If you're reading this, you've probably just had a moment — maybe you couldn't find your passport renewal date, maybe a relative asked "what insurance do you have?" and you genuinely didn't know, or maybe you're the one who'll be relied on to find everything if something happens to a parent. That moment is normal. Most households have never deliberately chosen a system for this — they've just accumulated one.
This guide compares the eight most common approaches, from a literal drawer to dedicated apps like Everplace, Doqit, and Hartley. We've tried to be fair to each one, including ourselves — every option here has genuine trade-offs, and the right answer depends more on your situation than any single "best" choice.
In this guide
What actually matters when choosing a system
Before comparing tools, it's worth being clear on what a "good" system actually needs to do. Most people only think about this properly once, so it's worth getting right.
- Findable under pressure. Whoever needs this information might be stressed, in a hospital corridor, or grieving. The system has to work for someone who isn't you and isn't calm.
- Actually current. A perfect system from five years ago is often worse than nothing, because it creates false confidence. Insurance lapses, accounts close, addresses change.
- Shareable without oversharing. You usually want one or two people to have access — not everyone, and not nobody.
- Secure enough for what's in it. National Insurance numbers, account details, and passport scans are exactly what identity thieves want.
- Low effort to maintain. If updating it is a chore, it won't get updated. This is the single biggest reason most systems fail.
With that in mind, here's how each common option actually holds up.
1. Paper folder or drawer
The classic "important documents" folder
MixedCost: free (assuming you already own a folder)
This is still how most UK households actually do it — a physical folder, box, or drawer with passports, the mortgage offer, and a few insurance certificates. It's familiar, and it has one real advantage: no login required, no app to learn, no battery to charge.
Where it works
- Zero technical barrier — anyone in the family can use it
- No subscription, no account, no risk of a company shutting down
- Physical documents are sometimes legally required anyway (e.g. original wills)
Where it falls short
- Only as current as the last time someone manually updated it — usually years out of date
- Single point of failure: fire, flood, or simply "where did we put it" after a house move
- Can't be accessed remotely — useless if you're not physically near it
- No alerts when something's about to expire
- Sensitive originals (passports, deeds) sitting in an unlocked drawer is a real security risk
2. A shared computer or USB drive
A folder on the family PC, or a USB stick "for emergencies"
RiskyCost: free
A step up from paper in theory — searchable, and you can store copies of physical documents. In practice, this is one of the weaker options, because it combines the security risks of digital storage with the single-point-of-failure risks of physical storage.
Where it works
- Free and searchable
- Can hold scanned copies alongside the originals
Where it falls short
- Unencrypted folders are an easy target if the computer is ever stolen or compromised
- If the computer breaks, or nobody remembers the password, everything is gone
- USB drives get lost, corrupted, or simply forgotten about in a drawer
- No remote access — if you're not at that computer, you have nothing
- No structure: usually ends up as a mess of randomly named PDFs
3. Dropbox, Google Drive, or iCloud
A folder in your existing cloud storage
MixedCost: usually free up to a storage limit, then £2–£10/month
This is the most common digital upgrade people make, and it solves real problems — remote access, automatic backup, easy sharing with a family member. But these tools were built for general file storage, not specifically for household admin, and that gap shows up in a few predictable ways.
Where it works
- Accessible from any device, anywhere
- Reasonably secure against device loss (your laptop being stolen doesn't lose the files)
- Easy to share a folder with a partner or family member
- Most households already have an account, so no new sign-up
Where it falls short
- No structure — it's just files in folders, with no fields for policy numbers, expiry dates, or providers
- No expiry alerts. Nothing tells you your passport or insurance is about to lapse
- Sharing is all-or-nothing for a folder — hard to give someone access to "just the legal stuff"
- Easy to lose track of what's actually in there as it grows — there's no category view
- Not designed with sensitive personal data in mind; account numbers typed into filenames or notes aren't encrypted at the field level
4. Password managers (1Password, Bitwarden, etc.)
Storing documents and notes inside a password manager
Good for logins, not documentsCost: typically £2–£5/month
Worth a mention because some households use this as a stretch solution — most password managers let you attach files or write secure notes. They're genuinely excellent at their actual job (passwords and logins), which is exactly why they're an awkward fit for full household admin.
