Requesting, collecting and organising electronic files from clients is an increasingly of import aspect of running your business. However, it tin can be hard work. Clients don't have the same software or cloud storage provider. E-mail is messy and insecure.

So what is the all-time software to make the file asking process as unproblematic and streamlined as possible? So you can concentrate on your core competencies, and provide a adept customer experience? We'll help you observe out.

1. Collecting files using deject storage providers (Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint)

Cloud storage providers are extremely pop. They are easy to utilise, ofttimes very good value, and trusted by millions of people worldwide. To an extent, you can employ all cloud storage providers to collect and organise files. However, they are primarily a deject storage solution rather than file request software. And then you lot can look some drawbacks.

  • You lot just have a few text boxes to become people to upload the correct files and content. Clients tend to skim this kind of guidance and don't always transport yous what you need.
  • You lot can't customise the document upload experience and so information technology doesn't look that professional for clients and partner companies
  • Yous usually need to use a bit of a workaround to go files and content from people external to your organisation
  • The document drove process can't easily be automated (for file requests and reminder emails) so tin can be time-consuming if you do a lot of document collection.

Google Drive: request files using shared folders

Google Drive is a cloud-based storage solution that lets you upload your files to the cloud so y'all can admission them anywhere using whatsoever device. The standard Google Drive pick gives you 15GB of storage for gratuitous. The business version is bachelor as role of Google Workspace. This is a collection of xix apps that help you lot work collaboratively with your team.

To collect files using Google Drive yous need to employ the 'share' feature. This works fairly well for people within your visitor, only becomes more than problematic if you lot demand to collect content and files from people external to your organisation.

You can share a binder, but contributors need a Google business relationship. Contributors can also open up and meet all files in that binder, even using the most restrictive 'view merely' setting.

Even using Google Workspace, the process is not entirely straightforward as their help article makes clear.

People who don't accept a Google Account go an email invitation (with a PIN) to interact on the shared file or folder. After people sign in with the Pin, they can view, comment on, advise edits to, and straight edit files and folders.

Visitor sharing must be on for your organization. See Share documents with visitors.

Google Bulldoze is actually ready every bit an app that requires other people to be using it equally well. This might be peachy for the viral growth of the product, merely information technology can exist annoying if you're trying to observe a document drove solution that everyone can utilise without signing in or creating an account.

Google Forms: requires sign in for file uploads

Even using Google Forms is not an effective workaround, because respondents are required to sign in. You also tin can't upload files to a shared or team drive. If you try, you will discover the 'file upload' choice greyed out.

Will Google Bulldoze work for your company?

Yep, if your company already uses Google Drive or Google Workspace, and you lot don't need to regularly collect file from clients and partner companies. Information technology is piece of cake to use, practiced value and probably already familiar to most of your team. You tin can commencement the security issues of shared folders by setting upward certain constraints ie. y'all can prepare an expiration date on file admission so external partners or agencies can no longer admission them in one case a project ends.

Even so, if you need to practise a lot of file collection from people external to your organisation, and demand the process to be streamlined, professional and secure, then you might want to consider other options. Upload software that natively connects to Google Bulldoze is a good option. You'll get the benefits of your cloud storage provider without whatsoever of the disadvantages.

Dropbox: utilize the file request feature

Dropbox is a file hosting service that lets you collaborate with friends, family unit and colleagues. Dropbox basic lets y'all have 2GB of storage free. In that location are also plans for business, starting from £x/user/calendar month for teams.

Unlike about other cloud storage providers, Dropbox has an actual file request feature. This makes it the best deject storage provider for document collection.

Anyone can send you a file you've requested, all files are nerveless into a Dropbox folder you choose, and people who upload files to your file request cannot access your Dropbox business relationship.

When you create a new request you can add together a title, optional clarification, and specify where y'all want the files collected. If you take a pro business relationship, you can set a deadline for file collection.

Similarly to Google Drive though, Dropbox operates by promoting its ain ecosystem. This means you can't customise or white characterization file requests so they look like they come from your business. The file request grade is besides bones, so you can't collect a respondent's electronic mail, or guide them though the procedure of uploading content and files in a step by step way.

In terms of security, Dropbox is an interesting instance study. This article looks at Dropbox Security Problems 2021: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly.

Volition Dropbox piece of work for your visitor?

Aye, if you desire to asking a few files from clients and partners. The basic form won't exist too much of a problem, if you simply need one file, and you lot can keep track of client names and emails manually.

