FYI allows your practice to collaborate directly with external users by securely uploading and sharing documents and folders using a dedicated SharePoint site. Clients and their contacts will receive links to the shared documents and folders, removing the need to send documents back and forth.
External users can be provided with access, including clients, their employees, their business contacts or any other user(s) who need access.
Get Started
To get started with setting up and using New Collaborate, refer to:
- Before Upgrading to New Collaborate from Legacy Collaborate using OneDrive - only required if upgrading from Legacy Collaborate
- Guide to Configuring New Collaborate - create and configure your New Collaborate site
- New Collaborate Learning Resources - get your team up and running.
Managing Guest Users with Microsoft 365
New Collaborate uses the power of Microsoft 365 to authenticate and manage guest users accessing client folders and documents.
There are no subscription costs for using Microsoft 365, unless exceeding 50,000 monthly active users (clients accessing files).
Using Microsoft 365 you can:
- Limit sign-in to the accounts where invitations have been sent from Collaborate
- Control who can send invitations to guest users
- Enable a one-time passcode
The OneDrive admin used to create and manage the New Collaborate site from FYI requires the Microsoft Entra User Administrator role applied.
Refer to Setting up Microsoft 365 for New Collaborate.
Sharing documents with external users via New Collaborate
Documents are shared from FYI directly to external users via your SharePoint Collaborate site. The client is sent an email with a link to the New Collaborate site, where they will be able to access the files within the client Share Folder. Documents can also be shared using the Share No Email function if an email notification is not required, where the file is just uploaded straight to the site.
Sending a link instead of an attached file is much more secure, especially important for sensitive documents. Refer to Sharing Documents with Clients and External Users.
In FYI, documents shared with the client via Collaborate are displayed in the Client - Collaborate tab. Refer to the Client - Collaborate Tab for more information.
Sharing the Share and Upload Folders with Clients
You can use New Collaborate to share access to the entire client's folder with the client, any contacts recorded for the client in your practice management software, or any other guest user who needs access to the documents.
The link to the Collaborate site can be saved and used in the future. On the site, they will be able to access the client folder containing any documents that have been shared for that client, along with any documents currently in Co-Edit mode with the client. The name of the Client folder, and any underlying folders, is controlled by the folder structure settings within the Collaborate settings in FYI.
The Upload Folder, also found in the Client folder, provides a secure way for clients to send documents to the practice instead of sending documents by email. For example, clients can upload documents such as Tax Receipts. Refer to Sharing the Share Folder and Upload Folder with the Client.
Note: Sharing a document with a client (that matches the listed client email address) will automatically entitle the client to access the entire folder. Other recipients will only be able to access the document shared with them. To access the folder, the recipient would need to be added to the Sharing Settings.
Sharing Documents as Co-Edit with Client
Collaborate also allows you to share documents with your client using the Co-Edit feature. The document is shared with edit access, meaning both the client and team members can work on the document at the same time and immediately see changes. Refer to Co-Editing a Document with a Client.