Where it works
- Excellent, properly encrypted storage for logins and passwords specifically
- Good emergency-access features in some apps (e.g. 1Password's Emergency Kit)
Where it falls short
- Not built for documents — attaching a passport scan or insurance PDF feels like a workaround, because it is one
- No expiry tracking for things like passports, MOT, or insurance renewal
- No category structure for the wider range of household information (property, health, family contacts)
- Sharing access usually means sharing the whole vault, not specific categories
5. Doqit
A dedicated document storage app
Solid, narrower focusCost: subscription, similar price point to Everplace
Doqit is one of the more established dedicated apps in this space, and it's a real improvement over folders and cloud storage for households who want a purpose-built tool. It's particularly strong on the core "store and find documents" job.
Where it works
- Purpose-built structure for documents, with categories and reminders
- More secure than general cloud storage, with document-specific encryption
- Established product with reasonable UK media coverage and a track record
Where it falls short
- Limited focus on legacy and estate planning — no dedicated space for wills, executor instructions, or "what happens when I'm gone" information
- No AI-assisted document scanning to auto-fill fields from a photo
- No built-in way to find or compare professionals (solicitors, financial advisers) directly from your records
6. Hartley
Another dedicated household admin app
Solid, narrower focusCost: subscription, similar price point to Everplace
Hartley takes a similar approach to Doqit — a structured digital vault aimed at replacing the paper folder. It's a credible option if your main goal is simply digitising and organising what you already have.
Where it works
- Clean, structured interface for everyday documents
- Good for households whose main need is "digitise what we already have"
Where it falls short
- Like Doqit, legacy and estate planning isn't a core focus — it's built more for day-to-day admin than for emergency or bereavement scenarios
- No email-forwarding option to add documents without logging in
- No directory of vetted solicitors or financial advisers built into the product
7. Everplace
Built specifically for emergencies, legacy planning, and everyday peace of mind
Our product — read with that in mindCost: £4.99/month or £49/year
We built Everplace, so take this with the obvious pinch of salt — but here's what we'd say objectively. We started from a real situation: a parent hospitalised, and a family realising the "emergency folder" everyone assumed existed was years out of date. That shaped what we built, for better and worse.
Where it works
- A dedicated legacy and estate section — wills, funeral wishes, executor access — which most competitors treat as an afterthought
- AI document scanning that reads a photo and fills in the fields automatically
- Forward documents straight from your email to a private address — no app needed to add something
- Known providers (banks, insurers, DVLA) get their phone number and website added automatically
- Expiry alerts for passports, insurance, MOT, and mortgage deals, with a link to compare prices when it's time to renew
- A searchable directory of solicitors and financial advisers for wills, LPA, and estate planning
- Client-side AES-256 encryption — sensitive fields are encrypted before they leave your device
Where it falls short
- Newer to market than Doqit and Hartley, with a shorter track record
- No native iOS or Android app yet (works well as a mobile web app, but isn't in the App Store or Play Store at the time of writing)
- It's a subscription — if your needs are genuinely simple, a well-maintained folder might be enough for you
Why we're telling you the downsides too: A comparison that only flatters one option isn't useful to you, and frankly it isn't good for us either — the people who sign up expecting the wrong thing are the people who cancel fastest.
Full comparison table
| Method | Cost | Remote access | Expiry alerts | Legacy / estate focus | Encrypted storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper folder | Free | No | No | Manual only | No |
| Shared computer / USB | Free | No | No | No | Rarely |
| Dropbox / Google Drive | Free–£10/mo | Yes | No | No | Account-level only |
| Password manager | £2–£5/mo | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Doqit | Subscription | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Hartley | Subscription | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Everplace | £4.99/mo or £49/yr | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Comparison reflects publicly available product information as of June 2026. Features change — check each provider's own site for the most current detail.
Our honest verdict
There's no single right answer — but there is a right question
The right system depends on what you're actually trying to solve:
- If your documents are simple and rarely change — a well-maintained paper folder, reviewed once a year, can genuinely be enough.
- If you mainly want backups of files you already have — Dropbox or Google Drive will serve you fine, as long as you accept there's no structure or alerts.
- If you want a dedicated, secure system for everyday documents — Doqit or Hartley are both credible, established choices.
- If you're thinking about emergencies, bereavement, or estate planning specifically — that's the gap we built Everplace to fill, and it's the area where we think the other options (including doing nothing) fall shortest.
Whatever you choose, the most important step isn't picking the perfect tool — it's actually doing it, and revisiting it once a year. The folder nobody's looked at since 2021 is the real risk, far more than which app it lives in.
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