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Taxonomy System Overview

The Records Manager Skill uses a sophisticated taxonomy system that provides intelligent document organization, categorization, and retention management. This document explains how the system works and what built-in options are available.

System Architecture

Hierarchical Inheritance Model

The taxonomy system uses a four-layer inheritance model that ensures consistency while allowing flexibility:

graph TD
    A[Base Taxonomy Layer] --> B[Country Guidelines Layer]
    B --> C[Entity Type Layer]
    C --> D[Custom Extensions Layer]

    subgraph "Base Layer"
        A1[Common Patterns]
        A2[Universal Document Types]
        A3[Standard Categories]
    end

    subgraph "Country Layer"
        B1[Australia Guidelines]
        B2[United States Guidelines]
        B3[United Kingdom Guidelines]
    end

    subgraph "Entity Layer"
        C1[Household]
        C2[Corporate]
        C3[Unit Trust]
        C4[Discretionary Trust]
        C5[Family Trust]
        C6[Project]
    end

    subgraph "Custom Layer"
        D1[Your Extensions]
        D2[Specialized Rules]
    end
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Data Structure

Each taxonomy consists of:

interface DomainTaxonomy {
  documentTypes: string[];          // Available document categories
  tagCategories: {                  // Logical grouping of tags
    [category: string]: string[];   // Category → Array of tags
  };
  retentionRules: {                // How long to keep documents
    [documentType: string]: {
      years: number;               // Retention period in years
      reason: string;              // Legal/business reason
    };
  };
}

Built-in Entity Types

1. Household

Purpose: Personal and family document management

Supported Countries: Australia, United States, United Kingdom

Document Types:

  • Financial: Tax Returns, Bank Statements, Investment Statements

  • Medical: Medical Records, Prescriptions, Test Results

  • Insurance: Policies, Claims, Certificates

  • Legal: Contracts, Wills, Powers of Attorney

  • Identity: Birth Certificates, Passports, Driver Licenses

  • Household: Utility Bills, Rate Notices, Pet Records

Key Features:

  • Pet document tracking (vaccinations, microchips, adoption records)

  • Australian tax compliance (ATO requirements)

  • Identity document management

  • Vehicle and lease documentation

Retention Examples:

  • Tax Returns: 7 years (ATO Section 254)

  • Medical Receipts: 7 years (tax substantiation)

  • Birth Certificates: 15 years (permanent records)

2. Corporate

Purpose: Business document management

Supported Countries: Australia

Document Types:

  • Financial: Invoices, Receipts, Financial Statements

  • HR: Employee Records, Payroll, Contracts

  • Compliance: Reports, Certificates, Licenses

  • Corporate: Board Resolutions, Shareholder Records

Key Features:

  • Fair Work Act compliance

  • Corporations Act requirements

  • GST and BAS documentation

  • Corporate governance records

Retention Examples:

  • Financial Statements: 7 years (Corporations Act)

  • Board Resolutions: 15 years (permanent records)

  • Payroll Records: 7 years (ATO requirement)

3. Unit Trust

Purpose: Unit-based investment trust management

Supported Countries: Australia

Document Types:

  • Governance: Trust Deed, Trustee Appointments

  • Financial: Annual Statements, Distributions

  • Compliance: Tax Returns, GST Registration

  • Registry: Unit Registry, Unit Transfers

Key Features:

  • Capital Gains Tax tracking

  • Unit registry management

  • Distribution statements

  • Actuarial certificates

Retention Examples:

  • Trust Deed: 15 years (permanent)

  • Unit Registry: 15 years (ownership records)

  • Annual Statements: 7 years (tax substantiation)

4. Discretionary Trust

Purpose: Flexible distribution trust management

Supported Countries: Australia

Document Types:

  • Governance: Trustee Resolutions, Minutes

  • Distribution: Distribution Minutes, Beneficiary Declarations

  • Compliance: Tax Returns, BAS Statements

  • Legal: Trust Deed Variations, Appointor Documents

Key Features:

  • Section 100A ITAA 1936 compliance

  • Beneficiary management

  • Streaming resolutions

  • Discretionary distribution decisions

Retention Examples:

  • Trustee Resolutions: 7 years (distribution substantiation)

  • Distribution Minutes: 7 years (ATO evidence)

  • Trust Deed: 15 years (permanent)

5. Family Trust

Purpose: Family wealth management with Family Trust Election (FTE)

Supported Countries: Australia

Document Types:

  • Core: Trust Deed, Family Trust Election

  • Governance: Trustee Resolutions, Minutes

  • Distribution: Distribution Minutes, Income Statements

  • Compliance: Tax Returns, Actuarial Certificates

  • Special: Interpositionary/Loss Trust Elections

Key Features:

