Working with WorkFlows: Using WorkFlows to Limit Fee Descriptions for a Client

October 2019    Tags: Clients, Fees, PracticeMaster, WorkFlows

I represent an insurance company with over 80 active matters. This company is now requiring fee descriptions to not exceed 300 characters. Is there a way to put a character limit on fees for a single client?

When entering fees in PracticeMaster, an automatic WorkFlow can be configured with a filter to only trigger when fee descriptions exceed 300 characters for a specific range of matters or clients.

To create a WorkFlow that prompts the user when a fee description is too long

1. From the Maintenance menu, select WorkFlows.
2. Expand Common Client Related Files, select the Fee file, and then click the New button.
3. Enter a Name for the WorkFlow (e.g., “Desc Character Limit Exceeded”).
4. In the Source section, select Filtered Records, and then click Filter.
   1. Click the New Row button, select Client ID, and then click Select.
      1. In the Test Condition column, select greater than or equal to.
      2. In the Test Value column, enter the lowest Client ID that requires the character limit (e.g., “415.00”).
   2. Click the New Row button, select Client ID, and then click Select.
      1. In the Test Condition column, select less than or equal to.
      2. In the Test Value column, enter the highest Client ID that requires the character limit (e.g., “415.99”).
   3. Click the New Advanced Row button.
      1. In the Advanced Expression Editor window, select Function.
         1. Select LEN and click Insert.
      2. With the cursor between the parentheses, click Field.
         1. Select Description and click Select.
      3. With the cursor at the end of the expression, select Operator.
         1. Select Greater than and click Insert.
      4. Enter the character limit (e.g., “300”) and click OK.
   4. Click Save.
5. In the Event section, select Record Added and Record Changed.
6. In the Actions section, click New.
   1. Select Change Record, and then click Next.
   2. Select Source Record, and then click Define Template.
   3. Click the set button next to Description.
      1. In the Template Expression Editor window, click Field.
      2. Select a Field ID of Description and then click Insert.
      3. Click OK.
   4. Press Ctrl+S.
   5. Click Finish.
7. Click New again.
   1. Select Display Message, and then click Next.
   2. Click the Title field.
      1. In the Template Expression Editor window, click Value.
      2. Enter the title for the message (e.g., “Description Character Limit Exceeded”) and then click OK.
      3. Click OK.
   3. Optionally select an Icon.
   4. Click the Body field.
      1. In the Template Expression Editor window, click Value.
      2. Enter the message to be displayed (e.g., “The description you have entered for the recently saved fee has exceeded the description limit defined by the client. Please edit the description to be less than 300 characters”) and then click OK.
      3. Click OK.
   5. Click Finish.
8. Click Save.

You now have a WorkFlow that is automatically triggered when the length of a fee description exceeds a set number of characters for a particular Client ID range. A prompt is displayed letting the user know that the description is too long for that client and reopens the record for editing.

Note: WorkFlows are a PracticeMaster-only feature. Fees entered or edited in Tabs3 will not trigger the WorkFlow.

For more information on WorkFlows, refer to our PracticeMaster WorkFlows Guide at Tabs3.com/support/docs.html or Knowledge Base Article R11307, “All About WorkFlows.”