DMS and EDMS mean the same thing, an (Electronic) Document Management System, while a CMS is a Content Management System and ECM stands for Enterprise Content Management. CMS is now often used to describe Website Content Management Systems, rather than the broader and more robust content management you see in ECM.

A Document Management System is a major component of an Enterprise Content Management System, which may contain other functionality that is related to the four essential functions of a DMS.

FormKiQ can function as both a DMS/EDMS or ECM, as it has a large set of enterprise-grade features.

For more information, please see our page on DMS, EDMS, and ECM.

A headless document management system (a headless DMS, also known as a headless ECM for enterprise content management) is a system that manages documents and records in a way that allows multiple methods to access those documents and records, i.e., where the document management system is decoupled from the display of those managed documents. This headless model is designed to allow maximum flexibility when integrating with the system or customizing functionality.

This is a strong contrast to traditional document management systems (or enterprise content management systems), where the documents and records are often only accessible through a single interface. Adding integrations or customizations to this traditional model can be difficult, if not impossible.

While a headless content and document management system allows access using an API or other methods, there is no technical restriction on providing a robust client interface as part of the product; a good headless DMS should allow flexibility of access while still fulfilling the standard expectations for document management, such as an intuitive user interface to manage all aspects of the document workflow, including searching and viewing documents.

FormKiQ can be used as both a headless and headed software platform.

Our team at FormKiQ can also provide integration services with your existing web and mobile interfaces, to create the "head" for your document management features within your product.

FormKiQ provides all of the required functionality of an electronic document management system (abbreviated as DMS or EDMS), as well as add-on modules to provide Enterprise Content Management (ECM) for specific industries and use cases, while also providing flexibility in integration and customization. FormKiQ is an Open Source Document Management System, which means that our core source code is available to customers based on specific licenses, i.e., FormKiQ Core is freely distributed and distributable, while FormKiQ Enterprise's source code may also be made available to licensed Enterprise customers according to the terms of their specific license (with some restrictions).

In addition, FormKiQ's cloud-native model within AWS means that the software installs directly into your AWS cloud, providing full control over your documents and the FormKiQ document management system itself.

FormKiQ provides the four essential functions of electronic document management systems (EDMS):

• Document Collection and Storage
• Document Organization and Classification
• Document Processing and Transformation
• Document Discovery, Presentation, and Integration

In addition, FormKiQ provides the flexibility and customization most organizations need through the Document API and Document Console. FormKiQ is envisioned as the type of Document Management AWS would recommend, built according to their best practices.

Yes, FormKiQ is a SaaS product, but it may be different from other SaaS products you've used in the past.

We consider it to be SaaS 3.0, a new generation of Software-as-a-Service that launches directly into your cloud account, and in the case of FormKiQ Essentials, Advanced, and Enterprise, we provide as much or as little cloud account management as you desire. As with other SaaS products, we continually work to improve FormKiQ with updates and bug fixes, while providing your organization more control over documents and data, as well as control over when you choose to deploy those updates.

FormKiQ Core is released under the MIT License, allowing you to use it in both open source or proprietary projects and to distribute it freely, as long as you include the necessary attribution.

All non-core features of FormKiQ require a commercial license (Essentials, Advanced, or Enterprise), and when made available, any source code for these features is not to be distributed without express permission from FormKiQ, Inc.

FormKiQ Core is released under the MIT License, allowing you to use it in both open source or proprietary projects and to distribute it freely, as long as you include the necessary attribution.

For our non-core features (such as Document Control and Workflows), a commercial license (Essentials, Advanced, or Enterprise) is required for internal use by your organization. FormKiQ can be deployed as part of your commercial product or SaaS, using the FormKiQ Enterprise for SaaS License, as long as it is deployed to AWS accounts under your organization's ownership and control.

Any distribution of FormKiQ instances (i.e., any code not licensed under MIT) to your customers (including on-prem deployments) requires a FormKiQ Partner / Reseller / OEM License, which can be made available to qualified partners.

FormKiQ Core is available for use as part of your professional services deliverables. For our non-core features such as OCR and Workflows, there is the option of a FormKiQ Partner / Reseller / OEM License, or your end-client can purchase their own FormKiQ Essentials, Advanced, or Enterprise license.

Please contact us for more information on how you can meet your end-client needs with FormKiQ.

FormKiQ is designed to use only the storage and processing resources required with Amazon Web Services; for instance, document storage using Amazon S3 does not require a pre-set commitment to a minimum amount of storage space, while the Document API does not require a server to be configured and left running. This means that for a moderate number of documents seen in many non-profits and small businesses, FormKiQ may be able to run completely within the AWS Free Tier, with no usage costs being charged at all.

For more substantial FormKiQ Core usage, such as document storage of a gigabyte or more, or API or Web Console access by a large number of users, you can expect a reasonably-priced usage charge on a monthly invoice.

