Frequently asked questions
The Timeref digital vault (CFR) is a secure storage space in which companies deposit their information assets in digital form. This step of centralizing sensitive data is a prerequisite to the transfer process, and is ideally carried out upstream of the transaction.
The data room is an "open window" onto the data contained in the digital vault. It is a space with specific access rights that enables the various auditors involved in the transfer to consult the documents made available to them.
A single Digital Vault is used for each deal. An independent data room is then opened in complete confidentiality for each buyer team and its auditors.
AFNOR NF203 certification for a digital vault is a French standard that guarantees the security and reliability of an electronic safe designed to store sensitive data.
This standard certifies that the digital vault complies with a certain number of security and reliability criteria, such as burglary resistance, data integrity, data availability, data confidentiality, access management, etc.
By obtaining AFNOR NF203 certification, Timeref proves that its product has been tested and evaluated according to strict security standards, and that it offers effective protection against the risks of breaches of confidentiality and integrity of stored data.
Further information: https://www.infocert.org/nf203/
The main administrator has all rights to the Digital Vault and data rooms. He or she assigns access rights to the other users of the Timeref suite.
These include file managers, who feed the Digital Vault with sensitive company data. They can modify or annotate files. They also provide answers to questions.
Guests at the various data rooms can consult documents, annotate them and ask questions via a dedicated Q&A module.
Encapsulation is an innovative process developed by Timeref which takes place at the end of the deal. It consists in recording and freezing in a "capsule" all the communication that took place during the deal: deposits and consultations of sensitive data, annotations of working documents, questions/answers, access to the data room by users.
The entire life of the data room is archived in the capsule, like a film that ran from the beginning to the end of the deal. Whatever information needs to be preserved, encapsulation makes it possible to keep track of it.
But the biggest advantage of this process is its evidential value.
In the event of a dispute after the deal has been closed, the Timeref capsule can be used as evidence before a competent court, thanks to AFNOR NF203 certification, which guarantees the integrity of the data hosted by Timeref. For example, this makes it possible to prove that a document was indeed delivered to the auditors, and that it was consulted or modified by a given user on a given date.
In short, Timeref encapsulation makes your firm the "trusted third party" your customers can rely on in the event of a dispute.
In terms of the number of guests, the "One-deal" offer allows up to 20 users per data room.
The unlimited deals with personalization offer, on the other hand, imposes no limit on the number of users per data room.
Guests need not belong to the same company.
By personalizing the Timeref data room with your firm's image, your customers can consult data in a working environment they identify as being "at home". This inspires confidence and conveys a professional image.
The non-customizable solutions of competing data rooms send your users back to their own online platform. In these generic spaces, no mention is made of the M&A firm behind the deal. The risk? Creating a feeling of vagueness and amateurism among your customers.