Q&A for administrators | DealCentre AI

Q&A workflows are managed from the Configuration tab under Q&A in the Diligence area. When you open the configuration, the system displays all existing workflows, their status, and the buyer groups they apply to.

Based on the current state of the deal, the system presents different actions:

• If no workflows exist, the system shows Set Up Q&A.
• If one or more workflows exist, the system displays Create Q&A Workflow and allows you to add workflows. Additionally, you can edit existing workflows using the Pencil icon. 

Workflow statuses

• Draft - The workflow is saved but not active. Buyers cannot submit questions.
• Active - The workflow is live. Buyers can submit questions.

Before buyers can submit questions, you or another Q&A administrator will need to create and activate the Q&A workflow.

During set up, you must:

• Select the buyer groups that can ask questions.
• Assign at least one question submitter for each buyer group. Submitters review and forward proposed questions to the Q&A team.
• Set question limits for each buyer group.
• Assign Q&A administrator rights to other team members, if required.

Note:

1. If the question limit is set to 0, buyers in that group will not be able to submit any questions.
2. If no question submitter is identified for a buyer group, that group will not be able to ask questions. 
3. A buyer group can belong to only one Q&A workflow at a time.

You can create new Q&A workflow, add an additional workflow, or modify an existing workflow. You can click Save As Draft to return to the same step later. Draft workflows appear in the Q&A Workflows list with the status Draft.  

Access Q&A configuration

1. Click the DealCentre AI icon in the upper left corner of the screen to display the deals list.
2. Select the deal you want.
3. Click the Diligence icon on the left side of the screen. The Documents tab appears.
4. Click Q&A. The Questions tab appears.
5. Click Configuration.
6. Select one of the following as applicable:
   • If no workflows exist, click Set Up Q&A. 
   • To add a new workflow, click Create Q&A Workflow.
   • To edit an existing workflow, click the Pencil icon in the Actions column.

Note: The same configuration steps apply whether you are setting up Q&A for the first time, creating an additional workflow, or editing an existing workflow.

Buy Side step

You can select the buyers who will be allowed to ask questions.

1. Select the checkbox next to each buyer group that will be allowed to ask questions. Buyers who are already added to a workflow appear dimmed and cannot be selected again.
2. For each selected buyer group, click Select Submitters.
3. In the submitter window, select the users who will be allowed to submit questions. 
4. Click Save. The selected submitters appear next to their buyer groups.
5. Enter the maximum number of questions each buyer group can submit. The default is 100. The maximum limit is 10,000. For more information, see Q&A question limits. 
6. Click Next.

Note: All buyer group members can propose questions, but only submitters can forward them to Q&A administrators for an answer.

Q&A Admin step

You can select deal team members or third party users as Q&A administrators.

1. Select the checkbox next to users who will act as Q&A administrators.
2. Click Next.

Note: 

• Third party Q&A administrators have the same workflow management and question handling capabilities as deal team Q&A administrators.
• Once Q&A administrators are selected in one workflow, they are automatically selected in all other workflows for the deal.

Sell Side step 

You can delegate buyer questions to seller or third party subject matter experts (SMEs).  In DealCentre AI interface, these appear as group of experts or individual experts.

1. For each category, click Delegate to Experts.
2. Select one or more Group of Experts, Individual Experts, or both.
3. Add additional categories.
4. Click the trashcan icon in the Actions column to delete an existing category
5. Click Next.

Automatic delegation is optional. Q&A administrators can manually delegate or reassign individual questions at any time after they are submitted. The Manage categories and auto-delegate questions to experts toggle is on by default. To skip auto-delegation, you can toggle it off.

Review step 

1. Review the workflow.
2. Click Activate to enable a new Q&A workflow for selected buyer groups, or click Update to apply changes to an existing workflow. 

After activation, the Q&A workflow appears in the Q&A Workflows grid.

You can edit an existing Q&A workflow to modify the buyer group and submitter details.

1. Click the DealCentre AI icon in the upper left corner of the screen to display the deals list.
2. Select the deal you want.
3. Click the Diligence icon on the left side of the screen. The Documents tab appears.
4. Click Q&A. The Questions tab appears.
5. Click Configuration.
6. For the workflow that you want to delete, click the trashcan icon in the Actions column.

