Password protected file sharing is the first thing a small firm reaches for and the first thing that fails, because a password travels with the file and is forwarded as easily as the file itself. This page says where the password stops and the log starts, what a secure link to send documents must do to be tied to one person and to expire, and what end to end encrypted file sharing protects that a password does not. The free document capture worksheet on this site sizes the backlog; Batesio Pro keeps the logged link for $19 a month for the whole firm.
Where the password stops
A password on a file or a link proves that whoever opened it knew the password, and nothing else: not who they were, not when, not whether they forwarded it. For a firm's own working files that is fine. For a client's confidential file it means the firm cannot answer the one question it will be asked, who saw this, and the password is usually in the same email thread as the link. The NIST framework cited below has the vocabulary for asking a vendor what happens after the password.
The secure link to send documents
A secure link to send documents is tied to one email address, opens only for that person, expires on a date the firm set, logs the open and the download, and can be withdrawn. That is the record a password cannot give. The client's side stays simple, one link and one page and no account, which is why the client uses it rather than asking for an attachment.
What end to end encrypted file sharing adds, and the price
End to end encrypted file sharing means the vendor itself cannot read the file, which matters for a firm whose files must not be readable by anyone but the two parties; it does not replace the log, and a firm needs both the encryption and the record. 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 logged, expiring link, the client's upload page, the Bates number on every page and the retention record, with an export.
Questions people ask about password protected file sharing
Is password protected file sharing enough for a client's confidential file?
No; the password proves nothing about who opened the file. A link tied to a person that logs the open does.
What makes a secure link to send documents secure?
One named recipient, an expiry, a logged open and download, and withdrawal.
Do I need end to end encrypted file sharing as well as a log?
If the file must be unreadable to the vendor too, yes; the encryption and the log answer different questions.
Does Batesio use passwords on links?
Links are tied to the recipient's email address and expire; the log, not a password, is the record.