Author: Daphne Mothes

Testimonial: Closd at Askesis, law firm in business law

Post author By Daphne Mothes
Post date March 9, 2023

Yves Larue is a partner at Askesis, a business law firm he founded in 2008 with Denis Koban, and later joined by Bastien Bernard. Specialized in corporate law and contract law, he is currently the head of the firm’s Corporate Department.

As an early adopter of Closd, he agreed to tell us more about his experience with the platform, and more specifically about the efficiency gains and customer experience benefits enabled by the electronic signature module.

Closd: Could you please introduce us to Askesis?

Yves Larue: Askesis is a business law firm specializing in 5 main activities: corporate law (restructurings, M&A), financing and banking law, tax law, intellectual property law, and contract law. Our main activity and the one for which we use Closd is the financing and M&A branch: fundraising operations, purchase and sale of companies, business assets, etc.

We serve a very wide range of clients, including many start-ups due to our location in the heart of a technology park, and large international groups. We work mainly for corporate clients, and for company CEOs within the framework of property operations. This wide range of clients allows us to address very diverse cases.

What were the main challenges before adopting Closd? What convinced you to use the platform?

Before Closd, we were carrying out many closings that required the reproduction of large volumes of technical documents, not to mention the appendices. We had already opted for a notarial binding system, which had already allowed us to save time for our clients but which required a lot of preparation on our side, up to several days for a closing session. Not to mention that in case of last-minute changes, we had to reprint all these documents. We would often spend an entire night before the closing making copies of several thousand pages to be bound. In addition, since this was a technical operation that required a high degree of expertise, attention and preparation, the editing and proofreading had to be carried out by the lawyers themselves.

With this in mind, I quickly started looking for an electronic signature solution that would allow us to save time. I was already familiar with Docusign, but it wasn’t practical enough for me. Before Closd, there was no global solution to handle deals.

We had considered taking the plunge before the lockdown, but this choice was then more than needed given the situation, especially since 2020 was a very busy year for us, during which we signed many deals. The tool allowed us to move forward with the closing of deals that had already been started, and even to carry out new ones. After the lockdown, everyone got used to using the tool.

Could you describe the operations you carry out thanks to the platform? What are your favorite features?

The feature we use the most in Closd is the electronic signature module. The tool allows us to share documents between us and colleagues, which is very practical because an increasing number of them now have access to the platform, which greatly simplifies the process. The tool helps us greatly in the preparation stage and in simplifying exchanges. It allows us to have a shared space on which to exchange.

The tool also ensures that the final version has been validated by the client, including their in-house lawyers, but also by all parties. Closd brings comfort to our clients and reinforces security. Working with PDF documents instead of paper is a real time saver that allows us to speed up the signature process.

We still carry out face-to-face signatures with our clients to keep the convivial aspect and celebrate the deal over a glass of champagne, but all documents are signed electronically. This has been a revolution for us in terms of productivity: 90% of our electronic signatures are completed on Closd.

The platform is very well-designed and intuitive. I’ve seen the features evolve over time, to the point where it’s become a real daily work tool. All our deals are processed through Closd; the platform makes our work easier and allows us to be much more efficient in terms of signing workflow.

Are your clients and interlocutors satisfied with the use of the platform?

Once customers have created their access on Closd, they are very happy, even if some would like the access to the platform to be quicker and with less verification. But I think this is essential to ensure a high level of security.

How would you assess your experience with Closd? What are the main strengths of the platform?

We are very satisfied! The platform’s strengths are that it has evolved from a solution focused on electronic signatures to a real work tool as new features have been added.

Our clients appreciate the fact that they can find signed documents on the platform, follow a signature workflow, provide different levels of validation, etc. Another feature we really appreciate is the ability to automatically generate closing binders with summaries, which allows us to close deals in one click and send it directly to our clients.

Another strength of the platform is the technical support, which is extremely reactive and helpful as soon as we have a problem with a customer who either can’t log in or can’t scan his or her ID, and the problem is resolved very quickly. This is a real strength of the platform, which I particularly appreciate since we are putting our image and credibility at stake.

