Sharing documents via Collaborate allows you to store files securely on the New Collaborate SharePoint for clients to access, rather than attaching documents directly to an email.
By default, Sharing a document will upload the file to the New Collaborate site on SharePoint, and allow you to send recipients an email containing links to the files. The client can click the link, and after logging in, will be able to access the document immediately.
The Share No Email function allows you to share files to the New Collaborate site without sending an email, best used when you just need to upload the file immediately and plan to notify the customer later.
For information on how clients access documents, refer to Login Experience for Clients using New Collaborate.
When Sharing documents:
- You can send one or multiple documents at the same time, for any type of document including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF. The document is placed in the Client's folder or sub-folders, depending on how your practice has set up the Collaborate folder structure - for example, the Client Name and Year.
- We recommend ensuring the files do not exceed 100MB, and upload files by sharing individually using Share No Email if required.
- Users with access to the Share Folder will be able to see all documents that have been shared (even if no email notification was sent). To provide access to individual documents only, do not add the user to the Share Folder. Follow the instructions below to share access to documents only.
- To send a private document not available to anyone else, including clients, the document should be sent via email. Refer to Sharing the Share Folder and Upload Folder with Clients.
- To send documents to external users without giving them access to the Share Folder and all documents within, follow the instructions below and add the external user email address to the CC field.
- Documents will be uploaded to the New Collaborate site with the file name, followed by the FYI Document ID, for example, Engagement Letter (FYI-756385413).docx. This ensures document filenames are unique, and multiple documents with the same name can be uploaded successfully.
Note: Collaborate does not support sharing documents from within a Client Group. Documents should only be shared at the client level. Refer to Displaying Information for a Client
Document Sharing and Automatic Access to Share Folder
When sharing a document with an email notification to the Client, if the recipient's email matches the Email in the Client Details section on the Client - Summary tab, New Collaborate will automatically enable the client to access the Share Folder.
You can also manually enable the client for Share Folder access, refer to Sharing the Share Folder and Upload Folder with Clients.
The client will be able to access:
- All files in their Client Share Folder (including the current document being shared with them)
- The Upload Folder within the Share Folder (used to import files to FYI)
- General areas of the Collaborate Site (for example, the Home Page)
In the example below, a document was shared with Frank Marshall. When sending the email, the recipient's email address (1) matched with the email address in the Client Details section of the Client - Summary tab (2).
Non-client recipients:
If sharing a document with a recipient that does not match the client's email address, the recipient will only be able to access that specific document, plus any others that may have been shared with them in the past.
They will also be able to access the general areas of the Collaborate Site (for example, the Home Page). They will not be able to access all files in the Share Folder or the Upload folder.
Sharing Documents via Collaborate
When sharing documents with Clients using Collaborate, you have the option of notifying the customer immediately via email or just sharing the document only (no email).
When a new version is added to the Versions section of the drawer in FYI, a version number is added to the end of the filename. This ensures your client can view the latest version of the document (should the document be shared multiple times).
The document that was shared will be displayed in the Client - Collaborate tab. Refer to Client - Collaborate Tab.
To understand how clients will be able to access the newly shared documents, refer to Login Experience for Clients using New Collaborate.
You can remove access to the shared folders for all users or for a specific user. Refer to Removing Access to the New Collaborate Shared Folders.
Note: If a document or client is archived, the client will continue to have access to the document or any shared folders unless the client is removed from the Sharing Settings.
Share and Email Documents
- Select one or more documents from the Documents list.
Note: Up to 10 documents can be shared at one time. To share more than 10 documents, refer to Share No Email below.
- Click the Share button in the toolbar to display the Create Email drawer.
- You can select additional recipients, for example external users, to send the email to or as the CC.
To add an email address for an external user, select the Enter new email option. A new field will be displayed to enter the email address into.
Ensure that all intended recipients are selected so that the link is generated for each of them.
Recipients can only be added before the email is created; recipients added to the email after it has been drafted will not have the correct permissions on the New Collaborate site, and will not be able to access documents.
If the recipient email matches the Email in the Client Details section on the Client - Summary tab, New Collaborate will automatically update the client to access the Share Folder.
If the Share Folders have not been created, and you're not sending to the client email address, you must first add these email addresses to the Sharing Settings Access List. Refer to Adding Clients to the Sharing Settings Access List.
