Ivo Collaborate brings contract intake directly into the tools the business already uses. Anyone in the business can now send a contract to legal directly from Slack or email, without logging into a separate legal tool or learning a new intake procedure. Ivo structures the request, identifies the relevant context, and runs the document against your playbook before the reviewer opens it. And when legal needs an answer from the business, the conversation can continue right where the request started.
Intake that happens where your business already works
With Slack intake, anyone who needs to send a contract to legal can simply type “/collaborate” in any Slack channel or direct message and select Collaborate Intake. From there, Ivo guides the submitter through the intake process, helping them provide the details legal needs to get started. There is no rollout or training required for the business side to initiate a request, as the process is entirely within a tool they already use and know well.
When a request comes in through Slack, submitters can choose from four intake paths designed for different stages of a contract:
- Start from Upload for uploading a new document and applying a workflow to it
- Start from Template for generating a new document from a workflow template
- Continue from Counterparty Markup for reviewing the other side's changes to a draft in progress
- Continue from Internal Edits for uploading a new version of an in-progress document downloaded from Collaborate
Each path walks the submitter through a short set of confirmations. On Start from Upload, for example, submitters choose a workflow and upload the document, confirm the matter or create a new one, verify the matter and document details, and approve the reviewer assignment. Ivo proposes details such as the matter, workflow, document type, and reviewer, so the submitter can either confirm those or adjust them.
The way the completed request is returned depends on the intake channel. For Slack submissions, new matters arrive in a direct message from Ivo, while the two ‘Continue’ paths simply update the original Slack thread. Every matter created or updated through Slack also appears in the Ivo web app, so the team can pick it up there at any point. Email submissions are confirmed by email before being sent to legal.
One Slack thread, from request to signature
Ivo runs your playbook on the document before the intended reviewer is even notified of the request. The resulting Slack notification then shows the issue count and links out to Collaborate, where the reviewer finds an issues list Ivo has already prepared and the workflow already routed to the right person. From there, counsel can settle, counter, or escalate each issue. Anyone whose approval is needed is pinged directly in Slack with the details of the request.
If an issue requires an answer from someone else in the business, the reviewer can escalate that single issue with a note. The submitter can then see the question in the original Slack thread, and can answer directly in Slack, just like how they would normally pose and resolve questions in a thread. This way, no one in the process has to reread the whole agreement to settle one question. Status updates also post to the same thread, and once every issue is closed, Ivo pings that the document is ready for signature.
Email intake for Outlook and more
Email intake is also available for teams that prefer to work in Outlook, need to accommodate requesters outside their Slack workspace, or would rather not install another application.
Each workspace gets a dedicated intake address. Anyone can send a contract to that address from Gmail, Outlook, or any other email provider, with the document attached and any relevant context included in the message. Once the email arrives, Ivo reads the attachment and proposes the intake details—such as workflow, matter, and counterparty—then replies to the sender with a summary of those details. The sender can select Confirm to submit the request as proposed, or Change Details to edit the information before sending on.
From there, Ivo runs the document against the relevant playbook before the reviewer views it. The reviewer then receives the request by email and can open the document in Word, where the Ivo add-in displays the issues Ivo has already identified. The reviewer can accept, counter, or escalate individual issues directly in Word. When they save their changes, the document syncs back to Collaborate, keeping the review up to date without requiring the reviewer to move their work into another interface.
If an issue needs input from the requester, the reviewer can escalate it and the requester can respond by email. Once all issues are resolved, the document is ready to move forward to the counterparty.
Getting started
Slack intake and email intake are both available now.
Slack: Any Collaborate customer with Flow turned on in their workspace can use Slack intake. An admin sets it up once per workspace. In Admin settings, they approve the Slack integration, connect the Ivo integration at the organization level (a personal integration won't work), connect Slack, and approve the install in Slack. Intake and notifications will then start working from there. The setup guide walks through each step, and the Slack intake article covers the four paths in detail.
Email: Any Collaborate customer can enable the Email Inbound integration by going to Settings, then Flow, then Integrations. The workspace's intake address then appears on the Collaborate intake page. The email intake article has the details.
If you're not yet running deals on Collaborate, request a demo. If you'd like help getting your team set up, our solutions attorneys are here to help.
