> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bumara.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Documents and evidence
> Uploading documents, attaching them to filings, and building the evidence trail a regulator or auditor will ask for.
Every filing needs proof behind it. Bumara keeps that proof attached to the record it belongs to,
so that when a regulator or auditor asks "show me", you open one page rather than searching four
inboxes.
## Document kinds
| Kind | What it is | Example |
| --------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Source** | Something your business produced or received, used as the basis for a filing | Payroll summary, bank statement, sales report |
| **Workpaper** | Working documents supporting a calculation | Reconciliation sheet, computation |
| **Submission** | What was actually sent to the regulator | Completed return form |
| **Receipt** | Proof of payment | Bank confirmation, mobile money receipt |
| **Certificate** | Something issued to you by a regulator | Certificate of incorporation, tax clearance certificate |
Bumara sets the kind automatically when a document satisfies a named requirement. You choose it
when uploading a supporting document yourself.
## Required documents
Each filing and service request lists the documents it requires. The list is not generic — it is
specific to that regulator, that obligation and your entity type.
The documents panel shows, for each requirement:
* The name of what is needed
* Whether it is required or optional
* Whether it has been provided
* The file itself, once uploaded
Uploading a document against a named requirement usually completes the matching "upload
document" task automatically. You do not upload and then separately tick a box.
## Uploading a document
Go to its Documents panel.
Upload against the specific requirement — "Payroll Summary", "Board Resolution". This is what
links the document to the right task and makes it count towards readiness.
PDF is safest for anything official. Photographs of documents are accepted but must be legible
— a blurry photo of a certificate will be rejected by the regulator, not by Bumara.
Large files take a moment. Do not navigate away until the document appears in the list.
The requirement should now show as satisfied, and the matching task should show as Done.
## Uploading supporting documents
You can add documents beyond what is required — an explanatory letter, a prior year comparison,
correspondence with the regulator. Use the **Add document** option in the same panel, choose a
kind, and give it a name that someone else would understand in a year's time.
## What makes a good filename
This matters more than it seems. In an audit, a folder of `scan001.pdf` is worthless.
| Instead of | Use |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| `scan001.pdf` | `PAYE-summary-2026-03.pdf` |
| `IMG_4471.jpg` | `NAPSA-payment-receipt-2026-03.jpg` |
| `document.pdf` | `Board-resolution-director-change-2026-02-14.pdf` |
## The document vault
Everything you upload, and everything Bumara receives on your behalf, is held in one place.
Open it from Settings, or from a regulator workspace to see only that regulator's documents.
You can filter by:
| Filter | Use it to find |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| **Regulator** | Everything filed with or received from ZRA |
| **Kind** | All certificates, or all payment receipts |
| **Linked record** | Everything attached to a specific filing |
| **Date range** | Everything from a particular period |
See [Document vault](/account/document-vault) for organising and exporting.
## Documents Bumara adds for you
You are not the only source. Bumara files these against the right record automatically:
| Document | Added when |
| -------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Submission acknowledgement | The Bumara team files your return with the regulator |
| Certificate | A regulator issues one — incorporation, name clearance, tax clearance |
| Payment receipt | A fee payment is confirmed |
| Generated return file | You produce a NAPSA, NHIMA or PAYE return file from payroll |
| Invoice and payslip PDFs | Generated from your invoicing and payroll records |
## Locked documents
Once a filing is submitted, its documents are **locked**. They cannot be replaced or deleted.
This is deliberate. The whole value of the evidence trail is that what was submitted cannot be
changed afterwards. If a locked document is wrong, you do not fix it by swapping the file — you
raise the issue with the Bumara team, and any correction is recorded as a new event with its own
document.
Deleting a document that satisfies a requirement will reopen its task and take the filing out of
**Ready for submission**. Check what a document is attached to before removing it.
## Evidence for the health check
Findings from a [compliance health check](/start/compliance-health-check) carry their own
evidence — portal screenshots, tax statements, penalty notices — uploaded by the Bumara team to
support what they found.
If you are disputing a finding, attach your counter-evidence to the dispute. Evidence records are
never edited: adding better evidence means adding a new record, not replacing an old one.
## Practical habits
* **Upload as you go.** Do not save documents for the day before the deadline.
* **Upload the original.** A PDF from your bank beats a screenshot of a PDF from your bank.
* **One document per requirement.** Do not combine three months of statements into one file.
* **Check the vault monthly.** Missing evidence is easiest to chase while people still remember it.
Storage is limited by your plan, with extra storage available as an add-on. See
[Plan and billing](/account/plan-and-billing).