Note: If the email address matches a practice user's email or recovery email address, an error will be displayed and a new email address will need to be added. Refer to your IT admin team to unlink the recovery email from the user's Microsoft 365 account if required.
- Scroll down to the Send Attachments option, and select Collaborate.
If an Email Template has not already been selected by the user, the Email Template will automatically default to the Email Template selected in the Collaborate App settings. Refer to Set up New Collaborate.
- Alternatively, from the Template field select a different email Template to send to your client, or press X to clear the template and create a new email manually (ensure "Save or Send" is set to "Draft in FYI").
The email sent to the client must include the AttachmentLinks Merge Field. Refer to Setting up Collaborate Email Templates.
The Preview will show the AttachmentLinks merge field and not the Attachments. When the email is sent to the client, the merge field will be replaced with the document links. If multiple attachments are shared, they will be displayed in a list.
- You can change any filing details for the email that will be sent to the Client.
- Select Save or Send in the same way as any other email to save it as Draft in FYI, Draft in Outlook or Send Immediately.
Note: If you select Draft in Outlook, ensure that you do not make any changes to the recipients as permissions to access the file on the Collaborate Site will not be added for any recipients added to the email in Outlook
-
Include as PDF can be set as "On" or "Off".
When Include as PDF is set "On", the Word, Excel or PowerPoint document is converted to a PDF.
When Include as PDF is set "Off", the document is sent in its original form and will not be converted to PDF.
- The Co-edit with Client option can be set as "On" or "Off".
When enabled, the document can be edited by staff and clients at the same time. Refer to Overview - Co-edit with Client.
- Click Create.
- A status window will be displayed to show you the progress as the recipients are added to the Collaborate Site, the file is uploaded with the correct permissions, and the email is created as a draft or sent immediately depending on your preferences.
- Send the email.
Note: You cannot forward the email that was sent to another email address as the document can only be accessed by the person with whom the document was specifically shared. Follow the instructions above to share the document with additional recipients.
Share No Email
To share documents using Collaborate, but without sending an email, you can use the Share No Email function. This function is ideal for when you would like to upload multiple documents before emailing the client.
Note: An Email address is still required for the client (as displayed on the Client - Summary tab) to ensure the correct permissions are applied to the document when shared. Refer to Client - Summary.
- In FYI, select one or more documents. Refer also to Selecting Documents in a List in Using the Documents Lists.
Note: Up to 10 documents can be shared at one time. If the documents have the same name, the FYI Document ID will be added to the filename when uploaded to the New Collaborate SharePoint site.
- Click the arrow on the Share menu and select No Email.
- The Share Document Drawer is displayed.
- The Client will be automatically selected, and the client folder where the file will be uploaded.
- From the Send Documents drop-down select Collaborate. Two new options will be displayed - Include as PDF, and Co-Edit with Client.
-
Include as PDF can be set as "On" or "Off".
When Include as PDF is set "On", the Word, Excel or PowerPoint document is converted to a PDF. PDF documents cannot be enabled for Co-Edit with client.
When Include as PDF is set "Off", the document is sent in its original form and will not be converted to PDF. This also gives you the option to Co-Edit with Client.
-
Co-Edit with Client can be set as "On" or "Off".
When enabled, the document can be edited by staff and clients at the same time. Refer to Overview - Co-edit with Client.
- Click Send
- A status window will be displayed to show you the progress as the recipients are added to the Collaborate Site, and the file is uploaded with the correct permissions.
The document that was shared is included in the Client - Collaborate tab (refer to Client - Collaborate Tab).
Share Folder Folder Structure
When a document is shared, the document is uploaded to your practice's Collaborate site according to the file structure that has been set up for your practice. The following is an example of how documents are filed. Refer to Summary of New Collaborate Folder Structure.
Document Filenames
Document ID
Documents will be uploaded to the New Collaborate site with the file name, followed by the FYI Document ID, for example, Engagement Letter (FYI-756385413).docx. This ensures document filenames are unique, and multiple documents with the same name can be uploaded successfully.
Document Version
When a new version is added to the Versions section in the drawer, the file name is changed to display the new version number. Refer to Version History and Creating a New Document Version.
If the document is shared with a client as an attachment, the file name in the email will display the version number as a suffix at the end of the file name, for example, Tax_Planning_Workpaper_3.xlsx.
Note: This version number cannot be modified or removed. Changing the file name manually will impact the ability of clients to access the file.