Author Archives: Nancy Duhon

Setting Default Activity/Billing Codes in Amicus Attorney Premium Edition 2013

Many of my consulting clients use Amicus Attorney Premium Edition 2013 to initially record their time entries, and then post those entries to Timeslips for billing. One of the required elements for such an entry is that it have an Activy/Billing Code assigned to it. If the item does not have one, the user will get the following error when they try to post the time entry:

Now, if you are a firm that needs to code all your time explicitly to one activity/billing code or another, then this is just a good reminder to your users that they have forgotten to code the entry properly. They can then make the edit, and repost.

However, many of my client firms don’t really care about which activity/billing code is used. All they care about is the description of the detailed work done. So for these types of firms, it helps to simply assign a default activity/billing code for all slips so that it is all pre-filled in, the user doesn’t have to worry about it, and the entries will not fail to post. This needs to be done for each user as it is part of their personal preferences.

In Amicus Attorney go to the Office Module and choose Preferences from the left menu pane.

Then, on the right column of preference choices, under Time, choose Activity Codes. This will give you a chance to pull a few of your ‘favorite’ codes from what may be a long list over to something called “My Activity Codes.” This is the short list of codes that you need to work from on a daily basis. Click on this little icon to see the full list of codes and make your choices:

Note that at the bottom of the preference setting for My Activity Codes there is a place where you can tell the program which of your codes you would like for it to fill is as a default. Choose your one favorite code here.

From now on, when the user creates a new time entry, the activity/billing code will be all filled out with the default code, so that the field only needs to be visited by the user if they want something DIFFERENT.

* N.B., the user may also want to visit the preference for Time; New Entries and UNcheck the box to have Activity/Task Based Billing Code title included as part of the description. Usually as long as the code is there, it need not be repeated in the description.

Partners Attain Master Certified Consultant Credentials

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Certified Resources Network, LLC is proud to announce that all three of its partners: Shari Borek, Nancy Duhon and Cynthia Szczepaniak have achieved the status of Timeslips Master Certified Consultant. This new level of certification was recently made available to Certified Consultants who attended advanced classes, and passed a rigorous written examination. Only 15 consultants worldwide have attained the Master Certified Consultant designation and we are pleased to have three of them here at Certified Resources Network, LLC.

Certified Resources Network, LLC is proud to provide their clients with the highest level of accreditation available in the Timeslips Certified Consultant channel. Our consultants work hard to maintain their expertise in the product by constantly striving to improve their skills and depth of knowledge.

Tips for Managing Your Timeslips Licenses

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Certified Resources Network member Nancy Duhon has posted a great article on how to manage your Timeslips licenses when you move or change computers. Read it here.

Dealing with February as a short month and 30 day aging in Timeslips

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Certified Resources Network member Nancy Duhon has posted a blog article on her website here regarding how to compensate for the lack of 30 days in February, and what that does to Aged Accounts Receivable balances in Timeslips.

Back To The Future

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This time of year it’s a great idea to make sure that you did not accidentally enter slips dated in the future (i.e. December 2012). It is possible when “catching up” in the early part of January, that you may have neglected to enter the year in the slip entry of Timeslips and, in an effort to be helpful, Timeslips has automatically entered the current year for you. Other times the user has a typo in the year. The big problem is that when you generate invoices or reports and have a cut-off date these entries will not be included until they match the date!

Here is the easiest way to test this:

1) Go to Show Slips (or Slips/Time and Expense Slips from the menu bar)

2) Choose View By “Date”.

3) Make sure that you do not have any other criteria selected (next to Selection it should read ALL, if not, click on the Selection Button and clear out any criteria)

4) Enter TOMORROW’s date in the start date, and leave the end date Blank.

Once you update the list, you should have no slip entries on the screen.

Let us know if you find any!

Credenza – The Missing Link

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As a consultant, I work with individuals and firms who bill by the hour. Service oriented people who understand the significance and value of time management, case management, and appropriate billing software. The secret to successful consultancy is to understand your client’s needs and to coordinate an approach that meets those needs. This often times will include the use of more than one software program, and requires compromise on all sides.

Years of experience have identified the one type of individual that manages to throw a wrench into this process every time. This is the person who insists on “living inside Outlook.” This is the person who refuses to use any other software to maintain anything to do with Emails, ToDo’s, Calendared Events, and Contacts. As a consultant, many times I have been faced with the question, “Why would I do this in any other software when I am completely comfortable in my Outlook?” At this point in time you can list the many benefits of using third-party case management and/or billing software but you can see in their eyes as you are speaking that they are unable to comprehend anything but the eminent demise of their Outlook as their standard. I often use a term to describe these individuals, its Outlook-Spouses (people married to their Outlook).

With the introduction of an Outlook add-on product called Credenza my bag of consultant recommendations is now complete. I am ready for any Outlook-Spouse I happen to come across. There are several reasons this software fits the bill. For those individuals who have not yet been introduced to case management software, Credenza is a logical first step. For those individuals not ready to make a serious investment of time and/or money, Credenza is up and running quickly and is an excellent introduction into time tracking, document management, and contact or file/matter organization. Credenza is also great for those just starting out who want, or need, to manage all aspects of their practice themselves. There is no upfront cost for the basic version.

Credenza takes the basic Outlook features (mail, calendar, contacts, tasks, and notes) and allows the user to associate any or all of them with the Credenza “Client.” The user also receives new icons within their Outlook for Time Sheets and Phone Calls. This allows a user within Outlook to open a Client and view/review all emails, phone calls, appointments, tasks, time entries, documents, and notes which have been associated with that Client (see below). It is this “Client” module which moves Outlook into a full-fledged practice management product.

Outlook's Missing Link

Viewing the Credenza Client

Credenza comes in two flavors: Basic and Pro. Pro adds the ability to bill out accrued time entries, a Collaboration feature which allows users to work within a team environment, and also access web based documents which can be shared among users.

The basic version of Credenza is free. Yes, that is correct! It is free and therefore removes any monetary obsticles an individual may have for not getting their act together and stepping into the world of practice management. The Pro version costs $24.95 per month and offers unlimited technical support. Heck, just the technical support is worth the $24.95 a month.

Timeslips BKU files

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Certified Resources Network member Nancy Duhon has a good tip about Timeslips backups on her website here.