--- title: "What is VisualQMS? A complete QMS on M‑Files" url: "https://visualqms.com/what-is-visualqms/" language: "en" description: "What VisualQMS is, in detail: a complete quality management system on M-Files with controlled documents, training, standards, process maps and a module for every kind of quality case, each linked to the others." --- What is VisualQMS? # Easy to follow, hard to get wrong VisualQMS is a complete quality management system built on M‑Files, with your processes drawn as maps. Procedures, training, standards and every quality case are in it, each linked to what it concerns. People find their way by seeing it, and every version, approval and case stays under control. [Book a demo](https://visualqms.com/book-a-demo/) [See what is in it](#core) - Set up for your organisation - Your existing procedures come with you - Desktop, browser and phone ![Three screens of VisualQMS: the statements of ISO 9001 listed as a tree, a CAPA board with each CAPA in the column of its workflow state, and the metadata card of one CAPA with its scope, its non conformance and its description](https://visualqms.com/img/Jb4NIyU8e4-200.webp) Built for compliance ## Built on M‑Files, a platform made for control VisualQMS runs on M‑Files, a document management platform built for compliance, and the [process maps](/features/visual-processes/ "Visual Processes") drawn in Elements.cloud open inside the same client. People use it on the desktop, in the browser and on the phone with the M‑Files app, in M‑Files Cloud, hosted, in your own cloud or on your own servers. - Access set per person — Who sees the working copy, who sees only the published version, and who may edit. - Every version kept — Each time a file or its details change, a row is added to the version history. - Approval as a workflow — Reviews and approvals go to named people, with deadlines and escalation. [See document control](https://visualqms.com/features/document-control/) ![The metadata card of SOP 004 Validate Delivery Acceptance, a published procedure: its class, name, published date, approver, approval date, reviewer and next review date, the process activity and the ISO 9001 clauses it is linked to, and the Published workflow band](https://visualqms.com/img/th8Pdvqfjo-200.webp) Four ways in ## The same information, reached the way each person works People reach a procedure or a case from wherever they start. ### From the process map Every activity carries its procedure, its notes and the standard clause it answers. ### From a view Lists set up for each role, such as the published procedures or the open [CAPAs](/modules/capa-management/ "CAPA Management"), with the columns that matter, and views of your own to see things your way. ### From search Find a document by what it is, its type, process area and state, rather than by the folder someone saved it in. ### From the module Each quality module has its own views, from registration to closure. Lists for each role ## Views show each role what matters to it The views in the left-hand column are lists built from the details on the records: the approved governance documents with their process area, region and type in columns, the open CAPAs, a department's training. Administrators set up the common views, and anyone can make their own, picking the details to filter on, to see things their own way. Each list sorts by any of its columns. ![The Views home of VisualQMS with the common views listed, among them Governance Documents, My Tasks, Quality Standards Views, Change Requests, Training Views, Business Process Views, CAPA and Recorded Issues](https://visualqms.com/img/P8BdI-v3oM-200.webp) The core, what everyone works from ## Documents, training, standards and process maps, connected The core modules are connected, configurable and come in ready-to-use variants that are set up for your organisation during implementation: the process maps, controlled documents with their templates, training as read-and-understood confirmations, support for your [quality standards](/features/quality-standards/ "Quality standards"), and comments and suggestions. A procedure knows which training it requires, which standard clauses it answers and which process activity opens it. Each of the four below has its own page with the full detail. The visual in VisualQMS ## Process maps that open the procedure Your processes are drawn in Elements.cloud and shown inside VisualQMS, from the company level down to the daily job. An activity opens its approved procedure, notes and videos, and icons mark where a standard applies. When a new version of a procedure is published, every activity that links to it opens that version, so the map is not redrawn. [See the process maps](https://visualqms.com/features/visual-processes/) ![The complaint process map with the activity Assess severity and contain opened beside