  • CRITICAL: 5-year retention from FTE date (not EOFY)

  • Section 272-80 ITAA 1936 compliance

  • Family-specific governance

  • FTE date tracking

Retention Examples:

  • Family Trust Election: 5 years from FTE date

  • Trustee Resolutions: 7 years (distribution substantiation)

  • Trust Deed: 15 years (permanent)

6. Project

Purpose: Time-bound project documentation

Supported Countries: Australia

Document Types:

  • Planning: Project Plans, Requirements

  • Execution: Contracts, Invoices, Progress Reports

  • Closure: Final Reports, Acceptance Documents

  • Types: Software, Construction, Research, Creative

Key Features:

  • Project lifecycle tracking

  • Type-specific categorization

  • Date-based project management

  • Milestone documentation

Retention Examples:

  • Project Plans: 7 years (planning documentation)

  • Final Reports: 10 years (completion records)

  • Contracts: 10 years (statute of limitations)

Country Variations

Australia

  • Primary Focus: ATO compliance

  • Key Laws: Tax Administration Act 1953, Corporations Act

  • Special Features: Family Trust Elections, FTE date tracking

  • Retention Periods: 5-15 years, with some permanent records

United States

  • Primary Focus: IRS compliance

  • Key Laws: Internal Revenue Code

  • Special Features: State-specific variations

  • Retention Periods: 7-10 years for most documents

United Kingdom

  • Primary Focus: HMRC compliance

  • Key Laws: Taxes Management Act

  • Special Features: Self-assessment requirements

  • Retention Periods: 7 years for tax documents

Tag Categories

All entities use standardized tag categories:

Universal Categories

  • Financial: Tax, income, expense, investment

  • Legal: Contracts, agreements, wills, powers of attorney

  • Medical: Doctor, hospital, pharmacy, insurance

  • Insurance: Home, vehicle, health, life

  • Compliance: Audit, reports, certificates

Entity-Specific Categories

  • Household: Utility, maintenance, warranty, pet

  • Corporate: HR, payroll, board, shareholder

  • Trust: Governance, beneficiary, distribution, unit

  • Project: Planning, execution, closure, milestone

Special Categories

  • Identity: Birth, passport, license, citizenship

  • Vehicle: Registration, lease, insurance

  • Education: Transcript, certificate, qualification

Retention Rules

Retention Period Types

  • Years: Numeric value (e.g., 7 years)

  • Permanent: Keep indefinitely (15+ years)

  • Until Expired: Keep until document expires (0 years = until expiry)

Special Handling

  • Family Trust Elections: 5 years from FTE date, not EOFY

  • Trust Deeds: Permanent records (15+ years)

  • Statute of Limitations: Generally 10 years for contracts

  • Tax Requirements: 7 years for most tax documents

  • Australia: Section 254 Tax Administration Act 1953

  • Australia: Section 272-80 ITAA 1936 (Family Trusts)

  • US: IRS recommendation (3-7 years)

  • UK: HMRC self-assessment (7 years)

Metadata Suggestions

The system automatically suggests metadata based on:

  1. Filename Analysis: Pattern matching against known document types

  2. Content Analysis: OCR text extraction and keyword matching

  3. Entity Context: Current domain and country settings

  4. Historical Patterns: User behavior and common associations

Suggestion Priority

  1. Document Type (highest confidence)

  2. Primary Category Tags

  3. Secondary Descriptive Tags

  4. Entity and Domain Tags

  5. Custom Notes and Warnings

Extending the System

To add new capabilities:

  1. Custom Entities: Create new organizational scopes

  2. Custom Taxonomies: Define specialized document types

  3. Country Adaptations: Modify existing rules for new jurisdictions

  4. Validation Rules: Add custom metadata validation

See the other sections in this documentation for detailed guides.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

  • No taxonomy found: Check country/entity type configuration

  • Incorrect retention: Verify document type detection

  • Missing tags: Check tag category definitions

  • Wrong suggestions: Review filename and content analysis

Validation Commands

# Check taxonomy configuration
bun run recordmanager validate --taxonomy

# Test metadata suggestions
bun run recordmanager test --suggest --file sample.pdf

# Verify retention calculations
bun run recordmanager test --retention --document-type "Tax Return"

Taxonomy Inheritance

The taxonomy system implements a sophisticated inheritance model that ensures consistency while allowing extensive customization. This detailed flowchart shows how taxonomies are structured and extended across different layers.