Thanks to Mr Larue for his testimony. If you want to learn more about Closd, schedule a demo now!

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Practical sheet: Different types of signatures on Closd

Post author By Daphne Mothes
Post date March 3, 2023

Different types of signatures on Closd

⬇ Download the sheet for free

Content of the sheet

Four distinct types of signatures are available on Closd:

Simple electronic signatures
Advanced electronic signatures
Qualified electronic signatures
Handwritten scanned signatures

They vary in the level of authentication required for signatories, hence in the probative force and legal certainty of the signed document over time.

You can use and combine different signature types in the same signing session.

Discover their specificities and legal implications by downloading our guide!

Interview

Testimonial: Closd at Hong Kong law firm Slotine

Post author By Daphne Mothes
Post date February 27, 2023

Mathilde Chator is a lawyer at Slotine, an independent law firm based in Hong Kong, specializing in cross-border business and corporate law. She mainly advises on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, foreign direct investments, and corporate governance matters.

As a Closd user for more than a year, Ms. Chator agreed to talk about her experience with the platform, and more specifically about the improvements in terms of communication and project management enabled by the solution.

Closd: Could you please introduce us to Slotine?

Mathilde Chator: My name is Mathilde Chator. I was admitted in France in 2019, and I joined Slotine law firm 5 years ago now. The firm was created in 2016 by Maëva Slotine, after being admitted in Hong Kong, France, and England & Wales. The firm is a local structure, which allows us to practice and advise our clients on Hong Kong law.

In order to support our clients in their growth, our activity is divided into two main parts: the transactional activity (M&A, private equity, intra-group reorganizations), and the general counsel activity (corporate governance, debt collection, commercial agreements, employment law and shareholder disputes, mainly).

Hong Kong attracts many entrepreneurs of various nationalities. We serve a broad range of clients, half of whom are French, and half of whom are international and local. We work with many start-ups: we are involved in the network of Cyberport, a start-up campus, and we are also involved in the Hong Kong Science & Technology Park incubator campus. We also work with international groups, especially French groups, which have a subsidiary or a holding in Hong Kong.

Our association with the French law firm UGGC Avocats allows us to complete our services for acquisitions and investments in Asia. We are also associated with the Hong Kong law firm Payne Clermont Velasco, which specializes in litigation.

What were the main challenges before adopting Closd? What convinced you to use the platform?

Our main problem involved time-consuming and low-value-adding tasks on transactional files. I am thinking in particular of the organization of the signature of documents, the communication of different versions of projects with the different stakeholders, the update of the closing checklist, the sending of follow-up emails, and the manual compilation of documents. In addition, it was difficult to justify billing clients for these tasks.

We were looking for a solution that would allow us to sign electronically, share documents with our customers, and create closing checklists, which were previously managed in Word and updated daily by email exchanges.

We chose the Closd platform mainly because it is available in French and English, which meets the needs of our clients. Currently, we mainly use Closd in English, but the platform allows us to provide our French-speaking clients with access to the plateform in French, which is greatly appreciated. We also chose the platform because you are part of the LexisNexis group, which is a validation for our international clients.

Technology is an integral part of our practice at Slotine: our goal is to focus on value-added tasks and free up time on tasks that can be automated. Closd is a key tool that is an integral part of this approach.

Could you describe the operations you carry out thanks to the platform? What are your favorite features?

We use Closd on private equity, acquisitions, and international intra-group reorganizations files.

The features we use the most are the closing Checklist module, the Documents module, which we use as a data room in many cases, and the Signing session module. We are currently exploring the new data room functionality, which we are interested in and which has been much requested by our clients.

We also use Closd internally as a planning tool for team projects. It allows us to set reminders before each deadline.

Are your clients and interlocutors satisfied with the use of the platform?

Our clients are very satisfied with the platform. As an example, I’m currently working on a fundraising project, for which clients are adding documents directly to the data room.

Many of our clients are FinTech companies, and therefore are very fond of this type of solution. Using Closd’s platform on a transaction makes a real difference, instead of having to generate the closing checklist using Word and sending it by email as we used to do.

