Overview
RealNex Vault uses two layers of control to decide what each member can see; a member is anyone with access to the deal room, be it someone on the Broker or Client team, or participants (bidders).
All deal room folders and documents are assigned access tiers (L0 through L7), letting you control what members can see and do once they are in the deal room. L0 through L4 access tiers are used as participant stage gates, controlling when bidders earn access to the next set of documents. Together, the two layers let you advance bidders by changing their access level instead of manually sharing every document.
This article spans two stages of the RealNex Vault deal room workflow. Inviting your Broker and Client team happens in Build, before any external participant sees the room. Inviting external participants belongs to Publish, the stage that takes the deal room Live. The sections below are organized in that order.
Use this article to:
- Understand the eight access tiers (L0 through L7) and which audience each tier maps to
- Map the five participant stage tiers (L0 through L4) to deal stages
- Invite an external participant, a client team member, or a broker team member at the right level
- Approve, deny, or update participant access from the Members tab
Prerequisites
- An active deal room in Build or Live mode: See Creating a deal room: the 3-step wizard
- L7 admin access on the deal room you are inviting to: Only an L7 admin can invite participants and change access tiers
- The participant's name and email address: Existing Contacts in the RealNex Vault address book can be invited in two clicks
The eight access tiers
Every deal room member sits at one of eight access tiers. Tiers progress from least to most access:
- L0 (Participant Level 0): NDA and marketing content. The teaser folder behind the NDA wall. Most early prospects start here.
- L1 (Participant Level 1): Round 1 due diligence package. First-round diligence materials. Use for prospects who have signed the NDA and are evaluating.
- L2 (Participant Level 2): Round 2 due diligence package. Deeper financial materials. Use for bidders advancing past the first round.
- L3 (Participant Level 3): Short-list-stage documents. Deep-dive materials. Use for bidders you have moved to the short list.
- L4 (Participant Level 4): Finalist-stage documents. Final-round materials including purchase agreement and closing documents.
- L5 (Client Team): Client-permitted content. The seller-side or client-side view. Sees every document the broker team has marked client-visible.
- L6 (Broker Team): All deal materials. The deal team view. Sees the Internal Workspace, unpublished documents, and every participant-facing folder.
- L7 (Admin): Full control. Can invite participants, change access tiers, publish documents, and read engagement analytics.
Note: Participants (buyers, lenders, attorneys, investors, etc.) are assigned L0 through L4. They never sit above L4. Client team members sit at L5. Broker team members default to L6, with admins at L7. RealNex Vault charges no per-viewer fee at any participant level; invite as many bidders as the deal needs.
The four participant stage gates
Stage gates are how you advance a bidder through more document access without manually sharing each file. The four stages map to access tiers:
- Marketing: L0. NDA wall and teaser content.
- Due Diligence: L1 (Round 1) to L2 (Round 2). Financials unlocked progressively.
- Short-List: L3. Deep-dive materials unlocked.
- Finalist: L4. Final-round materials unlocked.
Set documents to the minimum tier that should see them when reviewing and approving them. Then advance a bidder by changing their access tier. Every document at or below the bidder's new tier becomes visible automatically.
Build phase: invite your Broker and Client team
Adding Broker and Client team members happens in the Build phase of the RealNex Vault deal room workflow. These are the people who load documents, organize folders, and contribute to preparing the room before any participant sees anything. Bring them in first.
Step 1: Open the Members tab
From inside the deal room, click the Members tab. The Members tab has three sections: Active Participants, Pending Invitations, and (if Require Access Request is on) Pending Access Requests.
Step 2: Click Invite Member(s) and choose Broker/Client Team
Click Invite Member(s) at the top of the Members tab. For Build phase team additions, choose:
- Invite Broker Team (L6) or Invite Client Team (L5)
The Invite Participant path is for participants visiting your deal room, we’ll cover that in the Publish phase below.
Step 3: Configure team, role, and send
In the Invite Broker/Client Team modal:
- Search the Contacts address book or add a contact on the fly
- Set the Role within that team: contributor (upload and edit), contributor external (upload only), or viewer read-only
- Broker Team members with the admin (full access) role can co-manage the deal room with you
- Click Add Member(s)
Note: Paid seats are required for internal contributor and admin roles. External contributor and read-only roles do not require paid seats.
Publish phase: invite external participants
Hold off on adding external participants until you get to the Publish phase. You can queue them in Build mode (the invitations stay queued until you publish), but they do not dispatch and the participants do not see anything until the deal room moves Live. Set up the bidder pool here, then publish when the room is ready.
Step 4: Open Invite Member(s) and choose Participant
From the Members tab, click Invite Member(s) again. This time choose:
- Invite Participant: for L0 through L4 invitations (external bidders, lenders, attorneys, advisors, investors, buyers, sellers).
Step 5: Configure access level, user type, and send
In the Invite Participant modal:
- Search your Contacts address book, select contacts quickly, or select a Contact Group for bulk invitations.
- Set Access Level from L0 through L4. Match the level to the participant's stage today.
- Click Send Invitation.
Note: RealNex Vault places no per-viewer charge on external participants. Invite as many as the deal needs.
Manage participant access
Step 6: Change a participant's access tier
From the Active Participants section of the Members tab, click any participant row to open Member Details. From here you can:
- Change the participant's Access Level. The change applies immediately. Documents at or below the new level become visible.
- Set document-level access overrides if a single bidder needs a document outside their tier.
- Review the participant's details, including activity history: documents viewed, downloads, last login, time in the room.
- Remove the participant from the deal room.
Step 7: Approve or deny pending access requests
If Require Access Request is on, prospective participants land in the Pending Access Requests section. Click any row to review:
- The prospect's name, email, and any message they sent with the request.
- Their signed NDA acceptance ID and timestamp.
Click Approve to grant access at the level you set or Deny to reject the request. Approved prospects move to Active Participants and receive an email with their entry link.
Additional Options
Bulk invitations through Contact Groups
If you are inviting a large bidder pool, build a Contact Group first. From the RealNex Vault sidebar, open Contacts and create a group such as Qualified Investors - Multi-tenant Office. Add the contacts that belong in the group. Then back in the deal room, choose the Contact Group from the Invite Participant modal. RealNex Vault sends one invitation to every member of the group with the access level and user type you set.
Resending or canceling pending invitations
From Pending Invitations, click any row to Resend the invitation email or Cancel the invitation. Cancelled invitations are revoked, and the link in the original email no longer works.
Tips and Best Practices
- Set document access at upload, advance bidders through tiers. Map every document to the minimum access tier that should see it. Then advance a bidder by changing their participant tier instead of sharing each file.
- Lean on Contact Groups for marketed deals. A pre-built group of qualified investors turns a 30-prospect invitation into a single click with consistent access levels and user types.
- Audit access tiers before publishing the room Live. The five minutes you spend confirming each participant's tier in Build mode are five minutes you do not spend explaining a misroute after launch.