Archive for Amicus

Gavel & Gown Announces Amicus Anywhere

For those using, or considering, Amicus Attorney Gavel & Gown has formally announced Amicus Anywhere with Amicus Premium 2013. Amicus Anywhere is designed to give you access to your data from wherever you are located using whatever device you choose.

“Amicus Anywhere connects you to your Amicus Premium through a browser. So whether you want to use a home PC, Mac, iPad, other tablets or even a smartphone, you can manage your practice fromwherever you might be.
Amicus Anywhere provides a secure, instant, live connection to Amicus Premium. No matter where you are or what you are doing, if you have a device with a browser, you can manage your practice. Review your calendar, that of others in your firm, or a full group calendar. Plan your tasks or coordinate those of others. Manage your client matter files. Do your time entries. Track your phone calls and messages. Have the information for all your contacts. So much at your fingertips! Read, edit, add new entries. The second you hit save, your work is in your Amicus database at the office. So your colleagues at the office are always up to date”

Your data is securely stored on your own server but you have access from anywhere.

“Amicus Anywhere includes Amicus TimeTracker, an app that helps you see and do your time entries effortlessly on your smartphone. With TimeTracker you will capture billable time you were losing before by recording it live on your phone.”

 You can read the complete Press Release at http://www.amicusattorney.com/sites/default/files/releases/20130305-amicus-anywhere.pdf

 

 

 

The New “Trend” – Improving Time Capture

There’s a pattern in the enhancements being introduced into new versions of billing and practice management software – it’s all about capturing time.

For professionals, where the main commodity sold is time, capturing a few more billable hours per day can make a big difference at the end of the year.  It seems that software vendors are recognizing this with their newest releases.

Time Matters v12 and PCLaw v12 have introduced the Time Entry Advisor. These tools are designed to identify billable time for which a time entry has not been made.  Write an email or create a document and the Time Entry Advisor is there to make sure you bill the client. Both Time Matters and PCLaw can be set up so that your time can be captured from your mobile device or any internet hotspot or connection. The mobile solution is free to those with an Annual Maintenance and Support Plan. The mobile solution also includes the ability to view calendar, contact and matter information at a high level.

Amicus Attorney offers Time Entry Assistant. This serves the same purpose as it captures the activities you perform each day within the program, from email, phone calls and documents to events and to dos. Gavel & Gown has now added Amicus TimeTracker. Amicus TimeTracker gives you the ability to see and do your time entries on your smartphone, “anytime, anywhere!” Amicus TimeTracker is free for those on a maintenance plan.

Sage Timeslips offers eCenter as way to capture time and expenses from anywhere you have an internet connection – smartphone, tablet or computer. Available as a monthly per user subscription, it can be turned on or off as needed. We suspect that Sage will be adding features to Timeslips’ next version to make it easier to capture that time you might miss.

Tabs3 / PracticeMaster also offers time capture features within the program and Tabs3 Remote Entry. Those who want more, and purchase Tabs3 and PracticeMaster Platinum, can opt for mobile access to their data with Tabs3 Connect.

You are not locked in to these programs, there are lots of options. Chrometa is designed to run on your existing system and automatically capture and categorize your time. It creates a file that can be imported into other programs, such as Timeslips. Programs like WorkTrakr, by Proximiti Communications, Inc., and AirTime Manger are designed to use your smartphone to capture the time you spend. By entering time as soon as possible, you are less likely to forget to do it later. Time spent on phone calls can be captured automatically, and you are prompted to pick the client to whom the time should be noted.  These packages can send the data to your firm in a format for importing into your current billing solution. There are also apps like ISlips and ITimekeep for IPhones, IPads and Android devices.

If you use QuickBooks you have options as well. Products like SpringAhead and BigTime are designed to capture your time from wherever you can access the internet. You can send the time to QuickBooks for billing or create invoices and send the receivable to QuickBooks for tracking.

With so many alternatives, how do you choose?

  • First look at the software you are currently using and what features are available.
  • Then look at your needs, including what type of devices you are using, where you want to work, and what you want the software to help you with. 
  • If the available features in your current software don’t fully meet your needs, then it is time to look at add-ons.

 Besides going out to the product websites to look at demos and features, you can call us. Time & Cents Consultants has looked closely at many solutions and we can help you find and implement the right fit.

We have mentioned many products in this newsletter. For your convenience, if you would like to investigate any of these yourself, we have included links to the websites.

