Versioned draft review
Draft Documents live on the Case with numbered versions. Only the versions you send appear to the client. Approvals, change requests, and markups come back attached to the version they are about.
BetterDocket for business and transactional
Draft review that does not live in an email chain.
A transactional matter is mostly drafts and decisions: the operating agreement, the vendor contract, the lease, the buy-sell. Each one goes to the client, comes back with comments from two partners, gets revised, and goes out again, all by attachment. BetterDocket gives business clients a versioned draft review, a request list for what the deal needs, and one place for the whole ownership group to see where things stand.
The problem
Where business and transactional time actually goes.
Which version did they read?
Three stakeholders, four drafts, and comments that arrive as reply-alls to the wrong version. Reconciling them is unbilled work, and the client wonders why the agreement is taking so long.
Information the deal needs
Ownership percentages, the capitalization table, the existing lease, the vendor's paper, the EIN letter. Each formation or transaction has its own list, and someone at the client is always the bottleneck.
Owners who are not the contact
The CEO is the client contact, but the other two founders want to know where the agreement stands. Every update gets forwarded, sometimes, and the questions come back to you from three directions.
How it runs
A business and transactional matter in BetterDocket.
Stage by stage, from the first call to the closed file, each step is something the product does today.
Scope the engagement as a Prospect Case
Open a Prospect Case for the new company or the new deal and request the term sheet, the existing agreements, and the cap table. The prospect uploads to a single documents page. Nothing bills until you accept.
See howAccept it and set the deal's phases
Your template seeds phases like Information gathering, Drafting, Client review, Negotiation, Execution, Post-closing. Each has a plain-English note in the portal. Repeat matters for the same client start from the same template every time.
See howRequest the deal inputs once
Each item the deal needs is a Document Request with instructions and a due date, sent to the person at the client who actually has it. Uploads land on the Case organized by request, and daily reminders run until each is answered.
See howRun the draft through Draft Review
Upload the agreement as a numbered Draft Version and send it for review to the stakeholders who need to sign off. Each approves, requests changes with a note or a marked-up copy, or flags that they would rather talk. A new version supersedes the pending review, so there is never a question of which draft is current.
Post the status for the whole ownership group
“Draft 3 sent to the other side's counsel. We expect comments within a week; nothing is needed from you until then.” One templated Status Update reaches every Client on the Case, and per-client read receipts show who has seen it.
Keep signing and filing dates visible
The signing date, the effective date, the annual-report deadline you have agreed to remind them about. Add them as Key Dates the Clients can see. Clients share availability for the signing without any calendar integration.
Bill the matter and share the executed set
Log time or bill a flat fee, issue the invoice from BetterDocket with due-date reminders, and record the payment when it arrives. Share the executed documents to the portal's “From your firm” list, then close the Case. It archives automatically and stays readable for the next time they need it.
See how
Client Portal
What your business and transactional client sees.
One private page in any browser: the current phase in plain English, the latest word from your Firm, the documents you have asked for, and what happens next. No app to install. Uploads work from a phone camera. Firm-only folders, notes, and drafts in progress never appear here.
Client portal
Your case
Larkspur Studio LLC formation
Client review
From your firm · today
The operating agreement (v3) is ready for all three members to review. Once everyone approves, we will prepare the signature version.
What we need from you
- Review: Operating agreement v32 of 3 approved
- Initial capital contributions by memberReceived
- Registered office addressDue Thu
Next step
Priya still needs to review v3. Signing is tentatively October 21.
Why it fits
The follow-up handles itself.
The whole ownership group on one Case
Add each founder or officer as a Client. Everyone sees the same status, drafts, and dates; each person's messages and read state stay private. Ask one of them or all of them for a document.
A request list per deal
What the deal needs from the client is a short list with due dates and reminders, and what arrives lands on the Case organized by request.
Repeat clients, repeat templates
A client's fifth contract starts from the same template as the first. Closed Cases stay readable, so last year's agreement is a click away when they call about renewing it.
Deliberately focused
What BetterDocket does not do for business and transactional.
BetterDocket organizes the administrative work around a matter. The legal work, and the tools you already use for it, stay where they are.
- It does not assemble or generate documents. Draft Review carries what you write in the tools you already use.
- It does not file with the Secretary of State, act as registered agent, or track corporate compliance calendars beyond the Key Dates you enter.
- It does not integrate with e-signature platforms. Execution happens the way it does today.
- It does not offer legal analysis, and the copilot only drafts administrative actions for a Firm Member to approve.
Keep reading
Related guides
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Read the guideWhat is a client portal for law firms — and what it isn't
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Read the guideEmail vs. portal vs. texting for law firm client communication
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Read the guideQuestions.
Can several people at a company review the same draft?
Yes. Add each stakeholder as a Client on the Case and send the Draft Version for review to the ones who need to sign off. Each responds separately, and you see who has approved and who has asked for changes.
How does BetterDocket handle a marked-up draft?
A Client requesting changes can attach an uploaded marked-up copy along with a note. It lands on the Case against the version it is about. You upload the revised version, and the pending review re-points to it automatically.
Does it generate operating agreements or contracts?
No. BetterDocket does not assemble documents or offer legal analysis. It carries your drafts, requests, updates, and dates so the administrative side of the deal runs in one place.
Can we keep a long-term client's matters together?
Each engagement is its own Case with its own phases and billing, and closed Cases stay readable to your Firm and the Client. You can filter your Cases by Client, and the Client sees all of their Cases in one portal.
How does billing work for flat-fee and hourly work?
Invoices combine time entries and manual lines, so a flat fee is one line and hourly work flows from timers. Issued invoices are permanent PDFs with due-date reminders. You record payments received elsewhere; BetterDocket never moves money.
Move every draft through one review.
Versions, approvals, and requests in one place for the whole client team.
14 days. No card.