How would you assess your experience with Closd? What are the main strengths of the platform?

We are very satisfied with the platform, Closd has a very positive effect and allows us to save a lot of time. We particularly appreciate the responsiveness of the Closd team: some of the feedback we provided has been taken into account, and we are delighted to assist and participate in the evolution of the platform.

We are looking forward to the upcoming improvements and new features.

I would say that the main strengths of the platform are its integration with DocuSign and the two signature technologies available at the time of preparing the signing (paper and electronic). We have high expectations for the new data room functionality, which seems to meet our customers’ expectations.

Thanks to Mrs Chator for her testimony. If you want to learn more about Closd, schedule a demo now!

Tags interview, user testimonial

Blog articles

Use case: Data room 2.0: how technology can support M&A deals

Post author By Daphne Mothes
Post date February 6, 2023

On December 1, 2022, the 8th edition of the Rencontres M&A (M&A Meetings) was held in Paris, organized by Option Finance in partnership with Option Droit & Affaires, and sponsored by Closd.

Dedicated to the analysis of major trends, legal developments and growth prospects of the M&A market, this meeting was an opportunity for Grégoire Debit, co-founder and CEO of Closd, alongside Vassili Andricopoulos, Group CIO of Eight Advisory and customer of the solution, to discuss on the theme: “Data room 2.0: technology at the service of M&A deals”.

Corinne Previtali (moderator) (CP): Can you please introduce yourself?

Vassili Andricopoulos (VA): My name is Vassili Andricopoulos, and I am the Group CIO at Eight Advisory, which I joined 3 months ago. Before that, I worked for 12 years at Baker McKenzie. During these two experiences, I was brought to work with many data room users.

Grégoire Debit (GD): My name is Grégoire Debit, and I am the co-founder and CEO of Closd. As a former M&A lawyer, I was a user of data room solutions before founding Closd, which can be defined as a global transactional player. Our activity consists in facilitating deals between advisors and parties throughout the transaction, by digitizing the entire process. While talking with market players, we quickly identified a need for renewal in the data room sector.

CP: What is the difference between the electronic data rooms that have arisen on the market since 2006, and the current solutions? In your opinion, what is the state of the art regarding data rooms?

VA: The historical players in the data room market offer solutions that are certainly very complete, but that are rather heavy, very expensive, and require significant IT resources. On the other hand, there are public document-sharing solutions that everyone knows about, which make it possible to share documents quite easily but are much less secure.

The challenge for us was to find a data room solution that meets the needs of users and consultants conducting due diligence, and the security requirements of our customers. Our clients are increasingly asking questions about the security of our various technologies. We needed a data room solution that could be used very quickly, securely, at a reasonable price, and was easy to use. We are not a large IT team, so users must be able to operate the data room by themselves.

With this in mind, I turned to Closd twice: the first time during the pandemic; then recently we called on Closd again at Eight Advisory because we needed a data room solution almost from one week to the next for a client who was very demanding in terms of security, and that could be accessible to 40 people at the same time. We needed a tool that works everywhere, and that allows us to store and access our documents easily and securely.

Closd is a very flexible solution, that allowed us to have a data room from one week to the next branded with our logo. It provides the essential features of a data room, as well as additional features that simplify our life and allow us to save time: for example, it is possible to invite 45 users at the same time to the data room by simply importing an Excel file.

GD: Over the past 5 years, during which we have accompanied more than 25,000 transactions, we have had the time to exchange with many market players. We already provide a deal room solution that allows users to digitize, automate, accelerate, and, above all, secure legal processes until the closing and even after. Closd is a French company, compliant with the best standards in terms of security and data sovereignty.

We have identified a real need in the due diligence segment: our clients and users have told us that they need flexible, user-friendly, and intuitive tools. We are in a market that has existed for about 15 years, but whose main players have not evolved much, and who share the same constraints and difficulties of implementation and use. We have also noticed a need for security: as Vassili said, we very quickly find ourselves using solutions such as Dropbox, Wetransfer, or even unsecured Drives, which can do the trick for a while, but are absolutely not secure enough and represent a significant risk of data loss. Not to mention the fact that these are American tools, which raises questions regadata sovereignty.

