SideDrawer Blog

Introducing a More Governed, Scalable Client Collaboration Experience

Written by Ryan Guichon | Jan 12, 2026 3:00:27 PM

As client relationships grow more digital, the last mile of information exchange — where sensitive documents, forms, and approvals move between firms and their clients — has become one of the highest-risk and highest-friction parts of the workflow.

At SideDrawer, we’ve always focused on making this exchange secure. With our latest platform release, we’re taking the next step: bringing structure, visibility, and governance to how client information is collected, reviewed, and managed at scale.

This release introduces a set of enhancements that improve the experience for clients, advisors, and operations teams, while strengthening the governance capabilities required by larger and more regulated organizations.

A Better Experience for Clients: Clear, Guided, and Secure

For clients, the biggest change is clarity. Information requests are no longer open-ended or ambiguous. Firms can now apply lifecycle controls to client requests, ensuring that what clients see in their SideDrawer is always current and actionable.

Clients benefit from:

  • Clear visibility into active requests

  • Guided submission experiences with defined timelines

  • Notifications when advisors leave comments or clarifications

  • A cleaner client workspace with completed or expired requests automatically removed

Uploads are also simpler and more intuitive, with enhanced drag-and-drop capabilities that reduce friction when submitting documents.

These improvements are available to clients across Standard, Premium, Business, and Enterprise subscriptions — because clarity and security should be universal.

More Control for Advisors: Fewer Follow-Ups, Better Outcomes

For advisors, the release focuses on reducing manual coordination and improving communication without relying on email.

Advisors can now:

  • Set expiration or inactivity rules on client requests

  • Re-open requests when additional information is needed

  • Leave contextual comments directly on requests

  • Use approved, pre-defined messaging to ensure consistent and compliant communication

  • See the operational status of requests at a glance

These collaboration and workflow enhancements are included in Premium, Business, and Enterprise subscriptions, where firms are looking to scale advisory workflows while maintaining a high-touch client experience.

Operational Visibility for Growing Teams

As firms grow, managing hundreds or thousands of client requests requires more than folders and lists.

This release introduces tools designed specifically for operations and administrative teams, including:

  • Operational tagging across clients, requests, and content

  • Advanced filtering by status, tags, dates, or external identifiers

  • Separate views for active and archived requests, with configurable retention rules

  • Structured lifecycle states that reduce clutter and improve audit readiness

These capabilities are available in Business and Enterprise subscriptions, aligning with firms that need stronger operational oversight, reporting, and consistency across teams.

Enterprise-Grade Governance Where It Matters Most

For enterprise organizations, security alone isn’t enough — governance and auditability are essential.

This release significantly strengthens SideDrawer’s enterprise onboarding and compliance capabilities, enabling organizations to:

  • Centrally manage and version client agreements

  • Enforce re-consent when agreements change

  • Maintain full audit trails of acceptance and access

  • Use secure invitation links with expiration and access controls

These features support regulated onboarding flows and internal compliance requirements, and are available as part of SideDrawer Enterprise

They reinforce SideDrawer’s role not just as a collaboration tool, but as a governed system of record for client interactions.

Subscription Access at a Glance

To help clarify availability, here’s how the new capabilities align across subscription tiers:

Designed to Scale with You

This release reflects a broader shift in how SideDrawer supports its customers. This platform has moved from secure exchange, to secure, governed, and scalable collaboration. Whether you’re a growing firm looking to reduce friction for clients, or an enterprise organization managing risk across complex client relationships, these enhancements are designed to meet you where you are — and grow with you as your needs evolve.

If you’d like to learn more about how these features apply to your subscription, or explore an upgrade path, we’d be happy to help.