New Collaborate Overview

FYI allows practices to collaborate directly with external users by securely uploading and sharing documents and folders onto 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 via email.

Practices can create a default Client Collaborate site for sharing documents with clients and staff members. If required, practices can also choose to create a separate Client Secured Collaborate site for individual clients, with greater control over which users can access sensitive client information, for example, documents relevant to a Partner. 

Access to New Collaborate sites can be granted to external users as needed, including clients, their staff, business contacts or any other relevant parties.

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 New Collaborate sites ready to start sharing documents.
• 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 New Collaborate.
• Control who can send invitations to guest users.
• Enable a one-time passcode for login.

The OneDrive admin used to create and manage the New Collaborate sites from FYI requires the Microsoft Entra User Administrator role applied.

Refer to Setting up Microsoft 365 for New Collaborate.

New Collaborate Site Types

New Collaborate offers the ability to create different site types, depending on the level of staff access required.

• Client Collaborate Site - the default SharePoint site for the practice. All staff members will be granted access to client folders within the site. Clients and other contacts will be limited to the client folders they have been granted access.
   
• Client Secured Collaborate Site - a dedicated SharePoint site, created for a single client only. The Client Security function in FYI is used to limit staff access to the site, giving practices greater control over which users can access sensitive client information, for example, documents relevant to a Partner. Clients and other contacts are added in the same way as the default Client Collaborate site, and will be limited only to the dedicated client folder they have been granted access. 

After setting up the default Client Collaborate site, practices will be able to set up Client Secured Collaborate sites for clients as required.

Refer to New Collaborate Site Types Overview.

Sharing documents with external users via New Collaborate

Documents are shared from FYI directly to external users via the relevant New Collaborate site. The client is sent an email with a link to the site, where they will be able to access the files within the client 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. Documents are uploaded to the Client Folder matching the client in FYI where the document is filed.

Sending a link instead of an attached file is much more secure, which is 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 Client Folder

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 names of the Client folder, including any underlying folders, are controlled by the folder structure settings within the Collaborate - Client 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.

Users can be added to the Sharing Settings for multiple clients, and will have access to whichever site that client uses, whether that is the default Client Collaborate site for the practice, or a Client Secured Collaborate site. To remove a client from a site, refer to Removing Access to the New Collaborate Client Folders.

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.