 Time Matters: http://www.lexisnexis.com/law-firm-practice-management/time-matters/

Time Matters Mobility: http://www.lexisnexis.com/law-firms/pdf/Time-Matters-Mobility-Brochure-Final-103011.pdf

 PCLaw:  http://www.lexisnexis.com/law-firm-practice-management/pclaw/

PCLaw Mobility: http://www.lexisnexis.com/law-firms/pdf/PCLaw-Mobility-Brochure-Final-103011.pdf

 Amicus Attorney: https://www.amicusattorney.com/          

Amicus TimeTracker: https://www.amicusattorney.com/products/timetracker

 Timeslips: http://na.sage.com/Sage-Timeslips/

Timeslips eCenter: http://na.sage.com/Sage-Timeslips/Products/eCenter

 Tabs3 / Practice Master: www.tabs3.com

Tabs3 Connect: http://www.tabs3.com/products/tabs3_connect/tabs3_connect.html

 Chrometa: http://www.chrometa.com/

 WorkTrakr: http://www.proximiti.com/worktrakr/WorkTRAKR.aspx

AirTime Manager: http://www.airtimemanager.com/

 SpringAhead: https://springahead.com/

 BigTime: http://bigtime.net/

Amicus Attorney Cloud Edition and Feedback from the Consultants Conference

In March I traveled to Toronto to attend the annual Gavel & Gown Certified Consultants Conference.  While Amicus 2012 has been out for a while, it was interesting to get additional perspective on the new features.

So what did I learn that can help you?

  • Amicus Premium billing including the link with QuickBooks and the power of reporting
  • The new document manager in Amicus 2012
  • The power to use custom fields in reports
  • Amicus Attorney Cloud Edition

Probably the most exciting part of the conference was a preview of Amicus Attorney in the cloud. This product was officially announced a few days later at American Bar Association Techshow in Chicago.  Imagine the power of Amicus Attorney on your IPad or other device with a connection to the internet. As a cloud based solution you never have to worry about upgrades or server maintenance. Of course, since Gavel & Gown understands the legal market, the application and the environment will meet all the requirements for confidentiality of data, uptime and backup that are critical to attorneys. Amicus Attorney Cloud Edition is expected to be available this summer.  You can read the press release at  http://www.amicusattorney.com/company/press-releases/20120329-amicus-cloud or watch www.amicusattorney.com/cloud for more information.

Amicus Attorney Cloud Edition differs from Credenza and is designed for those who want the power of Amicus Attorney through the internet, with no concern of a server or networking.

Gavel & Gown will still offer and fully support Credenza, and they continue to enhance it regularly.  Credenza is the solution if you like to work in Outlook but want the ability to organize all of your information according to client files or projects. This includes email, contacts, tasks and notes. For a single user, there is a free edition of Credenza so you can easily try it and see if it works for you. If you are part of a team or want more features, you can upgrade to Credenza Pro for firm-wide practice management including collaboration tools, cloud document management and billing.

Amicus Premium Billing offers a tightly integrated billing solution for those using Amicus Attorney Premium edition. The elimination of links greatly simplifies the billing process and lets you see the data you need with just a mouse click. For accounting the link to QuickBooks is well designed, having learned some lessons from other products. Is it perfect, No. You still need to enter client expenses in both Amicus and QuickBooks, but Amicus Premium Billing is well on its way.

Making Amicus Premium Billing even more powerful is the use of SQL Reporting Services. For those who have worked with Amicus Attorney reports in the past, you know that the reports were based in Crystal. If you know crystal, you know if can be difficult to work with. SQL Reporting Services offer more power and flexibility. We saw samples of reports developed by other consultants that included dashboards to view billing information. If you choose Amicus Premium Billing we can help you set it up and design the reports you need to run your practice.

Amicus Attorney 2012 introduced the new Document center. With powerful search functions and the ability to see documents on all your files or your contacts, the Document center will make your work easier. You can now search for a document without knowing what file it was part of, make a copy of it and use it for another matter in just a few steps.

Last but not least, users of the Premium Edition have long had the ability to setup custom fields and custom pages. However, getting the data out in a format you could use was significantly limited. With Amicus Attorney Premium Edition 2012 you now have the reports for custom pages and custom records on your files. These reports are created in SQL Reporting Services and offer a starting point for us to help develop your reports.

Amicus Attorney is moving forward in many exciting directions. If you would like to get more out of your current version or would like to learn about upgrading, please contact us at 203-254-7736.

Amicus Attorney 2012

It’s that time of year again, and Gavel & Gown has just released the Amicus Attorney 2012 products, including Amicus Attorney Premium Edition 2012, Amicus Premium Billing 2012, Amicus Attorney Small Firm Edition 2012 and Amicus Small Firm Accounting 2012.

If you use Amicus Attorney Accounting it is important to note that the product has been renamed to Amicus Small Firm Accounting. If you are using Amicus Attorney Premium Edition you should be switching to Amicus Premium Billing. Amicus Premium Billing is tightly integrated into Amicus Attorney, making it an easy to use billing solution. However, Amicus Premium Billing does not have general ledger and accounting capabilities. To meet your accounting needs, Amicus Premium Billing links to QuickBooks. You can still meet your billing needs by linking either the Premium edition or the Small Firm Edition to other solutions, like Timeslips.

