Smart Submission™

An AI-assisted submission intelligence platform that guides authors through submission requirements, validates manuscript information, and identifies issues before a manuscript ever enters the editorial workflow.

For authors

The submission experience authors actually want

Authors benefit from point-of-submission instructions, fewer errors and return requests, and less time spent re-entering information or correcting avoidable problems. Smart Submission makes all of that part of the submission itself, rather than something to fix weeks later.

What the author sees on upload
Submission 2026-1184
Validated on upload
manuscript.docx fig1–fig6.tif supp-data.xlsx
Metadata extracted and validated PASS
ORCID & funder IDs resolved for all authors PASS
3 references missing DOIs — one click to resolve FIX
Ethics & conflict statements present PASS
Submission requirements met PASS
Submit in the format they wrote in
Word, LaTeX, PDF, any figure type. No reformatting to a template before a journal will even look at the science.
Know instantly, not in three weeks
Issues are identified before the manuscript enters the editorial workflow — not after it has waited in a queue.
Plain-language fixes, not error codes
Point-of-submission instructions in context, in the author's own words — never an error code or a PDF of guidelines.
No avoidable unsubmission
Requirements, policy statements and integrity checks are settled up front, so a decision is about the research — not paperwork.
Metadata filled in for them
Metadata is extracted automatically rather than re-keyed, so co-author and funding details stop being a chore.
A visible, honest status
Authors can see exactly where their manuscript is and what happens next, without emailing the editorial office to ask.

Smart Submission™️

Smart Publish™ Platform

Smart Publish™ Modules

The author's view

Every manuscript, tracked in one place

Authors see live status for every submission — what is validated, what needs attention, and where it sits in review — without a single email to the editorial office.

Smart Submission™ Screen Author View
How it works

One continuous flow, author to editor

Nothing queues, nothing waits for a coordinator. Each manuscript moves node to node through Smart Submission and arrives on the editor's desk decision-ready.

01
Intake
Files, figures and supplementary data land in a single upload — any format, any size.
02
Validate
Manuscript information is validated and issues surfaced before the submission enters the editorial workflow.
03
Resolve
Authors get clear, in-context guidance at the point of submission — not a return request weeks later.
04
Hand off
Metadata and manuscript files are converted to XML upfront and passed to your existing manuscript management system.
What it checks

Every unsubmission reason, caught upstream

File & figure integrity
Resolution, colour mode, embedded fonts, corrupted or missing assets — flagged before conversion.
Metadata completeness
Affiliations, ORCID, funder and grant identifiers validated against live registries at submission.
Reference validation
DOIs matched and resolved, retracted or predatory sources surfaced, style inconsistencies noted.
Research integrity
Image duplication, text overlap and authorship anomalies screened on arrival, with evidence attached.
Policy & declarations
Ethics approval, consent, data availability and conflict statements checked against your journal policy.
Aims & scope fit
Scope alignment scored against the journal's published aims, with transfer candidates suggested.
For publishers

Validated metadata and production-ready content from the start

Smart Submission complements the manuscript management system you already run, improving manuscript quality at the point of entry rather than replacing your editorial workflow.

More complete submissions
Editorial teams spend less time chasing missing information and formatting inconsistencies, and more time on peer review.
XML from the point of entry
Metadata is extracted and manuscript files converted to XML upfront, so nothing is re-keyed after acceptance and publication is faster.
Works with what you have
No migration required — Smart Submission sits in front of your existing systems and hands off clean, structured submissions.
Part of KGL Smart Publish™

Smart Submission is the entry point to KGL's end-to-end Smart Publish engine — a connected foundation spanning submission, peer review, research integrity, production, and publication.

Submission Peer review Research integrity Production Publication
Product demo

See Smart Submission in action

Watch a manuscript move from upload to validated, production-ready submission in minutes, with every issue flagged and explained before it reaches the editorial office.

See a live manuscript validated in seconds

Bring one of your own submissions. We'll run it through Smart Submission on a call and show you exactly what your authors would have been guided to fix — before it ever reached an editor.

what our Customers say about us

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