View a question

1. Click the DealCentre AI icon in the upper left corner of the screen to display the deals list.
2. Select the deal you want.
3. Click the Diligence icon on the left side of the screen. The Documents tab appears.
4. Click Q&A. By default, the Questions tab is selected.
5. Click a question. The question is displayed in the right panel on the screen. This panel includes:
   • Overview tab - shows who asked the question, question text, Priority, and Category.
   • Internal Collaboration tab - shows the communication between Q&A administrators and delegated subject matter experts.
   • Similar Questions tab - shows questions that are similar to the one being viewed.
   • Workflow tab - shows a timeline of the Q&A process.

Questions in the Q&A workflow move through three main statuses:

Unanswered: The question was submitted to Q&A administrators but has not been answered yet. The question status remains Unanswered if the question was delegated to a seller administrator.

Answered: You or another Q&A administrator have submitted a response. The answer is now visible to the buyer group.

Closed: You or another Q&A administrator have answered and closed the question. 

Q&A categories provide a convenient way to identify and filter questions. The categories assigned to questions by the question submitters help the Q&A administrator to determine how to delegate each question.

Q&A administrators can submit questions on behalf of buyer groups enabled for Q&A. The questions appear in the Q&A thread.

1. Click the DealCentre AI icon in the upper left corner of the screen to display the deals list.
2. Select the deal you want.
3. Click the Diligence icon on the left side of the screen. The Documents tab appears.
4. Click Q&A. The Questions tab appears.
5. Click Ask Question.
6. In On Behalf of Buyer, select a buyer group.
7. In Category, select the appropriate category for the question. The default value is Uncategorized.
8. In Priority, select a priority level. The default value is None.
9. Enter the question in the Question field.
10. (Optional.) In Delegate to Experts, select one or more expert groups, individual experts, or both.
11. Click Submit Question.

After you submit a question:

• All members of the selected buyer group can see the question and the full Q&A thread.
• Exports record the Q&A administrator name, the buyer group, and timestamp of the submission.

The Import questions feature allows Q&A administrators to upload multiple questions at once using a spreadsheet file. Each question is added to the Q&A grid for the selected buyer group. You can upload questions using a .xlsx or .xls file. Each row must include question and buyer name. Category and priority are optional.

Preparing your questions file

1. Click the DealCentre AI icon in the upper left corner of the screen to display the deals list.
2. Select the deal you want.
3. Click the Diligence icon on the left side of the screen. The Documents tab appears.
4. Click Q&A. The Questions tab appears.
5. Click Import Questions.
6. Click Download a question template. 
7. Enter your questions in the template. Each row must include question and buyer name. Category and priority are optional.
8. Save the completed template file and make a note of its name and location.

Importing your questions file

1. Click the DealCentre AI icon in the upper left corner of the screen to display the deals list.
2. Select the deal you want.
3. Click the Diligence icon on the left side of the screen. The Documents tab appears.
4. Click Q&A. The Questions tab appears.
5. Click Import Questions.
6. In the Import Questions dialog, click Select File.
7. Select your completed Excel template and click Open.
8. Click Import.

After you submit a question:

• All members of the selected buyer group can see the question and the full Q&A thread.
• Exports record the Q&A administrator name, the buyer group, and timestamp of the submission.

Delegate a question

Q&A administrators can delegate buyer questions directly to one or more selected seller users or groups.

1. Click the DealCentre AI icon in the upper left corner of the screen to display the deals list.
2. Select the deal you want.
3. Click the Diligence icon on the left side of the screen. The Documents tab appears.
4. Click Q&A. The Questions tab appears.
5. Click a question with the status Unanswered. The question is displayed in the right panel on the screen. This panel includes:
   • Overview tab - shows who asked the question, question text, Priority, and Category.
   • Internal Collaboration tab - shows the communication between Q&A administrators and delegated subject matter experts.
   • Similar Questions tab - shows questions that are similar to the one being viewed.
   • Workflow tab - shows a timeline of the Q&A process.
6. Click Delegate in the right panel.
7. In the Delegate to Experts window, select one or more Group of Experts, Individual Experts, or both.
8. Click Delegate.

