What is the Transmittals feature and why should I use it?

Purpose: To provide users with an overview of the Transmittals feature and its importance in maintaining a formal, traceable record of document sharing within a project. 

Overview

The Transmittals feature is a system-driven process designed to replace informal document sharing (such as email or external chat). It ensures that every document sent between stakeholders is recorded with a clear trail of what was sent, when it was sent, and to whom it was delivered.

Why use Transmittals?

• Traceability: Maintains a formal record of all project document exchanges.
  
  
• Accountability: Clearly identifies who has received, acknowledged, or approved specific files.
  
  
• Standardization: Replaces inconsistent, informal sharing with a structured, professional workflow.
  
  
• Auditability: Generates a system-backed audit trail and formal transmittal documents for project records.

Primary Use Cases

You can choose between two main types of transmittals based on your project needs:

1. For Information: Used for sharing documents where recipients simply need to acknowledge that they have received the files.
   
   
2. For Approval: Used for documents that require a structured review process, such as drawings or technical submissions, following a formal approval workflow.

Key Benefits

• Logical Grouping: Uses checklists to organize large batches of files into easy-to-understand categories rather than a flat list of attachments.
  
  
• Revision History: Automatically tracks versions (e.g., adding a /R1 suffix) to ensure you are always looking at the most recent document while preserving old ones.
  
  
• Centralized Tracking: All sent and received items are stored in a dedicated Transmittals workspace for easy filtering and discovery.

Tips and Practices:

• Use For Information for routine updates where no action is needed other than a "receipt" confirmation.
  
  
• Always utilize Checklists when sending multiple documents to help the recipient understand the package contents quickly.
  
  
• Review the History Log if you need to see exactly when a recipient opened or acknowledged a transmittal.