Working with documents in preparation | DealCentre

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Applies to: Advisors and sellers
 

The preparation area is where you add and prepare the documents that will eventually be moved to diligence for a live deal. This area is available to both advisors and sellers; however, sellers have limited capabilities. Sellers can only create folders, upload, view and download documents. 

movi When a seller uploads documents, a notification is sent to the advisor. The notification is per upload, which could be one file or a batch of files and folders.

When you have finished preparing the documents, you push them to the diligence area. When you push to diligence you can optionally choose to apply the folder permissions to the documents or you can apply permission later from the diligence area. For more information, see Moving documents to diligence. 

For information about the internal document area, see Working with internal documents.

Video - Upload and manage documents in DealCentre

This video provides a walkthrough of how to upload and manage documents within the Preparation area of DealCentre. 

Video - Using document features in DealCentre

Watch this video to learn how to leverage the document features within DealCentre to increase efficiency while gaining rich insights. 

Video - AI redaction in DealCentre

Learn how to configure redaction settings within a Deal and how to redact PDF documents in DealCentre.

Use the Chapters icon.png icon in the video player to view the chapters available. 

Icons_Approved.svg How to add documents and folders

When you select the preparation area from the Documents menu and there are no documents in the preparation area, you will be prompted to upload documents and folders, create a folder, or create a document request link.

Add a single folder

  1. In the Deal List, click the deal to which you want to add folders.
  2. From the Documents menu, click Preparation.
  3. Click Create Folder.
  4. Enter the name of the folder and click Create.

Add folders in bulk

Adding folders in bulk is useful for adding folders, including empty folders, and documents that you have organized locally on your computer.

  1. In the Deal List, click the deal to which you want to add folders.
  2. From the Documents menu, click Preparation.
  3. Click Upload. Select one of the following options:
    • Drag and drop the folders into the dialog box. This option supports entire folder structures, including empty folders, ensuring nothing is missed. 
    • Click Select Files to upload using file explorer. This option only allows you to select files.
    • Click Select Folder to upload using file explorer. This option only allows you to select folders. 
  4. A dialog box is displayed where you can expand folders to see what is included in them, and remove files and folders that you do not want to include by clicking the trashcan icon.
  5. Click Upload.

Add documents

When you upload documents to a deal, DealCentre scans them for issues that could prevent users from viewing documents, including viruses, damage to files (corruption), third-party encryption and so on. Finding errors early means fewer headaches for you and a smoother experience for deal participants.

  1. In the Deal List, click the deal to which you want to add documents.
  2. From the Documents menu, click Preparation.
  3. Click the folder to which you want to add documents or drop the documents in the top level outside of any folders.
  4. Click Upload. Select one of the following options:
    • Drag and drop the files and folders into the dialog box. This option supports entire folder structures, including empty folders, ensuring nothing is missed. 
    • Click Select File to upload using file explorer. This option only allows you to select files. 
  5. A dialog box is displayed where you can view the selected files, and remove files that you do not want to include by clicking the trashcan icon.
  6. Click Upload. As the documents are uploaded, they will be scanned for issues that may prevent users from accessing them later. These issues can include viruses, third-party passwords, damaged files and the like. If issues are found, you will be alerted. Click on the Attention Needed option on the left side of the screen to see the affected documents and the errors that were found. 
  7. (Optional.) To view a document in the browser window, click on it. Click the X in the top right to exit the viewer screen.

Add documents using a document request link

If you have received a request for documents and an upload link, complete the following steps.

  1. Either click on the link provided to you or paste it into a browser.
  2. Enter your email address and click Next. (You do not need to enter a password.)
  3. Drag the requested documents to the upload area or click Select Files to find the documents.
  4. Click Upload.
  5. If you want to upload additional documents, click Upload More Documents and select the documents you want. When you have finished uploading documents, you can close the browser tab.

Moving documents

Users with the advisor role can move documents. Moving, as opposed to reordering, documents means moving documents or subfolders out of their current parent folder into a new parent folder.

  1. In the Deal List, click the deal in which you want to move documents.
  2. From the Documents menu, click Preparation. If you want to move documents that are in the Diligence area, you must remove them from the Diligence area, move them in the Preparation area, and then push them back to the Diligence area.
  3. Select the document(s) or folders(s) that you want to move. 
  4. In the internal documents area, click Move. In the preparation area, from the three dots menu in the Actions column, select Move.
  5. Select the location to which you want to move the documents or folders.
  6. Select the folder.
  7. Click Move.

