Is your desk cluttered with sticky notes, miscellaneous pieces of paper, and phone messages? Clear your work area, consolidate your notes, and link them to the appropriate clients and contacts by using the PracticeMaster Journal file!
The following types of records can be added to the Journal file (File | Open | Journal) by clicking the 
(New) button:
- Notes: Add free-form notes to keep track of any necessary information.
- Time Tasks: Keep track of how much time you spend on the various tasks associated with your matter.
- Phone Tasks: Keep track of phone calls to and from clients and third parties, including the phone number and whether you spoke with the desired person or left a message.
- Research Tasks: Keep all of your research notes in one place, including the Web site URL and a linked file.
- E-mails: Use the Outlook Toolbar Plug-in (Maintenance | Integration | Toolbar Plug-ins | Outlook tab) to save both sent and received e-mails.
Alternatively, Time Tasks, Phone Tasks, and Research Tasks can be created via the Timer (File | Timer). When integrated with Tabs3, any Client Notes from Tabs3 (File | Open | Client | Client Notes tab) can also be viewed, but not edited, in the PracticeMaster Journal file.
Not only can you move information from paper to PracticeMaster, but every journal record
provides a Client ID and Contact field. This links the record directly to the client’s matter and/or contact for which it applies and allows others to access the same information when they need it. Simply open the Client and/or Contact file and click on the Journal tab to see all journal records pertaining to this client, or select a Journal Page tab (e.g., E-mail, Phone, Timer, etc.) to see specific record types. You can configure which tabs to display in the Client file by opening Configure Client Pages (Edit | Configure Client Pages) from the List tab, and in the Contact file by opening Configure Contact Pages (Edit | Configure Contact Pages).
Use PracticeMaster to help organize your notes, research, and more – unclutter your workspace and allow others access to valuable information!
Do you use Taskbill to send electronic bills? You may have noticed that while many companies accept the LEDES 1998B format, they often require specific modifications in order to accept your bills. Over the years, numerous LEDES 1998B subformats have been created for Tabs3 to help firms get their eBills formatted correctly, but it is often difficult to determine which subformat is needed for a particular situation.
To help firms find the correct LEDES 1998B subformat for their situation, we are pleased to announce Knowledge Base Article R11769, “LEDES 1998B Subformat Information for Taskbill.” This article provides detailed information on the LEDES 1998B format, the fields it contains, and how those fields are modified by the numerous subformats.
For those of you who are not familiar with Taskbill, you can read more about it in R10435, “Tabs3 Taskbill Product Information.” If you submit bills electronically, but don’t have Taskbill, take a look at what Taskbill can do for you!
Our Knowledge Base can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at support.Tabs3.com. You can also access our Knowledge Base while in the software by selecting Help | Internet Resources | Knowledge Base.
We are pleased to announce that we have selected ProCirrus as our Preferred National Cloud Hosting Partner. Hosting providers like ProCirrus can make managing your technology much easier. Instead of installing and maintaining programs like Tabs3 on your server, you login to the programs from a secure website that ProCirrus maintains. ProCirrus is a full-service cloud hosting company that specializes in providing hosting services for the legal industry. You can find more information about ProCirrus on their website at:
- ProCirrus – www.procirrus.com
“We are very excited to become the Preferred National Cloud Hosting Partner for Tabs3 Software and combine their feature-rich applications with our full-service cloud,” said Dan LeBaron, Chief Technology Officer. “With over a decade of successful Tabs3 hosting, our partnership represents a better overall solution and support for both our current and future mutual clients.”
You can learn more about the various cloud options available in the following resources:
- Knowledge Base article R11722 – Tabs3 in the Cloud
- Our Tabs3 in the Cloud white paper
If you are thinking about switching to a hosted provider, be sure to include ProCirrus on your list of potential service providers.
The Platinum version of Tabs3 and PracticeMaster software provides a multitude of benefits when working with reports. If reporting is important to your firm, take a look at the following reasons to upgrade now!
Platinum Report Accelerators
Platinum accelerators make processing reports and statements an average of 10 – 30 times faster. The reason for the speed boost is that all of the processing is done at the server instead of sending data back and forth across the network. This significantly affects the time it takes to run reports.
Take a look at actual benchmark numbers in Knowledge Base Article R11142, “Tabs3 Performance Comparison.” You might be surprised!
For more information on how accelerators work and a list of accelerated reports, see Knowledge Base Article R11182, “Tabs3 and PracticeMaster Accelerators.”
Platinum Exclusive Report Options
When you upgrade to Platinum, you get two bonus reporting options in Tabs3:
- Accounts Receivable by Timekeeper Report – This report provides a list of clients with fees due for each working timekeeper. This report is only available with Platinum.
- Enhanced Detail Accounts Receivable Report – This report is available without Platinum; however, the Detail Information for Fees and Costs check box on the Format tab is Platinum only. Selecting this option provides a breakdown of fees by timekeeper and costs by cost type.
These reporting options are only available with Platinum because they are very data intensive with complex calculations. Processing these reports using the report accelerator allows the reports to be generated much more quickly, making them fully accessible in Platinum.
For more information on the Accounts Receivable by Timekeeper Report and Enhanced Detail Accounts Receivable Report, see Knowledge Base Article R11379, “Platinum Overview.”
