Document security in a small firm fails at the moment of sharing, not at rest: the confidential document is safe on the drive and then it is an email attachment forwarded to someone the firm never met. This page says what document security software must do, how to share confidential documents online so a confidential document stays one, and why secure sharing documents means a portal with a log rather than an attachment; the rule is the same for confidential documents in a UK firm. The free document capture worksheet on this site sizes the backlog; Batesio Pro keeps the portal and the log for $19 a month.
What document security software must do
Three records: a number on every page, so a file can be cited and found; a log of every open and every share against a named person; and a retention date on every file, applied when it falls due. Encryption at rest and in transit is the floor, not the product, and the NIST framework cited below is the vocabulary a firm can use to ask a vendor about the rest. Document security software that adds a workflow engine and a classification scheme is built for a department the small firm does not have.
How to share confidential documents online
Put the document in a portal, invite the named client to it, and let the portal log the open. An attachment leaves the firm's control the moment it is sent, and there is no record of who opened it or where it was forwarded. A portal link that expires, that is tied to one email address and that records the download is the difference between sharing a confidential document and publishing it. The same rule applies to confidential documents shared from a UK firm to a client anywhere.
Secure sharing documents is a habit before it is a tool
The habit is that nothing confidential leaves as an attachment; the tool is the portal that makes the habit easy. Dropbox publishes its Standard team plan at $15 per user per month as the storage rate; Batesio Pro is $19 a month for the whole firm and keeps the client portal, the Bates number on every page, the access log and the retention record, with an export. The free document capture worksheet sizes the backlog the firm is about to secure.
Questions people ask about document security
Is an encrypted email a secure way to share a confidential document?
It protects the message in transit and nothing after it arrives. A portal logs who opened the file and can withdraw it.
What is the first thing document security software should show?
The log: who opened what, when. If the demo cannot show that for one file, the software is storage with a lock.
How do I share confidential documents online with a client who is not technical?
A portal link to one email address, one click to open, no account to create; the log still records the open.
Does Batesio work for a UK firm?
Yes; the portal, the numbering and the retention record are the same, and the retention rule is the firm's own.