Finally, the price is sometimes excessive, even irrelevant. Data room providers sometimes charge by volume of pages; this model seems a bit outdated in the era of the cloud and unlimited storage.

Our data room was born from the continuity of what we were already offering since our tool was already used as a data room, but still lacked some essential features to be totally irreproachable in terms of security and confidentiality of exchanges.

We created this “next generation” data room because it meets the current market standards: modern, fluid, intuitive, and easy to configure; also, it allows users to create projects themselves without the help of an IT team. Our team of former dealmakers supports customers in learning the tool, with the ultimate goal of helping them accelerate their operations.

CP: In addition to security, data traceability is also a key issue. This traceability is perhaps the strong point of the players who entered the market in 2006-2007. What about Closd? What is your users’ feedback regarding this topic?

GD: Traceability is absolutely essential, and was part of the functionalities we added to the due diligence platform, as well as a Q&A module. Today, our clients can retrieve all the users’ activity logs on the platform themselves: who did what, who consulted what document, etc. We offer a system of access rights that is extremely granular and can be easily set up by the user. The idea is to combine the best of security with the most intuitive and modern interface.

VA: One feature that our teams really enjoy is the ability to be notified every time there are new documents uploaded to the data room. You can choose to get notified every time there’s a new document, once a day or once a week. This avoids people having to follow the uploading of documents throughout the day or bothering each party to gather information.

GD: The big advantage of Closd is obviously that our other solution can be used to go all the way to the closing and even afterward, which is why we define ourselves as a global transaction player. Our clients have to deal with follow-up and traceability issues, particularly in the case of an M&A operation, for which we use a data room solution, then follow up by email or telephone, then use an external solution such as DocuSign, etc. With Closd, we remain in the same workspace, and we can continue to collaborate and track the progress of each task, regardless of the phase of the operation.

CP: Why haven’t the major players switched to a more fluid and less expensive version?

VA: I think most of these players have a long-standing customer base, who continues to subscribe to their products despite their lack of innovation. The historical data rooms still work well, but they haven’t necessarily evolved with the new technologies or asked themselves about sovereignty either. This is a recurring question for us, which our partners ask me, and in this respect, it is true that Closd’s data being hosted in France is important.

CP: What is Closd’s pricing model?

GD: As I said earlier, the storage issue is not the same as it was 15 years ago when it made sense to charge per page.

Our clients carry out recurring transactional operations, which is why subscription models that allow them to open workspaces in a somewhat unlimited way and not necessarily ask themselves the question of storage volume (within reasonable usage limits) are the most suitable, as on our deal room platform. This makes it possible to better control the costs of the tools in an operation from the beginning.

CP: What is the structure of your customer base, and who benefits the most from this model?

GD: We address all types of players; it is by discussing with the market players and with the users of our platform that we realized that there was a real need, especially for small and mid-cap companies. The big companies and firms could continue to work with the historical data room providers, but these tools were too much for the smaller players, who didn’t want to use solutions like Dropbox, Drives, etc. The fluidity of the tool allows everyone to easily configure and start a project, regardless of size.

CP: Finally, what are the three reasons to use new tools like Closd for professionals (lawyers, M&A advisors, etc.)?

VA: The main reasons are that it is not necessary to have a whole IT team behind it, whether it is for setting up or opening a new data room; the simplicity of use, because the solution is as simple as the tools we know but with the added security, and finally the price.

GD: I would also add the tracking of the transaction all the way through, which makes it possible to reassure everyone and to have the same level of information at all times. So I would say flexibility, ease of use, security, and data sovereignty. Again, it’s important to work with European players who host their data in Europe. Closd brings value with a cost in line with the market needs.

Thank you to Vassili Andricopoulos for agreeing to participate in this testimony, to Corinne Previtali for moderating this meeting, and to Options Finance and Options Droit & Affaires for organizing this event.

