Patent ID: 7895166

Claim:
A method using a document system comprising a computer with a processor for executing software instructions for electronic management of documents, the method comprising: providing one or more central archive database(s) accessible through a shared network to a plurality of organizations; wherein the database stores images of a plurality of executed documents; wherein the operating system of the central archive database provides systematic access to individuals associated with one or more organizations with the privilege to access the document according to a specific organizational hierarchy with individuals at a higher level within the hierarchy having the ability to access documents lower within the hierarchy; wherein at least some of the documents in the database were executed through an automated document exchange and execution system that electronically routes a document for execution and archives the document following apparent execution of the document by obtaining approval or a signature on the document from all requested parties wherein the systematic access to the archive is based at least in part on instructions for the routing of the documents for execution; and wherein archiving comprises associating each document with one or more organizational tag(s) so that documents with a common tag are organized within a structure based on the tags and displayed in directories in groups related to the common tags.