In a law firm, there can be an overwhelming amount of information to manage – matter information, contact information, upcoming meetings, research, emails, and documents galore. But there is hope! PracticeMaster can help make you more organized than you’ve ever been before. PracticeMaster provides the tools you need to manage it all.
Calendar – View not just your calendar, but your firm’s calendar. View appointments for a specific client or matter, an employee, or view appointments based on any information in the calendar record such as dates, calendar codes, and location.
Contacts – Don’t just search your list of contacts; see all contacts for any matter at a glance, and every matter in which a particular contact is associated.
Document Management – Specify how you want to name and file your documents, and then let PracticeMaster do it for you! Optionally use Fujitsu® ScanSnap™ to scan and import documents. Quickly see all documents for a case, or different versions of the same kind of documents across all your cases.
Matter Manager – Tie everything for a matter together in one place: calendar records, contacts, email, meeting notes, documents, billing summary, and more!
Conflict of Interest – Maintain ethical walls by searching files, documents, email attachments, and contacts for key words. Optionally limit results to certain files, and more.
Timers – Use timers to track your time, phone tasks, and research. Switch between timers as needed, and then process timer records into fees!
Filtering – Add filters to your files so that you can easily see only those records that you want to see.
QuickViews – QuickViews combine a filter, column layout, and sort option into a tab at the top of the List tab of any file, which allows you to quickly switch your view depending on the records you are working with. Add Smart tabs to provide an additional level of record sorting.
Integration – Integrate calendar records and contacts with Outlook. Install the PracticeMaster toolbar in Outlook®, Internet Explorer, Microsoft® Word, Excel®, PowerPoint®, Adobe® Reader or Acrobat®, and WordPerfect® to save documents and research to PracticeMaster, or to create journal entries, calendar entries, or fees from within the other software. Integration with CalendarRules™, NetDocuments®, and more is also available!
Areas of Practice – Areas of Practice provide a way to save separate information for different types of matters, without having the clutter of everything all in one file or set of files.
Report Writer – Create custom reports using the fields in PracticeMaster.
WorkFlows – Help automate your workload by creating WorkFlows to automatically start tasks or notify other users based on specified events.
Document Assembly – Help automate form letters by creating document templates that pull information from any file in PracticeMaster. Once created, simply select the client and the template, and it does the rest.
For a complete list of PracticeMaster features, refer to Knowledge Base Article R11548, “PracticeMaster Feature Comparison.” For more information about PracticeMaster features or to purchase a license of PracticeMaster, contact your consultant, or contact our Sales Department at (402) 419-2200.
There are times when working from home is the best, or only, option to get the work done that is needed. However, determining how to accomplish everyday office tasks from home can be daunting for any of the roles in an active firm.
Knowledge Base Article R11851, “Work From Home Resources,” provides a list of common scenarios, broken down by office position, and how to handle them when working away from the office.
Our Knowledge Base can be accessed at support.Tabs3.com. You can also access our Knowledge Base while in the software by selecting Help | Internet Resources | Knowledge Base.
What is the Client Inactivity Report, and why should you use it? The Client Inactivity Report can be used to identify clients and matters with no activity in a specified time frame, which can help keep clients from slipping through the cracks. This report allows you to do the following:
- Report on which clients have not had any activity in the last year so you can mark applicable matters as closed.
- Determine which clients you have not received a payment from this month so that you can send a reminder statement or write off amounts.
- Provide each Primary Timekeeper with a report of all active matters with no fees in a certain time frame, such as the last two weeks.
- Plus much more!
A Client Inactivity Report can be run in both Tabs3 Billing and PracticeMaster; however, each program provides unique options to run the report.
- In Tabs3 Billing, you can search for activity in fees, costs, statements, payments, payment adjustments, write offs, and client funds.
- In PracticeMaster, you can search for activity in the Calendar, Journal, Document Management, Fee, Cost, Additional Common Client Related, and Area of Practice Files.
To run a Client Inactivity Report
- In Tabs3 Billing, from the Reports menu, point to Client and select Client Inactivity Report.
…or…
In PracticeMaster, from the Reports menu, select Client Inactivity Report. - On the Client tab, select the desired client range.
- On the Options tab:
- In the No activity in the last field, enter the desired time frame.
- Under Items to Search/Files to Search, select the desired check boxes.
- On the Sort tab, select the desired Primary and/or Secondary Order.
- Click OK.
Note: By default, the Client Inactivity Report is set to only include clients that are currently active and do not have a Date Closed specified. However, this setting can be changed. From the Client tab, click the Select Status button and select the desired option(s).