Closd: our year 2022 in review

Post author By Daphne Mothes
Post date January 27, 2023

As a new year begins for Closd, placed under the sign of growth and various integrations, the time has come to review the year that has just ended! Improvements of the platform, growth of the company and the team, highlights of the year … Let’s look back at the events that marked 2022.

Updates and evolutions of the platform

Our beginning of 2022 was marked by the announcement in January of the new version of the Closd platform.

With a new design and new features, this V2 aimed to provide our users and their clients with an improved experience and a more fluid interface. New features have been added, such as the ability to add and prepare multiple documents for signature at once, and the addition of new roles and statuses on the Checklist (Validator and Responsible parties) to improve collaboration between Participants and simplify the follow-up of your tasks. We have also added filters on each module to facilitate viewing and searching for information.

During the year, we also made further improvements to the user experience, as well as new features to simplify your experience. For example, we added the ability to import a folder tree from an Excel file to create and number your folders and subfolders all at once, or to add custom instructions when launching your Signature session.

We have also developed many sharing features: you can share your checklist templates with your colleagues, or share information by email (archives from the vault, document indexes, checklists) much more easily to your colleagues or clients directly from the platform.

Another important update is that the availability time of a bible has been doubled! Generated bibles are now available for download for 96 hours (4 days) on the platform, which now allows our users to download bibles on a Monday if they were generated on a Friday night.

Already available in French and English, the Closd platform has been available in German since September. We are delighted to be able to support German-speaking legal professionals in the digitalization of their legal operations.

Finally, at the request of our customers, it is now possible to add 2 new types of tags when preparing a document (ballot, form, etc.) in the signature space: mandatory, compulsory or not check boxes. These can be added to the document to be signed by a simple drag and drop.

Our highlights of 2022

One year with LexisNexis

After the acquisition of Closd by the LexisNexis group at the end of 2021, the LexisNexis group continues its global development strategy and is strengthening its range of solutions and tools to facilitate decision-making, optimize productivity and performance, as well as the legal security of documents and advice.

For its part, Closd continues to benefit from the LexisNexis network, in particular with the aim of accelerating its international expansion, and continues working on the integration with LexisNexis products, used by many of our clients.

2022 in numbers

The platform’s figures have risen sharply this year: more than 100,000 documents have been signed, 13,000 new projects have been created and more than 35,000 new users have joined Closd.

Less than 5 years after the launch of the platform, we are proud to be the leading legal transaction management solution in Europe. This dynamic demonstrates a growing need for digitalization and automation of this type of operation on the part of legal, accounting and deal-making professionals.

Legaltech Closd continues its expansion

To begin with, 14 people have joined our team this year. Sales, development, marketing, product, customer support, administrative …

Meanwhile, we have also confirmed our status as a major player in the legaltech sector in France by participating in many major events: Private Equity Meetings, Assas Legal Tech Night, Legal Tech Hub Europe’s Alumni Meet Up 2022, Ordre des Experts-Comptables Congress, ACE National Congress, RDV des transformations du droit, Campus AFJE, M&A Meetings… We also launched many communication actions, such as the release of our first whitepaper (only available in French), and organized several webinars.

As this new year begins, we would like to thank our clients, partners and community, who support us and trust us throughout the year to meet the challenge of accompanying legal professionals in the transformation of their practices.

In 2023, we are even more confident in the value of our services and aware of the importance of our mission, as evidenced by these recent client testimonials:

“Closd allows us to bring the firm into the present and simplify our lives considerably.” (David Ybert de Fontenelle, Partner at Bruzzo Dubucq)

“We consider this solution to be indispensable in our business today to meet our clients’ needs.” (Héloïse Cuche, Senior Partner at DSM Avocats à la Cour)

“By automating manual tasks, the solution allows us to save time and energy, and above all, improve traceability..” (Arnaud Monnet, Director of Property Management at Acer Finance)

We can’t wait to reveal our next projects! To follow our upcoming news, sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Linkedin and Twitter.

Tags news, review

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New identity, logo and website: discover the new Closd!

