General Q&A

Hi All,I am developing a precedent for my own use in conveyancing matter. I am at a point trying to list out the fees we need at settlement. So I try to use the following field<<Settlement Financials/Amounts Required to Settle Table List (2 columns)»It seems this field is not working and it happens to all the table list fields. Can anyone share how to make it work?Thank you.

Thanks to SB for the Rate Sets feature.  Creating and applying differing rate sets to our various corporate and institutional clients has been a real time saver!  Love this feature.Um, that said, I’d like to tweak the names I eagerly assigned to our rate sets when this feature first rolled out.Can I amend the existing rate set name and save it without impacting the countless time entries and matters that are already tied to the old rate set name?  Or is the name locked-in?Thanks.

Is anyone using the Companion App on an iPad? How well does it work? What are the pros/cons? How well does moving files into and out of Smokeball work with the app on an iPad?

Is there a way to quickly save attachments sent to us from another firm who also uses smokeball and has sent 38 attachments via messages (previously  known as communicate) I have had to go and download each item individually and save it. It does not automatically save the documents. 

We work on other attorney’s files as off counsel sometimes. We need to use their letterhead for that Purpose. Is it possible to color code different matters when we are working of counsel for various attorneys that do not have access to smokeball. This would help us identify which attorney we are working with and which letter head to use quicker. It would prevent mistakes. 

I would like to apply a different workflow to each individual matter stage. Is this possible? For instance, Intake stage would get an intake workflow, when moved to next stage, next stage would get the next stage’s workflow.

I was wondering if Smokeball causes anyone else’s Outlook to constantly freeze up.  We have really had it with this problem. We have to reinstall both Microsoft office and Outlook all the time. This is a firmwide problem. Thanks! 

Is there a way to add a trial or hearing date to an estate litigation matter? I don’t see an option in my “Matter Details” for several estate litigation matters that I have. 

Apologies if this has already been asked, but for how long does a downloaded file stay downloaded in my Smokeball desktop app? I have noticed that a document I am working on is downloaded (goes from blue cloud to green cloud), but then later it is re-uploaded to the cloud and must be re-downloaded.  This then begs the question, how many documents can I have downloaded into the Smokeball app, such that I can work on them when the internet goes out or so I can prepare my file to work on it in a location without internet, such as a rural courthouse?

Is there a way to add details to a contact only entry (not matter related) so that I can easily search even if I don’t have the name on the tip of my tongue? I’ve tried putting ‘Process Server’ in the occupation field and when that didn’t work, I tried putting it in the Notes field. But that also did not work. When I search contacts for Process Server, nothing comes up. 

I’m in the process of forming a partnership with a colleague. We’re setting up a compensation model that is roughly as follows on a per matter basis:10% of receivables go to originating attorney30% goes to firm for overhead and later profit share60% goes to attorney billing (i.e. the attorney generating the billables gets 60% of that revenue)I’m nervous about a bookkeeping/reconciliation nightmare that awaits me or some poor office manager we might hire. I’m wondering if existing Smokeball tools/reports can help me automate most of this as long as we set everything up correctly and are diligent and accurate in our billings.I appreciate any tips or insights, especially from those who might have similar setups or compensation models. Also open to feedback on better ideas/approaches. 

Hi!  We just completed our first set of invoices in Smokeball. We are integrated with Quickbooks.  We applied trust payments before finalizing the invoices, so that payment of funds from trust was reflected on the invoice.  For invoices with only a partial payment from trust, the corresponding bank register entry in Quickbooks did a split allocation between attorney fees and reimbursed office expenses.  It looks like it is using some unknown percentage basis for the split.  Is there a way to set the allocation to pay all reimbursed office expenses first and then apply payments to fees?  I looked everywhere I could think of in Smokeball but can’t find any allocations options.  Thanks!

Has smokeball figured out the issue why I can no longer access Twain for scanning two sided documents. I had no issue until several updates ago and I have not been able to do it since.  I reached out and I was told that they were working on the issues and it has now been several months and it still doesn’t work. 

Hello SB Community! Does anyone use Communicate as the sole form of communication with clients vs email and Communicate? Right now, we mostly use Communicate to send discovery and sensitive materials to clients, opposing counsel, and experts.Thank you!

I use a lot of cross-references in my Word documents (pursuant to para. 6.3; subject to section 8; etc.) But now in Smokeball if I insert a new numbered paragraph or section, the cross-references do not automatically update, and I have to select a specific cross-reference and update it individually. Does anyone know how to get all of the cross-references to update at once in Smokeball?

Is there a way that I ungroup the entries that have grouped on the same day and see them individually on the time & disbursements tab? Thank you 😎

A client has requested her file. The file is complex and very large (100’s of gigabytes) due to multiple parties, extensive discovery, and multiple pending cases.Smokeball database includes dozens of folders and subfolders with documents. What’s the best way to share the file with the client? Creating links for every folder would be time-consuming - and would cause the inclusion of many word documents that should not be included. Is there a simple solution?

What do you guys do for civil matters that involve cross claims?  When at times you are filing as petitioner for one pleading but as a respondent for another?

Can deleted contacts be retrieved somehow?

In a matter (say an estate administration matter for example) we do not want the file name or matter name that prints on invoices and shows at the top of the Smokeball window and that appears as “Client” to be “Smith | Jones | Roberts” (say if there are 3 personal representatives). What we want is for this to say “Estate of Jane Smith”. Can we edit our own file names/matter names? 

Why can’t I delete an expense? We have a double entry on an expense where the attorney and I both entered it and now I can’t delete it. I’ve marked is not billable so it won’t show up on the invoice but I really want it gone gone. 

I am a beta tester for Smokeball and just updated to 8.13. However, I can’t find the change log for this version. Also, why did they get rid of the feature that you could send an email to a closed file without have the closed files “open” on your matter screen?

I am wondering if there is a function for staff members to enter in trust payment requests and for these to then be authorised by an approved person? 

Is anyone else having a problem with seeing the full embedded form on their website? I’ve tried the embed code in several different locations, and it always cuts it of from the top and the bottom, which forces people to scroll down within the window to see the next question. 

How do i permanently delete the e-mails that were tagged to one matter by outlook? Do i have to go one by one and untag?