Certain critical business documents require an extra measure of review and refinement to ensure that the terms and conditions are stated correctly. Examples include a contract for a major account, a partnership agreement, or a finance or life sciences submission to regulatory agencies. Generating such an important document is typically a collaborative process, with input from multiple departments and subject matter experts in legal and regulatory matters. This group of contributing editors mark up the master document until it reaches its final state, ready for signoff by a customer, partner, or regulatory agency. The collaborative review and editing effort is commonly called “redlining.”
The redlining team’s first instinct will likely be to use a popular word processing app, like Microsoft Word or Google Docs. While these apps are familiar, they lack two factors that are critical to redlining with a critical document: security and a detailed audit trail.
The redlining team will be better served with ShareVault's Collabloop, a task management software specifically designed for redlining.
How to Redline an Agreement in Collabloop.
With Collabloop, contributors make edits much as they would in Word or Google Docs, but in a secure environment and with their edits and comments visible in real time. Real-time tracking allows contributors to change more quickly – a feature that significantly improves the speed and accuracy of the redlining master document.
Collabloop redlining software provides a number of ways for collaborators to revise the master agreement document:
- Add new text: Insert new text directly into the document. Collabloop will display the new text in a different color or format to distinguish it from the original content.
- Delete text: Select text and hit the “delete” or “backspace” key. Collabloop will display deleted text as struck through or in a different color.
- Modify text: Select a text passage and type the revised version. Collabloop will show the original text with a strikethrough and display the new text in a different color.
- Change formatting: Revise text with formatting changes such as font, size, spacing, or alignment directly in the document.
- Comments: Use Collabloop’s comment feature to make suggestions or remarks. These comments will appear in a separate column to the right of the main body.
Collabloop’s user-friendly editing tools ensure that all collaborating contributors have a clear understanding of what changes are made – and why.
Collabloop Provides Secure Collaboration.
The redlining team accesses Collabloop and works on the master document in the ultra-secure environment of a ShareVault virtual data room (VDR). The VDR is also the perfect place to upload and securely access and share important documents used as references in developing the master agreement document.
As an added measure of security, the redlining team leader has control over who has access to the master document and the protected VDR environment. The team leader can require two-factor passwords and record the IP address of any device used by a contributor. The team leader can also control what actions a contributor can make, such as read only, edit/paste, and download or take a screenshot.
Collabloop Generates an Audit Trail.
When the review and editing process of the master contract document is complete, the team leader can generate an audit trail report. While Word and Google Docs include a “Track Changes" feature, changes tracked using these apps disappear as edits are finalized. ShareVault’s Collabloop preserves a detailed history of all changes by date and time and contributor – an essential tool for measuring efficiency and productivity, and an audit trail that is likely to be required as a submission to regulatory parties.
Share a Redlined Collabloop Document for Sign Off.
When the redlining team has an approved contract or agreement, they can invite a customer or potential partner into the secure environment of the ShareVault VDR, following the same password protocols as used by the redlining team. The invited party can review the agreement document and ask for revisions, using Collabloop’s document markup tools.
When the parties reach an agreement, the redlining team initiates ShareVault’s integration with DocuSign. Invited partners or customers can then sign off on the agreement, all within the secure confines of the virtual data room.
Start with a Secure Platform for Collaboration.
A critical document like a contract, a regulatory submission, or a partner agreement contains terms and information that must be protected from outside eyes. The agreement and its many supporting resource documents require enterprise-grade security. The best solution is a virtual data room. With ShareVault’s VDR, the redlining project leader has control over who has access to documents and what actions may be taken, as well as protection for all reference documents.
ShareVault: Ultra-secure Virtual Data Room Provider.
A ShareVault virtual data room provides the essential security features that protect your documents and allows a project leader to grant or remove access at the click of a button. ShareVault has more than 15 years of experience working with companies that require contract redlining and secure access to confidential documents, in Finance and M&A, Law, Life Sciences, and other industries. The ShareVault support team can provide a VDR solution customized to an organization’s unique needs, then back it up with 24/7/365 tech support.
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