Post author By Daphne Mothes
Post date January 24, 2023

After 5 years of existence, Closd, the European leader in transaction management, is proud to present its new look, including a new logo, a new visual identity, and a brand new website.

The year is off to a great start for the Closd team: one week after the launch of our new data room offer, which aims to simplify and accelerate audits while offering an optimal level of security and a revolutionary user experience to dealmaking professionals, we are proud to present our brand new visual identity.

Closd’s new identity

Following a particularly successful year 2022, marked by significant growth after the acquisition of Closd by the LexisNexis group, we are reinventing our brand identity to make it more modern and mature.

Our new logo represents the stability and reliability that are the core commitments of our platform, serving a mission that remains unchanged: to facilitate secure end-to-end legal transactions.

Many of the visual elements of our new identity are inspired by the legal workflows and collaboration between the various parties involved in a transaction, which have been part of the DNA of our platform from the beginning.

A new website and an updated platform

closd website english We are also delighted to announce the complete redesign of our website. More complete and clearer, you will now find a new product page dedicated to the data room, testimonials from our customers, practical sheets to download on the security of the platform, as well as many blog contents.

Our platform has also been redesigned to also adopt this new identity. We took the opportunity to add some small improvements in terms of user experience that will make your navigation even easier.

A new chapter is starting for Closd, and we look forward to sharing it with you!

Tags branding, news

10 tips to set up your data room

Post author By Daphne Mothes
Post date January 18, 2023

With the increasing digitalization of the legal and deal-making sectors, you have just acquired a next-generation data room solution to manage ultra-confidential corporate documents as part of a due diligence process. Congratulations!

These next-generation solutions, including Closd’s, are more affordable, simpler and have a more modern design than traditional market players. Their first differentiating factor is their user-friendliness. They are quick to set up and configure, allowing you to accelerate audits and save precious time.

In addition, unlike many software programs that require support during implementation, users can create their own data room in just a few clicks. These solutions combine the simplicity of traditional document sharing tools (such as Drives or file transfer solutions) with the essential features offered by traditional data room solutions.

To help you get the most out of your new tool, we have prepared a list of 10 tips to help you configure your Closd data room easily and efficiently from scratch. Follow the guide!

10 tips for getting the most out of your data room

Mass import participants using an Excel File

Don’t waste any more time inviting the different participants one by one on your space! Avoid this manual and time-consuming task by opting for a mass import of the different parties.

In the Participants menu of your data room, click on the Import / Export button, then on Mass import of participants. You can then download the Excel template to fill in. Once the file is filled in, you can upload your file to the platform. You can even add a personalized message to the invitation!

Invite participants to join the data room later

When setting up your data room, you may first want to ensure that all documents have been imported and access rights have been configured before participants can enter. Thanks to delayed invitations, you can confidently proceed with the creation of your space, without having to pollute your contacts with notifications.

If you are adding participants individually, remember to uncheck the Send invitation email now box. It is also possible to set this information if you are mass inviting participants. In the Invite to the project now column (optional) of the file, remember to enter No if you do not want participants to receive a notification. This way, you will have plenty of time to modify your data room before inviting your participants to join it.

Once your data room is ready, you can send an email invitation to accounts that have not yet been activated by clicking on See all participants in a group, then on Account not activated, which will offer you to Resend invitation.

Organize participants into groups

The Closd data room allows its users to classify participants into groups, meaning to group together people who have to receive the same level of information, for example a potential buyer and his advisors. Participant groups can be managed in the Participants menu. Participants can be changed to another group by simple drag and drop.

Groups allow you to share information with a group of users: a folder in the Documents area, a question in the Q&A module, or the prohibition to download documents in the Settings.

Set up privacy between groups

It is possible to manage confidentiality between participants, so that certain participants or groups of participants are not visible to others. This feature allows you, for example, to invite all potential buyers to the same data room, without them being able to see each other or to have access to the information shared by each of them, which represents a real gain in time and efficiency.

There are two levels of privacy:

Hide groups prevents participants from seeing other groups besides their own;
Hide group participants prevents participants from seeing members of their own group.

