Overview
The Recommendation Tracker is a structured list of follow-up items you can attach to your diligence work. Each item represents a recommendation, suggestion, or issue raised during a review, and can be linked to a single question, an entire project, or an entity such as a firm, product, or strategy, so it always stays connected to the context it came from.
Teams record each item where the review happens, with a priority, an owner, and a resolution date. An item can stay internal to your team, or be marked external to share it with the responder, who is then notified and can act on it. As work progresses, each item moves through Open, In Progress, and Resolved, and the full list can be viewed and filtered in one place across every project and manager.
What it helps you do:
- Central record: keep every finding from a review in one place, linked to the question, project, or entity it relates to.
- Internal or external follow-up: track findings privately, or share them with the responder so both sides work from the same list.
- Clear ownership: assign each item, set a priority and resolution date, and follow its status so nothing is missed.
How the Tracker Is Organized
A recommendation can be created from three places in the platform, and every item is then visible across a set of consolidated views. The diagram below shows how the pieces fit together.
Wherever you create a recommendation, it flows into the same central tracker and can be reviewed through Activity Dash and My Recommendations. Each item moves through a simple status lifecycle as it is worked on.
Adding a Recommendation
A recommendation can be created at the question, project, or entity level. Each starting point opens the same form, so you complete the details the same way regardless of where you begin.
From a Question
- Open a project and go to the relevant question.
- Click the 3 dots, to the right of the question and then select “Add Recommendations”
- Complete the form and save. The recommendation stays linked to that question.
From a Project
- Open the project and select the Recommendations tab at the top.
- Click Add New Recommendations to create an item that applies to the project as a whole rather than a single question.
- The tab also lists every question-level item raised within that project, so you can review them together.
From an Entity (Firm, Product, or Strategy)
- Go to Manage > Firm, or Products / Strategies, and open the entity you want.
- Select the Recommendations tab at the top of the entity record.
- Add a new recommendation, and view all items linked to that entity, including ones raised at the project or question level.
Completing the Recommendation Form
The form is the same wherever you open it. Complete the fields below, then select Create and Assign to save the item.
Note: An internal item is only visible to your team. An external item is shared with the responder and appears in their view, so use Mark as external deliberately.
- Subject: a short title for the recommendation. This field is required.
- Description: further detail on the finding or action needed. This field is required.
- Mark as external: select this to share the item with the responder, who is then notified. Leave it clear to keep the item internal. An Admin can disable this option in Firm Settings.
- Priority: the importance of the item, for example Medium. An Admin can rename the labels and change their colors in Firm Settings.
- Resolution Date: the date by which the item should be actioned. A suggested date may be shown for reference.
- Reported By: the person raising the item, or the person it is being raised on behalf of. This field is required.
- Assign To: a colleague for an internal item, or an Admin user on the responder side for an external item. This field is required.
- Tags and custom fields: any tags or custom fields your firm has configured appear here for selection, so the item is captured with consistent metadata.
Managing Recommendations After They Are Created
Once an item exists, you can keep it up to date as work progresses:
- Update the status: move the item through Open, In Progress, and Resolved as it is actioned.
- Edit or delete: revise the details, or remove an item that is no longer needed.
- Add comments: record progress notes or context directly on the item.
Viewing Recommendations Across the Platform
Activity Dash
- Go to Diligence > Activity Dash and scroll down to the Recommendations section to see every item across all questions, projects, and entities.
- Select Open Diligence Items to review an item in a side panel without leaving the page.
- Click the value in the Associated Name column to open the original item in its project.
Working With the Grid
- Filter: use the search box under each column heading to narrow the list, including by any custom field.
- Adjust columns: use Edit Columns to choose which fields display, and drag column headers to reorder them. Scroll right to see additional fields.
- Save a view: set your preferred columns and filters, then use Save View to reuse the layout later.
- Export: use Export to download the current grid for offline review or reporting.
My Recommendations
Go to My Work > My Recommendations for a personal grid of items relevant to you. All firm custom fields are available here as well, so you can filter and report on the same metadata.
Admin Configuration
Custom Fields and Tags
Admins can define the custom fields and tags that will be shown with the recommendations under Firm Settings > Tags & Custom Fields.
Tags : To create a new recommendation tag, navigate to the Recommendation Tags Tab and click the plus icon. Next, type the desired name for the tag, press enter to insert it, and click the save button to complete the process.
Custom fields :To create a new recommendation custom field, navigate to the Recommendation Custom Fields Tab and click the “+Custom Field” icon. Next, fill in the details like name, type of custom field required, description etc and click the save button to create a new field.
- Supported field types: Text, Number, Date, Dropdown, Multi-select, and URL are supported. ADV, Rating, and Question field types are not available for recommendations.
- Available everywhere: fields configured here appear in every recommendation grid across the platform, including My Work > My Recommendations.
Tracker Name, Priorities, and External Entries
Open Firm Settings then go to Preferences > Firm Preferences.
From here you can rename the tracker, adjust the priority labels and colors, and select or clear the checkbox that allows external recommendations.
For example, an operational due diligence team might set the tracker up like this:
Name: rename the tracker to ODD Findings so it matches the language the team already uses.
Priorities: relabel the levels to Critical, Important, and Minor, and set their colors to red, amber, and green so severity is clear at a glance in the grid.
External entries: Enable the external recommendations checkbox so findings can be shared with the managers.
Example Use Cases
A few practical ways requestors put the tracker to work:
- Tracking an internal finding: during an operational review, an analyst notes a missing assurance report. They add it as a High priority item, leave it internal, and assign it to a teammate. As the report arrives, they move the item from Open to Resolved, keeping the review's open points in one place.
- Sharing a finding with a manager: a requestor identifies a gap in a manager's compliance policy. They create the item, select Mark as external, and assign it to the manager's Admin user, who is notified and actions it. Both sides follow the same record without back and forth email.
- Prioritizing follow-ups across managers: an ODD team opens Diligence > Activity Dash, filters the Recommendations grid to High priority, Open items, and groups them by a custom field such as category or source to plan the quarter's outstanding actions.
Need More Help?
For further assistance, contact the DiligenceVault team at ask@diligencevault.com. Premium clients can also reach out to their dedicated Client Success Manager.