FormKiQ Essentials, Advanced, and Enterprise include functionality that may cause more noticeable usage costs, such as some types of OCR or Intelligent Document Classification using AI. We can provide more information on the expected costs, along with recommendations for a cost-effective solution design.

Please contact us for more information on AWS usage.

FormKiQ Core's one-click install provides access to the API and Web Console within fifteen to twenty minutes.

For instances of FormKiQ Essentials, Advanced, and Enterprise deployed into your AWS cloud account, the onboarding process should take under an hour.

For FormKiQ Enterprise installations with more customization, such as custom module development or other professional services, the onboarding period can extend to several months; however, because updates are handled by Amazon CloudFormation, it's possible to onboard the standard Enterprise functionality first, and implement additional customized features based on an agreed-upon timeline.

We can discuss in detail how this onboarding would work in a Consultation Call. Set Up a FormKiQ Consultation Call

FormKiQ Core has community support, including our Community Slack and our GitHub Issues page.

FormKiQ Essentials includes onboarding and operational support via the FormKiQ Support Portal, to ensure that every implementation is successful.

FormKiQ Advanced and Enterprise also include 40 hours of onboarding support over videoconference and a private Slack Channel. We also offer two tiers of support: our standard operational support with a 2-day SLA, and our rapid response operational support, with an 8-business-hour SLA.

Organizations using FormKiQ Advanced and Enterprise also have the option of providing access to the FormKiQ Support team to non-production or production environments as desired; there is no requirement to provide access, and we often use videoconferencing and screen shares to help troubleshoot implementation issues.

FormKiQ's uptime depends on which offering you're using and how it's deployed:

FormKiQ Core (Open Source, Community Support): Since FormKiQ Core runs in your own AWS account and you manage the deployment, uptime is determined by AWS's infrastructure reliability in your chosen region. AWS S3 provides 99.99% availability and 99.999999999% (11 9's) durability, while AWS Lambda and other serverless components typically exceed 99.95% availability. You have full visibility into your system through built-in CloudWatch logging. However, as a self-managed solution, FormKiQ Inc. does not provide an SLA for Core deployments.

FormKiQ Essentials, Advanced, and Enterprise: We provide service level commitments based on your subscription tier.

• FormKiQ Operational Support: We respond to issues within our stated response times and work to restore service as quickly as possible. You maintain full control and visibility of your FormKiQ instance through AWS CloudWatch. While we don't guarantee a specific uptime percentage, our architecture leverages AWS's highly available services to minimize downtime.
• Rapid Response Support (Advanced and Enterprise): Includes an 8-business-hour response SLA for critical issues affecting system availability, with escalation procedures for urgent matters. We work closely with your team to resolve issues promptly, leveraging AWS's robust infrastructure to ensure high availability.

For Enterprise customers requiring contractual uptime guarantees, we can provide SLAs of 99.9% or higher depending on your architecture choices and redundancy requirements.

It's worth noting that FormKiQ's serverless architecture means there are no servers to maintain or restart—the system automatically scales and recovers from most issues. Your actual uptime will primarily depend on AWS's regional availability, which you can monitor through the AWS Service Health Dashboard. You also have complete access to CloudWatch logs and metrics in your own AWS account for monitoring and troubleshooting.

For mission-critical deployments, we can help you design and implement multi-region redundancy to achieve even higher availability targets.

Your data belongs to you, and you maintain complete control over it. Since FormKiQ runs in your own AWS account, all documents and metadata remain in your possession at all times—we never have custody of your data.

If you decide to stop using FormKiQ, you have several options:

• Keep everything as-is: Your documents remain in Amazon S3 and your metadata stays in DynamoDB within your AWS account. You can access these resources directly through AWS or other tools at any time.
• Export and migrate: Use FormKiQ's API and/or CLI to systematically export all documents and metadata before uninstalling. You can migrate this data to another system or archive it for your records.
• Uninstall cleanly: When you delete the FormKiQ CloudFormation stack, you can choose whether to retain or delete your S3 buckets and DynamoDB tables. We recommend retaining them until you've confirmed successful data migration or archiving.

For FormKiQ Essentials, Advanced, and Enterprise customers, our support team can assist with data export procedures and ensure a smooth transition. We can provide export scripts and guidance on data migration to help you move to another system if needed.

Unlike traditional SaaS solutions where your data is held in vendor-controlled systems, FormKiQ's architecture ensures you're never locked in—your documents and metadata are always accessible in standard AWS formats, regardless of your FormKiQ subscription status.

Yes, FormKiQ has a Startup Program, a two-year program for qualifying startups that provides FormKiQ Enterprise, including installation, support, and consulting at a discounted price.

Find Out More about the FormKiQ Startups Program