Prepare for your project & what to expect

Prepare for your project

Our Client Services team has noticed time and time again – Administrators who prepare for their projects ahead of time consistently have data rooms that are set up correctly the first time, with less major changes and disruptions to their guests.

How do you prepare for your project? By thinking and discussing the following topics with your team and your Firmex Client Services representative:

Are you uploading documents to the data room, or is someone else?
If you are uploading documents, arrange them on your computer in the way you want them to appear in the data room. That usually means a nested folder structure – folders inside folders, containing documents. If you are working with a request list that has been given to you, consider importing the request list in to Firmex using our checklist import template (see the Related Resources below).
If someone else is uploading data, consider building a container folder for them that makes it clear where they should upload their data.
One thing that will make things easier to upload information is to use a Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge browser. You can also use Internet Explorer or Safari, but you will be unable to upload folders.
Will all your guests see the same information, or will some of it be hidden?
If you are hiding information from guests, or not presenting all of the information at once, consider grouping hidden information together. Do so by creating a top-level folder and putting the information in it. It is easier to control the permission of a single folder, than separate folders spread throughout the project. This typically means having one top-level folder with general company documents, and another top-level folder with financial information, HR information, and other sensitive information.
How should your documents be secured?
Should users be able to save documents to their computer, or should documents stay online? What about printing documents? Do you want users to download software before they have access to a document, or is ease-of-access crucial?
Collect user information for sending out login information, and make sure it is correct
Collect user’s first and last names, their company name, their emails, and their location. This means both users in your own organization who will be a part of the project, as well as guest users. You can use our user import template to collect user information (see the Related Resources below). Then, consider each user’s permission in the project – will they be looking at documents, uploading documents, or administering the data room?
What do you need to tell your guests?
Firmex handles the communication of your guest’s usernames and passwords. What else do you need to communicate to your guests regarding the data room? Firmex has spaces for disclaimer statements and confidentiality agreements, welcome messages with instructions on navigating the folder tree, tutorial videos for your guests, and templates with instructions on installing the plug-ins.
Pressed for time? We can do the work for you.
Our professional services program is happy to do the work for you, whether it’s uploading a folder structure, importing data from another data room provider, or cleaning up a user list. Please contact Support at support@firmex.com for pricing and all other queries.

What to Expect

Onboarding with Firmex

Once you (the client) sign a contract with Firmex, or request a trial site, a Firmex Client Services (CS) representative will send out an introductory email to arrange a training time with you and include our self-guided video series. The email is sent to the training contact(s) and site administrator you specified in your contract.

The Training Call

Most often the client shares their screen, and work is done on the client’s computer. The Client is in charge of controlling the keyboard and mouse, while CS uses voice instructions to guide the client through the Firmex product.

The Training Call most often uses “real” client data (as opposed to training data), so that by the end of the training call the client’s project is up-and-running, or nearly complete. If the client is not ready to use real data, work may be demonstrated in a Training project.
Depending on the client’s goals, CS will discuss the following during initial training:

Data room structure, including Projects, Directories, Folders, and Documents
Creating a new project and project settings, including project name, contact, disclaimer statements, etc.
Uploading and managing documents, including setting permission of folders and documents
Setting up and inviting users, including default user permission
The Firmex Viewer, and disabling the saving of documents
Firmex Reports
The Firmex Knowledge Base & Getting Support

Roles and Responsibilities

Data Upload

Unless otherwise specified in the Client’s contract, the Client is responsible for uploading data to the Firmex virtual data room. It is the responsibility of the Client to ensure that data is uploaded to the correct location, and that the data is permissioned correctly.

It is highly recommended that the Client contact CS before initially uploading data, so that CS can guide and monitor the Client through the upload. It is also recommended that the Client contact CS for subsequent uploads to ensure a thorough understanding of the Firmex system, especially with regards to document upload, permissions, and security.

Unless specified in the Client’s contract, CS is not allowed to upload data to “live” client sites without written permission and instruction from the Client. The written permission should indicate the source of the data, its destination, and permissions.

User Management

Unless otherwise specified in the Client’s contract, the Client is responsible for setting up and inviting users to the Firmex virtual data room. It is the responsibility of the Client to ensure that client information is entered into the system correctly, that users’ default permissions are correct, and that user invitations are sent. Similarly, it is the responsibility of the Client to ensure that user access is terminated.

Unless specified in the Client’s contract, CS is not allowed to add or modify users or user permissions without written permission and instruction from the Client. The written permission must indicate the users to be added, removed, or modified, as well as the permissioning of the users. Consent must be sent via email from an existing project user with a “project role” of Administrator or an existing site user with a “site role” of Administrator.

Modifying Company Names

Modifications to users’ company names must be performed by the Client’s site administrator. If the Client’s site’s administrator is unavailable to do the work, CS may change a user’s company name with written consent. Consent must be sent via email from an existing project user with a “project role” of Administrator or an existing site user with a “site role” of Administrator.

Restoring Deleted Data

A Client may request that deleted data - documents, folders, or both - be restored to its original location in the data room. Restored data will be restored in an Offline state. It is up to the Client to permission the data and restore its state to Online. Professional Services fees may apply.

Prepare for your project & what to expect