PCLaw Tips and Tricks Presented by Cindy Emmerson Affinity Consulting Group, LLC
Topics Understanding the Billing Fees Journal Time entry and value heat map Lawyer Budgeting Applying payments by client or multiple matters Sending information to Excel
Billing Fees Journal An alternate view to the A/R balance Itemizes both fees and costs owed Breaks down fees by working timekeeper Useful for analyzing what is owed if negotiating settlement or when writing off
How to run the Billing Fees Journal Reports > Journals > Billing Fees Options are by one matter, one client or for one invoice Other filters on the Options tab Can filter for just the unpaid invoices Look to the bottom to review the total Fees and Disbs owed should equal the A/R balance
Accounts Receivable Report Does not show the split of fees and costs or splits by working lawyer
Billing Fees Journal Shows allocations by working lawyer, fees and costs
Time Entry Heat Map Great view to determine who is entering time and missing days Can set daily goals in Lawyer setup to show if goals are met rather than if time is entered Go to the PCLaw Calendar > Time tab
Time Calendar Select the timekeeper at the top left, click on the month, Refresh
Timekeeper Daily Goals for the Time Calendar Options > Lists > Lawyers & Rates Set the Daily Goal Set a color for a better presentation of days with the goal met or exceeded
Lawyer Budgeting Useful to set and evaluate billing or collection goals on a monthly basis Run report to view Budgeted vs. Actual Set the budget at Tools > Lawyer Budgeting Run the report at Reports > Productivity > Lawyer Budgeting
To enter Lawyer Budgets Tools > Lawyer Budgeting Select the month Enter the values and save Use Load From to pull in values for the next month
Running the report Select one or multiple Lawyers Select comparison for worked, billed or collected
Notice Budget vs. Actual and Variance
Applying Payments Option to select all matters for one client Or, option to select multiple matters that are not client related useful when you have a major client who pays for multiple clients Click on the Matters button above the matter field Also know that you can go to the Details button at the far right to review payment allocation for an invoice
Payment by Client Enter the Client number All invoices will appear for all matters Use the Details button to modify how payment is applied to fees and costs on that invoice
Payment for multiple matters Use the Matter button and tag the matters Sort columns by Inv. # or Matter # Change the Payment amount as necessary
Sending information to Excel Pull up information in the Register, use Excel button Reports on the screen, use the Excel or Save icon on the toolbar Output option when selecting report criteria use Editor Make sure you choose Excel as the format Some reports have multiple rows so the layout may need to be cleaned up to facilitate easier manipulation in Excel
From the Register Make your Register filter selections and use the Excel button
From the Report Choose the Editor Option for the Output when running the report From the screen, select the Excel or Save icon When you click OK, you will be promoted for a location to save the file
Questions? Cindy Emmerson, Partner Affinity Consulting Group Tel: 727-544-5400 cemmerson@affinityconsulting.com www.affinityconsulting.com