Enterprise DNA

Instead of Dovetail

Stop renting Dovetail. Own your research evidence system.

We build your version around the way you review research, bring your agreed Dovetail records across and run it for you. Keep the source, the finding and the decision together.

Dovetail quotes its Enterprise subscription privately. Compare your renewal with a research system built around your own work.

Get your version built See it working
  • check_circleYour data in a database you own
  • check_circleOpen source, no lock-in
  • check_circleBuilt and run by Enterprise DNA

What the subscription buys

Decide which parts of Dovetail your team actually needs

Dovetail sells a wider research platform. If your recurring work centres on text evidence, review and decision follow-through, those records can live in a system you own.

layers

A free-plan ceiling

Dovetail lists one project on its Free plan. A growing research archive leads you to its paid offer.

credit-card

A privately priced Enterprise plan

There is no public Enterprise tariff to compare. Start with your actual renewal and the capabilities your team uses.

search

Finding past research

Search helps people recover earlier evidence. In your own version, the search rules can follow the source-use reviews you record.

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Access and administration

Dovetail includes access controls in its Enterprise offer. Your installed version needs controls agreed for your people and their work.

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Connections to other tools

Dovetail supports connected research sources. Enterprise DNA scopes the connections your own version needs instead of assuming every team uses the same ones.

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The work of moving history

Readable exports carry selected records. The full-project archive is encrypted, so a switch starts by checking the actual exports you can use.

Your own research record

Evidence you can trace and decisions you can follow

Studies

Know what the research is for

Keep the purpose and the review owner beside the source material.

  • check A named purpose for each study
  • check An owner and review date
  • check Source notes with stable references
  • check Overdue study reviews in the weekly queue

Evidence

Keep the quotation with the finding

Read the exact source passage and the evidence that disagrees with it.

  • check Exact quotations checked against source text
  • check Supporting and contradictory evidence together
  • check Counts of recorded participant pseudonyms
  • check Findings with weak or withheld evidence surfaced for review

Review

Check whether evidence is ready to reuse

Recorded permission, freshness and retention dates determine what appears in search and approved briefs.

  • check New imports wait for a source-use review
  • check Withdrawn sources are held from ordinary search
  • check Revised source text returns dependent findings to draft
  • check A retention queue for the operator to resolve

Follow-through

Keep the decision after the meeting ends

Turn a reviewed finding into an owned follow-up with a date and an outcome.

  • check Decisions tied to currently usable findings
  • check Late follow-ups grouped with their owners
  • check Study briefs and decision records in your brand
  • check A warning when a decision depends on evidence that needs another review

Make it yours

Design your own Dovetail replacement

Everything starts from the open-source base. Then it gets your name, the parts you run, your rules and your data from Dovetail. Try it here, and we build the real one.

2. What it runs

3. Make it fit

4. Your colour

Your business · your Dovetail replacement Your version
YB Your business

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Answered from your own database

Build my version

We build it from the open-source base, bring your Dovetail data across and run it for you.

What it looks like

Ask it like you would ask a colleague

Real answers from the demo data that ships with Research Evidence for Claude Code. It runs in Claude Code inside the Claude app, so it feels like any chat you already use.

forum

Research Evidence for Claude Code

Connected to your own database

Which research work needs attention this week?

note

Title
Historic setup interview
Due_on
2026-10-17
Issue
review stale; retention overdue

study

Title
First-week onboarding
Owner
Mara
Due_on
2026-10-20
Issue
Study review overdue

decision

Title
Prepare the worked example for review
Owner
Tane
Due_on
2026-10-22
Issue
Decision follow-up overdue

note

Title
Withdrawn reporting interview
Due_on
2026-11-03
Issue
permission withdrawn

finding

Title
Month-end reconciliation
Owner
Tane
Issue
Evidence incomplete or withheld

finding

Title
Printable setup checklist
Owner
Mara
Issue
Evidence incomplete or withheld

note

Title
Reporting interview
Issue
permission pending; review missing; retention date missing

Ask it anything

Ten questions your research record can answer

These questions work on the fictional demo today. They describe this build, not a claim that Dovetail cannot answer them.

chat_bubble Which studies are overdue for review?
chat_bubble Which findings lack usable supporting evidence?
chat_bubble Where does the evidence contradict a finding?
chat_bubble How many distinct recorded participant pseudonyms sit behind a finding?
chat_bubble Which sources need a retention decision in the next month?
chat_bubble Which sources have unknown or withdrawn permission?
chat_bubble What exact passage supports this finding?
chat_bubble Which decision follow-ups are late, and who owns them?
chat_bubble Which decisions now rely on evidence that needs another review?
chat_bubble Who recorded a source-use decision or changed a record?