Reorder folders and documents

Users with the advisor role can reorder folders and documents. You can reorder documents and folders by dragging and dropping them to a new spot within the same parent folder. Changes in the file order made in preparation will be reflected in the diligence area.

Note that you cannot move files between folders using drag and drop. See moving documents above. 

  1. In the Deal List, click the deal in which you want to reorder documents.
  2. From the Documents menu, click Preparation. 
  3. Click the handle icon to the left of the checkbox for a document or folder and drag it to its new location.

Delete documents

Users with the advisor role can delete documents. When you delete documents, they are sent to the recycle bin. If they have been pushed to diligence, they will also be removed from diligence. Deleted documents can be viewed by clicking the Deleted Documents quick filter to the left of the documents list. Deleted documents can be restored to preparation or deleted forever, at which point they will no longer be recoverable.

  1. In the Deal List, click the deal from which you want to delete documents.
  2. From the Documents menu, click Preparation.
  3. Select the documents you want to delete.
  4. Click Delete.
  5. Click Delete to confirm.
  6. (Optional.) To permanently delete the document, navigate to Deleted Documents, select the document and click Delete Forever then click Delete to confirm.

To restore a deleted document or folder, navigate to Deleted Documents, select the document or folder and click Restore to Preparation. If a folder has documents in it, both the folder and the documents it contains are restored. To restore only one or some of the documents that were located in a deleted folder, select just those documents to be restored, and the parent folder will be restored with them.

To generate an access report for a deleted document, in the Actions column of the document for which you want to generate the report, click the three dots menu, and select Create Access Report. The access report is created as a Microsoft Excel file and is downloaded to your downloads folder.

Replace documents

Users with the advisor role can replace documents.

  1. In the Deal List, click the deal in which you want to replace documents.
  2. From the Documents menu, click Preparation.
  3. In the Actions column of the row of the document you want to replace, click the three dots menu and select Replace.
  4. Click Select.
  5. Navigate to the file you want to replace the existing file and click Open. 
  6. Click Replace.

Rename documents

Users with the advisor role can rename documents.

  1. In the Deal List, click the deal to in which you want to rename documents.
  2. From the Documents menu, click Preparation.
  3. In the Actions column of the row of the document you want to rename, click the three dots menu and select Rename.
  4. Enter the new name and click Rename.

Download documents

You can download documents individually or in bulk up to 256MB. If you are part of a seller group, your group must be permissioned to allow bulk download. 

  1. In the Deal List, click the deal from which you want to download documents.
  2. From the Documents menu, click Preparation.
  3. To download an individual document, In the Actions column of the document you want to download, click the download icon.
  4. To download more than one document, select the documents, from the three dots menu in the menu bar, select Download.

Icons_Approved.svg How to move documents to diligence

Documents that are moved from the preparation area to the diligence area can be shared with buyers. When documents are moved, you can select whether the documents are given the permission of No access for all groups, that is, users cannot view the document, or you can apply the folder permissions of the destination folder to the documents by selecting Inherit destination folder permissions. The option to inherit destination folder permissions is only available if at least one buyer group has been added and file/folder that you are adding is nested within a root-level folder. In there are no buyer groups or if a root-level file/folder is being pushed, the file/folder will default to No access.

Note: Only members of the deal team can move documents to diligence. Documents will not be viewable by users that have been given access until the deal is live.

  1. Click the deal for which you want to move documents.
  2. From the Documents menu, click Preparation.
  3. Select the files and folders that you want to move to diligence and click Push to Diligence.
  4. In the Initial access for file field, select whether the files/folder permission will be no access or access will be inherited from the destination folder.
  5. (Optional.) If you have select Inherit destination folder permissions, you can send a notification to all groups that have permission to see the destination folder. Click Notify buyers.
  6. Click Push.

Icons_Approved.svg How to view AI Insights for a document

AI Insights analyzes a PDF document and displays the categories to which it belongs, document keywords, and document summary, and whether any sensitive information was found that you might want to redact. AI Insights can be viewed from the document preparation area and is available to deal team members and sellers. 

