# Finding your way around Sted

How the sidebar is laid out, why a row can be locked or ask you to upgrade, and where Steward, Feedback and your account settings live.

Source: https://sted.digital/docs/product/finding-your-way-around · Last reviewed 17 October 2026 · Strand Product

The sidebar is how you move around Sted: the **StedOS** logo at the top for Home and your tasks, **Framework** for your documents, records and training, and a group named after your organisation for its summary, standards and plan. Steward's menu holds **Ask Steward** and the actions for whatever you have open.

## What this is

StedOS keeps the same frame on most screens: the sidebar on the left, the page in the middle, and Steward's button at the bottom right. The sidebar groups pages by what they are about, not by who uses them, so most people see the same rows.

What changes from person to person is what you can open. People have one of four levels, and a few rows only appear for the levels that use them. Your plan decides which features open, and onboarding decides when the framework pages open. Neither hides a row: a locked row stays in place, so you always know the feature exists.

## Where to find it

On a computer, the sidebar runs down the left of every screen. In a window narrower than 1,024 pixels, such as a phone, it sits behind the **Menu** button in the top bar, and Steward's actions are listed in that menu under a **Steward** heading in place of the button.

## How it works

### The sidebar, top to bottom

| Row | What it opens |
|---|---|
| The **StedOS** logo at the top | Home: your greeting and the tasks waiting for you, covered in [Home and your tasks](/docs/product/home-and-tasks) |
| **Framework**, then **Documents** | Your policies and procedures, covered in [Documents](/docs/product/documents) |
| **Records** | Your records and the ones set to repeat, covered in [Records and record templates](/docs/product/records) |
| **Training** | Who has trained on which version, covered in [Training](/docs/product/training) |
| **History** | Earlier versions of a document, covered in [Approving documents and versions](/docs/product/approval-and-versions) |
| Your organisation's name, then **Summary** | What Sted knows about your organisation, covered in [Organisation summary](/docs/product/organisation-summary) |
| **Audit readiness** | The readiness map, covered in [Audit readiness](/docs/product/audit-readiness) |
| **Onboarding** | The conversation with Steward, covered in [The onboarding conversation](/docs/product/onboarding) |
| **Standards** | The standards that apply to you, covered in [Standards](/docs/product/standards) |
| **Plan and Users** | Your plan and your people, covered in [Plans and billing](/docs/product/plans-and-billing) |
| **Change Organisation** | Another organisation you belong to |
| **Your Account** | Your profile and memberships, covered in [Your account and security](/docs/product/account-and-security) |
| **Feedback** | A message to the Sted team, covered in [Sending feedback](/docs/product/feedback) |
| **Logout** | Signs you out after you confirm |

The second group carries your organisation's name rather than a fixed label, and its **Summary** shows what Steward has learnt about you to everyone in the organisation. **Change Organisation** appears only if you belong to more than one organisation, and switches between them. **Your Account** is also where you close your own account. **Feedback** goes to the Sted team, who can reply by email.

### Before onboarding is finished

Until your organisation finishes onboarding, **Framework** and everything under it, **Audit readiness** and **Standards** are greyed out. Pointing at one shows **Finish onboarding first**, and a link straight to one of those pages shows the same message in place of the page. They wait because they are built from your answers. **Home**, **Summary**, **Plan and Users** and **Your Account** work from the start.

Once onboarding is finished, the **Onboarding** row leaves the sidebar. To change an answer later, open **Summary** and select **Review your onboarding answers**.

### Rows your plan does not include

Records are part of the Full Management System plan, and Training is in Framework and Users and Full Management System. On any other plan both rows stay in the sidebar. Opening one tells you the feature is not included on your plan and names the lowest plan that includes it. An administrator sees **See plans** there; everyone else is asked to speak to an administrator.

### Steward's menu

Ask lives in Steward's menu, not in the sidebar. Open Steward's button and the menu lists **Ask Steward** with the actions that fit what you have open.

| Action | On a document | On a record |
|---|---|---|
| Ask Steward | Yes | Yes |
| Edit this draft | Yes | No |
| Create new version | Yes | Yes |
| Assign to another user | Yes | Yes |
| Assign to me | Yes | Yes |
| Export as PDF | Yes | Yes |
| Withdraw record | No | Yes |
| Duplicate record | No | Yes |

The menu shows only the actions open to you on that document or record. [Steward](/docs/product/steward) covers each action, and [Ask Steward](/docs/product/ask-steward) covers questions.

Steward knows his compliance inside out, and when you ask how to do something in Sted, he looks it up in these docs and links you to the page.

### Audit readiness at a glance

Administrators also see a percentage pill at the top right of most pages on a computer. It opens a drawer listing what is left for each standard; on a phone, the **Audit readiness** row in the menu is the way in.

## Permissions

The sidebar follows your level.

| Action | Administrator | Policy and Process Owner | Reviewer | Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| See Home, Documents, Records, Training, Summary and Standards | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| See History | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| See Audit readiness and the readiness pill | Yes | No | No | No |
| See Onboarding until it is finished | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| See Plan and Users | Yes | No | No | No |
| Open Ask Steward from Steward's menu | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Send feedback | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

Rows your level does not use are left out of your sidebar. Rows your plan does not include stay visible and open an upgrade notice in place of the page.

## Limits and plan features

Every plan gets the same sidebar; a plan changes what opens, not what is listed. Sted has four plans: Preview (free, one user), Just the Framework (£99 a month, one user), Framework and Users (£299 a month, five users) and Full Management System (£499 a month, 15 users), all excluding VAT, with 20% off for paying annually.

Audit readiness is visible to administrators only for now.

## Related guides

- [Home and your tasks](/docs/product/home-and-tasks): what the first screen shows and why tasks come and go.
- [The onboarding conversation](/docs/product/onboarding): finish it to open Framework, Standards and Audit readiness.
- [People, levels and invitations](/docs/product/people-and-levels): what each level can do beyond what the sidebar shows.
- [Plans and billing](/docs/product/plans-and-billing): which plan opens Records, Training and PDF export.
- [Document control](/docs/guides/document-control): how Documents, History and Training fit a controlled document process.

## Frequently asked questions

Q: Why is Framework greyed out in Sted?
A: Because your organisation has not finished onboarding yet. Framework, Standards and Audit readiness are built from your onboarding answers, so they open once Steward has them all. Home, Summary, Plan and Users and Your Account work from your first sign-in.

Q: Why is there no Ask row in the sidebar?
A: It is not a sidebar row: questions start from Steward's menu. On a computer, open Steward's button at the bottom right and choose Ask Steward. On a phone, open the Menu and look under the heading Steward.

Q: Why can't I see Plan and Users?
A: Plan and Users is for administrators, so the sidebar leaves it out at every other level. An administrator manages the plan and invites people, and you can ask one of yours to change either.

Q: Why does Records say it is not included on my plan?
A: Records are part of the Full Management System plan only. The row stays in the sidebar on every plan so you know the feature exists, and the page names the plan you would need. An administrator can open See plans from there.