The question status remains Unanswered. The selected subject matter experts users are notified. They can view the questions and either draft or propose an answer.

Edit the delegation 

1. Click the DealCentre AI icon in the upper left corner of the screen to display the deals list.
2. Select the deal you want.
3. Click the Diligence icon on the left side of the screen. The Documents tab appears.
4. Click Q&A. By default, the Questions tab is selected.

5. Click a question with the status Unanswered. The question is displayed in the right panel on the screen. This panel includes:

   • Overview tab - shows who asked the question, question text, Priority, and Category.
   • Internal Collaboration tab - shows the communication between Q&A administrators and delegated subject matter experts.
   • Similar Questions tab - shows questions that are similar to the one being viewed.
   • Workflow tab - shows a timeline of the Q&A process.

6. Click Delegate in the right panel.

7. In the Delegate to Experts window, modify the experts to delegate the question using the checkboxes.

8. Click Confirm.

The Action Status column for the question is updated as Delegated.

Q&A administrators can delegate questions to subject matter experts (SMEs). Buyers can ask follow-up questions. The Action Status column for the question shows three statuses:

Delegated: The question is assigned to an SME. 

Proposed: The SME has proposed an answer to the Q&A administrators. 

Follow-up: The buyer submitter has asked a follow-up question on an answer submitted by the Q&A administrators

Answer a question

Q&A administrators can submit multiple answers to a question while the question remains open. They can add clarifications or new information without closing the thread. 

1. Click the DealCentre AI icon in the upper left corner of the screen to display the deals list.
2. Select the deal you want.
3. Click the Diligence icon on the left side of the screen. The Documents tab appears.
4. Click Q&A. By default, the Questions tab is selected.
5. Click a question with the status Unanswered or Answered. The question is displayed in the right panel on the screen. This panel includes:
   • Overview tab - shows who asked the question, question text, Priority, and Category.
   • Internal Collaboration tab - shows the communication between Q&A administrators and delegated subject matter experts.
   • Similar Questions tab - shows questions that are similar to the one being viewed.
   • Workflow tab - shows who proposed and submitted the question, and when.
6. Click Answer in the right panel.
7. Enter your response in the answer text box.

   • If the question was delegated, and the subject matter expert(s) proposed an answer, the answer appears under Proposed Answer. You can copy the proposed answer or modify it before submitting your response. You can choose to not use the proposed answer.

     Note: When you copy a proposed answer, all the associated attachments are copied. You can remove attachments or add new ones before submitting the response to the buyer. If an attachment is not permissioned for the buyer group, a warning appears before the response is shared.

   • (Optional.) Link automatically generates a suggested answer for each question using deal documents. You can copy, edit or disregard the suggested answer. To use the Link Suggested Answer, click Copy Answer. You can use and paste in the text box.

     Note: When you copy a Link suggested answer, all the associated attachments are copied. You can remove attachments or add new ones before submitting the response to the buyer. If an attachment is not permissioned for the buyer group, a warning appears before the response is shared.

8. (Optional.) Click Save As Draft to save your answer without submitting it.
9. (Optional.) Click Edit Draft to make changes to a saved response.
10. To attach documents with your answer, click the link icon.
    • Click Select Documents.
    • Browse folders and files and select the documents to attach.
    • Click Select Documents to confirm.
11. Select Answer to publish your response. The system adds the answer to the question thread.
12. (Optional.) Select Answer and Close to publish your response and close the question. The system updates the status to Closed.

View follow-up alerts

You receive an alert when a question submitter submits a follow-up question on an answered question.  You can submit a response to the follow-up question.

Respond to follow-up question

When a question submitter asks a follow-up question, the Answer Status changes to Follow-up. 

