--- title: What Are Document Types? description: A document type describes the nature or format of a document — what kind of document it is rather than who it came from. While a correspondent answers... --- [Skip to content](https://help.essal.cloud/en/article/1394-#main-content) English Show submenu for translations [More support](https://help.essal.cloud/en/kb-tickets/new?hsLang=en) [Customer portal](https://clients.essal.cloud/tickets?hsLang=en) [![logo](https://help.essal.cloud/hubfs/logo.svg)](https://help.essal.cloud/?hsLang=en) - [Home](https://essal.cloud/) - [Products](https://essal.cloud/products) - [Industries](https://essal.cloud/industries) - [About](https://essal.cloud/about) - [Contact](https://essal.cloud/contact) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Home](https://essal.cloud/) - [Products](https://essal.cloud/products) - [Industries](https://essal.cloud/industries) - [About](https://essal.cloud/about) - [Contact](https://essal.cloud/contact) - English Show submenu for translations - [More support](https://help.essal.cloud/en/kb-tickets/new) - [Customer portal](https://clients.essal.cloud/tickets) - [Home](https://essal.cloud/) [Home](https://essal.cloud/) Essal Help Center - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Help Center](https://help.essal.cloud/en?hsLang=en) 2. [Essal Office](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en) 3. [Correspondents and document types](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#correspondents-and-document-types) # What Are Document Types? A **document type** describes the nature or format of a document — what kind of document it is rather than who it came from. While a correspondent answers *who*, a document type answers *what*. --- ## Common Document Types You define your own document types based on the kinds of documents your organisation handles. Common examples include: - **Document Type**: Invoice - **Typical Correspondents**: Any supplier or vendor - **Document Type**: Receipt - **Typical Correspondents**: Retail stores, online services - **Document Type**: Contract - **Typical Correspondents**: Clients, landlords, partners - **Document Type**: Bank Statement - **Typical Correspondents**: Your bank - **Document Type**: Insurance Policy - **Typical Correspondents**: Insurance company - **Document Type**: Tax Document - **Typical Correspondents**: Tax authority - **Document Type**: Letter - **Typical Correspondents**: Any person or organisation - **Document Type**: Report - **Typical Correspondents**: Internal, regulatory - **Document Type**: ID / Certificate - **Typical Correspondents**: Government authority --- ## Why Document Types Are Useful When combined with the correspondent, a document type gives you a precise two-axis way to describe any document: - Correspondent: *Acme Supplies* - Document Type: *Invoice* This combination lets you filter for "all invoices from Acme Supplies" in seconds, regardless of how many total documents exist in your archive. Document types also appear on document cards in the list view, giving an at-a-glance description of each result. --- ## Document Types vs. Tags Tags are flexible and can express multiple attributes (status, topic, project). A document type is a single field intended to capture the formal nature of the document. - **Feature**: Document Type - **Purpose**: The formal kind of document (Invoice, Contract, Report…) - **Feature**: Tag - **Purpose**: Status, topic, project, or any other attribute Use both together. A single document might have: - Document Type: `Invoice` - Tags: `Finance`, `Pending Payment`, `Q1 2026` --- ## One Document Type per Document Each document has exactly one document type. Choose the type that best describes the document's primary nature. If a document is both an invoice and a contract, assign the type that reflects its main purpose and use a tag for the secondary attribute. --- ## Auto-Matching Document Types Like correspondents, document types support matching rules. You can configure a pattern so that Essal Office automatically assigns the correct type to new documents without manual intervention. See Auto-Matching Correspondents and Types for details. - [Essal Office](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Getting started](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#getting-started) - [Searching and saved views](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#searching-and-saved-views) - [Correspondents and document types](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#correspondents-and-document-types) - [Email import](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#email-import) - [Users groups and permissions](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#users-groups-and-permissions) - [Sharing documents](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#sharing-documents) - [Working with documents](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#working-with-documents) - [Pdf tools](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#pdf-tools) - [Uploading documents](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#uploading-documents) - [Archive serial numbers](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#archive-serial-numbers) - [Workflows and automation](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#workflows-and-automation) - [Organizing with tags](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#organizing-with-tags) - [Troubleshooting and faq](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#troubleshooting-and-faq) - [Account and security](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#account-and-security) - [Custom fields](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#custom-fields) - [Portal](https://admin.essal.cloud/) - [Newsroom](https://newsroom.essal.cloud/) - [Careers](https://careers.essal.cloud/) - [Help](https://support.essal.cloud/) - [Status](https://status.essal.cloud/) - [Contact](https://essal.cloud/contact) - [Terms](https://legal.essal.cloud/terms) [![logo](https://help.essal.cloud/hubfs/logo.svg "logo")](https://essal.cloud/) Essal LLC Copyright © 2026, Essal