Using a virtual data room for your transaction should free up time to allow you in the optimal execution of the deal. There are many options to manage and share documents in more or less secure ways. For any serious transaction you should always use a reputable data room provider. If you really want to “forget” about managing documents and be able to focus on other aspects of the deal, you should make sure that you choose a data room provider that as part of its services includes access to a dedicated team of experienced data room professional, not just a technical support team.
The deal coordinators, as we like to call them in EthosData, will draw from the firm’s deep experience and make the process easy taking the task of managing documents away from clients and eliminating the need for bankers or lawyers to administer the process.
Here are 8 example in which a data room with professional co-ordination services can streamline your entire deal:
1) Preparing Documentation
Preparation is one of the most time-consuming aspects of managing documentation in a merger or acquisition. Documents must be separated from their binding or staples, smoothed out and sorted. They need to be scanned at the appropriate resolution, logged into the system, checked for quality and saved in a suitable viewing format before being made available to users. A good deal coordinator will be able to take all that work from your shoulders or if you decide to do the scanning yourself provide you with guidance to simplify the process.
2) Indexing
Once the documents are scanned, they need to categorized and indexed in a logical structure. A data room co-ordinator can use knowledge gained from involvement with multiple projects to set up a structure with unique, intuitive naming conventions specific to your industry and the type of transaction. For those conducting the due diligence, this makes finding what they are looking for much simpler.
3) Identify Access Levels
Documents fall into different categories in terms of confidentiality, and the information in a secure fie sharing facility needs to be – well, secure. To maintain the integrity of your data, you need to set up different levels of access for users. Deciding the different level for each document and processing them can become a cumbersome process if you do not have professional help.
4) Upload Documents
Once documents are ready, they are uploaded into the data room according to the index structure. Although any good virtual data room platform will provide simple tools to upload (bulk upload), having a person to upload them for you can be a great time saver.
5) Set Up User Permissions
The permissions users have determine who gets to view which documents, so this is a vital aspect of the security of your data and one which you cannot afford to leave in the hands of junior staff. A qualified deal co-ordinator creates the permissions framework at the planning stage, which helps drive the index structure and prevents future backtracking to resolve issues.
6) Reporting Help
The reporting options offered by most virtual data rooms are fairly sophisticated and can be complex to understand. Instead of struggling to draw the statistics you need, a deal co-ordinator will do this on your behalf and present you with the reports you want.
7) Last-Minute Changes
Making last-minute changes in a data room structure can be a nightmare for the inexperienced. By using a service with an experienced deal co-ordinator you reduce the risk of needing emergency modifications and increase the capability of managing them if they occur.
8) Preventing Surprises
Using a data room service provider who offers a full co-ordination service can help prevent unpleasant surprises such as reaching the point of signing only to discover that the bidders have never seen certain vital information.
So if you’re in the market for a virtual data room or file sharing platform for an upcoming deal, make sure you select a service provider who offers a comprehensive service that includes technical support/training for staff, after-hours Support, Project management assistance and avoid wasting your money on facilities where you have to still do all the work.
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