The Matters Opened Report provides a comprehensive list of matters created within a specified period, allowing you to apply filters based on various criteria, including Reporting Group, Matter Status, Matter Type and different Staff types. Additionally, it offers flexibility by allowing criteria like Client, Matter Status and Matter Type for grouping and organising the results, which provides valuable control over the information.

The report is essential for effective case management, ensuring that each case is properly accounted for and that no matters are overlooked. By offering an overview of newly created matters, this report also enables you to glean insights into your firm's practice trends, such as practice areas (filtered or grouped by Matter Type) and client base (grouped by Client). These insights aid in strategic planning and resource allocation, helping your firm determine which practice areas are thriving and where to focus future efforts. It can also support workload balancing among solicitors and support staff.

While this report shares similarities with the Matter List Report regarding its filtering and grouping criteria, it is distinguished by unique advantages. Notably, it includes Fee Estimate and offers the option to display Client Address, setting it apart from the Matter List Report. However, for matters requiring the display of Other Side, it is advisable to utilise the Matter List Report.

You can also explore the Matters Opened By Staff Responsible & Acting Chart Report, which features a pie chart for easy comparison of matters opened by different staff members (as Staff Responsible or Staff Acting).

The Work Obtained by Referrer Report is an invaluable tool for assessing the effectiveness of your firm's client acquisition efforts. It offers the flexibility to specify a time frame for evaluating the financial impact—including Fees Recorded, Fees Invoiced and Fees Recovered—of cases acquired through diverse referral channels. Additionally, it provides a detailed breakdown of matters.

Understanding the sources of referrals and their financial impact empowers law firms to pinpoint the most productive channels and relationships which generate a high volume of referrals and contribute significantly to firm revenues. Nurturing these relationships is key to establishing a consistent and sustainable flow of referrals over time.

This knowledge plays a vital role in shaping your marketing and business development strategies. As a result, your firm can allocate resources more efficiently and concentrate efforts on cultivating these critical referral sources to ensure a thriving client acquisition process.

The Critical Dates Report provides a centralised view of all upcoming and past critical dates (set under the Calendar & Tasks tab within a matter) across multiple matters. You have the flexibility to filter the results based on Staff Type categories (Staff, Staff Responsible, Staff Acting and Staff Assisting), allowing you to focus on critical dates relevant to selected staff member(s). This helps to streamline scheduling and resource allocation for the chosen staff member(s).

Additionally, the report allows for further filtering based on Critical Date type, Matter Status and Matter Type. You can also group the results by various criteria, including Matter Number, Client and different Staff types.

This comprehensive overview of critical dates enables solicitors and support staff to allocate their time and resources more efficiently. Your firm can proactively identify potential risks and issues associated with critical dates well in advance, allowing for mitigation and preparedness for crucial events.

Furthermore, the report serves as a valuable historical record of past critical dates, making it a useful tool for audits, reviews and accountability purposes.

The Time & Fees Recorded by Staff Report is designed to facilitate the tracking of your staff’s weekly performance, with a specific focus on distinguishing between billable and non-billable hours.

For most law firms, billable hours carry significant weight as a performance metric, directly influencing staff promotions and compensation. Simultaneously, excessive non-billable hours have the potential to erode profitability and even jeopardise law firms' financial health.

For this reason, it is crucial to conduct a comparison of billable and non-billable hours, as this analysis can pinpoint staff members who may need additional support, such as further training, to enhance their productivity. Furthermore, the report aids in the decision-making process regarding the delegation of non-billable tasks to support staff so that solicitors can be freed up to concentrate on billable work.

To monitor your staff's weekly billable amounts, the Daily Time & Fees by Staff Report is a valuable tool. Additionally, You can utilise the monthly actual Fees Entered compared to the Budget amount from the Staff Budgets Report as a staff performance metric.

The Pre-billing Guide can be generated at the matter level before creating an invoice to help you gain valuable insights into:

• Matter-Level Financial Overview: This includes the Billed to Date and a comprehensive breakdown of Aged Unbilled items, distinguishing between Fees, Anticipated Payments, Cost Recoveries, Journals and Payments.
• Staff Performance: The report displays Time and Fees recorded by staff, categorising both billed and unbilled items.
• Trust Account Balances: Providing an up-to-date balance for the trust account(s) associated with the matter.
• Transaction Details: Offering a granular breakdown of unbilled items, enhancing transparency.