it. The panel lists its procedure, QP-08 Complaint handling procedure, with a link that opens it in M-Files, notes on severity, a view of open complaints and the ISO 9001 clause the activity answers.](https://visualqms.com/img/VN51Q0pdQv-200.webp) Written in Office ## Procedures approved before use SOPs, policies and instructions are edited in Word, Excel or PowerPoint straight from VisualQMS. Each new version is reviewed and approved before it is published, people see only the published version, and the approver, the dates and the version number are written into the document, and a next review date starts the next review by itself. [See document control](https://visualqms.com/features/document-control/) ![The Governance Documents view with published policies, procedures and instructions, their next review date and approver in columns, SOP 004 opened to the CAPA and the recorded issue linked to it, and its metadata card beside the list](https://visualqms.com/img/uKMOF_xIGe-200.webp) Read and understood ## Training that assigns itself Training rules say who must read what, how often and under which conditions: by role, department, country or any other detail about the employee. Training is assigned when someone joins, changes role or when a new version is published, and a task that runs late is escalated to the manager. Everyone sees their own training, and managers follow their team's. - Roles from Microsoft Entra — Its groups are synchronised, so training follows people when they move. - A portal that spells out the steps — A portal for people who rarely use the system, with the document one button away. [See training management](https://visualqms.com/modules/training-management/) ![The portal of a training record for the policy POL 038 4.0: the record's title, then three instructions, Read details, Open document with a button, and Mark as learned, and the workflow footer showing the record as overdue](https://visualqms.com/img/D5mF93UC02-200.webp) Ready for the audit ## Every requirement linked to its evidence VisualQMS supports the requirements of the most common quality standards, and you can work to several at once. Procedures and process activities are tagged with the clauses they answer, so an auditor can walk through a standard clause by clause to the evidence behind each one, ISO 9001 and the others each as its own tree. [See standards support](https://visualqms.com/features/quality-standards/) ![The statements of ISO 9001 listed as a tree, with 7 Support opened and 7.2 Competence selected to show the documents, process activities and CAPAs linked to it, and its metadata card beside the list](https://visualqms.com/img/Skr1xLm2Uf-200.webp) ![The AI chat pane inside M-Files answering which CAPAs are linked to the non conformance Inconsistent Verification of Customer Delivery Acceptance and what each one fixes, with the two CAPAs named as links to their records and the question box underneath](https://visualqms.com/img/juuA_yD-_R-200.webp) AI beside your records ## AI that answers from your records An AI chat sits inside M‑Files, next to the record you have open, and answers from that record, the view you are in or the whole system. It works from what M‑Files knows about each record, its type, its state, the people on it and its links, and every search, read and count runs as the person asking. - Details filled in on incoming documents — When documents come in, from a folder, a mailbox or a migration, the AI reads them and fills in their class and details, with CtrlScout or M‑Files' Aino. - Trace, count and compare — Which CAPAs are linked to a [non conformance](/modules/non-conformance-management/ "Non Conformance Management"), how many are at each stage, what changed between two versions. - Runs where you choose — Scaleway, a European provider hosted in the EU, OpenAI, Azure AI Foundry, or a model on your own servers. [See AI in VisualQMS](https://visualqms.com/features/ai/) Add-on modules ## A module for every kind of quality case Non conformances, customer complaints, claims, deviations, internal audit observations, change requests, risk assessments, recorded issues, CAPA and audit management each have a module, and the modules are cross-referenced to each other and to the core. Every case follows its own workflow, goes to the person responsible with reminders, and is linked to the other cases and to the procedure it concerns. A non conformance, for example, runs from registration through investigation and closure to review and approval, and the workflow can make certain fields mandatory at each step. Each module has its own page. [### Internal Audit Management Know where every audit stands, with reminders for the people involved and observations tied to CAPA. See the module](https://visualqms.com/modules/internal-audit/) [### Issue Management Record an issue or a customer