Notwithstanding, if you lot need to collect and organise a substantial amount of content and files from clients, then specialist software volition salve y'all time and hassle. Instead of trying to list all the files you need in one 'description' field y'all can create an upload form, like this 1 created using File Request Pro (which also integrates with Dropbox). You are much more than likely to go the files yous need start time round.

Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint: unlike approaches to certificate drove

Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud storage service that allows you to store all your files deeply in one place. In many ways, it is a competitor to Dropbox. SharePoint is more of a collaboration tool, with collaborative documents and a shared assets library. This article summarises the main differences between OneDrive and SharePoint.

Microsoft rolled out a new 'request file' characteristic in December 2019 for OneDrive. Y'all tin only use this characteristic if you have a OneDrive for work or school business relationship. The feature is non available for Office 365 Government, Part 365 operated by 21Vianet, OneDrive for habitation, or Office 365 Deutschland.

The process of requesting a file is rather like Dropbox:

  • Choose the folder y'all want to upload files to and select 'asking files'
  • Describe what files you are requesting
  • Send a link to people or enter their emails
  • You'll receive a notification email whenever someone uploads files to your file asking binder

Similarly, the downsides are that the file request form is bones:

At that place are also potentially security implications, because you demand to permit the 'anyone sharing' characteristic. See Microsoft'south help article for more information.

When Anyone sharing is enabled for your organization, the default sharing link is normally set toAnyone. While this can exist convenient for users, it can increment the hazard of unintentional unauthenticated sharing. If a user forgets to alter the link type while sharing a sensitive certificate, they might accidentally create a sharing link that doesn't require hallmark.

In this article we expect in more detail at how to permit other people to upload files to your one bulldoze.

At the moment, it isn't possible to collect files from people external to your organisation using SharePoint, like you can for OneDrive.

Confusingly, the file request feature was briefly available in 2020 for SharePoint. However, it appears this was a mistake and the feature was quickly withdrawn. For now, upload software with native SharePoint integration is probably your all-time option.

Microsoft Forms: external users can't upload files

Microsoft Forms doesn't currently let file uploads from people outside your organization. This has generated much debate on the Microsoft user forum.

Volition Microsoft OneDrive or SharePoint work for your visitor?

If yous're already using and paying for Microsoft products, then you have a major incentive to stick with these products – or at least ones that natively integrate with them.

Your best bet for file drove is to use OneDrive, because it has a file request feature. If your file collection requirements are small-scale, or mainly internal, then this will be fine.

However, if y'all want a more than professional file request feel look at file upload software that integrates with Microsoft products.

2. Client portals: powerful document collection software

Client portals are digital gateways through which you lot can collect and share files, services and information with clients. Clients typically have a username and password that gives them access to the portal. They tin then view, upload and download information from the portal, depending on permissions.

Client portals are by and large 'heavyweight' software. This means they have an extensive feature set up and are suitable for whatever size of visitor, including enterprise companies. Examples include SmartVault, Huddle and OneHub.

Equally well as offering file sharing, they may take congenital-in east-signatures, version control for documents, and a large number of integrations with useful apps and software.

Client portals offering a secure style to collect and organise any type of document. Even so, because they unremarkably require user sign up they can exist off-putting to clients who don't want to manage notwithstanding some other password.

Client portals also offer plenty of functionality, but yous have to put in the time learning how to utilize them and educating your squad.

Will client portals work for your visitor?

Yes, if y'all need the full functionality of a portal. If you need to do a lot of document sharing and collection, security is very important, and your clients are willing to log in, and so customer portals are a good option. Customer portal companies are unremarkably very rigorous when it comes to security and compliance, so are a safety choice, particularly for large companies.

If you don't demand the feature set offered past client portals, then look at lightweight alternatives for document collection. These will be easier to use and commonly less expensive.

3. Document drove software: like shooting fish in a barrel to asking and organise files

Document drove software is designed to make information technology as easy every bit possible for you to collect and organise files and content from clients. Your clients won't need to sign in to send you files. Instead, you lot send them a unique branded upload page (like this one created using File Request Pro). This is a one-page forms, only you can also create multi-page forms.

Your clients and then fill in any questions and elevate and drop files. These are sent to your cloud storage solution (or the software inbox) using an encrypted connection.