Create a folder tree from an Excel file

The Documents section of the Closd data room allows you to import a tree structure from an Excel template. This allows you to standardize your data rooms and to quickly create one or more reusable tree structure templates in a few clicks.

Importing a tree structure also allows you to customize the numbering of your files, especially if you want to adapt it to a nomenclature defined by your organization, different from the automatic numbering proposed by Closd. This import function also allows you to easily modify the tree structure of a large number of documents.

To do this, click on the Options button, then on Create a folder structure (Excel). You can then download the Excel template to fill in. Once the file is filled, you can proceed to upload your file on the platform.

Automatically number your folders and files

A very useful feature allows you to automatically number the folders and files in the data room, which is a very important time-saver during the audit. This numbering also allows you to easily refer to a folder or file in the Q&A questions.

To do this, simply activate the Numbering option. The numbering is updated when a file is moved to another folder.

Check out the “Recent files” folder

In the Documents section of your data room, you can find a permanent folder called Recent Files. With a search bar allowing you to quickly find your recently uploaded documents on the platform, this section is particularly useful if your notifications have been deactivated and you want to consult the latest additions, or if you missed a notification informing you that a document has been uploaded.

Forbid download and force display of watermarks

Watermarks are an essential feature of the data room, ensuring the confidentiality of documents and preventing data theft.

This feature can be enabled when creating your data room, or in the Settings > Access rights section of your data room. Watermarking prevents unauthorized users from downloading files. This feature can be enabled for all data room participants, per group or per user.

Create a list of standard questions

The Closd data room also allows you to import and export lists of questions in the Q&A module, allowing you to standardize this process with sample questions.

To do this, click on the Excel Import button. You can then download the Excel template to fill in. Once the file is completed, you can proceed to upload your question file to the platform.

Set up your notifications

The audit process often means a lot of back and forth between the different parties, and therefore a lot of email notifications that can be intrusive. Closd allows its users to configure themselves the frequency of their email notifications, in the Profile section at the top right of the screen, then in the Settings and Notifications menu.

You can choose to be notified of each action, or to receive a summary every morning or evening, or even to deactivate notifications completely, and this for each module of the platform: documents, Q&A, etc.

Notifications can be set up differently for each project, which is particularly convenient.

The Closd data room simplifies and accelerates audits, while offering an optimal level of security and a revolutionary user experience. A French solution that complies with the highest security standards, the Closd data room is inspired by the experience of dealmakers to transform your audit experience in M&A, private equity, venture, restructuring, real estate…

Directly integrated into a 360° legal project management solution, it offers all the features required for smooth and efficient completion of your legal audits: document management, Q&A module, fine-grained management of access rights and watermarks, activity logs, archives and digital certificates…

Contact us to learn more about our data room solution!

Tags data room

New: Closd launches its next gen data room

Post author By Daphne Mothes
Post date January 16, 2023

In order to complete its service offering for legal and deal-making professionals, Closd is launching its next generation data room solution. A data room is a software solution that allows to upload, share and remotely review a large number of highly confidential documents, particularly in the context of legal and financial due dilligence.

The Closd data room offers a European alternative to traditional market players. The solution combines the simplicity of a document sharing solution with the features and security of the market’s leading data room solutions.

The Closd data room simplifies, accelerates and transforms the due diligence experience in M&A, Private Equity, Venture, Restructuring, Real Estate, etc., while providing an optimal level of security and a revolutionary user experience. Find out more about this new interface.

Already equipped with an ultra-secure document management feature, Closd now offers a complete data room solution, separate from the legal project management tool, to go even further in the digitalization and acceleration of your due diligence processes.

The tools are complementary, and can be purchased together or independently. For more information, contact our sales team.

Closd now offers a new type of data room projects, in addition to the existing collaborative projects in the platform. Our offer is flexible according to your needs: you can choose the duration and the volume of storage you want.