complaint, decide how each kind is handled, and keep it tied to the CAPA it leads to. See the module](https://visualqms.com/modules/issue-management/) [### CAPA Management Corrective and preventive actions with a person responsible and a deadline, linked to the finding that started them. See the module](https://visualqms.com/modules/capa-management/) [### Training Management See who has read the new procedure. Assign training by role, department or any other employee detail, and the manager hears when it is overdue. See the module](https://visualqms.com/modules/training-management/) [### Change Management Change requests that say what changes and why, approved before a controlled document is edited. See the module](https://visualqms.com/modules/change-management/) [### Deviation Management Deviations handled the same way each time, and linked to CAPA. See the module](https://visualqms.com/modules/deviation-management/) [### Non Conformance Management Non conformances recorded in their own module, taken from registration to review and approval, and linked to the CAPAs that fix them. See the module](https://visualqms.com/modules/non-conformance-management/) [### Risk Management Risk assessments that follow your own method and stay linked to the CAPAs, changes and documents they concern. See the module](https://visualqms.com/modules/risk-management/)  ## See these modules on one of your own cases [Book a demo](https://visualqms.com/book-a-demo/) How it holds together ## Everything is a record with details, and the details do the work Underneath the modules, VisualQMS is driven by the details on each record. They decide what a list shows, who may see what, where a workflow sends a task and what a document fills in by itself. ### Details on every record Documents, customers, non conformances and training records all carry details: who owns them, which state they are in, what they relate to. Some details are set by rules, others by the people allowed to change them. A detail can have details of its own, so a customer's address, postcode and city can be filled into a document automatically, and nobody types them twice. ### Related documents A procedure is linked to the instructions and forms that belong with it, so people find them together when they search and when they train. If you want, a training record asks the reader to confirm the related documents as well as the procedure. ### Workflows that route and remind A document sent for review creates a review record for each reviewer, and at approval one for each approver. Each record has a workflow of its own: it is routed to the person with a deadline, they leave a comment and accept or reject, and it is escalated to their manager if it is not done. The same records are made for CAPA approvals and can be set up for any object and any state, so the trail of who decided what is complete. The document's permissions change with its state: the working copy is read-only while it is out for approval, and published afterwards. Quality cases run the same way, and the workflow makes certain fields mandatory at each state. ### Permissions and access control Who may see the working copy, who sees only the published version and who may edit is set per record, and it can change with the workflow state. Ordinary users see published versions only. ### Views instead of folders Views are built from the details, so the same document appears in every view it matches, and nobody has to agree on one folder tree. A view can be made by an administrator or by the person who needs it, to see things their own way. ### Assignments and tasks Reviews, approvals, training and CAPA actions land with the person responsible as assignments, with reminders, and a manager can see what is open for the team. Yours from the start ## Set up for your organisation, then grown at your pace You don't have to use every module from day one. 1. ### Step 1: Set up for your organisation The modules are pre-configured, and set up for your organisation during implementation: your departments, regions and roles, and who reviews and approves what. The review and approval workflows can be used as they come or tailored, and a module can be configured further, or a new one built with an existing one as the model. 2. ### Step 2: Start with what you need Most start with the controlled documents and the process maps. A map can be drawn at a rough level first and detailed later, while people already use it. CAPA, complaints, audits or risk can be added at the start or later. 