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FileHold is our pick for the best document management system for companies that prioritize scalability. It’s available in hosted or on-premises versions, both of which are easy to use and built to grow with your business as you add users or open new locations. FileHold provides all the essential document management tools plus optional add-ons, so organizations can pay for only the features they need. The software supports a minimum of five users and can scale to thousands, making it a strong fit for small businesses planning to expand in the future.
9.4 / 10
FileHold is our choice for the best scalable document management system for growing businesses, thanks to its ability to support just a few users and documents or scale up to thousands of users and millions of files. This means a small company can start with limited needs, knowing the same system can expand as they hire more employees or open new business locations.
Scalability also comes from FileHold’s modular design. Businesses can add advanced features like workflow automation, document capture or third-party integrations only when they need them. We also like that the vendor offers a flexible pricing model, so companies only pay for the tools they use.
FileHold’s standout features include collaboration tools, metadata-based search and premium add-ons like guest accounts for view-only access. The platform also offers task management tools, such as calendars and checklists, and its Mobile Client allows users to access and edit documents offline from anywhere. This flexibility makes it easier for growing teams to stay productive regardless of location or internet connection.
FileHold also supports over 80 file types, including Microsoft Office documents, PDFs, emails with attachments, multimedia files and compressed archives. This broad compatibility makes it particularly effective for organizations that manage a wide variety of content.
FileHold receives high marks for ease of use thanks to its uncluttered interface, intuitive organizational system, multiple access options and wide range of resources for new users.
FileHold offers useful tools that let you manage, organize and digitize documents in a secure central location while assigning and tracking tasks for your team. Its collaboration tools make working on documents seamless, ensuring every team member stays in the loop.
FileHold’s search engine is designed to save time by quickly finding documents across even the largest libraries. It indexes both document content and metadata, so users can search within files like PDFs, Microsoft Office documents, emails and zip archives as well as by tags, author, date, approval status or other custom fields.
Advanced options support boolean logic, wildcards, synonyms and fuzzy matching. Administrators can also set up metadata fields such as dropdowns or date ranges, giving users the flexibility to build precise queries. Searches can be saved for reuse, and employees will only see results for documents they’re authorized to access.
We especially like that FileHold includes relevance weighting, which lets companies decide whether results should prioritize tags or full text. This is especially helpful for organizations managing diverse content, from transaction records like invoices to large text-heavy files such as reports or research papers. Together, these features ensure that FileHold’s search remains effective as your business scales to millions of documents.
FileHold makes it easier for teams to work together by combining team collaboration and task management features. The system’s check-in/checkout function ensures that multiple users don’t overwrite each other’s work, while the audit log records who accessed a document, when they did, and what changes were made. This kind of document tracking becomes especially valuable as businesses grow and more people are sharing files.
On top of that, FileHold provides task management tools to help teams stay organized. Managers can assign tasks, set deadlines and track completion through built-in calendar features. These tools centralize responsibilities, making it clear who is responsible for each task and ensuring accountability across the team. Together, these collaboration and task management features keep projects moving smoothly and keep everyone on the same page.
FileHold’s optical character recognition (OCR) automatically reads the text in scanned documents so they can be indexed and searched just like digital files. This means employees can locate contracts, invoices or forms by searching for words within the document, not just by file name. Users can also add metadata to further classify and organize files.
OCR is especially valuable as your document library grows, since it helps keep large volumes of paper-based records searchable and easy to manage without requiring extensive manual tagging.
FileHold comes preconfigured with 12 security roles organized in a hierarchy, from Limited users with the least access to System Administrators with full control. These roles determine what each user can see, edit or manage, and they make it easy for admins to scale permissions as the business grows.
Admins can also customize access at every level of FileHold’s cabinet, drawer and folder structure. This flexibility ensures employees only have the access they need — whether they’re uploading invoices, reviewing contracts or overseeing entire libraries. As your team expands, permissions can be quickly assigned or restricted, keeping files secure while maintaining productivity.
This hierarchical system is especially useful for growing businesses, since it adapts as you add new groups, projects or even entire departments.
FileHold comes with robust document management tools out of the box, but businesses can extend the system through optional modules and customization options. This flexibility helps organizations adapt the platform as their needs evolve and is one of the reasons we chose FileHold as a great option for scalability.
Here are some options:
These advanced and customizable features make FileHold suitable for organizations with complex or changing requirements, while still keeping the core system straightforward for everyday use.
FileHold uses a flexible, quote-based pricing model designed to fit different budgets and deployment needs. Costs vary depending on how many users you have, whether you choose the self-hosted or cloud version, and which optional modules you add.
While it’s always nice to see transparent, upfront pricing, we get why this approach is used here — the system is highly customizable, and a one-size-fits-all price wouldn’t reflect the wide range of ways businesses can deploy it.
We do like that FileHold offers several ways to pay:
To get started, FileHold asks businesses to share details like user count, deployment preference and optional features of interest, then provides a zero-obligation quote.
New customers can also try the system with a two-week, full-featured free trial for up to 10 users, which includes two hours of free technical support. Additionally, free webinars are available to help teams explore more advanced capabilities.
FileHold makes onboarding flexible, whether you choose its cloud-hosted system or install it on your own servers. The cloud version runs on Microsoft Azure, so most small businesses can be up and running quickly without heavy IT investments. For on-premises deployments, FileHold provides detailed guides and technical assistance to help companies with Windows Server and SQL expertise set things up.
We like that FileHold balances technical power with practical support. Administrators can use setup videos and tutorials to configure key features like automatic filing, language localization or even rebranding the interface. For growing teams, FileHold offers live training webinars that cover everything from workflows and document scanning to everyday user tips. Refresher courses are also available so staff can stay sharp over time.
FileHold is an excellent, secure option for your document management needs, but it may not be the right solution for every business. Consider the following potential drawbacks:
When searching for the best document management software, we investigated dozens of options. Our research included testing the products whenever possible, watching tutorials, reading user reviews, and contacting each vendor’s customer support team to evaluate its service. We examined features such as search functionality, scanning, editing and collaboration tools, security measures, integrations, mobility, workflow options, ease of use and cost.
To identify the top document management software for scalability, we focused on platforms that could accommodate more users and documents over time and that allowed businesses to add new features as their needs evolved.
We recommend FileHold for…
We don’t recommend FileHold for…
Very small organizations (fewer than five users), since the minimum licensing requirements may be excessive.