Share statements and documents

Upload statements and documents to a household's client data room, share them with the household's clients and accountants, and check who has opened them.

Before you start

You need access to the household. To share with someone, your CRM must link them to the household.

Open a household's client data room

Go to workspace.alcova.ai and sign in.
The Data Room page lists your firm's households under Clients. To find one, enter its name in Search....
Select the household.

If you work in more than one organisation, a sidebar shows Dataroom and lets you switch organisation.

At the top of a household you can choose Grid view or List view, and use Invite client, Create folder and Add.

Upload files

Upload files when you have documents ready for a household, such as a client's quarterly platform statements, an insurance policy schedule, or a statement of advice to send.

Open the folder you want the files in.
Select Add, then Add Files.

You can also drag files from your computer onto the page.
Select Drop files here or click to browse and choose the files, or drop them there. The dialog lists them under Selected Files.
Check Document Owner:
- If the folder has an owner, the files take it. The dialog shows Files will inherit ownership from parent folder: and the owner.
- Otherwise, select Select document owner... and choose a person in the household or one of its accounts.
To email the owner about the new files, tick Notify document owner about new file. Tick it when the files are for the client, such as a finished review pack. Leave it clear for working papers or for files you will share later.
Select Upload followed by the number of files, for example Upload 3 files.

You cannot upload until the files have an owner.

Upload a folder

Upload a whole folder when the documents are already organised on your computer, such as a year of statements or everything a new client handed you at your first meeting. The folder keeps its structure.

Open the folder you want the new folder in.
Select Add, then Add Folder.
In Upload Folder, select Drop folder here or click to browse and choose a folder from your computer, or drop it there.
Check Folder Name. Folder Contents shows how many files the folder holds.
Choose the Document Owner.
Under Access Level, choose Internal or Client View. See Who can see what.
To email the owner, tick Notify document owner about new folder.
Select Upload followed by the number of files, for example Upload (12 files).

Create a folder

Create folders to give each household the same shape, so clients and colleagues know where to look. For example, a Client View folder for each financial year's tax statements, and an Internal folder for file notes and research.

Select Create folder.
In Create New Folder, enter the Folder Name.
Optional: choose a Folder Owner. Any files you add to the folder take this owner.
Under Access Level, choose Internal or Client View. This controls whether clients can see the contents of the folder.
Select Create Folder.

To rename a folder or file later, select the pencil beside its name, enter the new name and press Enter. Press Escape to cancel.

Share a file to send someone an email with a link to it. For example, send a client's accountant the trust's tax statements at the end of the financial year, or tell a client their review pack is ready to read before your meeting.

Select the file. Its details open beside the list.
Select Share.
In Share File, select Choose contacts/accounts to share with... and choose who to share with.

The list groups people by their role in your CRM, for example Members and Accountants, with the household's Accounts in their own group. To find someone, enter their name in Search contacts....
Select Share with followed by the number of people, for example Share with 2 contacts/accounts.

Alcova shows File shared successfully and emails each person a link to the file. If they have not joined the client data room yet, the email lets them set up access.

Sharing sends the email. It does not change who can see the file: its access level and owner still decide that. Before you share, check under Details that the file's Access Level is Client-visible.

See who has opened a file

Check this before you follow up. For example, before a review meeting, see whether the client has opened the advice document you sent, or whether the accountant has collected the tax statements.

Select the file.
Select the Details tab.

Properties shows the file's name, type, size, owner and access level. Sharing History lists each time you shared the file, whether the email has gone, and when the person first viewed it within the last 90 days.

Sharing History only shows files sent with Share. It does not show invitations sent with Invite client.

Download, move or delete

Use these to keep a household's client data room in order. For example, download a household's folders as one zip file for a file review or an audit, or move statements a colleague uploaded to the wrong folder.

Tick the files and folders you want. A bar shows how many you selected.
Select one of these:
- Download saves one file as it is. Several files, or a folder, download as one zip file.
- Move opens a dialog. Under Destination Folder, select Choose destination folder..., choose a folder, then select Move. To move items to the top of the household, choose the household's name.
- Delete asks you to confirm, for example Delete 2 files?, and warns that this cannot be undone. Select Delete to go ahead.

To clear your selection, select Clear. You can also download, move or delete one file from its details.

What happens next

Alcova waits about a minute before emailing, so that several files shared with the same person arrive in one email. Clients and accountants who may see the files find them the next time they open the client data room. See Emails the client data room sends.

If something goes wrong

The notify box is missing. In an Internal folder, the dialog says it Cannot notify owners about this file because it is in an internal folder. Clients cannot see files there.
A folder name is taken. A folder with this name already exists means the folder already holds one with that name. Choose another name.
A large upload stops. Each file can be up to 100 MB. On a slow connection, a large file can stop with Upload timeout. Try again on a faster connection.
Someone is missing from the share list. People without an email address do not appear. Accountants only appear if your CRM links them to the household.
The client data room shows Storage Setup Required. Your firm's client data room has not been set up yet. An admin needs to select Initialize Secure Storage first.