The Closd data room includes the following modules:

Documents (data room)
Participants (user management)
Q&A (new)
Activity logs (new)
Automated bible generation
Data room set up (new)

Features of Closd’s next generation data room

Document management and organization

The Documents tab of the data room allows you to add files and folders, create tree structures, automatically number your folders and files for auditing purposes, and also provides a time-stamped index of files and folders.

The interface displays and allows you to customize a set of information, such as access rights for a folder or file, privacy and security settings, or a shortcut to the question associated with a file.

Easily share your files and set precise access rights to simplify your due diligences and reduce the volume of emails exchanged.

The data room integrates directly with the electronic safe solution provided by our partner Arkhineo. The electronic safe option offers a long-term archiving solution with probative value for your data room documents.

User management

Add participants to your data room, manually or via an Excel import, and create groups to simplify access rights. A simple drag and drop allows you to easily change a participant from one group to another.

It is also possible to hide groups from each other or to hide participants within the same group, which makes it possible, for example, to invite several potential buyers to the same data room without seeing each other. This avoids having to create as many data rooms as there are buyers.

Q&A

The Q&A module provides access to a dashboard with all the questions related to the documents in the data room in the form of a list, organized into 4 categories:

total number of questions
awaiting for a response
awaiting closure
questions closed

It is possible to import a list of questions from an Excel template. You can also export your Q&A to attach it to the operation documentation.

To create a question, project managers must provide the following information:

the content of the question
the category of the document (for example: corporate, financial, commercial, etc.)
the document or file to which the question is attached (optional)
the user to whom you wish to share this question (who will be able to see and answer it).

Project Managers receive a notification when a question is asked, validated, etc. These notifications can be changed in the data room Settings and in each user’s profile.

Activity logs

Activity logs correspond to a history of events and actions performed by users on the data room.

Accessible to project managers, the logs include for instance the following events:

uploading a file
consultation of a file
renaming a file
moving a file
etc.

The list of these events can be filtered by date and by user. It is also possible to export the results of the queries. This feature allows project managers to identify suspicious user behavior, for example, or to decide in case of a dispute regarding the sharing of a document.

Bibles generation

The Bibles module allows you to save precious time by downloading all or part of the data room in a Zip folder (depending on your access rights). An index of the folders and files in the data room is automatically included in the bible.

Parameters and watermarking

The data room settings tab allows you to perform several actions:

First of all, it allows to determine precisely the access rights of the data room participants (possibility of loading or creating files for example);
It also allows you to prevent users from downloading files, and to activate the display of watermarks. The document available for viewing only will display an overlay of text including the file name, name, email address and IP address of the user, as well as the date and time of viewing. The purpose of this feature is to immediately identify the user in case of a leak.

This section also allows you to monitor usage statistics and to follow in real time the number of files added and the storage space used.

Forget about heavy and complex data rooms: Closd allows you to simplify your due diligence processes and optimize collaboration with your stakeholders on all transactions in a simple and intuitive way. Contact us to learn more about Closd’s data Room.

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Practical sheet: Privacy, integrity and security at Closd

Post author By Daphne Mothes
Post date January 1, 2023

Find our more about Closd’s security commitments

⬇ Download the sheet for free

Content of the sheet

The privacy, integrity and security of our clients’ data is of paramount importance at Closd. That is why we chose to adopt a “security-by-design” approach from day one, ensuring that we diligently comply with the best practices in terms of coding, architecture and infrastructure security, with regular third-party security audits.

Learn more about the following aspects:

Infrastructure
Data security
Authentication and access controls
Logs
Integrations
Internal security procedures

Practical sheet: Legal certainty of electronic signatures

Post author By Daphne Mothes
Post date January 1, 2023

Legal certainty of electronic signatures

⬇ Download the sheet for free

Content of the sheet

Closd integrates DocuSign and Certeurope technologies, certified as Trust Services Providers (TSPs) under the eIDAS EU regulation. The interface is identical whether you choose one technology or the other. In addition, several levels of electronic signatures are available: advanced and simple level.

Learn more about the following aspects:

The legal framework
The different types of electronic signatures
The technology behind electronic signatures
Why you can trust electronic signatures on Closd

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