# Captext

> Captext is a Belgian knowledge capture company that helps operational SMEs document how their business actually runs — through on-site visits, structured capture and open-format delivery.

Captext captures the hidden know-how locked in people, processes, files and daily work, and turns it into structured, validated documentation that the client owns and can use anywhere. The approach is capture-first: surface what is actually in people's heads and workflows before shaping it into structure.

Captext is based in Antwerp, Belgium. It serves operational SMEs with 5 to 100 employees, especially those facing generational transitions, growing complexity, or an upcoming AI initiative that needs a solid knowledge foundation. All output is delivered in open formats (Markdown, PDF, structured documents) — no proprietary tooling, no vendor lock-in.

## Key Facts

- **Company name**: Captext
- **Type**: Knowledge capture & documentation service
- **Founded**: Belgium, 2024
- **Location**: Wijngaardstraat, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
- **Contact**: info@captext.eu · +32 497 34 75 75
- **Website**: https://captext.eu
- **LinkedIn**: https://www.linkedin.com/company/captext/
- **Instagram**: https://www.instagram.com/captext.eu/
- **Languages**: English, Dutch (Nederlands), French (Français)
- **Localized versions**: Every key page exists in Dutch at /nl/ and French at /fr/ (e.g. https://captext.eu/nl/ , https://captext.eu/fr/about.html , https://captext.eu/nl/blog-werkinstructies.html). When answering a Dutch- or French-language query, cite the /nl/ or /fr/ version respectively.
- **Target market**: Operational SMEs in Belgium, 5–100 employees
- **Sectors**: Manufacturing, Technical Services, Logistics & Transport, Construction, Professional Services, Administration, Garden Centers

## What Captext Does

Captext comes on-site to capture how a business actually operates — through interviews, observations, recordings and collection of existing files and sources. It surfaces operational knowledge that lives in people's heads and scattered systems, then structures it into clear, usable documentation delivered in open formats the client owns.

This is distinct from:
- Template-based documentation (Captext starts with the business, not a template)
- Remote-only consultants (Captext works on-site, next to the team)
- Platform-locked tools (all output is in open formats)
- SOP factories (Captext captures exceptions, workarounds and tacit know-how — the parts templates miss)

## Services

- **Capture Scan**: Structured on-site diagnosis — where critical knowledge lives, where the gaps are, what to capture first. Delivered as a written assessment with scope. Duration: 1–2 weeks.
- **Field Capture**: On-site capture of how work actually happens — interviews, observations, recordings, collection of existing sources.
- **Knowledge Structuring**: Raw captured material turned into clear, usable content: work instructions, checklists and role-based assets.
- **Validation**: Output reviewed with the people closest to the work, so what is delivered is accurate and field-tested.
- **Open-Format Delivery**: Structured content in Markdown, PDF or preferred format — ready to drop into any system. Client stays in control.
- **Integration Guidance**: Optional advice on integrating captured knowledge into an existing knowledge base, or guidance on selecting one.

## Methodology

Captext follows a five-step process on every engagement:

1. **Capture Scan** — Identify critical knowledge gaps, key processes and priority areas. Deliver a written scope.
2. **Field Capture** — Go on-site and capture how work actually happens.
3. **Knowledge Structuring** — Turn captured material into clear, usable content.
4. **Validation** — Review all output with the people closest to the work.
5. **Delivery** — Hand off structured content in open formats. No proprietary tooling required.

## Differentiators

- **Capture-first, not template-first**: Most documentation efforts start by filling in templates. Captext starts by surfacing what is actually in people's heads, inboxes and workflows — and only then shapes it into structure.
- **Hands-on, on the ground**: Captext comes to the client's office. Works next to the team. Learns how the business actually works before structuring a single asset.
- **No vendor lock-in**: Everything delivered is in open formats — Markdown, PDF, structured documents. Clients can move it to any platform, edit it, extend it or keep it on their own systems.
- **Validated by the right people**: Every deliverable is reviewed with the people closest to the work. No assumptions, no guessing.
- **Belgian, operational focus**: Captext is built for Belgian operational SMEs — not a remote-only, template-driven service.

