SharePoint document management
SharePoint document management system: find the current version in seconds, every document ready for audit
We design the taxonomy and close the oversharing before a single file moves, so you land one governed system on the Microsoft 365 you already own: the right version, opened only by the right people.
Free · one week · read-only
Built for organizations of 100 to 2,000 people on Microsoft 365. Nothing in production changes until you approve the plan.
On this page
Short answer
Communication Square builds document management systems on SharePoint Online for businesses and public agencies: information architecture, metadata and taxonomy, group-based permissions, retention and records, and migration from legacy SharePoint, file shares, Dropbox, Box or Google Drive in validated waves. A free one-week, read-only assessment produces a risk map and a fixed-price plan; builds start at $14,900.
Starting points
Wherever your documents live now, the destination is the same
The cost of waiting
Document chaos is a line item, not an annoyance
What it really is
Out-of-the-box SharePoint is storage. A document management system is architecture.
Storage will not find the right document in seconds, enforce who sees what, keep records the way a regulator expects, or survive an audit. Closing that gap is the whole job.
Why SharePoint
You already pay for the best place to put this
If you run Microsoft 365, SharePoint is included, so consolidating usually removes a bill rather than adding one. The real reason is governance.
| File shares | Dropbox, Box or Drive | SharePoint, built right (us) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Find by | A folder path you memorize | Folder and basic search | Metadata, filters and search |
| Permissions | NTFS sprawl, hard to audit | Per-file shares | Group-based, least privilege, auditable |
| Retention and records | Manual, if at all | None built in | Automated by document type |
| Audit trail | Thin | Thin | DLP, labels and a full audit log |
| Versioning | Locked files, lost versions | Limited | Co-authoring with full history |
| Cost | Server and upkeep | Another subscription | Included in Microsoft 365 |
| Ready for Copilot | No | No | Yes, once it is governed |
The key decision
It usually comes down to folders or metadata
Folders force a document into one place everyone must remember. Metadata lets one document be what it is, a signed 2026 West-region client contract, and be found by anyone searching any of those things. We design the taxonomy first.
What is included
What the work covers
Information architecture
Hub and department sites, libraries and content types designed around how your teams work.
Metadata and search
A taxonomy, managed metadata and search tuned to return answers, not folders.
Permissions and labels
Group-based least privilege, sensitivity labels and DLP, with oversharing closed first.
Retention and records
Retention labels by document type, mapped to your obligations, with records where required.
Workflows
Approval and review flows in Power Automate, OCR for scanned records, alerts on key documents.
Adoption and training
Champions, user training and admin handover, so the system is used after go-live.
Our approach
A method, not a migration script
- Scope and governInventory content; design the architecture, taxonomy and permission model before anything moves.
- BuildLibraries, content types, retention and workflows; search configured to return answers.
- SecureLeast privilege, DLP, labels and audit logging, checked against your obligations.
- Prove and adoptMigrate in validated waves, reconcile everything, train the people who live in it.
Our promise: a permission manifest and the audit evidence at handover, not a “trust us.”
Migration
Moved in validated waves, from any starting point
No big-bang cutover. We move a pilot site, then departments, then the rest, keep your source read-only until cutover, and reconcile every file, version and permission against a report you sign off.
- Legacy SharePoint 2013 to 2019: identities remapped to Entra ID, broken links fixed, custom workflows and InfoPath rebuilt rather than copied.
- Network file shares: tangled NTFS permissions and deep folder trees restructured into metadata.
- Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, Egnyte: sharing links and permissions remapped; Google files converted to Office.
Our guarantee: files, version history, metadata, timestamps and permissions arrive intact, or we do not cut over. Rollback stays available.
AI on this foundation
Copilot does not fix messy, overshared documents. It exposes them faster.
Getting governed and getting AI-ready are the same project. Fix organization and oversharing first, and Copilot and your own document AI answer from a source you can trust.
Proof
Where we have done this
The offer
One week. A firm number. A plan you keep.
The SharePoint DMS and Migration Readiness Assessment inventories your documents, finds every risk before a file moves, and hands you a target design and a fixed-price migration plan you can take to anyone.
Content and permissions inventory
Everything you have, where it is, how much, and who can see what.
Migration risk map
Every blocker before cutover: broken permissions, metadata gaps, dead links, workflows that will not survive.
Target architecture and plan
Your architecture, taxonomy and governance model, with a phased runbook and a fixed price.
- Free for customers and non-customers
- About one week
- Read-only: production untouched until you approve
- The plan is yours to keep
Why free? An accurate scan is how we scope a fixed price we can stand behind, and it shows you the risks whether or not you hire us.
How it runs
Day 0Scoping call with the solution architect who would run it.
Days 1–2You grant one scoped, revocable read-only admin consent.
Days 2–4We run the scan. Production is untouched.
Day 5Inventory, risk map and fixed-price plan. If we are not a fit, we say so.
We reply within one business day.
Least-privilege, read-only access you grant and remove. Your content never leaves your tenant. NDA before any access.
Why us
A Microsoft partner that builds, licenses and runs it
Transparent investment
What the work typically costs
Published, fixed prices for the common cases. The free assessment confirms scope before you commit.
| Engagement | Typical timeline | Typical investment |
|---|---|---|
| SharePoint DMS and migration readiness assessment | About one week | Free |
| DMS foundation: one source, up to 250 users and 500 GB, architecture, metadata, permissions and retention | 4–6 weeks | $14,900 |
| DMS standard: up to three sources or legacy SharePoint, up to 1,000 users and 2 TB, with workflows | 8–12 weeks | $29,900 |
| DMS and records program: multi-department, records management and OCR, up to 2,000 users | 3–5 months | $49,900 |
| Larger estates or complex custom solutions | Varies | Priced in the assessment |
Want a figure for your organization? Get an estimate in 2 minutes with our pricing calculator.
Prices include migration tooling, permission remediation and training. No change orders for work the assessment identified.
| Engagement | Typical timeline | Typical investment |
|---|---|---|
| SharePoint DMS and migration readiness assessment | About one week | Free |
| DMS foundation: one source, up to 250 users and 500 GB, architecture, metadata, permissions and retention | 4–6 weeks | $19,900 |
| DMS standard: up to three sources or legacy SharePoint, up to 1,000 users and 2 TB, with workflows | 8–12 weeks | $71,900 |
| DMS and records program: multi-department, records management and OCR, up to 2,000 users | 3–5 months | $114,900 |
| Larger estates or complex custom solutions | Varies | Priced in the assessment |
Government prices include procurement documentation, accessibility and records requirements, and delivery in Microsoft’s Government Community Cloud where required.
Questions buyers ask
Before you decide
Isn’t SharePoint already a document management system?
It is the platform a DMS is built on. Out of the box you get storage; the architecture, metadata, permissions and retention that make documents findable and audit-ready are the work.
Will our versions and permissions survive the migration?
Yes. Files, version history, metadata, timestamps and permissions are reconciled against a report you sign off. If something cannot be validated, we do not cut over.
Will we have downtime?
No big-bang downtime. We migrate in waves and keep your current system read-only and available until cutover.
Our last rollout flopped because no one used it. How is this different?
Adoption is in scope. We design around how your people work, then train champions and users.
Can’t our internal IT just do this?
They can run the platform. The gap is design: taxonomy, governance and a safe migration. We do the design and the move; your team runs it after.
Find any document in seconds. Pass any audit.
Start with a free, one-week, read-only assessment: the inventory, the risk map and a fixed-price plan before you commit a dollar.
