How to Add a Specific Document Type to an Equipment

Equipment Documents let you store the paperwork for a single machine - its registration, insurance certificate, risk assessment or specification sheet - against the equipment record itself, with a document type and an expiry date so nothing quietly lapses.

Overview

Every machine collects paperwork, and most of it belongs to that machine alone. Latner keeps those files on the equipment record, tagged with a document type so you can tell a registration from a lifting certificate at a glance.

Documents are attached to one equipment record and live on its Documents tab, not on the equipment class or model.
Every document must have a Document Type. Latner ships with six - Specification, Insurance, Registration, Risk Assessment, SWMS and Service History - and you can add your own.
An optional Expiry Date drives the document's status: Active until the expiry date arrives, Expired from that date onwards.
You can upload the same document type more than once against the same machine, which is what you want when a certificate is renewed.
Documents that are no longer current can be deactivated, which keeps the file and its history on the record.
Equipment documents are internal. They are not the files your customers see in the equipment portal - those are Portal Documentation, which is configured separately.

Before You Begin

Check that you have the following in place.

Requirement	Where to Find It
Create Document permission	Security › Configuration › Permission Groups › [your group] › Equipment › Option. This covers uploading, editing, deleting and deactivating equipment documents.
Equipment Document Type permission	Security › Configuration › Permission Groups › [your group] › Equipment › Configuration. Only needed if you have to create a new document type.
An equipment record that is not Inactive or Pending Activation	Equipment › Equipment. The Upload Document option is disabled on equipment with either of those rental statuses.
A file in a supported format	Images (jpg, jpeg, png), PDF, Office and text files (csv, xls, xlsx, txt, doc, docx), and machine files (mch, machine, mx3).

The Create Document permission sits under Equipment › Option and is granted per permission group

The document types you create are shared across the whole business, so it is worth agreeing on names before you start adding them. A type cannot be deleted once it exists - it can only be made Inactive.

Creating the Document Type

Skip to the next section if the type you need is already on the list.

Step 1 - Open the Equipment Document Types screen

Go to Equipment › Configuration › Equipment Document Types. The screen lists every type with its status.

The six document types Latner ships with, all Active and ready to use

Step 2 - Add the new type

Select Options › Create Equipment Document Type and complete the Create Equipment Documentation Type dialog.

Type Name - required, and must be unique. This is the name people will pick from when they upload a file, so keep it short and specific ("Lifting Certificate" rather than "Certificate").
Status - required, and defaults to Active. Only Active types can be selected when uploading a document.

Creating a Lifting Certificate type - Status defaults to Active, so the type is usable straight away

Step 3 - Save

Select Save. The new type appears at the bottom of the list and is immediately available on every equipment record.

The saved type joins the list - existing types keep their ids, so the new one lands at the end

Adding the Document to the Equipment

Step 4 - Open the equipment record

Go to Equipment › Equipment and open the machine you want to attach the file to.

Equipment DS39008 - documents are attached to this record only, not to other units of the same model

Step 5 - Choose Upload Document

Select Options › Upload Document.

Upload Document on the equipment Options menu, above Upload Equipment Photo

Step 6 - Pick the document type

Equipment Number is filled in for you and cannot be changed - it confirms which machine you are attaching the file to. In Document Type, start typing and select the type from the list.

Only Active document types appear in the search results, so an Inactive type can never be picked by mistake

Step 7 - Set an expiry date and attach the file

Fill in the rest of the dialog.

Expiry Date - optional, in DD/MM/YYYY format. Set it for anything that lapses (registration, insurance, certification) and leave it blank for reference documents such as a specification sheet.
Add Document or Photo - select Click to add Photos & Documents and choose the file. One file per document line.

The completed dialog - the attachment shows as a thumbnail, and the x on it swaps the file for a different one

Step 8 - Save

Select Save. Latner confirms with a Document Uploaded message and the file appears on the Documents tab of the equipment record.

The Documents tab - the Registration expired on 31 July 2026, so its date is shown in red and its status is Expired

You can skip the Options menu entirely: drag a file onto the Documents tab and Latner opens the same dialog with the file already attached, so you only have to pick the type and the expiry date.

After Uploading

The document is listed on the equipment's Documents tab with its line number, type, expiry date, attachment link and status. Select the file name to open it.
Status is worked out for you: Active for a current document, Expired once the expiry date is today or earlier, and Inactive once the document has been deactivated.
Equipment with a document expiring soon (or already expired) is listed on Dashboard › Equipment under Equipment with Overdue or Upcoming Document Expiry, with quick filters for 60 Days, 90 Days, Registration, Internal Equipment and On Rent.
That dashboard shows only the latest document of each type per machine, ignores deactivated documents, and leaves out equipment that is Inactive, Sold, Disposed, Converted or Pending Activation.
To take a document out of circulation, tick its row on the Documents tab and select the Deactivate Document icon. The row stays, with a deactivated date and a status of Inactive.

Ticking a row reveals Deactivate Document, edit and delete - deactivating keeps the file, deleting removes it

The dashboard picks up the expired Registration the moment it is uploaded, so nothing depends on someone remembering to check

Deactivating a document cannot be undone, and deleting a row removes the file for good. If a certificate has simply been renewed, upload the new one against the same document type instead - the Documents tab keeps both, and the dashboard follows the latest expiry date.

FAQs

The document type I need isn't in the Document Type list. Why?

Either the type has not been created yet, or its status is Inactive. Only Active types appear in the search results. Check Equipment › Configuration › Equipment Document Types and either create the type or set its status back to Active.

Can I attach the same document type to a machine more than once?

Yes. Nothing stops you uploading a second Registration when the first is renewed, and it is the recommended way to keep the history. The Documents tab lists every upload; the dashboard only reports the one with the latest expiry date.

Upload Document is greyed out on the Options menu. Why?

The equipment's rental status is Inactive or Pending Activation - documents can only be added to equipment that is in service. If the status is fine, you are missing the Create Document permission.

I opened a document to change its expiry date and the whole line disappeared. What happened?

Double-clicking a row opens it in Update Document, and saving that dialog with no file attached deletes the line rather than saving a document with nothing in it. Leave the existing attachment in place while you edit the type or the expiry date, and re-upload if the line has already gone.

Do my customers see these documents?

No. Equipment documents are internal. What customers see in the equipment portal comes from Portal Documentation, which uses its own types (Equipment › Configuration › Portal Documentation Types) and can be attached either to an equipment model or to one specific machine.

Can I delete a document type we no longer use?

No - types are kept so that documents already filed against them stay readable. Set the type's Status to Inactive instead. It disappears from the Document Type search while existing documents keep showing it.

Watch the Demo

Prefer to watch it? Step through the same flow here.