Enterprise DNA

Instead of M-Files

Stop renting M-Files. Own your document vault.

We build your version around how you file, find and review documents, bring your M-Files records and originals across, and run it for you. Your fields, your review rules and your history.

M-Files Essentials lists €65 per seat per month, equivalent to €780 per seat over a year. Enterprise is quoted separately. This is the displayed EUR list rate, not a local quote.

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

A seat-based service around your documents

M-Files combines filing, collaboration and governance. Compare the work your team actually needs with the recurring service you pay for.

paid

Essentials by the seat

The visible Essentials rate is €65 per seat per month. The licence bill follows the number of people using the service.

event_repeat

An ongoing subscription

M-Files says subscriptions are typically billed annually. Confirm your contract terms and local currency before comparing costs.

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Document organisation

Metadata connects each document to its business context. Your own database can hold those relationships alongside the originals.

history

Work around each revision

Filing and collaboration include the history behind a document. An owned version keeps the changes and review decisions you need to inspect.

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Enterprise governance

M-Files positions advanced governance and audit support in Enterprise. Its quote reflects the scale and requirements of the organisation.

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Sharing and automation requirements

External collaboration, automation and document volume influence the Enterprise quote. We agree which connections your owned version needs before building them.

Your owned document desk

The original, the revision and the next action

Filing

Know what is actually in the vault

Find the difference between a document record and an original you can recover.

  • check Keep source properties with every imported record
  • check Flag documents with no original attached
  • check Find missing owners and unfiled records
  • check Compare identical originals across different records

Revision history

Review the version you are looking at

Each change creates a new revision. The previous decision stays with the version it covered.

  • check Keep earlier originals and their change notes
  • check Record the person behind each review decision
  • check Require a fresh review after a revision
  • check Reject a change made against an outdated version

The weekly desk

Put overdue work in front of its owner

Join filing gaps, review dates and retention findings in one working review.

  • check List overdue and upcoming reviews
  • check Separate missing files from unfiled records
  • check Draft a weekly review from current evidence
  • check Produce branded revision records and review requests

Your rules

Ask questions across your own history

Keep your working rules beside the documents, then change those rules as the business changes.

  • check Search current metadata and supported text documents
  • check Record personal-information purposes and review dates
  • check Check recorded NZ tax retention dates and active holds
  • check Recover originals and export the complete history

Make it yours

Design your own M-Files replacement

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

2. What it runs

3. Make it fit

4. Your colour

Your business · your M-Files 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 M-Files data across and run it for you.

What it looks like

Ask it like you would ask a colleague

Three real command runs on invented demonstration records. See the filing gaps, duplicate originals and record checks the free version finds.

forum

Document Vault for Claude Code

Connected to your own database

Which documents need attention and who owns them?

DOC-103

Title
Customer contact consent
Reason
missing document bytes
Review_on
2026-10-05

DOC-103

Title
Customer contact consent
Reason
review overdue
Review_on
2026-10-05

DOC-103

Title
Customer contact consent
Reason
unfiled
Review_on
2026-10-05

DOC-101

Title
Supplier agreement
Owner
Morgan
Reason
review overdue
Review_on
2026-10-23

Ask it anything

Questions your own document history can answer

These questions run against the free version today. The examples use invented records. Your version follows your own fields and rules.

chat_bubble Which documents need an owner or a class?
chat_bubble Which current revisions have no original file attached?
chat_bubble Which reviews are overdue or due this week?
chat_bubble Which different records contain identical current files?
chat_bubble Which documents have changed since their last approval?
chat_bubble Which personal records lack a purpose or a review date?
chat_bubble Which tax records have retention dates shorter than our seven-year check?
chat_bubble Which records are past their retention date but still have a hold?
chat_bubble Who filed, revised or reviewed a document?
chat_bubble Which current text documents mention insurance?

Switching

How to switch from M-Files

The move involves exporting your records and originals, mapping your fields, checking the imported results and deciding what history to bring across.

  1. 1

    Export your records

    Use M-Files' documented export for selected search results. Export the record details and metadata as a CSV, and include original files where the export allows. Check with M-Files if you are unsure what your account can export. Keep the export and original files together so they can be matched during import.