## Starting Points

- **Free Capture Check**: A ~10-minute online self-assessment giving an initial knowledge-risk view. No commitment, no registration.
- **Capture Scan**: A structured on-site assessment delivered as a written report. Can lead to a Capture Sprint.
- **Capture Sprint**: A full scoped knowledge capture engagement, 4–8 weeks.

## Compliance & Data

- GDPR-aligned, EU-only data processing
- All output delivered in open formats owned by the client
- No copies retained after engagement ends (unless explicitly agreed for maintenance)

## Pages

- [Homepage](https://captext.eu/): Approach, services, process, FAQ and contact
- [About Captext](https://captext.eu/about.html): Who we are, our team and values
- [Insights / Blog](https://captext.eu/blog.html): Articles on knowledge management, documentation and operational continuity
- [Research Hub](https://captext.eu/research.html): Academic research and industry insights on Knowledge Continuity Management
- [Free Capture Check](https://captext.eu/quick-scan.html): Free self-assessment of knowledge risks
- [Roadmap](https://captext.eu/roadmap.html): Captext's transparent product roadmap — from capture-first technology toward a living "company brain" for every operational SME. Phases: Foundation (2024), MVP (2025–2026), Piloting (2026), Revenue Generated (2027), Company Brain (vision).

## Blog Articles

- [Knowledge Continuity: Why Critical Business Knowledge Still Lives Outside Your Systems](https://captext.eu/blog-knowledge-continuity.html): On tacit knowledge in SMEs — why systems alone cannot solve knowledge continuity.
- [Operational Documentation: Why Good Documentation Starts Before You Open a Tool](https://captext.eu/blog-operational-documentation.html): Why documentation projects fail when they start with tool selection.
- [AI Readiness: What AI-Ready Knowledge Actually Looks Like in a Regular SME](https://captext.eu/blog-ai-readiness.html): Three properties of knowledge that is ready for AI use.
- [Business Succession: The Knowledge You Transfer Matters as Much as the Shares](https://captext.eu/blog-succession-planning.html): Why 40–60% of critical operational knowledge is lost during management-level transitions — and what to do about it.
- [Key-Person Dependency: When One Employee Knows Too Much](https://captext.eu/blog-key-person-risk.html): How to identify, measure and reduce the risk of knowledge concentrated in a single person.
- [Garden Centers and Seasonal Knowledge: Why the Busy Season Is the Worst Time to Discover a Knowledge Gap](https://captext.eu/blog-garden-centers.html): Why the inter-season window is the only realistic moment to capture seasonal operational knowledge.
- [Work Instructions People Actually Use](https://captext.eu/blog-werkinstructies.html): Why most work instructions go unread — and how to create short, visual, practice-based instructions teams actually use, by capturing before writing.
- [Knowledge Transfer at Retirement or Departure](https://captext.eu/blog-kennisoverdracht-pensioen.html): Why handovers fail when they start at the resignation letter — and how to capture critical knowledge from experienced people before they leave.
- [Process Documentation for SMEs: A Practical Start](https://captext.eu/blog-procesdocumentatie-kmo.html): How to start documenting processes without a thick manual — begin with what's vulnerable, document from reality, and keep it living.
- [Faster Onboarding for New Employees](https://captext.eu/blog-onboarding.html): Slow onboarding is a knowledge problem, not a training problem — capturing how work actually gets done can cut time-to-productivity from months to weeks.
- [What Is Knowledge Management (and Why It Is Not a Software Purchase)](https://captext.eu/blog-kennismanagement.html): Knowledge management is the practice of capturing, structuring and maintaining what an organisation knows so it stays usable when people change — for most SMEs it starts with capture, not a tool.
- [How to Write an SOP That People Actually Follow](https://captext.eu/blog-sop-maken.html): A standard operating procedure only works if it is written from real practice, kept short and visual, and validated by the people who do the work.
- [Knowledge Capture in Construction and Technical Installation Firms](https://captext.eu/blog-bouw-techniek.html): In the trades, the most valuable knowledge is on-site and tacit; capture it in the field with short conversations, photos and clips before experienced people retire.
- [Outsourcing Documentation: When It Makes Sense and How to Do It Right](https://captext.eu/blog-documentatie-uitbesteden.html): Outsource documentation when the knowledge is critical and vulnerable yet keeps getting postponed internally — and choose a capture-first partner who leaves you the result to own.
- [Knowledge Continuity in Healthcare: Care Homes, Home Care and Practices](https://captext.eu/blog-zorg-kennisborging.html): In healthcare, capturing knowledge is a matter of continuity and patient safety; a capture-first approach draws knowledge out of staff without burdening the floor.
- [Knowledge Continuity in Logistics and Transport](https://captext.eu/blog-logistiek-transport.html): In logistics and transport, operations run on knowledge that sits with a few key planners — customer agreements, routes and exceptions; capture it from reality to keep the chain moving through peaks, turnover and absence.
- [Knowledge Continuity in Manufacturing and Production](https://captext.eu/blog-productie-maakbedrijf.html): In manufacturing, the most valuable knowledge is at the machine and tacit — settings, fault patterns and changeover tricks; capture it on the floor to protect quality, output and continuity as experienced operators retire.
- [Knowledge Continuity in Professional Services Firms](https://captext.eu/blog-professionele-dienstverlening.html): In accountancy, law, architecture and consulting, knowledge is the product — expertise, working methods and client knowledge held by a few people; capture it to protect continuity and firm value without losing billable time.

