You automate submissions and transmittals into a client's common data environment (CDE) by connecting your own platform to the client's and setting rules that move issued documents across with the client's metadata completed. CDE Sync™ watches the folders or statuses you choose, translates your metadata into the client's fields, delivers the documents to the right place and logs every submission, so nobody has to re-upload and re-tag deliverables by hand.
Why submissions take so much effort
Clients on large projects usually mandate their own CDE for formal submissions, often Oracle Aconex, InEight, Bentley ProjectWise or Asite. Contractors and consultants deliver in their own platforms, such as Autodesk Forma or Procore. Every milestone, design package and handover set has to cross that gap with the client's numbering, metadata and transmittal requirements met.
Done by hand, a submission means exporting files, renaming them, filling in the client's fields, building a transmittal and uploading. Large submissions take days of document control time, and errors lead to rejected packages and resubmission. Our article on automated client submissions covers the handover risk this creates.
What automation changes
With a connection in place, a document reaching an agreed status in your platform can be submitted to the client automatically. Metadata is translated into the client's register fields, transmittal history is preserved, and the document lands in the right folder or document type. Reviewed documents and their outcomes can flow back, so your team sees the client's response without logging into the client's platform.
Every submission is recorded in the audit log, which gives you a clear answer when a client asks what was sent, when and at which revision.
How to automate submissions, step by step
Read the client's information requirements and submission procedure, including numbering, mandatory fields and transmittal rules.
Decide which statuses or folders in your platform mean a document is ready to submit.
Request an integration account on the client's CDE and a service account on your own platform.
Connect both platforms in the CDE Sync™ wizard and choose the source folders and destination document types.
Map your metadata to the client's fields, value by value, and agree the mapping with the client's document controller.
Run a test submission and have the client confirm it meets their requirements.
Switch on the schedule, and set up notifications for any submission that fails validation.
Working with the client's document control team
Automation works best when the client is part of the setup. Their document controller knows which fields matter, which values are allowed and how a superseded revision should appear. A short walkthrough of real documents before the first run builds confidence on both sides. Clients usually welcome it, because automated submissions arrive complete and consistent, which reduces their review effort as well as yours. Agreeing a single point of contact for mapping changes keeps the configuration stable as the project grows and new document types are added.
Milestones, handover and large packages
Some submissions are routine, such as weekly drawing issues. Others are large and time-critical, such as a design stage milestone or the handover package at practical completion. Automation helps most with the large ones, because they are where manual errors are most expensive and deadlines are tightest. Preparing the folder structure for a milestone in advance, with documents moving into it as they reach the agreed status, means the package builds up over time and is submitted in a controlled way. The client receives a complete, consistently described set, and your team avoids a last-minute scramble to rename and upload hundreds of files.
Security for client platforms
Client platforms on critical infrastructure often fall under the Security of Critical Infrastructure (SOCI) Act, which is why routing submissions through desktops or uncontrolled scripts is a concern. CDE Sync™ streams files directly between platforms without storing them, encrypts data in transit and processes it in the Azure region you choose. Utopia Digital holds SOC 2 Type II and Cyber Essentials. See the Security Trust Portal and the global data region map.
Automated submissions and the Utopiaverse™
Automated submissions sit within the Utopiaverse™, the connected record Utopia Digital builds across your platforms. CDE Sync™ delivers submissions during the project, CDE Backup™ keeps an independent copy in your own Azure, CDE Migrate™ handles platform changes and CDE Archive™ captures the final record. AI Insights then lets your team search every submission and response across projects. Related reading: How Do I Connect Procore and Oracle Aconex? and How Do I Sync ISO 19650 Metadata Between CDEs?
See automated submissions in the monthly live demo, or talk to the team about your client's requirements.
