StowbillA due diligence data room with a full audit trail
Due diligence produces hundreds of requests, documents and versions. When something is disputed later, you need to show what was provided, when, and who saw it. Stowbill's due diligence data room keeps that record automatically, from the client's first upload to the final report.
Collecting documents from the target
- Send the target a secure upload link through the client portal. No account or password is needed.
- Uploads are checked before they are stored and filed in the folder you choose.
- Use our free due diligence checklist and index as a starting folder structure.
The audit trail
Every view, download and share is written to an append-only activity log. Entries cannot be edited or deleted. You can filter the log and export it to Excel, which is useful for completion files and for answering later questions about what was disclosed.
Keeping versions straight
- Version history on every file, with restore.
- Check-out and check-in for working papers and draft reports.
- Reviewer sign-off attached to the exact version they reviewed. If the file changes, the sign-off does not silently carry over.
- Partner release before a report leaves the firm.
Access by workstream
| Who | Typical permission |
|---|---|
| Engagement partner | Share (full control) |
| Financial diligence team | Edit on the financial folders |
| Legal or tax reviewers | View or download on their folders |
| Observers | Read-only team role |
What is available today, and what is not built yet
We would rather you know exactly what you are buying. Outside buyers, investors, lenders and advisers can now sign in to a data room with an emailed one-time link. A partner must open each room before anyone outside the firm sees it. The viewer deters copying but cannot stop a screenshot, which is why every PDF page carries the guest's name. Excel, Word and CSV files open in the same protected view; PowerPoint and older .xls and .doc files should be uploaded as PDF.
| Available today | Not built yet |
|---|---|
| Data room accounts for outside parties, grouped into parties, with emailed one-time sign-in links (no password) | Single sign-on (SSO) |
| Rooms start as drafts until a partner opens them; optional closing date; removing a guest ends access at once | Preview of PowerPoint and older .xls and .doc files (upload these as PDF) |
| NDA click-through: guests tick and type their name; time and network address recorded | Page-level time-on-page analytics |
| View-only PDF viewer with no download or print button; downloads allowed per room or per party | Automatic search-and-redact (redaction is drawn by hand today) |
| Dynamic watermark on every PDF page: guest name, email, party and time (UTC) | SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certification |
| Private Q&A per party: assign, draft, partner approval, Excel import and export | Accounting integrations such as Xero or QuickBooks |
| Reports per party and per document, plus a hash-chained, append-only log with Excel export | Choice of hosting region |
| Internal folders with six permission levels, share expiry, version history and upload checks that block programs and scripts | AI features and a mobile app |
| A numbered index (1, 1.1, 1.1.1) with the same numbers for the firm and every party; Excel export of the index, per party | Arabic interface |
| Whole-folder uploads that keep their structure, files up to 250 MB each, every file checked before it is stored | Email and calendar integrations |
| A buyer and investor tracker linked to the deal: NDA, information memorandum, bids and preferred bidder | A general CRM with email and calendar sync |
| Redaction of PDFs: black boxes burnt into the page, with the original kept by the firm | |
| Excel, Word and CSV files shown view-only under a watermark, without sending the file to the guest | |
| A buyer interest score (Hot, Warm, Cold) from data room activity, and buyer history across deals | |
| Your firm's logo and colour on the data room | |
| Upload checks on every file; antivirus scanning as an add-on on the Firm plan |
Security basics
- Files are encrypted at rest in Amazon S3 with AES-256.
- Each firm's data is isolated at the database level using row-level security.
- Two-step login (MFA) for your team.
- Every upload is checked before anyone can open it, and programs and scripts are blocked. Antivirus scanning can be added on the Firm plan.
- An append-only activity log records each view, download and share. Each entry carries a hash of the one before, so an edit or deletion shows up when the chain is re-checked. You can export it to Excel.
- Each user can see their signed-in devices and sign out the others remotely.
Questions
Can the activity log be changed?
No. It is append-only. You can export it to Excel but not edit it.
Do clients need an account to upload?
No. They use a secure link from the client portal.
Can external diligence providers or buyers log in?
Yes. Outside parties sign in with an emailed one-time link and see only the folders chosen for them. Access ends as soon as you remove them or close the room.
Is there a due diligence checklist?
Yes. We publish a free due diligence data room checklist and index as a CSV you can adapt.
How long are deleted files kept?
Deleted items stay in the recycle bin for 30 days and can be restored in that time.
Last reviewed 10 November 2026. General information, not professional or legal advice.
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