the index spreadsheet carries dates in mixed formats
Used on the index if names and folders hold dates written in several ways.
How an engagement works
The price covers the agreed inventory only. Files added later are quoted separately, and items that turn out to be unreadable are listed and agreed with you.
How it starts
You send a description of the archive and the counts, not any files.
We read the counts, look at a redacted sample if you have one, and propose a fixed inventory, a price and the agreed checks.
You agree the inventory, price, terms and a secure way to hand the files over in writing. Nothing starts before then, and if we cannot offer a way you are comfortable with we decline and nothing is charged.
We convert, make searchable and organise copies in stages, sending each stage's checks for your review.
We send the manifest, index and search-test report and hand over anything left open.
Who decides what
You decide the naming rule, the structure and what is an exception, and you accept the result. Your originals stay with you. We never delete or change them.
Handover
The organised copy, manifest, index and reports are handed back through the agreed secure route. Anything unfinished is handed back with notes. Our working copies are deleted as set out in the handling terms agreed before any file moves.
Sharing your product safely. Send counts and descriptions, never documents. No upload portal exists yet. After you agree the project, files travel only by the secure route set out in the proposal.
What is included, and what is not
- The organised, searchable copy of the archive and your untouched originals
- A manifest with old path, new path, size and checksum for every file, linking derived files to their originals
- An index spreadsheet listing each final file and the agreed metadata columns, and an exceptions list
- A search-test report on the terms you choose
Included
- One archive that you have already scanned and collected into one place, with a fixed inventory agreed after we have read it. Three separate caps apply: up to 3,000 files in all, up to 1,500 scanned pages in total (a page count, not a file count) and up to 300 old Word and Excel files
- Conversion of old Word and Excel files to current formats, and a searchable text layer on scanned PDFs, each on copies
- A naming rule and folder structure agreed with you, applied to a copy after you approve a dry run
- A manifest linking every final file to its original with checksums, and an index spreadsheet with the metadata you choose from names, folders and dates
Not included
- Scanning paper, handwriting recognition or promised text-recognition accuracy
- Deciding what to keep or destroy under a retention rule or legal hold, which is legal advice
- Archives that hold personal data (people's names, contact details, staff, member, customer, patient or client records) or regulated records, including in file and folder names: this project does not take them
- Removing duplicate files by content, writing descriptions of documents from their contents, or loading the archive into other software
- Items added to the inventory after the price is agreed, unless you add them in writing
How we know it’s done
Agreed with you before work starts. Each check produces evidence you keep.
The manifest lists every file in the agreed inventory with its outcome (kept as is, converted, made searchable or exception), links each derived file to its original, and the counts reconcile to the inventory.
Evidence: The manifest and the reconciliation of inventory counts.
Each component stage meets the checks set out for it in the proposal: counts reconcile, originals are unchanged by checksum, and the search test on your terms meets the pass floor agreed in writing before processing (every term on a page classed clean is found, and misses are shown on the page image).
Evidence: The stage check reports and the search-test report.
The index spreadsheet has one row for every final file, each row's path exists in the organised copy, and no new name breaks the agreed character and length rules.
Evidence: The index and the rule check output.
Your named person approved the dry run before it was applied, and accepts the final result in writing.
Evidence: The written approval and acceptance.
Sign-off. You browse the organised copy, run searches of your own, read the manifest and exceptions, and accept the finished archive or send it back with comments.
If it fails. An item we cannot convert or read is named with the reason and what it would take, and is taken off the inventory with a matching change to the price. Nothing is billed as delivered that you have not accepted.
When it fits, and when we stop
It fits when
- The paper has already been scanned and everything is in one place you can give us a copy of, by a secure route agreed in writing before any file moves
- You can name a person who approves the naming rule, the dry run and the final result
- The archive, including its file and folder names, holds no personal data and no regulated records, and you confirm that in writing
We stop and tell you if
- Most of the material is handwriting or scans too poor to read
- The archive cannot be copied and handed over by a secure route agreed first
- The archive holds personal data or regulated records
- The archive is really several different projects, so we propose a different scope
- No secure way to hand the archive over and delete our working copies can be agreed in writing; nothing starts and nothing is charged
What could go wrong
Your originals are never changed, so the whole project can be discarded without effect. The manifest links every final file back to its original, and the reversal list restores the original names.
Scroll the table sideways to read it all.
| Risk | How we handle it |
|---|---|
| The archive turns out to hold personal data or sensitive documents. | Nothing is shared in the first enquiry and you confirm in writing that the archive holds none. Items found to hold such content are set aside and not processed, and we agree with you how they are returned or deleted. |
| Searchable text is poor on some scans. | The search test reports what was and was not found, poor pages are listed and no accuracy is promised. |
| A file is lost or altered in the process. | Every file is accounted for by checksum in the manifest, and the originals are verified unchanged. |
Each stage is reviewed separately from the work that produced it, and you approve the dry run and accept the result. No human supervisor is included unless your proposal names one. At launch much of the work is automated, and we say so.
Stays with a person
- You approve the naming rule and the dry run
- You accept the final result
Access we would need
- A secure copy of the archive, through a route agreed in writing before any file moves
- No access to your live systems or storage accounts
Questions
Do I buy steps or a result?
A result. You agree an inventory and a price, and you accept the finished archive. How we get through the stages is our job.
Do you scan our paper?
No. You scan or collect everything first. We work from the files.
How is this different from buying the single jobs?
Each single job handles one stage on its own. The project runs them in the right order on one inventory and ends with one manifest and one index that account for everything.
Is there somewhere to upload the files?
Not yet. Files travel only by a secure route that we agree with you in writing before anything moves. If we cannot offer a route you are comfortable with, we decline and nothing is charged.
Can you take an archive that holds staff, member or client records?
No. Archives with personal data or regulated records, including in file names, are not covered by this project.
Send an enquiry
Send us
- A description of the archive: counts of files by type, how much is scanned, the folder depth and the total size
- Where it lives now and where it needs to go, and how people will search it
- No files or documents in the first enquiry
Later, once you agree
- The archive through the secure handover route we agree in writing before any file moves, with your confirmation that it holds no personal data and that you may share it
- The naming rule, the folder structure, the index columns and your list of 15 to 20 search terms with known pages
- A named person to approve the dry run and accept the result
You keep ownership of every file we work on and of what we return. No upload portal exists yet, and the first enquiry never includes documents: send a description, counts and an invented or redacted sample only. Work can start only after we have agreed with you, in writing, a secure way to hand the files over, who may see them, how long we keep them and how we delete them. If we cannot offer a way you are comfortable with, we decline and nothing is charged. Files may be handled by automated software, including services run by other companies, and we tell you which in writing before any file moves. We work on copies, never on your only original, and we do not send, publish or contact anyone for you.
Email fallback: open your mail app
If website submission is unavailable, review and send the fallback email yourself. An email fallback is not a website receipt. Or write to hello@syntheticindustry.ai with “archive-digitise-and-normalise-one-archive” as the subject.