  2. 2

    Load a test batch

    Start with a test import before loading the full export. The import supports a dry run, so you can check the mapped records before committing them. Map your M-Files columns to the fields in Document Vault, and include the original files where available. The import matches those files to their records.

  3. 3

    Check the results

    Review the import results and anything the import flags. Reconcile the record counts, then recover and check samples of the imported originals against M-Files. Decide separately whether you need historic revisions, approvals, permissions or workflow history, since those are not inferred from exported metadata and need their own reconciliation.

  4. 4

    Run both side by side

    Keep M-Files available while you use Document Vault for a short period. Check that your team can find the records and originals they need, and compare results with M-Files. Use this time to identify missing records, incorrect field mappings or rules that need adjustment. Do not treat the imported data as a replacement until those checks are complete.

  5. 5

    Switch off M-Files

    Retire M-Files only after you have reconciled the records and originals you intend to move, checked the history and access rules you need, and confirmed the new process works for your team. Keep any source exports or other records you are required to retain. Your responsible person should decide what can be retired under your own retention requirements.

construction

Where the real effort goes

The main work is usually mapping your own fields and rules, then deciding which history to bring across. Exported metadata does not recreate historic revisions, approvals, permissions or workflow history, so those need separate review and reconciliation. When you have Enterprise DNA run the move, they map your M-Files exports and add your fields and rules.

Not ready for a call?

Get your M-Files switch plan by email

We will send you the step-by-step plan for moving your business off M-Files, 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, npm test and npm run demo
  2. 2 Open it with Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode or Cursor
  3. 3 Export your M-Files search results and originals, map the columns and files, then test the import
  4. 4 Reconcile document counts and recover sample originals before switching
Get it on GitHub

Built around your business

We customise it

One setup fee, then a retainer for ongoing work

  • check Your document classes, fields, review rules and retention policy
  • check Your M-Files records, originals and required history mapped and checked
  • check Your office tools, document reading and access rules connected
  • check A web front end or a different technology stack when your team needs it
Get your version built

Omni by Enterprise DNA

We run it for you

One setup fee, then a retainer

  • check Installed with access, backups and recovery checks
  • check Weekly document reviews and follow-up drafts prepared
  • check Your connections and document rules maintained as work changes
  • check Run through Omni by Enterprise DNA alongside your other work
Book a 30-minute M-Files review

Questions

Instead of M-Files, answered

What does M-Files cost before we add Enterprise? expand_more

Its visible Essentials price is €65 per seat per month, or €780 per seat across twelve months. M-Files says subscriptions are typically billed annually. Enterprise uses a custom quote. Check your own currency, terms and included services against that comparison.

Can you bring our documents across, not just a list of them? expand_more

Yes. M-Files documents an export of selected search results with optional original files. We match those originals to their records, check counts and recover samples. The free version accepts mapped exports. Historic revisions, permissions and workflow history need separate reconciliation before you retire the old system.

Will this fit the way our staff open, edit and share documents? expand_more

We scope your office connections, team access and document-reading requirements with you. The free version stores and recovers originals and searches metadata and supported text documents. Enterprise DNA builds the screens, reading services and connections your team needs into your version.

Can we trust the review and retention records? expand_more

A review covers one specific revision. A later change needs a fresh decision, and the earlier evidence stays available. Retention checks flag recorded dates, purposes and holds for review. Your responsible person still decides the policy and any disposal. An automated check is not a legal sign-off.

What do we pay Enterprise DNA, and who owns the result? expand_more

You own the database and the open-source base. We agree one setup fee, then a retainer to customise and run your version. Hosting and any external services are agreed in the scope. You can export your records and recover your originals whenever you need them.

Put your document history under your control

Book 30 minutes with Sam. Bring your M-Files bill and one document workflow that takes too much effort. We look at the originals, history and connections you need, then map an owned version around that work.

Book a 30-minute call with Sam Get the free version

Document Vault for Claude Code is free and open source, published by Enterprise DNA.

Done paying for M-Files?

Get your version built