Laravel 5 - Handling form data which include multiple file uploads

I am trying to work out the best way to do something. I have a form with a lot of fields, including a file input which allows multiple files to be uploaded.

All of this is linked to the model ReportingDoc

{!! Form::model(new App\ReportingDoc, [
            'class'=>'form-horizontal',
            'route' => ['projects.reportingDoc.store', $project->id],
            'files' => true
            ]) !!}


<div class="form-group">
    {!! Form::label('workType', 'Work Type:', array('class' => 'col-sm-5 control-label blue')) !!}
    <div class="col-sm-7">
        <select class="workType" name="workType">
            <option value="recurring">Recurring</option>
            <option value="adHoc">Ad-hoc</option>
        </select>
    </div>
</div>

//Lots of other inputs

<div class="form-group">
    {!! Form::label('filePath', 'Supporting Documents:', array('class' => 'col-md-5 control-label green')) !!}
    <div class="col-md-7">
        {!! Form::file('filePath[]', array('multiple'=>true)) !!}
    </div>
</div>


<div class="form-group">
    {!! Form::submit('Save Data', ['class' => 'btn btn-primary']) !!}
</div>

{!! Form::close() !!}

The model looks like the following

class ReportingDoc extends Model
{
    protected $table = 'reporting_doc';
    protected $guarded = [];

    public function project()
    {
        return $this->belongsTo('App\Project', 'projectId');
    }
}

So the model belongs to a Project. At the moment, the database for this Model looks something like the following

public function up()
{
    Schema::create('reporting_doc', function(Blueprint $table)
    {
        $table->increments('id');
        $table->String('workType')->default('');
        //all my other inputs
        $table->String('filePath')->default('');
        $table->timestamps();
    });

    Schema::table('reporting_doc', function (Blueprint $table) {
        $table->integer('projectId')->unsigned()->default(0);
        $table->foreign('projectId')->references('id')->on('projects')->onDelete('cascade');
    });
}

In the controller for this Model, I have my store function. At the moment it looks like the following

public function store(Request $request, Project $project)
{
    $workType = Input::get('workType');
    //Other inputs
    $projectId = $project->id;

    $reportingDoc = new ReportingDoc();
    $reportingDoc->workType = $workType;
    //Other inputs
    $reportingDoc->projectId = $projectId;
    $dsReportingDoc->save();

    return Redirect::route('projects.reportingDoc.create', $project->id)->with('message', 'Files uploaded.');

   /* $files = Input::file('filePath');
    $file_count = count($files);
    $uploadcount = 0;

    if(isset($files)) {
        foreach($files as $file) {
            $destinationPath = public_path() .'/uploads/';
            $filename = $file->getClientOriginalName();
            $upload_success = $file->move($destinationPath, $filename);
            $uploadcount ++;
        }
    }
    if($uploadcount == $file_count){
        Session::flash('success', 'Upload successfully');
        return Redirect::route('projects.reportingDoc.create', $project->id)->with('message', 'Files uploaded.');
    }
    else {
        return Redirect::route('projects.reportingDoc.create', $project->id)->with('message', 'Something went wrong - Please try again.');
    }*/
}

As you can see, I have commented out the file part for now. What I was going to do was get the paths for all the uploaded files, and serialize them into one field in the database - filePath.

However, to me this seems very messy. I would imagine it is best to have something like an uploads table which is linked to this model. I can then create an uploads object for each file that is uploaded.

One thing I am confused about is the form, and it being linked to my ReportingDoc Model. With this new approach, would I need to link it somehow to both models? ReportingDoc and Uploads?

Really, I am just looking for advice and guidance on the best way to achieve what I am after.

Many thanks

via Chebli Mohamed