Platinum SQL ODBC
Are you looking for a way to compile all of the information you need onto one report, rather than using multiple reports? Do you prefer to manipulate report data using tools you are more familiar with, such as Microsoft® Excel® or Access®? You may find a solution with the ODBC driver.
All Tabs3 and PracticeMaster software is ODBC capable. This means an ODBC driver can be used to export the information into various environments that allow for ODBC. Many users have utilized the ODBC driver to create reports in programs such as Crystal Reports®, Access, and Excel. This can allow for a single report with all of the desired data.
You can purchase individual licenses for the standard 32-bit version of ODBC, but what if you want to increase the processing speed and/or take advantage of 64-bit programs to access the data? Platinum SQL software includes an SQL ODBC driver. The Platinum SQL ODBC driver has the following advantages:
Accelerated SQL Processing – Platinum SQL provides significantly faster reports when using ODBC-capable software. The standard ODBC driver for Tabs3 and PracticeMaster software processes all queries at the workstation, but with Platinum SQL, all queries are processed at the server, thus improving performance and reducing network load.
64- & 32-bit Access – The SQL ODBC driver included with the Platinum SQL software is available in both 64-bit and 32-bit versions. Users with 64-bit workstations can install both drivers and will only need to configure the ODBC data source once.
Firm-wide License Included – The license for the standard ODBC driver is purchased per workstation. However, the ODBC driver included with the Platinum SQL software is licensed for use by the entire firm and is included at no extra charge.
Microsoft SQL Server Access via OLE DB – Platinum SQL supports OLE DB access. In addition to standard ODBC access, Tabs3 and PracticeMaster data is also accessible from OLE DB compatible software using the Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC. This includes Microsoft SQL Server software.
Note: Tabs3 and PracticeMaster data files are ODBC capable as read-only. It is not possible to write to Tabs3 or PracticeMaster data files using an ODBC driver. If you have questions about creating reports using ODBC, contact your local consultant.
For more information on what ODBC can do for you, see Knowledge Base Article R10017, “Working with ODBC.” For more information on Platinum SQL, see Knowledge Base Article R11417, “Platinum SQL Overview.”
For more information about Platinum features, see Knowledge Base Article R11379, “Platinum Overview.” If you have any questions regarding Platinum features, contact your local consultant, or contact Technical Support at (402) 419-2210.
We’ve had several calendar records come up missing in both PracticeMaster and Outlook. We believe the entries were deleted sometime yesterday. Is there an easy way to find out what those records were so we can add them back into PracticeMaster if necessary?
Because the calendar entries were synchronized between PracticeMaster and Outlook, the Outlook Sync Log can be used to help determine if records were deleted. The Outlook Sync Log keeps track of every add, change, or delete that passes between Outlook and PracticeMaster.
Because the Outlook Sync Log records everything that synchronizes between PracticeMaster and Outlook, it can be quite large. Fortunately, we can create a filter to help narrow down the records we want to look at.
To filter the Outlook Sync Log for deleted records
- From the View menu, point to Log Files and select Outlook Sync Log.
- From the Quick Clicks pane, expand the Filter group and select Manage Filters.
- Press Ctrl+N.
- Enter the desired Filter Name (e.g., “Sync Items on 7/16/2018”).
- Click the New Row button.
- Select Sync_Date and then click the Select button.
- In the Test Condition column, select Greater than or Equal To.
- In the Test Value column, enter yesterday’s date (e.g., “07/16/2018”).
- Click the New Row button.
- Select Action and then click Select.
- In the Test Value column, enter “D”.
- Click Save.
Once the filter is enabled in the Quick Clicks pane, only those records that were deleted during the sync will be shown. You can then determine if records need to be added back into PracticeMaster based on record information in the Outlook Sync Log including the calendar Description, Owner (User), and Due Date/Time.
If you do not see the record(s) you are expecting, keep in mind that it’s also possible for records to appear deleted when they were actually changed (e.g., removing a User from the record, changing the Due Date field, etc.). If you want to look for changed records, instead of deleted records, simply change the filter’s Test Value from “D” to “U” in step 6b above.
For more information on PracticeMaster’s integration with Outlook, please see our Outlook Integration Guide.
Work-in-process reports can provide valuable insight into what can be billed to a client, as well as what will be owed once billed. These Reports provide detailed information about work-in-process transactions, along with client-related information.
The Detail Work-In-Process Report is one of the most customizable reports in Tabs3. You can set it up to include only the transaction details that you need to see, and you can even control which columns print on the report. The Detail Work-In-Process Report provides access to all of the unbilled transactions for your clients and can be used as a pre-bill to assist with billing decisions prior to generating final statements.
The Summary Work-In-Process Report provides a quick summary of clients’ status for reviewing previous balance and payment/credit information in addition to how much each client would owe if all work-in-process were billed today.
The Detail and Summary Work-In-Process Reports video walks you through the different options for each report, and shows you an example of what each report looks like. Information on the generated reports is also provided.
Watch this nine-minute video here:
Training Videos can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at Tabs3.com/videos. You can also access Training Videos while in the software by selecting Help | Documentation and then clicking the See also link for Tabs3 and PracticeMaster Training Videos.