1. Click the DealCentre AI icon in the upper left corner of the screen to display the deals list.
2. Select the deal you want.
3. Click the Diligence icon on the left side of the screen. The Documents tab appears.
4. Click Q&A. By default, the Questions tab is selected.
5. Click a question with the Question Status as Answered and Answer Status as Follow-up. The question is displayed in the right panel on the screen. This panel includes:
   • Overview tab - shows who asked the question, question text, Priority, and Category.
   • Internal Collaboration tab - shows the communication between Q&A administrators and delegated subject matter experts.
   • Similar Questions tab - shows questions that are similar to the one being viewed.
   • Workflow tab - shows who proposed and submitted the question, and when.
6. Click Reply to Follow-up in the right panel.
7. Enter your response in the answer text box. 
8. (Optional.) Click Save As Draft to save your answer without submitting it.
9. (Optional.) Click Edit Draft to make changes to a saved response.
10. To attach documents with your answer, click the link icon.
    • Click Select Documents.
    • Browse folders and files and select the documents to attach.
    • Click Select Documents to confirm.
11. Select Reply to Follow-up to respond. The system adds the response to the question thread.

Q&A administrators can discuss responses with subject matter experts (SMEs) using comments.
 This helps you reach consensus on responses before you can submit them to buyers.

1. Click the DealCentre AI icon in the upper left corner of the screen to display the deals list.
2. Select the deal you want.
3. Click the Diligence icon on the left side of the screen. The Documents tab should be displayed.
4. Click Q&A. 
5. Click the question that you want to discuss with the subject matter expert.
6. Select the Internal Collaboration tab in the right panel.
7. Enter your comment in the Comments text box.
8. (Optional.) To tag specific Q&A administrators or subject matter experts including yourself, use @mention.
9. Click the blue arrow to submit your response. 

Close a question

You can close questions that have been answered and no longer need attention.

1. Click the DealCentre AI icon in the upper left corner of the screen to display the deals list.
2. Select the deal you want.
3. Click the Diligence icon on the left side of the screen. The Documents tab appears.
4. Click Q&A. By default, the Questions tab is selected.
5. Click a question with the status Answered. The question is displayed in the right panel on the screen. This panel includes:
   • Overview tab - shows who asked the question, question text, Priority, and Category.
   • Internal Collaboration tab - shows the communication between Q&A administrators and delegated subject matter experts.
   • Similar Questions tab - shows questions that are similar to the one being viewed.
   • Workflow tab - shows a timeline of the Q&A process.
6. Click Close Question in the right panel. The system updates the question status to Closed.

The Similar Questions page automatically groups duplicate or related questions from different buyers. It allows you to avoid duplicate responses or provide consolidated answers where appropriate.

• This feature is only available to Q&A Administrators.
• You can review suggested matches and click to view their details or previous answers.
• Additionally, each similar questions group shows key details such as question ID, category, question, and buyer group.
• You can move questions to a different similar questions group or remove questions from a group.
• Questions that do not match any group appear in the All Others group. Also, when you remove questions from a group, the questions move to the All Others group.

Managing similar questions

1. Click the DealCentre AI icon in the upper left corner of the screen to display the deals list.
2. Select the deal you want.
3. Click the Diligence icon on the left side of the screen. The Documents tab appears.
4. Click Q&A. 
5. Select the Similar Questions tab.
6. To move a question, click the three-dot menu in the Actions column, and select Move to another group.
7. To remove a question from any group, click the three-dot menu in the Actions column, and select Remove from group.

You can export information about one or more questions to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. 

Export questions to Microsoft Excel 

1. Click the DealCentre AI icon in the upper left corner of the screen to display the deals list.
2. Select the deal you want.
3. Click the Diligence icon on the left side of the screen. The Documents tab appears.
4. Click Q&A. By default, the Questions tab is selected.
5. Click Export on the top right of the screen. The file is downloaded to your system, and you can view it in Microsoft Excel.

You can organize and analyze Q&A data by grouping questions using Category, Priority, Question Status, Action Status and Buyer. Grouping allows you to track and prioritize questions.

Note: By default, questions are grouped by Buyer. 

Grouping questions

1. Click the DealCentre AI icon in the upper left corner of the screen to display the deals list.
2. Select the deal you want.
3. Click the Diligence icon on the left side of the screen. The Documents tab appears.
4. Click Q&A. By default, the Questions tab is selected.
5. Locate the column header for the field you want to group by - Category, Priority, Question Status, or Action Status.
6. Click the three-dot menu on the column header.
7. Select Group by <Field Name> from the menu.

The Q&A grid shows the questions in the grid as per the selected grouping.