Team Collaboration Guide
Teams10 min read
Effective team collaboration is essential for streamlined contract management. This comprehensive guide covers everything from setting up your team and managing permissions to collaborating on contracts and tracking team activity. By the end, you will have a fully optimized team workflow in Baseflow.
Setting Up Your Team
Getting your team onboard is the first step to collaborative contract management. Baseflow makes it easy to invite team members, manage pending invitations, and handle bulk invitations for larger teams.
Inviting Team Members
- 1
Navigate to Team Settings
Go to Settings > Team Members from your dashboard.
- 2
Click "Invite Members"
Enter the email address of the person you want to invite.
- 3
Assign a role
Choose the appropriate role (Owner, Admin, or Member) for the new team member.
- 4
Send the invitation
The invitee will receive an email with a link to join your workspace.
Bulk Invitations
For larger teams, you can invite multiple members at once by uploading a CSV file or entering multiple email addresses separated by commas.
Managing Pending Invitations
View and manage all pending invitations from the Team Members page. You can:
- Resend invitation emails
- Cancel pending invitations
- View invitation expiry dates (invitations expire after 7 days)
- Change the role before the invitation is accepted
Roles & Permissions
Baseflow offers a flexible role-based access control system that allows you to define exactly what each team member can do. Understanding these roles is crucial for maintaining security while enabling efficient collaboration.
Owner
Full access to all features including billing, team management, and account settings. There must always be at least one owner per workspace.
Admin
Can manage team members, create templates, access audit logs, and configure integrations. Cannot access billing or transfer ownership.
Member
Can create, edit, and sign contracts they have access to. Cannot manage team settings or view contracts outside their permission scope.
Custom Roles
EnterpriseCreate custom roles with granular permissions tailored to your organization's specific needs. Available on Enterprise plans.
Permission Matrix
Overview of what each role can do in your workspace
| Action | Owner | Admin | Member | Custom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create contracts | Configurable | |||
| Edit contracts | Configurable | |||
| Delete contracts | - | Configurable | ||
| Sign contracts | Configurable | |||
| View all contracts | - | Configurable | ||
| Manage team members | - | Configurable | ||
| Manage billing | - | - | Configurable | |
| Access audit logs | - | Configurable | ||
| Create templates | - | Configurable | ||
| Manage integrations | - | Configurable |
Tip: Start with restrictive permissions
It is easier to grant additional permissions than to revoke them. Start team members with the Member role and elevate as needed based on their responsibilities.
Workspaces
Workspaces allow you to organize your contracts and team members into separate environments. This is particularly useful for companies with multiple departments, subsidiaries, or client projects that need isolation.
Creating Workspaces
Create separate workspaces for different teams, departments, or projects. Each workspace has its own contracts, templates, and member list. Navigate to Settings > Workspaces > Create New Workspace.
Workspace Settings
Each workspace can have its own branding, default templates, notification preferences, and integration configurations. Customize settings to match each team's workflow.
Switching Between Workspaces
Use the workspace switcher in the top navigation bar to quickly move between workspaces. Your last active workspace will be remembered when you log back in.
Common Workspace Structures
By Department
Legal, HR, Sales, Finance
By Subsidiary
Company A, Company B, etc.
By Project
Project Alpha, Project Beta
Departments & Groups
Within a workspace, you can further organize team members into departments and groups. This enables more granular permission control and simplifies contract sharing with the right people.
Organizing into Departments
Create departments that mirror your organizational structure. Common examples:
- Legal Department
- Human Resources
- Sales & Business Development
- Procurement
Department-Level Permissions
Set permissions at the department level to automatically apply to all members:
- View contracts in department
- Edit department contracts
- Sign on behalf of department
- Access confidential contracts
Group-Based Contract Access
Create groups for cross-functional teams or project-based access. When you share a contract with a group, all members of that group can access it according to their permissions.
Example: Create a "Q1 Vendor Negotiations" group with members from Legal, Procurement, and Finance to collaborate on vendor contracts without giving access to the entire departments.