The Pre-billing Guide is a proactive measure to identify potential billing errors and inconsistencies before the invoicing stage. By doing so, it reduces the likelihood of billing disputes, ultimately saving time and resources for both your firm and your clients. Additionally, for matters with specific billing requirements, the Pre-billing Guide ensures that invoices align with these requirements to mitigate non-compliance risks.

The Aged WIP Report offers a detailed breakdown of Work In Progress (WIP) with aging options, focusing on unbilled professional fees (Time and Fees).

The report can be used to promote staff accountability by highlighting the importance of timely billing and work completion, ensuring that services rendered are not left unbilled for extended periods. It also facilitates proactive client engagement regarding pending invoices and any additional work required, strengthening client communication and relationships.

It serves as a financial management tool to provide insights into the firm's unbilled work, which are vital for cash flow management and revenue forecasting.

You have the option to schedule and subscribe to this report for your convenience, ensuring you stay up to date with your firm's financial data.

The Aged Debtors Report is a comprehensive report that lists all matters with outstanding debtor balances as of the specified 'At Date'. It not only provides insights into the aging of these balances but also breaks down the debtor balances by relevant invoices and associated credit notes. This valuable report empowers your firm to proactively follow up with clients who owe outstanding amounts.

By categorising outstanding invoices based on their age, it also enables you to prioritise your collection efforts effectively. Regularly checking the Aged Debtors Report is instrumental in maintaining your firm's financial stability and ensuring long-term sustainability.

It is also worth noting that this report lists matters with credit balances in the Credits Ledger, serving as a reminder for addressing actions related to these credit balances. Apart from the option to 'Apply To Invoices,' you have the flexibility to issue a refund or transfer the credit balance to another matter using the 'New Journal' feature. Detailed instructions for these actions can be found in this article.

Like the Aged WIP Report, this report can be scheduled and subscribed to for your convenience.

The Invoice Variance Report displays variances to WIP at the stage of invoicing and adjustments.

It may not be uncommon for your staff to alter the amount of fee entries when billing, resulting in variances between the originally entered fees and the fees ultimately invoiced. The ‘Variance’ column in the report captures such discrepancies. Moreover, the 'Total Variance' column in the report accounts for any adjustments made to the invoice—typically discounts—to show the total variances between the initial recorded fee amount and the final amount that were billed to the client. 

By showing both 'Variance' and 'Total Variance’, the report can help your firm to monitor the accuracy of staff fee recording and ensure that billed hours align with the work performed. Additionally, it contributes to maintaining precise billing practices and minimising discrepancies that could lead to disputes.

Furthermore, the report can play a crucial role in guiding pricing strategy decisions. By analysing the variances, your firm can make informed choices about pricing adjustments, ensuring that their rates accurately reflect the services provided while staying competitive in the market.

The Staff Invoiced Funds Report provides a breakdown of your staff's fee contributions to invoices during a specified billing period. It lists all invoices generated within the designated time frame and evaluates the selected staff member(s)' contributions to these invoices. This assessment is based on the billed professional fees (Time and Fees) attributed to the selected staff member(s) and takes into account any invoice adjustments or fee reallocations affecting their contribution.

The report can serve as a basis for calculating staff bonuses, incentives and performance-based compensation. It is also instrumental in establishing performance goals and improvement benchmarks. Additionally, the report provides valuable insights into the billing and invoicing activities of each fee earner, enabling optimised task and matter allocation. This ensures that solicitors are assigned responsibilities that align with their expertise and capacity, ultimately resulting in improved client service and more efficient case management.

The Staff Receipted Funds Report displays your staff's contributions to client payments (Receipts) within a specified receipting period, providing a list of finalised invoices with receipted funds and a detailed breakdown of staff contributions to these funds. These contributions are calculated based on the receipt value allocated to the staff member's billed professional fees.

Similar to the Staff Invoiced Funds Report, this report can serve as a basis for calculating staff bonuses, incentives and performance-based compensation, as well as establishing performance goals and improvement benchmarks. This is particularly relevant when your firm rewards fee earners based on the revenue they generate.

Additionally, the report offers insights into the profitability of individual lawyers and practice areas. This information is vital for making well-informed decisions about resource allocation, compensation structures and the overall financial well-being of your firm.

Furthermore, understanding the contributions of fee earners to client payments enhances your firm's ability to allocate work and cases more effectively. It ensures that lawyers are assigned tasks and responsibilities based on their revenue-generating abilities, ultimately leading to improved client service and enhanced case management.

Data on fee earners' contributions to client payments can also inform strategic planning for your firm. It aids in identifying areas of growth, client preferences and potential weaknesses, enabling your firm to adapt and strategically expand.

This report can be scheduled and subscribed to for your convenience.