A big area of change for Amicus Attorney 2012 is in the area of document management. Both the Premium and Small Firm Edition offer a new Documents Module to make it easier for you to find your documents and work with them. In a single click, you can open, edit and print documents, add new documents and create time entries without having to open the file details. New filter capabilities allow you to filter by file type and to limit your view to active files. Gavel & Gown has also added the ability to search documents or files using full-text search or by document profile search.

If you do a lot of work with PDFs, you can save time using the new Amicus Tasks toolbar in Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader. Similar to the Microsoft Office toolbar, this allows you to associate a PDF with files, view related file details or send a PDF as an email attachment to your Amicus contacts.

In a firm with lots of files, you can now save time in finding just those you are working on by designating files as favorites and filtering the file index to show only your favorites.

For those that are frequently out of the office but need to be notified of new phone messages, Amicus now has the ability to send phone messages by email. You can also create customizable email messages to your contacts and automatically merge in information from Amicus.

While there are many other new features for all users of Amicus Attorney here are a few more highlights:

  • Faster Access to Events details via File name hyperlinks
  • Keep up with client referrals with a new field in Client contacts
  • New preferences allow better tracking of return phone calls

One thing to note:  If you are still using a Palm OS device, that connectivity for these devices has been discontinued.

If you are using Amicus Attorney Premium Edition, there are additional new features:

  • Amicus will forward your daily agenda via email
  • Enhancements to billing include faster performance, better functionality “at a glance” file values and an improved QuickBooks link
  • Simplified licensing procedures

You can visit the Amicus Attorney website (www.amicusattorney.com) to learn more about What’s New in Amicus 2012 as compared to your version or call us at 203-254-7736 to discuss the options for upgrading.

Creating Labels Using Amicus Attorney Small Firm Edition

While holiday season is the most common time to do a mass mailing, you may also need to do this at other times. Whatever software you are using, there is generally a way to create address labels so that you don’t need to re-key data. In this series of blog posts we show how to create address labels using the different programs with which we work.

1) From the Contact list select those for whom you will be creating labels. You can do this by marking them or by highlighting them by clicking on the name. To highlight you can select a Range by clicking on the first name in the list, holding down the SHIFT key and clicking on the last name you want included. Additional names can be selected by holding down the CTRL key while clicking on the name. To mark Contacts, open the Contact and click the upper right Yellow corner to change the indicator to a check box. You can also Mark contacts by highlighting as described above and then clicking on CONTACTS from the top menu and choosing Mark Contacts.

2) Once you have selected or marked the appropriate names, Click on CONTACTS on the top menu and then choose Generate A Document or CTRL-D.

3) Choose whether Labels should be created for All Shown, Selected or Marked.

4) Click on the drop down arrow in the Master Document box to expand the choices.
5) Click on Letters and Labels and then choose the Labels document you wish to print.

6) When you click OK, Word will open with your labels setup and ready to print. The Amicus – Save Options window will also open to allow you to Save the Document and Add to Amicus if you choose.

7) You can now use the features of Word to preview and print your labels. You can also edit the font or make other changes that you desire. If the changes are ones that you will want to be in effect for the future you will need to modify the Amicus Document Template. If you need help in doing that please call us.

Previewing of labels, prior to printing is highly recommended to verify that the fields chosen show as you expect. It is also recommended that you print one sheet to paper and hold it over your labels to make sure everything lines up correctly before you start.

If you need help in creating labels or setting your search criteria, please call us at 203-254-7736.

Creating Labels Using Amicus Attorney Premium Edition

While holiday season is the most common time to do a mass mailing, you may also need to do this at other times. Whatever software you are using, there is generally a way to create address labels so that you don’t need to re-key data. In this series of blog posts we show how to create address labels using the different programs with which we work.

1) From the People list select those for whom you will be creating labels. You can do this by marking them – click on the Marked box – or by highlighting them by clicking on the name. You can select a Range by clicking on the first name in the list, holding down the SHIFT key and clicking on the last name you want included. Additional names can be selected by holding down the CTRL key while clicking on the name.

2) Once you have selected or marked the appropriate names, Click on Actions on the top menu and then choose Generate A Document or CTRL-D.

3) Choose whether Labels should be created for All Shown, Selected or Marked.

4) Click on the Plus Sign next to Letters to expand the choices.

5) Click the type of Labels you wish to print and the Word Processor you will be using – Word or Word Perfect.

6) When you click OK, Word will open with your labels setup and ready to print. The Amicus – Save Options window will also open to allow you to Save the Document and Add to Amicus if you choose.

7) You can now use the features of Word to preview and print your labels. You can also edit the font or make other changes that you desire. If the changes are ones that you will want to be in effect for the future you will need to modify the Amicus Document Template. If you need help in doing that please call us.

Previewing of labels, prior to printing is highly recommended to verify that the fields chosen show as you expect. It is also recommended that you print one sheet to paper and hold it over your labels to make sure everything lines up correctly before you start.

If you need help in creating labels or setting your search criteria, please call us at 203-254-7736.