Taxonomy Inheritance Flowchart

flowchart TD
    subgraph "Base Taxonomy Layer"
        A[Base Document Types]
        B[Universal Categories]
        C[Standard Retention Rules]
        D[Common Patterns]
    end

    subgraph "Country Guidelines Layer"
        E[Australia ATO Rules]
        F[US IRS Guidelines]
        G[UK HMRC Standards]
        H[Country-Specific Categories]
        I[Jurisdictional Retention]
        J[Local Compliance Rules]
    end

    subgraph "Entity Type Layer"
        K[Household Rules]
        L[Corporate Regulations]
        M[Unit Trust Framework]
        N[Discretionary Trust Policies]
        O[Family Trust Procedures]
        P[Project Guidelines]
        Q[Entity-Specific Categories]
        R[Domain-Specific Retention]
    end

    subgraph "Custom Extensions Layer"
        S[Custom Document Types]
        T[Specialized Categories]
        U[Enterprise Rules]
        V[Departmental Policies]
        W[Custom Retention Rules]
        X[User Extensions]
    end

    %% Inheritance flows
    A --> E
    A --> F
    A --> G

    B --> H
    C --> I
    D --> J

    E --> K
    E --> L
    E --> M
    E --> N
    E --> O
    E --> P
    F --> K
    F --> L
    G --> K
    G --> L

    H --> Q
    I --> R
    J --> Q

    K --> S
    L --> T
    M --> U
    N --> V
    O --> W
    P --> X

    %% Override capabilities
    style A fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1976d2
    style E fill:#fff3e0,stroke:#f57c00
    style K fill:#e8f5e8,stroke:#388e3c
    style S fill:#fce4ec,stroke:#c2185b

    classDef base fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1976d2
    classDef country fill:#fff3e0,stroke:#f57c00
    classDef entity fill:#e8f5e8,stroke:#388e3c
    classDef custom fill:#fce4ec,stroke:#c2185b
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Inheritance Rules

Base Layer Inheritance

  • Universal Document Types: Core document types recognized worldwide

  • Standard Categories: Common classification schemes

  • Base Retention Rules: Minimum retention requirements

  • Pattern Recognition: Document classification patterns

Country Layer Override

  • Jurisdictional Rules: Country-specific legal requirements

  • Local Categories: Region-specific document classifications

  • Modified Retention: Adjusted retention periods by jurisdiction

  • Compliance Extensions: Additional compliance rules

Entity Layer Specialization

  • Domain Rules: Entity-specific document handling

  • Specialized Categories: Entity-focused classification schemes

  • Extended Retention: Entity-specific retention modifications

  • Business Logic: Entity workflow requirements

Custom Layer Extension

  • Complete Override: Full customization capabilities

  • Selective Extension: Add new types without replacing

  • Hybrid Inheritance: Mix base and custom rules

  • Dynamic Configuration: Runtime configuration support

Resolution Order

The system applies taxonomies in the following order:

  1. Custom Extensions Layer: User-defined rules (highest priority)

  2. Entity Type Layer: Domain-specific rules

  3. Country Guidelines Layer: Jurisdictional requirements

  4. Base Taxonomy Layer: Universal defaults (lowest priority)

Conflict Resolution

When multiple taxonomies define the same document type:

  1. Custom Extensions: Always take precedence

  2. Entity Rules: Override country rules for specific entities

  3. Country Rules: Override base rules for jurisdiction

  4. Base Rules: Used as fallback when no specific rules exist

Extension Points

Custom Entities

Add new organizational scopes: 

interface CustomEntity {
  name: string;
  documentTypes: string[];
  categories: string[][];
  retentionRules: RetentionRule[];
}

Custom Taxonomies

Define specialized classifications: 

interface CustomTaxonomy {
  documentType: string;
  categories: string[];
  tags: string[];
  retention: RetentionPeriod;
  metadata?: MetadataRule[];
}

Country Adaptations

Modify existing rules: 

interface CountryAdaptation {
  country: string;
  modifications: {
    documentTypes?: string[];
    retentionAdjustments?: Record<string, number>;
    additionalCategories?: string[][];
  };
}

Inheritance Benefits

  1. Consistency: Base rules ensure universal document handling

  2. Compliance: Country rules meet legal requirements

  3. Specialization: Entity rules address business needs

  4. Flexibility: Custom rules allow enterprise adaptation

  5. Maintenance: Updates propagate through inheritance chain

Example: Tax Return Processing

  1. Base Layer: Generic "Tax Return" type, 7-year retention

  2. Australia Layer: ATO-specific rules, BAS requirements

  3. Household Entity: Personal tax processing, individual deductions

  4. Custom Extension: Additional categories for crypto tax reporting

This inheritance model provides a robust foundation for document management while allowing extensive customization to meet specific organizational needs.

Last Updated: 2026-01-20