Inspection-ready,
every permit filed

Inspections happen one location at a time, so that is the top folder. Inside, split by the kinds of documents an inspector or insurer usually asks for, rather than by date or by whoever saved them. A manager covering a shift can then find what they need without knowing the history.

Keep company-wide documents, such as business registration and insurance policies, in a separate owner folder. Staff certificates belong to a person, not a building, so file them under the location where that person usually works, and move them when they transfer.

Start with the location, then the document type, then the date: Elm-St_Health-Inspection_2026-09-18.pdf. For anything that expires, use the expiry date instead, written as exp-2027-01-15, so sorting a folder shows what needs renewing next.

Phone photos of tags and logs are often the only record, and their default names say nothing. Rename them the same way on the day they are taken, adding a person’s surname for certificates, so “IMG_0417.jpg” becomes Harbor-Pt_Hood-Service-Tag_2026-05-12.jpg.

Requirements are set locally and vary, but many health departments expect a current food service permit on display, at least one certified food protection manager, recent pest control reports and up-to-date temperature records. Fire inspections often look at hood and suppression system service tags; many authorities follow the NFPA 96 standard, which calls for those systems to be inspected every six months.

After an inspection, keep the report and the proof of each correction together: the repair invoice, the photo of the new thermometer, the training sign-in sheet. If the inspector returns or the report is questioned later, the answer is already in the same folder.

Most single-site restaurants have an office binder and a manager who knows where things are. It works until that manager leaves or a second location opens, and then the binder becomes two binders that never quite match.

Restaurant groups often move to shared storage split by site, and some use checklist apps for daily temperature and cleaning logs. The certificates, permits and service reports still arrive as emails, PDFs and paper. Filex takes all of it: snap or upload a document, and it reads and files it by location, with renewal dates picked up on the way.

Filex does not apply for or renew permits, contact the health department, or tell you which documents your local rules require. It does not keep your temperature logs for you; it files the logs you photograph or upload.

It reads dates that are printed on documents. If a renewal date is only in a letter you never received, Filex cannot know about it, so add the dates you learn by phone or online to the document’s name yourself.