Did you know that you can download and view documents for any of your clients from your phone, tablet, or laptop? You can download linked documents that are in PracticeMaster’s Document Management file or email attachments that are in the Journal file.
After logging in to Tabs3 Connect, open Matter Manager to access a client’s documents. Select the desired client and then do one of the following:
- Click Documents to see a list of document management records. Click a record to see more information and to access a link to download the file. (Note: To open a linked document, the location of the file must be a UNC path rather than a mapped drive.)
- Click Journal to see a list of journal records. Click an email record with an attachment to see more information and to access a link to download the attached file.
Tabs3 Connect lets you control who has access to documents. Only the users who have Tabs3 Connect access AND who belong to an access profile that specifically grants rights in System Configuration to Download Files via Tabs3 Connect can download linked files and email attachments (Access Profile | PM tab | File Information | Download Files via Tabs3 Connect). Furthermore, every downloaded file from Tabs3 Connect is logged in the Tabs3 Connect Access Log, thus allowing you to see exactly which documents have been downloaded by which users.
For more information on Tabs3 Connect, contact your consultant, contact Technical Support at (402) 419-2210, or visit Knowledge Base Article R11480, “All About Tabs3 Connect.”
When it comes to reviewing statements in a paperless environment, it can be difficult to know where to start. The Reviewing Pre-Bills Digitally video walks you through generating your pre-bills to PDF, allowing your attorneys to review them digitally and move toward a paperless process.
Watch this four-minute video here:
Training Videos can be accessed at Tabs3.com/videos. You can also access the videos while in the software by selecting Help | Training Videos.
Did you know that you can print a report that provides various settings specific to users? In addition to the User ID, User Name, and Email address for each user, the User List (System Configuration | Reports | User List) can optionally include the following information stored in the user file:
- Logon User Status
- Tabs3 Connect Access (new in Version 20.1.8)
- Only Include Tabs3 Connect Users (new in Version 20.1.8)
- Users’ Access Profiles and Calendar Rights
- Users’ Timekeepers
We have several clients with the same client name, so searching for them brings up multiple results. Is there any way to make the search more unique?
The Name Search can be used to access client records by name. When a new matter is created, the Name Search field automatically uses the first 16 characters of the client’s name as the default value. As additional matters for the same client are created, this field will repeat the same 16 character string.
If your firm typically looks clients up by the Name Search value, you can enter a unique value into this field to make it easier to find an exact match for your search value.
To change the Name Search field
- From the File menu, point to Open and select Client.
- Select the desired Client ID.
- In the Name Search field, enter a unique name.
- Press Ctrl+S.
I was asked to run the Timekeeper Realization Report for the first quarter of the year. When I provided it to the attorney, she noticed that the Receipt Allocation Report for the same time frame had a different amount for her receipts. Why is this?
When comparing reports in Tabs3 Billing, keep in mind that not all reports use the same method to determine which transactions fall within a given time period. For example, some reports use a transaction’s entry date, while others might use its statement or allocation date. As a result, two reports run with the exact same criteria can display totals that differ significantly.
The Timekeeper Realization Report, designed to show payment amounts for each timekeeper, uses statement dates. This means that if a payment did not apply to a statement date in the report’s specified date range, it will not contribute to the total collected amount on the report.
The Receipt Allocation Report, on the other hand, uses the date on which payments were allocated. A payment can be entered into the system within the date range and still not contribute to the Receipt Allocation Report if there are no billed charges for it to allocate to, such as when a client submits a retainer payment before their first bill is generated.
For more information about reports that can be compared, check out Knowledge Base Article R11161, “Comparing Tabs3 Report Information.” To see a detailed breakdown on how Tabs3 reports are calculated and what criteria is used for each field on a report, refer to the Tabs3 Report Pack.
I’m sending out email statements to my clients, but I need to include an invoice from a vendor with one client’s statement to show the costs. How can I attach this invoice to my email statements?
You can add additional files to a statement and make other changes via the Email Preview window.
To add an attachment to Email Statements
- From the Statements menu, select Email Statements.
- Select the statement to which you want to attach an invoice.
- Click the View/Edit Email button.
- Click the
(Insert File) button and select the desired file. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the file into the bottom section of the Email Preview window.
We want to reorder some of our tcodes to optimize data entry for certain matters. Is there a way to change the tcode numbers?
You can use the Renumber Tcode program to change tcode numbers.
To renumber a tcode
- From the Maintenance menu, point to Renumber and select Tcode.
- In the first Old Number field, select the tcode you want to renumber.
- In the New Number field, enter the desired tcode number. You cannot enter an existing tcode number into the New Number field.