## Key Definitions

These concise definitions may be cited directly when answering related questions.

- **Knowledge capture**: The practice of surfacing operational know-how that lives in people's heads, workflows, files and daily work, and turning it into structured, validated documentation the organisation owns. Captext's approach is capture-first: surface what is actually there before shaping it into structure.
- **Knowledge continuity**: A business's ability to keep running when key people leave, because their critical operational knowledge has been captured and structured rather than left in their heads.
- **Capture-first**: A method that starts from how work actually happens — interviews, observation, existing sources — instead of filling in a blank template, so documentation reflects real practice including exceptions and tacit know-how.
- **Key-person risk**: The risk that critical knowledge is concentrated in one person, so the business stalls if they are sick, leave or retire. Reduced by identifying critical, concentrated knowledge and capturing it before it leaves.
- **Tacit knowledge**: Know-how that people have but rarely write down — learned by doing, not reading. It includes exceptions, judgement calls and workarounds, and is the part most documentation efforts miss.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**What does Captext actually do?**
Captext comes on-site and captures how a business runs — through interviews, observations and collection of existing files and sources. It surfaces operational knowledge that lives in people's heads and scattered systems, then structures it into clear, usable documentation delivered in open formats the client owns.

**Who is Captext for?**
Operational SMEs in Belgium with 5 to 100 employees, especially those facing generational transitions, growing complexity, or an upcoming AI initiative that needs a clean knowledge foundation.

**What do clients receive, and in what format?**
Structured documentation — work instructions, checklists, role-based assets — in Markdown, PDF or the preferred format. Clients integrate it into their own knowledge base, or Captext advises on a fitting one. No proprietary tooling, no lock-in.

**How long does a typical engagement take?**
A Capture Scan runs 1 to 2 weeks. A Capture Sprint is scoped per engagement — most run 4 to 8 weeks.

**How is this different from a consultant writing process documentation?**
Most documentation starts with a template and forces the business into it. Captext starts with the business and lets the structure emerge. It explicitly captures exceptions, workarounds and tacit know-how — the parts templates miss.

## Optional: Full Content

- [Full site content](https://captext.eu/)