Document Management

lim provides document management that complies with Japan’s Electronic Bookkeeping Act (電子帳簿保存法 / 電帳法), which requires businesses to store and manage electronic records properly.

Electronic Bookkeeping Act Overview

Since January 2024, all businesses receiving electronic transaction data (invoices, receipts via email/web) must store them electronically with:

Searchability — by date, amount, and counterparty
Timestamping — proof that the document existed at a specific time
Tamper prevention — documents cannot be altered after storage
Retention — 7 years minimum (10 years for some)

lim handles all four requirements automatically. Upload your documents and lim takes care of compliance.

List Documents

lim docs list

ID            Type      Date        Amount   Counterparty  Entry
doc_01KG...   invoice   2026-03-01  11,000   AWS           je_01K3...
doc_01KH...   receipt   2026-03-14  1,200    Cafe          (unlinked)
doc_01KI...   receipt   2026-03-15  3,400    Taxi          (unlinked)

Show Document Details

lim docs show doc_01KG...

Document: doc_01KG...
File:          invoice-aws-march.pdf
Type:          invoice
Date:          2026-03-01
Amount:        ¥11,000
Counterparty:  Amazon Web Services
Timestamp:     2026-03-16T10:30:00+09:00
Hash:          sha256:a1b2c3d4...
Entry:         je_01K3...
Status:        verified ✓

Upload Documents

# Attach a document to a journal entry
lim docs upload --file invoice-aws-march.pdf --entry je_01K3...

✅ Document uploaded: doc_01KG...
   File:       invoice-aws-march.pdf
   Timestamp:  2026-03-16T10:30:00+09:00
   Hash:       sha256:a1b2c3d4...
   Linked to:  je_01K3... (AWS monthly)

Upload Without Linking

# Upload first, link later
lim docs upload --file receipt.jpg

✅ Document uploaded: doc_01KH...
   Pending journal entry linkage.

Metadata Requirements

lim extracts and stores the required metadata automatically:

Field	Source	Required by
Date	Extracted from document or entry date	電帳法
Amount	Extracted from document or entry amount	電帳法
Counterparty	Extracted from document or vendor name	電帳法
Document type	Classified (invoice, receipt, contract)	電帳法

Search Documents

Search by the required fields — date, amount, and counterparty:

# Search by counterparty
lim docs search --counterparty "AWS"

# Search by date range
lim docs search --from 2026-03-01 --to 2026-03-31

# Search by amount range
lim docs search --min 10000 --max 50000

# Combine search criteria
lim docs search --counterparty "AWS" --from 2026-01-01 --to 2026-12-31

ID            Type      Date        Amount   Counterparty  Entry
doc_01KG...   invoice   2026-03-01  11,000   AWS           je_01K3...
doc_01KL...   invoice   2026-02-01  11,000   AWS           je_01J9...
doc_01KM...   invoice   2026-01-01  11,000   AWS           je_01H2...

Timestamping

lim timestamps every document on upload with a cryptographic hash. This proves the document existed at the recorded time and has not been modified.

# Verify a document's timestamp
lim docs verify doc_01KG...

✅ Document verified
   Original hash: sha256:a1b2c3d4...
   Current hash:  sha256:a1b2c3d4...
   Timestamp:     2026-03-16T10:30:00+09:00
   Integrity:     intact ✓

Documents cannot be deleted or modified once uploaded. This is by design — the Electronic Bookkeeping Act requires tamper-proof storage. If a document was uploaded in error, mark it as void instead.

Bulk Upload

lim docs upload --dir ./receipts-march/

✅ Uploaded 23 documents from ./receipts-march/
   Auto-linked: 18 (matched by amount + date)
   Pending:      5 (manual linkage required)

Unlinked Documents Report

lim docs unlinked

Unlinked Documents
────────────────────────────────────────────────
ID            File                  Date        Amount
doc_01KH...   receipt-cafe.jpg      2026-03-14  1,200
doc_01KI...   receipt-taxi.jpg      2026-03-15  3,400

Compliance Report

lim docs compliance --year 2026

Document Compliance Report: 2026
────────────────────────────────────────────────
Total journal entries:    245
  With documents:         230  (93.9%)
  Without documents:       15  (6.1%)  ⚠️

Unlinked documents:         5
Timestamp verification:   All passed ✓
Retention policy:         7-year minimum ✓

Next Steps

Tax Filing

e-Tax export uses linked documents for audit trail.

Natural Language

Attach files directly with lim add --file.

Getting Started

Guides

Concepts

Document Management

Document Management

Electronic Bookkeeping Act Overview

List Documents

Show Document Details

Upload Documents

Upload Without Linking

Metadata Requirements

Search Documents

Timestamping

Bulk Upload

Unlinked Documents Report

Compliance Report

Next Steps

Tax Filing

Natural Language

​Document Management

​Electronic Bookkeeping Act Overview

​List Documents

​Show Document Details

​Upload Documents

​Upload Without Linking

​Metadata Requirements

​Search Documents

​Timestamping

​Bulk Upload

​Unlinked Documents Report

​Compliance Report

​Next Steps

Tax Filing

Natural Language

Document Management

Electronic Bookkeeping Act Overview

List Documents

Show Document Details

Upload Documents

Upload Without Linking

Metadata Requirements

Search Documents

Timestamping

Bulk Upload

Unlinked Documents Report

Compliance Report

Next Steps