Switching

How to switch from Dovetail

A move usually involves exporting readable records, mapping them to your new study fields, and reconciling the imports before you switch over.

  1. 1

    Export readable records

    Use Dovetail’s readable raw data CSV export and check the actual headings. Export the source text and research write ups you want to keep, along with findings available in a separate Docs export. The full project archive is encrypted for use within Dovetail, so it cannot be imported here. If you are unsure what your account allows, check with Dovetail.

  2. 2

    Map and test a sample

    Match the export headings to the records and fields you will use, then run a small test import before loading everything. The importer offers a test run so you can check the proposed mapping and counts without committing the import. Start with a sample study and confirm that the records are going to the right places.

  3. 3

    Reconcile the import

    Review the test counts and mapping, then check the source URLs and links against Dovetail. The importer does not fill in missing quotation links, and changed source text needs review again. Resolve differences you find, adjust the mapping if needed, and repeat the test until the records you intend to bring across are accounted for. Then import the agreed records.

  4. 4

    Run both side by side

    Keep Dovetail available while you use the new database for a short period. Check that your team can find the studies, source notes and findings it needs, and follow the review and decision work you rely on. Compare records between the two systems and correct any gaps before treating the new database as your working record.

  5. 5

    Switch off Dovetail

    Once you have checked the imported records and completed the work you need to verify side by side, make the new database your working record. Confirm that the people responsible for research know where to find the records and how review work is handled. Then switch off Dovetail according to your account arrangements, keeping the readable exports you need.

construction

Where the real effort goes

The real work is usually mapping your own fields and review rules, then deciding how much history to bring across. Readable exports do not guarantee that every link or detail will map cleanly, so you need to reconcile the records you choose to keep. If you have Enterprise DNA run the installation, they check your actual exports and agree the remaining mapping with you.

Not ready for a call?

Get your Dovetail switch plan by email

We will send you the step-by-step plan for moving your business off Dovetail, what the move really involves, and how we would do it for you.

One email with your plan. No spam, and you can unsubscribe any time.

Three ways to own it

Do it yourself, have it customised, or have it run for you

Open source

Do it yourself

Free, open source

  1. 1 Clone the repo and run npm install
  2. 2 Run npm run demo and inspect the fictional study
  3. 3 Open it in Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode or Cursor
  4. 4 Map your readable Dovetail CSV exports and test the import
Get it on GitHub

Built around your business

We customise it

One setup fee, then a retainer

  • check Your study fields, review rules and documents
  • check Your agreed Dovetail records brought across and checked
  • check A web view and connections scoped around your team
  • check Your preferred database and hosting arrangement
Get your version built

Omni by Enterprise DNA

We run it for you

One setup fee, then a monthly retainer

  • check Installed and operated through Omni by Enterprise DNA
  • check Your research history reconciled before the switch
  • check Your review process and access needs built into the setup
  • check Ongoing operation and changes as your work develops
Book a discovery call

Questions

Instead of Dovetail, answered

Can you bring our Dovetail history across? expand_more

Yes, starting with the records available in readable exports. The free version imports source text and research write-ups from separate spreadsheets, with a test run and counts to reconcile. The full-project archive is encrypted for use within Dovetail. Enterprise DNA checks your actual exports and agrees the remaining mapping before a switch.

Does the free version cover everything our team does in Dovetail? expand_more

It covers the text evidence desk: studies, notes, exact quotations, reviewed findings and decision follow-ups. If your team needs recording, transcription, visual synthesis or live connections, Enterprise DNA scopes those into your version. Start with the work you need each week and check it against the demonstration.

How do we know a quotation is ready to use? expand_more

The record keeps a source-use review, a reference for that decision and a retention review date. Ordinary search and approved briefs hold back sources that need review. The operator still decides what use is permitted and checks the intended audience. These checks support that judgement rather than certify legal compliance.

What does Enterprise DNA charge? expand_more

There is one setup fee, then a retainer based on the agreed installation and ongoing work. Dovetail quotes Enterprise privately, so bring your renewal and the parts your team uses. Sam compares those with the system you want to own.

What happens to the records if we stop working with you? expand_more

You keep your database and the open-source code. The free version writes a complete private backup, including source text held from ordinary search. Enterprise DNA agrees hosting, access and handover as part of your setup, so the record has an owner throughout.

Bring your Dovetail renewal and one study

Spend 30 minutes with Sam looking at your annual bill, the research your team needs to reuse and the exports you can bring across. Leave with a clear scope for your own version.

Book a discovery call Get the free version

Research Evidence for Claude Code is free and open source, published by Enterprise DNA.

Done paying for Dovetail?

Get your version built