Document collection software shares central features of client portals. It usually permit you to automate some of your workflow with electronic mail reminder sequences and to brand and customise your upload folio and so they look professional. Some file collection software also includes storage equally role of your monthly plan.

In terms of security, document collection software usually offers at residuum and in transit encryption, ensuring that messaging, data and file transfers are secured to the latest global standards.

Will certificate collection software work for your company?

Yes, if your main trouble is collecting and organising client files. Document collection software is designed to make it easy for you to collect content and files from anyone, using any device, without any friction. Yous should be able to collect large files, send unlimited file requests, and reuse upload page templates and email sequences to salve time.

All the same, document drove software is focused on getting files and content from your clients, so isn't expert for 2-mode file sharing. It also doesn't have some of the actress features of client portals, including version controls, and east-signatures.

4. Form builders: upload functionality equally an 'add on'

At that place's a huge amount of option when it comes to form builders, and many now allow y'all to add a 'file upload' questions equally part of a form. This case is from Typeform. File upload questions are available on paid plans.

You lot tin usually specify whether file uploads are required or optional, and add a description to guide your client to provide the correct information. Typeform has a 10MB size limit, which is adequately generous.

Equally with cloud storage providers though, class builders provide file upload as an 'extra' rather than core functionality. This means your workflow can exist a little hard. For example, with Typeform you download files from the results panel, individually or in a Zip file. And so to organise these files yous're going to have to manually sort them yourself and work out what file belongs to which respondent.

Jotform too has a file upload question, which allows multiple file upload. They propose you use various widgets to access extra features, considering their upload pick is fairly basic.

Will class builders work for your company?

Yes, if yous mainly need to collect content, with a few files on occasion. Course builders specialise in making it piece of cake for you lot to collect answers to questions from anyone, using any device. If this is your principal aim, they are a good option. Most accept useful options like conditional logic, and so you lot can customise your form depending on the answers of your respondents.

You sometimes demand to watch pricing, considering sure functionality requires you to upgrade to another program making the project more than expensive than predictable. However, because there is a such a lot of competition you can usually find a form builder to adjust your projection and budget.

If you lot want to regularly collect files, then form builders will be a time-consuming option. They don't really aid with workflow automation or file organisation, so yous'll need to manually do this yourself.

five. File uploads for popular website builders: plugins and other options

Popular website builders like WordPress, SquareSpace, GoDaddy, Wix and Weebly provide core features for edifice a website. If you lot need extras, like file upload functionality for clients, you usually need to choose a plugin from their ecosystem, or use technology agnostic software that works with anything.

The advantage of plugins is that they are specifically designed to work with your website builder, and are simple and often inexpensive. The disadvantage is that they are commonly fairly basic in what they exercise, particularly in terms of helping yous manage and organise files, and in terms of customer support.

Document drove software works with any website architect and is more than powerful in terms of what it helps you do. It can be more expensive though.

Squarespace

Squarespace includes a spider web forms tool called 'Form Blocks.' This built-in tool lets you create forms right within your admin panel merely doesn't currently offer the ability to upload files via a form. Y'all'll demand file upload software that integrates with Squarespace.

WordPress

WordPress doesn't provide file upload functionality. However, at that place are many plugins that y'all can use to collect files from users, depending on what yous need.

half dozen. Which file collection software is best for your company?

At that place's some great software on the marketplace that allows you to collect and organise content and files from clients. Some options are 'add ons' for popular software whose core focus is slightly difference. Others are specialist upload products specifically designed to brand file drove and organisation as easy as possible.

Whichever option is all-time for you depends on an number of factors, including:

  • What software yous are already using
  • How many files y'all want to collect and how often
  • How automated you lot demand document collection to exist
  • Whether you need 2-way file sharing
  • If customising the customer-side experience is of import
  • Your budget

If you lot need streamlined, customisable and secure document drove, then client portals or document collection software will be your best option. If you're willing to feel a few workarounds, or to overlook branding by other companies, then your options are wider. You lot tin always test out your favourite option and encounter how information technology works for you.

Try File Request Pro costless for xiv days – and say farewell to lost files and messy workarounds

Use branded upload pages with drag and driblet functionality to get together and organise content. Spend more time on important tasks and less time worrying about logistics and security.

File Request Pro includes:

  • Customisable file upload forms, including using your own urls
  • Multiple, large file upload and actress storage
  • Automated email sequences
  • Native integrations with GoogleDrive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint

See our product overview.