The file management tool in Ahsuite is designed for collaboration with your teams and clients. It has the following features to help you keep organized and productive:
Custom sharing permissions
Custom labels
File versions
Comments
Require client approval
Image preview
File requests
File folders
How to upload a file to the file manager
To add a file to your file manager, select a client and then click the Files tab on the left sidebar menu to open the client files page.
From there, click the + File button. A dialog box will open with the following options:
Upload from your device
Link to an external asset
Request a file from the client
Create a folder
About containers and active files
Whether you upload a file, add a link, or request a file, Ahsuite will create a container. This container is a little different than a folder in that it is intended for managing multiple versions of a file or document.
When you add files to your container, the most recent upload will always be at the top as the active file. If you share a direct link to that container outside of Ahsuite, the link will always resolve to the active file. And if the client approves the file, their approval record will be linked to the file that was active when they approved it.
The advantage of this approach is it lets you use a single link that always points to the most recent version of a document. This could be useful if you are responding to edit requests for a design, for example. Or if you regularly provide an updated version of a document, such as an annual tax return.
File type, size, and storage limitations
The file manager allows you to upload a wide range of document, image, and project types. If there is a file type you would like to add but can't, email us at support@ahsuite.com and we will try our best to accommodate you.
The upload limit is 100mb per file. There is no user storage limitation, although we do reserve the right to cap someone's storage if we feel they are trying exploit or abuse that somehow.
File sharing and permissions
Files are shared among the team by default, but not with the client. To change the permissions, just click the sharing icon.
You can also set who can view a folder. The permissions set at a folder level will apply to everything within the folder. If you use nested folders, only the top-level folder permissions will apply, and everything inside will inherit those permissions.
Client approvals with e-signature
You can require that the client approve the file by toggling "Require Client Approval" to "yes":
This will automatically share the file with the client if it was not already. Then in the client portal the file will appear under the "Needs Review" heading until the client opens the file and approves it.
When a client approves a file, they are asked to type their signature. Ahsuite saves a timestamped record of this approval along with a permanent record of the exact file that was approved. To the best of my research, our solution should satisfy the requirements to make an e-signature legally binding, but consult an attorney if you're concerned.
Using Drive or DropBox
If you want, you can create a file without actually uploading anything. Instead, you could use the "link" option to paste a url to an external asset.
In that way you could use something like Dropbox or Drive to store the file, but use Ahsuite's file tool for sharing, versioning, comments, and client approval.