A colleague asks if you could sync the client files to OneDrive. That way, you can work in the familiar File Explorer, just like you have for the past twenty years. It sounds convenient. However, Docubird advises against it, because you’ll end up losing more than you think. Richard Schouten, an accounting specialist at Docubird, gets asked this question regularly. In this blog post, he explains why syncing ultimately costs you work, clarity, and time—and what actually works.
You'll lose your job at large firms
OneDrive syncs up to 300,000 items. That seems like a lot. But in an office with more than 25 employees, you’ll easily exceed that limit. At that point, the sync process freezes. You might think a document is safely stored on SharePoint, when in fact the sync has stopped without you noticing. If your laptop breaks down, that document is gone. You usually realize this at exactly the wrong moment— right in the middle of a busy period.
New documents lose their metadata
When syncing, you see the file name, the date, and who made changes. The rest of the metadata is left behind. If someone places a new document in the synced folder via File Explorer, that document will be completely missing that metadata. It is precisely that metadata that forms the foundation of Copilot. Without metadata, Copilot can’t do anything with your files. Documents you edit work fine, since they already had their metadata. The problem lies with everything that’s newly added.
Syncing slows down your laptop
The OneDrive app consumes a lot of processing power as the number of documents increases. The result is a slower laptop and more frequent calls to the help desk. A lot of hassle for something you don't need.
Work with confidence, without the risks
So why do people still ask for that sync? Because it looks just like the familiar File Explorer. That’s exactly the feeling Docubird gives you—only in a web environment. You browse through your folders just like always, with your metadata intact, without any limits, and without a slow laptop. I recently spoke with an accountant who set up Docubird. Within a single morning, he no longer understood why he had ever wanted that OneDrive sync in the first place.
You'll be asked this question soon, too. When that happens, go over these three points first before syncing anything. You'll usually maintain a better overview by working smartly within SharePoint itself, without syncing anything at all.