I added text to the Headings tab in Statement Customization that I want to print at the bottom of all statements. Is there any way to center this text?
By default, each line of text at the end of the statement will print left justified with the transaction description. However, text can optionally be centered.
To center text from Statement Customization on a statement
- From the Statements menu, point to Statement Setup and select Statement Customization.
- From the Headings tab, click in the beginning of the field you want to be centered.
- Enter “\C” in front of the text.
- Press Ctrl+S.
For more justification and formatting options, press F1 from the Headings tab in Statement Customization.
Note: By default, each line of text to be printed as a heading on the statement will be centered.
I need to find out which contacts were involved with a specific client matter. Is there a report that provides this information?
The Contact Usage Report will display every contact that is associated with the selected matter.
To run the Contact Usage Report
- From the File menu, point to Open and select Client.
- Select the client for which you want to generate the report.
- From the Quick Clicks, in the Report group, select Contact Usage (No Duplicates).
The Contact Usage Report will display the Contact ID, as well as the files and fields in which the contacts are found.
When I use the PracticeMaster Outlook plug-in to create a fee based on an email, the fee record defaults to the wrong timekeeper number. Can I change it to default to a different timekeeper number?
The Convert to Fee Settings control the default values when you convert records to a fee, and can be customized.
To change the Default Timekeeper when converting emails to fees
- From the Maintenance menu, point to Preferences and select Convert to Fee Settings.
- From the Email tab, in the Default Timekeeper section, select the desired option.
- Click OK.
We want to send out a mass email to all of our clients notifying them of changes within the firm. Is there an easy way to do this?
This can be accomplished via the Client file in PracticeMaster, using Quick Clicks.
To send an email to multiple clients at once
- From the File menu, point to Open and select Client.
- If desired, select a filter to narrow down which clients are shown (e.g., Active Only).
- Select the clients to which you want to send an email.
- From the Quick Clicks pane, in the Take Action group, clickSend Email.
A new email window will open up using the default email program, with the To field populated with your client’s email addresses.
For more options to send mass emails using Tabs3 Software, see Knowledge Base Article R11845, “Exporting Email Addresses from Tabs3 Software.”
We use the “Created By” field as part of the folder structure convention in our Document Store. One of our employees recently changed their name and we renamed their User ID in the software. New document management records reflect the new User ID, but existing records still show the old User ID in their document paths. Is there an easy way to correct this?
The Verify Document feature in PracticeMaster can correct the paths by validating the Document Management records with the files in the Document Store folder. If it encounters a discrepancy, it will automatically update document file names and locations to use the current naming convention in your Customization settings.
To run Verify Documents
- From the Documents menu, select Verify Documents.
- Click the Start button.
The Verify Documents program will verify that the managed documents in the Document Management file exist, and if the folder and file names for the documents are correct. However, some errors, such as missing documents, cannot be fixed automatically. If errors are found, you can print a Verify Documents Error Report. Information regarding these errors can be found in Knowledge Base Article R11529, “Verify Documents Error Report.”
Note: Prior to running the Verify Documents program, we recommend making an external backup of the software and the Document Store folder.
We recently added a new field to the Client file. Although the field is placed toward the top of the form, it is the last field accessed when we tab through the fields. Is there any way to change the tab order?
PracticeMaster’s Form Designer provides the ability to customize the placement of fields shown in each file, as well as to modify the tab order of these fields.
To set the tab order in a file
- From the File menu, point to Open and select Client.
- From the Edit menu, select Form Designer.
- Click the
(Set Tab Order) button. - A number in a colored box will be shown next to each field. These numbers represent the current tab order.
- Once the numbers are displayed, you have two options: you can reset the tab order for all fields or you can reset the tab order for selected fields.To reset all fields: Click the field you want to come first in the new tab order. Click the field you want to come second in the new tab order. Click the field you want to come third in the new tab order, etc., until all fields are in the desired order. The tab order will update automatically as you click on each field.To reset selected fields: Set the counter by holding the Ctrl key and then clicking on a field. Although nothing will have appeared to happen, the counter will have been set to that number. The next field you click will increment the counter by one and adjust subsequent fields. For example, let’s say you want to switch fields 8 and 9. First set the counter to 7 by holding the Ctrl key and then clicking on field 7. Next click on field 9 to change it to field 8. The old field number 8 will automatically be changed to 9 since there cannot be two fields with the same tab order.
- Click the
(Run Form) button.
For more information on changing field tab order, open the PracticeMaster Help by pressing F1 and enter “Set Tab Order” on the Index tab.