3. ### Step 3: Bring your documents over VisualQMS comes with tools for moving existing documentation in. Your existing document numbers can be kept, details can be added in bulk from Excel templates or filled in by the AI, and your procedures go under control from day one. [How we implement it →](https://visualqms.com/implementation/) · [Get a quote →](https://visualqms.com/pricing/) Part of your Microsoft 365 ## Works with Office, Teams, Outlook and your ERP Documents are edited in Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and VisualQMS fills in the approval details, approver, dates and version number, inside the document. Drafts can be co-authored in OneDrive. With the right permissions, people open documents from Office, from VisualQMS or from Teams, and documents can be made available in Teams or SharePoint. E-mails are filed from Outlook, and customers, products, manufacturers and suppliers come from your ERP or CRM, so nobody keeps them twice. ![Word, Excel and PowerPoint logo](https://visualqms.com/img/xwYA2oATSF-48.svg)Word, Excel and PowerPoint Edit in Office, and the approval details are filled in for you. ![Co-authoring in OneDrive logo](https://visualqms.com/img/OERiUnbZ9H-32.svg)Co-authoring in OneDrive Several people write in the same draft, and it returns to M‑Files as a new version. ![Teams and SharePoint logo](https://visualqms.com/img/sgnd5DpyTM-48.svg)Teams and SharePoint Open controlled documents from Teams, or make them available in SharePoint. ![Outlook logo](https://visualqms.com/img/Y3Z0nFKkvh-48.svg)Outlook File e-mails and their attachments from Outlook into M‑Files. ![Microsoft Entra logo](https://visualqms.com/img/7-rgEUiRmA-32.svg)Microsoft Entra Roles and groups from Entra or another identity system, so responsibilities and training follow people. ![ERP and CRM logo](https://visualqms.com/img/UUxO0PGjux-32.svg)ERP and CRM Customers, products and suppliers from the system that already holds them, over an API or a direct database connection. ![DocuSign and Adobe Acrobat Sign logo](https://visualqms.com/img/KXLsmXtqEl-32.svg)DocuSign and Adobe Acrobat Sign With your own subscription, send a document for signature, and the signed version comes back into M‑Files. ![The M-Files app logo](https://visualqms.com/img/aiyGuwpZUm-48.svg)The M‑Files app VisualQMS on the phone: find a procedure, confirm training, follow a case. VisualQMS runs on your own servers, hosted, in your own cloud or in M‑Files Cloud. [See all integrations →](https://visualqms.com/integrations/) ## Bring one of your own procedures to a demo Tell us which procedure, and we show how it would be written and approved in VisualQMS, which training it would trigger, and how a complaint or a CAPA would be linked to it. We answer the same working day. [Book a demo](https://visualqms.com/book-a-demo/) [Contact us](https://visualqms.com/contact/) ## Questions about VisualQMS What is a visual QMS? A quality management system people find their way around by seeing it: their processes as maps, the standards they work to clause by clause, and boards and overviews that can show their open cases. Underneath, every procedure people open is the approved version, and every case is linked to what it concerns. Is VisualQMS an eQMS? Yes. Documents, training and quality cases are handled electronically, with workflows, versions and approvals. "Visual" is how people find their way in. Can we start with a rough process map? Yes. A map can be drawn at a rough level first and detailed later, while people already use it. Do we have to use every module? No. Usually the documents and the process maps come first. CAPA, complaints, audits or risk can be added at the start or later. How do we bring our existing documents in? Your existing document numbers can be kept, and their details can be filled in bulk from Excel templates or read from the documents by the AI. M‑Files can also watch a network folder or a mailbox, and connect to SharePoint, so people find their existing documents from day one. Which quality standards does it support? It is designed to support the requirements of the most common quality standards, such as ISO 9001, and you can work to several at once. The requirements are imported, usually from a file, or entered by hand. Certification itself comes from an accredited body. We already use M‑Files. Can we add VisualQMS? Yes. We implement VisualQMS for organisations already on M‑Files, and the same users need no new user licences to use M‑Files for other work as well. Where does it run, and on what? On your own servers, hosted, in your own cloud, or in M‑Files Cloud, which runs in Microsoft Azure. People use it on the desktop, in the browser and on the phone with the M‑Files app. Where does the AI send our data? To the AI service you choose: Scaleway, a European provider hosted in the EU, OpenAI, Azure AI Foundry, or a model on your own servers. With M‑Files on your servers too, your data then never leaves the company. The AI reads only what the person asking may see. Who makes VisualQMS? Solution Management, an authorised M‑Files reseller and an Elements.cloud reseller. We make VisualQMS, implement it with you and support you after go-live.