  1. From the Deal List, select the deal for which you want to view insights.
  2. From the Documents menu, click Preparation.
  3. Click the View AI Insights icon next to the document name. The AI Insights panel slides out from the right.
  4. (Optional.) Choose one of the following actions:
    • To download the document, click the download button at the top.
    • To view AI Insights for the next or previous document click the left or right arrow.
    • To open the document in the viewer, click the document name.
    • To edit the category, in the Document Highlights section, click Edit, select the category and click Save. This option is only available for advisors.
    • To redact the document, click Open for Redaction.

Icons_Approved.svg How to redact documents

When documents are uploaded, they are scanned for sensitive information. You can select the categories of information for which you want the platform to scan. PDF documents, including scanned PDF documents, with fewer than 500 pages can be redacted. You can view the sensitive information found by AI redaction by opening the document in the redaction view from the Preparation area. In the redaction view, you can choose which suggestions to apply and also manually select items to redact.

While you are marking up the document, a draft of the markup is saved every minute. You can also click Save Draft to save more often. Drafts are saved in the Preparation area. When you finish marking up the document, you can apply the markup. All marked information is removed from the document and the document status is changed to Redacted.

Configure redaction

When documents are uploaded, they are scanned for sensitive information. You can select the categories of information for which you want the platform to scan. PDF documents with fewer than 500 pages can be redacted.

  1. From the Deal List, select the deal for which you want to configure redaction.
  2. Click the Settings tab.
  3. Click Redaction Configuration.
  4. Click Edit.
  5. Select or deselect categories.
  6. Click Save. The changes will be applied to documents uploaded in the future. Documents that have already been uploaded will not be affected.

Redaction toolbar

The redaction toolbar has the following options:

  • Search - Displays the search panel where you can search for text.
  • Markup details - Displays the items selected for redaction pane.
  • Settings – Lets you configure how the pages will transition, the page layout, lets you rotate the page, and lets you view the document in full screen mode (press the ESC key to exit full screen mode).
  • Scroll document – Enables document scrolling.
  • Select - Lets you select text and displays a toolbar that lets you copy the text, highlight, underline, strikeout the text, mark the text for redaction, or link the text to a URL or page.
  • Zoom out – Reduces the selected area of the display.
  • Zoom in – Enlarges the selected area of the display.
  • Fit to width – Lets you select how much of the page to display.
  • Manual markup – Enables manual markup.
  • Download - Downloads the document.
  • Print - Prints the document.

Redact documents

  1. From the Deal List, select the deal for which you want to redact documents.
  2. From the Documents menu, click Preparation.
  3. Click the three dots menu in the Actions column of the document and select Open in Redaction View.
  4. The first time that you open a document in the redaction view, a list of all items found by AI redaction is displayed. Only categories that have been selected in the redaction configuration are marked. You can view items found in unselected categories by clicking Show Hidden Categories. Use the down arrow to view specifics about the items. Select or deselect items that you want to mark for redaction and click Mark x Selected Items. The next time you open the document in the redaction view, this dialog box is not shown. Instead, the document is displayed immediately.
  5. You can redact items and remove redacted items in the following ways:
    • Manually mark items for redaction - Click the manual markup tool and highlight items that you want to mark for redaction.
    • Mark items for redaction using search - Click the search icon, enter the term and search for it. To mark it for redaction, click the select button and click Add to Marked Up Using Search.
    • Delete markup from items - In the Selected for Redaction pane, click the trashcan icon next to the markup that you want to remove.
  6. When you are ready to redact the document, click Apply Redactions. All marked information is removed and the status of the documents is changed to Redacted.
  7. Click Redact to confirm.

How to remove redaction

In addition to removing redaction from individual items as described above, you can remove all redaction from a document. When you remove redaction, all previously redacted information will become visible in the document. If the document has been pushed to diligence, buyers will be able to see previously redacted information.

  1. From the Documents menu, click Preparation.
  2. Select the document from which you want to remove redaction.
  3. From the three dots menu select Remove Redaction.
  4. Click Remove Redaction again to confirm. 

Icons_Approved.svg How to add and update watermarks on documents

  1. In the Deal List, click the deal for which you want to add watermarks.
  2. Click the Settings tab.
  3. Click Watermarks in the panel on the left side of the screen.
  4. Click Edit.
  5. Make whatever changes you wish to make. The image on the right side of the screen is updated as you make changes, letting you see what your changes will look like on actual documents.
  6. Click Save.

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