Contract Collaboration
Baseflow provides powerful tools for teams to work together on contracts, from real-time editing to structured approval workflows.
Shared Contract Editing
Multiple team members can work on a contract simultaneously. Changes are synced in real-time, and you can see who is currently viewing or editing the document.
- Real-time cursor presence shows who is editing
- Version history tracks all changes
- Restore previous versions with one click
Comments and Mentions
Add comments to specific sections of a contract to discuss changes or request clarification. Use @mentions to notify specific team members.
@mention teammates
Type @ followed by a name to notify them. They will receive an email and in-app notification with a link to the comment.
Approval Workflows
Set up multi-step approval workflows to ensure contracts are reviewed before being sent for signature.
Internal Review Before Sending
Use the "Request Review" feature to share a contract with colleagues for feedback before sending it to external parties. Reviewers can leave comments and suggest changes without being able to send the contract themselves.
Pro tip
Create approval workflow templates for different contract types. For example, high-value contracts might require CFO approval, while standard NDAs only need legal review.
Activity & Audit Logs
Maintain complete visibility into team actions with comprehensive activity tracking and audit logs. Essential for compliance and accountability.
Tracking Team Activity
The Activity Feed shows all actions taken by team members in real-time:
Who Did What and When
Every action is logged with the following information:
User
Who performed the action
Action
What was done
Timestamp
When it happened
Exporting Activity Logs
Export activity logs in CSV or PDF format for compliance reporting, audits, or internal reviews. Filter by date range, user, action type, or specific contracts before exporting.
Notifications & Alerts
Keep your team informed with customizable notifications. Choose how and when team members receive updates about contract activity.
Team Notification Settings
Admins can configure default notification preferences for the entire team:
- Email notifications
- In-app notifications
- Mobile push notifications
- Browser notifications
Slack/Teams Integration
Connect Baseflow to your team communication tools:
- Get contract updates in dedicated channels
- @mention teammates from Slack/Teams
- Approve contracts without leaving chat
Daily/Weekly Digest Options
Reduce notification overload with digest emails that summarize activity:
Daily Digest
Sent every morning with yesterday's activity summary
Weekly Digest
Sent every Monday with the previous week's highlights
Individual overrides
Team members can customize their own notification preferences to override the team defaults. Encourage team members to set up notifications that work best for their workflow.
Best Practices
Follow these recommendations to ensure smooth team collaboration and maintain security as your team grows.
Onboarding New Team Members
- 1
Send invitation early: Invite new hires before their start date so they can set up their account.
- 2
Assign to correct department: This automatically grants appropriate permissions.
- 3
Share the documentation: Point them to this guide and other relevant resources.
- 4
Assign a buddy: Pair new members with experienced users for questions.
Role Assignment Strategy
Apply the principle of least privilege: give team members only the permissions they need to do their job.
Owners (1-2 people)
C-suite executives or department heads who need full control
Admins (2-5 people)
Team leads or operations managers who configure the system
Members (everyone else)
Regular users who create and manage their own contracts
Custom Roles
For specialized needs like "View Only" or "Approvers Only"
Managing Departing Employees
When a team member leaves, follow this checklist to maintain security:
- Transfer ownership of their contracts to another team member
- Reassign any pending approvals
- Export their activity log if needed for records
- Deactivate their account (do not delete to preserve audit trail)
- Review and revoke any API keys they created
Quarterly access review
Schedule a quarterly review of team permissions. Remove access for inactive users and ensure roles still match job responsibilities. This is especially important for compliance with SOC 2 and other security frameworks.
Continue Learning
Ready to explore more? Check out these related guides.
Creating Custom Templates
Build reusable templates your whole team can use.
Read guideCompliance & Audit Trails
Learn how Baseflow helps meet regulatory requirements.
Read guideAPI Integration Handbook
Connect Baseflow to your existing systems.
Read guideTeam Management Docs
Technical documentation for team features.
View docsNeed help setting up your team?
Our team specialists can help you configure the perfect workspace structure.