Find and Download Documents from the Archive in SamBooks

Where to find, in one place, every XML invoice, courtesy PDF, F24 form, VAT return and OCR document SamBooks has already produced — and how to download them one by one or in bulk.

What this is for

The Archive is a read-only index of everything SamBooks has already produced or received for your company: electronic invoices, courtesy copies, F24 forms, VAT returns and documents uploaded through OCR. It's not a place where you upload or edit anything: it's where you find and download what already exists, useful at year-end or whenever your accountant or auditor asks you to "send me everything you've issued or received". Don't confuse it with Data export (a different Settings page that generates CSV files of customers, suppliers, chart of accounts, journal entries and the general ledger): the Archive holds documents already issued or received, while Data export builds tables out of your operational data.

Before you start

No special permission is needed: the Archive is read-only for anyone with access to the company, including a Viewer. Nothing here changes any data — you can only browse and download.

How to do it, step by step

1. Open the Archive

Go to Settings → Company → Archive (the "Archive" card in the Company Settings hub, described as "Download all the company's documents, split by section, as single files or a ZIP.").

2. Pick a section

At the top you'll find 7 tabs, each with a document count next to it:

• Sales invoices (XML) — the electronic invoices you've issued.
• Courtesy PDFs — the readable PDF copy of your issued invoices.
• Purchase invoices (XML) — the electronic invoices you've received from suppliers through SDI.
• Invoice attachments — files attached to your invoices (sales or purchase).
• F24 forms — the F24 payment forms generated in SamBooks.
• VAT returns — the VAT returns produced in the platform.
• OCR documents — the documents you've uploaded and had read by OCR.

If the Archive has no documents yet in any section, you'll see "Archive is empty — There are no documents to show yet.".

3. Filter by year and, where available, by counterparty

Above the table there's a Year filter (current year plus the previous 6). A second filter, Counterparty (search by customer or supplier name), only shows up in the three sections that support it: Sales invoices, Courtesy PDFs and Purchase invoices. In the other four sections (Invoice attachments, F24 forms, VAT returns, OCR documents) the Counterparty filter is not shown — that's expected, those documents aren't tied to a single counterparty. If nothing matches your filters, the table shows "No documents — No documents for this section with the selected filters."; you can always clear the filters from the link next to the filter row.

4. Browse the table

Each row shows Document, Counterparty (where the section supports it), Date, Size and Actions. Above the table, a line of text sums up how many documents you're seeing with the current filters. The list is paginated: 10 documents per page by default, up to a maximum of 50 per page from the selector at the bottom of the table.

5. Download a single document

Click "Download" on the row for the document you want: it immediately downloads the real file (XML, PDF or the original attachment, depending on the section). A toast confirms "Document downloaded."; if something goes wrong you'll see "Download failed. Please try again.".

6. Download a whole batch as a ZIP

The "Download ZIP" button, above the table, builds a ZIP with every document in the currently active section, with the current year/counterparty filters applied: if you only want this year's sales invoices for one customer, set those filters first and then download the ZIP — you'll get only those documents, not the whole section. The button stays disabled if the filtered section has no documents. A toast confirms "ZIP generated.".

If the selected documents are more than 500, the ZIP won't start and you'll see "Too many documents for a single ZIP: narrow it down by year or section.": this isn't an arbitrary limit — it exists to avoid generating and downloading an unmanageably large ZIP file. Narrow the year filter or switch section to fall back within the limit.

Ask Sam

Sam can tell you how many documents are in each Archive section and point you to a direct link to the page (optionally already scoped to one section), but it doesn't download the files for you: the actual download always happens on the page, never inside the chat. You could ask, for example, "Sam, how many purchase invoices do I have in the archive this year?" or "Sam, take me to the VAT returns archive": Sam replies with the count and a clickable link that opens the Archive already on the right section, ready for you to download manually.

If something goes wrong

• "Archive is empty": you don't have any document produced or received yet in any section — this isn't an error, it's the starting state before your first invoices/F24s/returns.
• "No documents" in a section with active filters: try clearing the filters (Year/Counterparty) before concluding the section is actually empty.
• The Counterparty filter is missing in a section: this only happens for Invoice attachments, F24 forms, VAT returns and OCR documents — those sections don't support filtering by counterparty, by design.
• "Too many documents for a single ZIP": narrow the Year filter or, if possible, the section, then try the ZIP download again.
• "Download failed. Please try again.": retry the single download; if it keeps failing across several documents in the same section, it may be a temporary network issue.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I find all last year's XML invoices? Settings → Company → Archive, "Sales invoices (XML)" tab (or "Purchase invoices (XML)" for the ones you received), with the Year filter set to the year you need.

How do I download everything for my accountant? Pick the section and filters you need, then click "Download ZIP": you get a single file with all the documents from that section and period. Repeat for each section you need to hand over (the Archive doesn't generate one combined ZIP across all sections).

Where are the F24 forms I've already paid? The "F24 forms" tab holds every F24 generated in SamBooks, paid or not — the Archive doesn't track payment status, it just shows the form that was produced.

Can I download all my invoices as a ZIP file? Yes, with "Download ZIP" on the "Sales invoices (XML)" or "Purchase invoices (XML)" tab, up to the 500-document limit per ZIP.

Where do I find the documents I uploaded through OCR? The "OCR documents" tab.

How do I search for a document tied to a specific customer or supplier? Use the "Counterparty" filter (search by name), available in the Sales invoices, Courtesy PDFs and Purchase invoices sections.

Where are the VAT returns I've filed? The "VAT returns" tab.

What's a courtesy PDF, and which section is it in? It's the human-readable PDF version of an issued electronic invoice (the XML alone isn't meant to be read by eye): it lives in the "Courtesy PDFs" tab, separate from the XML of the same invoice.

Can I filter documents by year? Yes, in every section: the Year filter covers the current year and the previous 6.

Can Sam download a document for me directly in chat? No: Sam tells you how many documents there are and gives you a link to the right section, but the file download always happens on the Archive page, never inside the chat.

Related guides

• The SDI code and the Tax Drawer — why purchase invoices arrive through SDI and end up in this Archive section.
• Sending an electronic invoice to SDI — how the XML you later find under "Sales invoices" comes to be.
• Generating an F24 in SamBooks — how the forms you find in the "F24 forms" tab are produced.
• Downloading VAT ledgers and the LIPE — another place to export tax documents from, distinct from the Archive.