Collaborating with Multiple Parties on a Document

Middlepost Docs has a unique feature allowing multiple people to collaborate and stay informed about a document. When you start a document, you can add as many people as you want by entering their email addresses in specific roles. The roles are as follows:

• Signers - these people must sign the document to complete it.
  
• Approvers - these people must approve the document to complete it.
  
• Observers - observers are not required to take any action, but can still view the document, make comments and monitor progress.

More people can be added to a document at a later date if required.

Traditionally, keeping everybody involved with a document on the same page has been a difficult, chaotic process. Take, for example, a simple process of a sales person trying to complete a contract. The customer receives a standard company contract from the sales person requesting a signature. The customer reads the document and then sends a message to the sales person requesting a few paragraphs to be changed. The sales person then forwards the response to a lawyer who in turn changes the paragraphs and sends it back to the sales person, who then forwards it back to the customer. The customer forwards it to their signing authority for further review. This process might go back and forth over many different emails. Eventually the customer receives the final document which they have accepted and agreed to sign. Finally, they print out the contract, sign it, and fax it to the sales person or drops it in a Fedex package.

In contrast to mailing back and forth in dispersed communications, Middlepost Docs keeps everything related to a document in a single place. The benefits of this method are quite obvious, as everybody involved in the contract has complete visibility into the entire process. Every document has the current document status along with a history log that tracks all revisions (changes) to the document so all users know exactly what has happened with the document and old revisions can easily be viewed. The log also keeps all the communications and actions performed on the document such as signing and approving. In addition, email notifications are sent out to all involved whenever an activity occurs on a document.

The end result is a quicker, simpler process and a much happier customer.