There are several ways you might handle billing for a contingency case, but in the end you must adjust the amount owed based on the outcome. So what options does Tabs3 Billing provide?
Contingency billing occurs when a firm performs work for a client and gets paid contingent upon a settlement. There are many variations for this type of arrangement, such as whether or not costs will be billed, percentage amounts of the settlement, etc. When billing contingency clients using Tabs3 Billing, you typically bill them after the matter is settled; however, you may also want to bill them during the course of the matter. When billing during the course of the matter, you may want to bill only expenses or advances. You may also want the client to see the services rendered for a particular period without actually billing the fees. Then, once the matter is settled, you can write the fees/costs up or down and send the client a final bill.
For example, let’s say that you have a contingency client and you want to bill them monthly for all costs incurred, but not include fees on the statement. You must first create a statement template that includes the desired information on the statement, and then assign it to the contingency client.
To create a statement template for costs only
- In the Quick Launch, search for and select “Statement Templates.”
- In the Template ID field, enter a name for your template.
- On the Fee Format tab, select a Fee Format of No Fees.
- On the Cost/Payment Format tab, select the desired Expense Format and Advance Format.
- Select any other settings as desired.
- Press Ctrl+S.
To assign a statement template to a client>
- In the Quick Launch, search for and select “Client Information.”
- Select the desired Client ID.
- On the Statement Options tab, select the desired Draft Template and Final Template (e.g., the template we created in the previous set of steps).
- Press Ctrl+S.
Using our example, let’s say that the matter has been resolved with a particularly good outcome. You determine that you need to write-up the client’s fees by $5,000 in order to meet the agreed upon percentage of the settlement that your firm will receive.
To write-up fees by an amount
- In the Quick Launch, search for and select “Write-Up/Write-Down Fees & Costs.”
- Select the desired Client ID.
- In the Transaction Type section, select Fees.
- Click the Calculate Client Total button.
- In the Amount Adjustment Type section
- Select Amount.
- In the New Total field, enter the total amount in fees you want to bill the client.
- Click OK.
You can now change the matter’s Final Template to a statement template that has a Fee Format of Standard and generate a final statement for your client. (As an alternative, you can select the statement template via Generate Statements.)
There are several ways to customize the heading for your statements. The Statement Setup window helps determine which method is used to print the statement heading. To access Statement Setup from the Quick Launch, search for and select “Print Setup,” select your printer, and click the Statement Setup button.
- If the firm’s name and address are entered on the Headings tab of Statement Customization (In the Quick Launch, search for and select “Statement Customization”), they will be printed at the top of your statements using the font specified in the Statement Setup window.
- Selecting the Enable Statement Designer Layouts check box in the Statement Setup window will use the heading defined in the custom page layout created by the Statement Designer.
- Selecting the Bitmap check box in the Page One section of the Statement Setup window lets you specify a bitmap image of your firm’s letterhead to include on your statements.
Statement Designer (In the Quick Launch, search for and select “Statement Designer”) can be used to design your letterhead using text, image, and layout elements. This option has the advantage of no additional cost and the ability to make changes at any time. For more information, refer to Knowledge Base Article R10901, “Customizing the Sample Page Layouts Provided with the Tabs3 Statement Designer.”
Tabs3 Support also offers a bitmap scanning service for Tabs3 Software users. Bitmap files of a firm’s letterhead can be created and used to print the letterhead directly on statements generated by Tabs3 Billing. This eliminates the need to use preprinted stationery for statements. Once scanned, the bitmap file can be specified to print on a statement via Statement Designer or the Statement Setup button in Printer Setup. Knowledge Base Article R10168, “Bitmap Scanning Service,” explains what a bitmap file is and why resolution matters, as well as more information about our scanning service and frequently asked questions.
Our Knowledge Base can be accessed at support.Tabs3.com. You can also access our Knowledge Base in the Quick Launch by searching for and selecting “Knowledge Base.”
When PracticeMaster performs a conflict of interest search, contact search, or document search, it searches the applicable index files for valid matches. Search Settings (In the Quick Launch, search for and select “Search Settings”) provide the ability to specify how and if indexes are updated, to rebuild indexes, and to specify words to be excluded from a search.
When accessing Search Settings, there are three tabs: Index Properties, Rebuild Index, and Exclude List.
Index Properties
To be included in a search, a field/file must be “indexed.” On the Index Properties tab, you have the option of selecting how to handle updating the Conflict/Contact Index, Email Attachments Index, and the Linked Documents Index.
- Select Automatic to update the index whenever records are added or changed.
- Select Manual to only update the index when the Rebuild Index program is run.
- Select Disable to disable search capabilities for that index.
The accuracy of PracticeMaster’s search options is dependent on the accuracy of the index files. We recommend using the Automatic setting to help ensure you have the most accurate index files, and therefore the most accurate search results.
Note: Changes made to a linked document are not automatically incorporated into the Linked Documents Index, even if it is set to Automatic. To incorporate changes to linked documents, you can update the index by manually rebuilding the Linked Documents Index, or by using a special startup option to manually rebuild the linked documents index file after hours (recommended). Alternatively, any changes made to the document management record itself, such as a change to a field, will automatically update the index.
When selecting Manual, it is recommended that you schedule times to rebuild the indexes.
Rebuild Index
Rebuilding an index updates Manual indexes, optimizes Automatic indexes, and optionally removes deleted records from the indexes. If you want to rebuild indexes, select the desired indexes and click the Rebuild Now button.
Although rebuilding the Conflict/Contact Index requires Exclusive access to the software in order to run, the Email Attachments and Linked Documents indexes can be rebuilt while users are working. For more information on rebuilding indexes via a startup option, see Knowledge Base Article R11659, “Rebuilding the PracticeMaster Search Index Files.”
Exclude List
The Exclude List tab provides a list of words that are excluded from all searches. For example, if the words a, of, and the are in the Exclude List, running a search with those words in it will display a message that the words will be excluded from the search and the search will ignore the words as it runs. This list can be edited via the Add Word and Delete Word buttons.
Make sure to take a moment and review your Search Settings to ensure your conflict of interest, contact, and document searches are optimized for your firm.
Did you know that text macros can be used in Tabs3 Connect? Text macros are used to help speed up data entry by maintaining a list of Macro IDs that expand out to full words or phrases when typed. For example, entering “PNG” may expand out to “plea of not guilty,” or “ATT” may expand to “attended.” Keep in mind that although macros can be used in Tabs3 Connect, they must still be added and modified in Tabs3 Billing or PracticeMaster.
To enable text macros in Tabs3 Connect for this session, simply open Tabs3 Connect, click the button, and then select Enable Text Macros. If text macros are enabled and you prefer to disable them for this session, select Disable Text Macros instead. You can also specify the default setting in System Configuration for each user. This means that the setting you select will be the default every time you log in to Tabs3Connect.com.
To set the default behavior for text macros in Tabs3 Connect
- Open System Configuration.
- From the File menu, point to Open and select Users.
- Select the desired User ID.
- Click the Tabs3 Connect Settings button.
- In the Text Macros Default field, select On or Off.
For more information on Tabs3 Connect, contact your Tabs3 Software consultant, call Support at (402) 419-2210, or visit Knowledge Base Article R11480, “All About Tabs3 Connect.”
As more law firms switch to paperless environments, emailing statements can be a great solution for reducing your office paper needs while adding convenience for your clients!
The Email Statements Overview video walks you through the process of setting up email templates, changing statement delivery options for your clients, and reviewing emails before they are sent. If you use Tabs3Pay, you can also see how to include payment and trust request links in your emails, which makes it easy for your clients to pay.
Watch this four-minute video here:
Training Videos can be accessed at Tabs3.com/videos. You can also access the videos in the Quick Launch by searching for and selecting “Training Videos.”
Did you know that you can quickly get back to the current date in the Daily/Weekly/Monthly Calendar from any other date with a single keystroke?
While in the Daily/Weekly/Monthly Calendar, you could use the horizontal scroll bar to get back to “today” from any other date, or you could navigate through the months on the right. However, the easiest way to get back to the current date is to simply press the Home key.
To see a complete list of keystrokes available in the Daily/Weekly/Monthly Calendar, press F1 while in PracticeMaster. On the Index tab, enter “Calendar” and then select “toolbar” from the list.
We wrote off an amount for a client that contained fees, costs, and tax amounts. How can we see how the write off applied?
You can view detailed information on a write off via the Tabs3 Billing Matter Manager. This allows you to see the original billed amount as well as the fees, expenses, and/or advances written off. Each timekeeper, cost type, tax amount, and/or finance charge that was written off is also shown, along with statement information.
To view detailed write off information
- In the Quick Launch, search for and select “Matter Manager.”
- Select the client’s matter.
- In the List Content section, click Write Offs.
- Select the write off you want to view.
We believe some records were changed that we didn’t want to be changed. Is there a way to see who has made changes in PracticeMaster?
The History Tracking feature records the following information each time a record is changed in PracticeMaster:
- The date and time the change occurred.
- The User ID of the user who made the change.
- The name of the field that was changed.
- The old and new values of the field that was changed.
To view the history of a record
- Open the record for which you want to see the history.
- In the Quick Clicks pane, expand the Take Action group and then click Display History.
Note: To use history tracking, it must be enabled in PracticeMaster Customization. Additionally, only fields with the Track History check box selected in File Maintenance will be tracked.
